For my last series of posts, I’m going to recommend specific places to visit, should you decide to take a vacation to one of these wine regions. I figured I’d start with the one I know the best – Napa Valley. When I lived in California, in the late 80’s, I used to visit a least one a month. Since then, I’ve been back more than 10 times. So, it’s safe to say I know the best places to go (wineries, restaurants, shops, etc.). My main focus, of course, will be on the wineries. One nice thing that has changed, over the years, is that each winery can now ship wine directly to your home (be sure to check whether your state law allows this, most do, but not all). They charge shipping by 3’s. So, whether you ship 2 or 3 bottles, you pay the same rate. For that reason, I always recommend you round out your purchase “by 3’s” (3 bottles, 6 bottles, 9 bottles, 12 bottles, etc.). Most of the “wine shops/ stores” CANNOT ship, but there is ONE I will talk about that can (it’s a “cooperative” or “collective”, so the rules are different).
Back in the 80’s, there used to be fewer than 200 wineries in the valley. Now, there are more than 600! Most require a reservation in advance, no more walk-up wine bars (which I used to LOVE). Expect to spend 1-2 hours at each place; for that reason, I would not recommend more that 3 wineries in one day. Most have munchies to go with the wine, some have real food (which I will mention throughout). At the southern end of the valley (Carneros, Oak Knoll, Mount Veeder, & Yountville), I would recommend Domain Carneros (sparkling, good food), Korbel (sparkling, great lunch, great tour), Treflethen (still FAMILY owned, nice munchies), and Mayacamus (hill top view). In the middle of the valley (Oakville, Rutherford, & St. Helena), I would recommend Mondavi (great tour, currently closed for renovation, but has a place in Napa), Beaulieu Vineyard (BV), Prager (traditional PORT, hard to find), & Beringer (cave tour is a MUST). At the north and east ends of the valley (Calistoga, Chiles Valley, and Stags Leap), I would recommend Sterling (self-guided tour, BEST view), Chateau Montelena, Joseph Phelps (GREAT patio), Freemark Abby, Stags Leap, Clos Du Val, & Caymus. There are, of course, many others. But these are my favorites, most for their excellent, NOT overpriced, wine (like Opus or Abreau).
There are many excellent restaurants for dinner, but the ones I go to every time are The Grove at Copia, La Toque, and Bistro Jeanty (avoid any others in Yountville, all pretentious & overpriced). Mustards Grill and Brix are also very good. V.Sattui Winery has a great picnic lunch, get everything you need at their “store”, including wine, and eat on a picnic table right there (VERY popular). There’s also a row of good lunch restaurants in St. Helena and along the Napa River in Napa. Speaking of Napa, the shopping/ night life area is also right there on the river. Not too far from there is the Vintner’s Collective, the ONLY wine “store” I would recommend. They carry small “mom & pop” wines and are very picky, most for less than $60.00 (which is cheap by Napa standards). They still have a “walk-up” wine bar & can ship. Plan to spend at least a couple of hours there, I always do! If you do the “Wine Train”, which is very touristy and does not see much, pay extra for first class, it’s worth it.
That should do it for this one. Next time, I will talk about travel to Italy. So, be sure to come back & check it out. Cheers!