Napa & Sonoma Valley Recommendations

[sap483]

I travel to San Francisco for work at least 8-10 weeks out of the year. Well in the last three years I''ve really wanted to go to Napa and Sonoma while I''ve been out here, but it just hasn''t worked out. Well I''m definitely going this weekend, yay! FI is flying in on Thursday night and then we''ll drive up there on Friday morning (9-10am). We booked a cute little inn, but other than that we haven''t planned out too much. Can you ladies suggest some good restaurants as well as vineyards to visit. My thought is to visit 4-5 vineyards (total) in Calistoga and Rutherford on Friday, 4-5 vineyards in Oakville, Yountville and Napa on Saturday, and go to a festival in Sonoma on Sunday before returning to San Francisco. Is this too ambitious? If I should cut it down which specific vineyards should I definitely not miss? Is there anything else I should try to do while out there? I was considering maybe some hot springs in Calistoga or a hot air balloon ride if I can fit it in. TIA for your help!

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 3/12/2008 10:59:51 AM
Author:sap483
Is there anything else I should try to do while out there? I was considering maybe some hot springs in Calistoga or a hot air balloon ride if I can fit it in.

I can recommend a couple of things to see...but they''re different...and a bit off the beaten path.

One...a zen monastery

The other...a cool optical illusion.

Enjoy.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey - what fun! If I were you thought, I''d consider substituting one of the days with Russian River Valley wineries. Napa is VERY commercialized, and especially on the weekends, the traffic and crowds can be a little overwhelming.

Here are some of our favorite wineries up there, in no particular order:

Domaine Carneros by Taittanger (Sonoma/Napa border, along Hwy 121 it looks like a giant French chateau on a hillside, really elegant, and they make nice Pinots and sparkling wine, and serve lovely cheese plates - its a great place to stop for a snack/light lunch)

Iron Horse (Russian River Valley, near Forestville, a little off the beaten track, but the wine is excellent - try to ask for Damon to do your tasting if you go, he''s really wonderful)

Imagery (in Sonoma, along Hwy 12, art gallery and winery, makes unusual/rare varietals, and all their labels are designed by different artists, with the original art pieces displayed in the tasting room)

Preston (Russian River Valley, makes all organic wines, also grows their own organic produce and makes homemade bread and olives which they sell, along with local cheeses that are hard to find anyplace else. They have a nice picnic area right outside the tasting room, with a number of friendly resident cats who like to come and hang out)

And for restaurants, most of my recommendations are in Sonoma, as that''s where we usually stay - its a really cute little town square to wander around:

Boon Fly Cafe - KILLER brunch, also homemade donuts which are fabulous, its on Hwy 121 not far from Domaine Carneros

Della Santina - on the Sonoma Square, cute little family-run Italian place, very romantic, excellent homemade pastas

Eldorado Kitchen - also on the Sonoma Square, fun, modern vibe, yummy California food

Anyway, I hope those are useful, and have fun - its such a lovely area up there

 

[ladypirate]

In the valley some of our favorites are Cakebread, Schramsberg (a bit pricey for the tour, but WAY worth it because they take you through the caves and you get champagne (or the Napa equivalent) at the end), Frogs Leap (a very cool organic winery--great sauvignon blanc, and even if you don't make an appointment, they'll give you a glass of wine when you show up), and Ballentine. Markham has good wine as well. Beringer has OK wine, but a great tour.

If budget isn't an issue, Far Niente also has an awesome tour, but it's expensive (around $50 a person). Great wine, though.

As far as restaurants in the valley, Tra Vigne is tasty for an upscale lunch or dinner (gorgeous courtyard), French Laundry of course if you want to go super fancy (around $250 per person--if you want the cuisine without the high cost, the chef, Thomas Keller, also has a less-pricey cafe in Yountville called Ad-Hoc), Taylor's refresher for a casual burger and milkshake (really, really good), Mustards Grill for nice American food with a Napa flair, and there's a great little place called Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena that is nice but semi-casual wine country fare.

4-5 wineries a day isn't too ambitious if you start early, but definitely budget an hour and a half or so for each winery and whoever is driving should make sure to spit so no one gets too intoxicated. Keep in mind as well that most wineries in the valley now require reservations ahead of time for tastings, so you may want to call ASAP to make sure you can get to the places you want to go (Schramsberg especially fills up days in advance, usually, although sometimes they have cancelations).

Are you staying in Napa on Saturday night? If you're making the hour-long drive to Sonoma, I'd do it Sunday morning so you aren't stressed about getting there Saturday night. Just my $.02.

Have a great time! I'm jealous.

 

[diamondfan]

French Laundry is a wonderful restaurant.

L''Auberge du Soleil is a lovely place to stay.

There are winery tours of course and hot air balloon rides and horseback riding...it is so great for a long weekend.

 

[mrs.ROC]

Alright....napa valley is my third home...visit every chance i get when going to san fran!!!

MUST!!!!! Hot air balloon ride!!! http://www.napavalleyballoons.com/
They start early in the morning and depending on the weather, if they take off that morning or not. I surprised my husband with the ride, drove in early morning...and hopped on the balloon....so beautiful seeing the vineyards in the morning sun!! I highly suggest it. It lands around 10am, followed by champagne brunch.

Spent the rest of the day touring around and had lunch at V.Sattui. http://www.vsattui.com/
It''s nice, b/c they offer tastings, and have a quaint deli where you can buy bread, brie, pate, salami...etc...and sit outside with your wine purchase and eat and snack!!!

Have fun...and dont forget to pack your camera!!!!!!

 

[nicolejrx]

I just got back from 3 days in Sonoma yesterday and my husband and I had a wonderful time. We took a morning trip over to Napa on one of the days too! It was barrel tasting weekend in Sonoma so we got to see over 10 wineries in Sonoma, mostly in the Dry Creek Valley. My husband and I drink mostly reds but had some nice chardonnay''s and sauvignon blancs on the trip as well. Some of my favorites in Sonoma:
Wilson- Got half a case of their reserve Zinfandel (balanced and delicious).
Mazzcocco- Also some great zin''s
Passalacqua- Great Sauvignon Blanc for only 16 dollars a bottle!


As far as Napa goes we went to both Jarvis and Del Dotto. Jarvis is an appointment only tour (30 bucks) but it is so worth it. The cave tour is amazing and their wines are all estate grown and cave fermented. We actually joined their club which my husband and I have never done but all of their wines were such winners it seemed like a great way to get a variety of their wines 3 times a year. Del Dotto is great too, delicious wines, all red, cave fermented. Their cave tour is a barrel tasting so you get to taste the wine right out of the barrel.

I second Taylor''s Automatic Refresher, great burgers. We went to the new one in the Oxbow Public Market.

In Sonoma we ate at both the Madrona Manor(where we were staying) and Cyrus. Both were excellent. Cyrus is a two star Michelin and was awesome. Great service but not too pretentious which is what we like. Food was excellent. I still have some profiteroles that they gave us to go from our meal to eat!

Have a great time!
Nicole

 

[Mara]

Doubt you''ll get anywhere near FL if you are going this wkd, they book out like a year in advance. BUT I think that they have like a little cafe attached to them where they serve like a more casual lunch/dinner but same chef or something??

One resource I find invaluable for food recommendations and things like which wineries to visit etc is Yelp.. (www.yelp.com) , people review where they go and stay and eat and you can find out what to eat, what not to eat, what wineries to try etc. Take reviews with a grain of salt but I have found some FAB places to eat and been able to research hotels and the like before booking/staying.

If you were going to be in DT Napa I''d say stay in Napa River Inn, we love it, small boutique hotel, and there are lots of fab restaurants. But the other gals have great recommends for Sonoma and RR area. Also, re: being too ambitious, I don''t know about 4-5 wineries in one day...don''t be too disappointed if you don''t get it ALL Done, just enjoy!!

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 3/12/2008 5:24:45 PM
Author: Mara
Doubt you''ll get anywhere near FL if you are going this wkd, they book out like a year in advance. BUT I think that they have like a little cafe attached to them where they serve like a more casual lunch/dinner but same chef or something??

That''s Ad-Hoc in Yountville--they still do prix fixe menus, but way less pricey than FL.

 

[asscher_girl]

Bouchon is also one of Thomas Keller''s restaurants and is awesome! I took my FI there for his b-day this past January. And not too pricey. There''s a Bouchon bakery attached to it, didn''t go in though. Both are in Yountville.

Zu-Zu''s is a tapas restaurant in DT Napa and is really good too.

Our fav wineries so far are:
Alpha Omega - Rutherford
Silverado Vineyards - Napa
Chimney Rock - Napa
Opus one - awesome space, expensive - $25 for 1 tasting (and you only taste one wine)

Those are the one''s I can remember off the top of my head right now. We''ve been able to do 5 wineries in 1 day comfortably. Sometimes it''s a little hard to start at 10am, but after your first glass you''re all good

lol

 

[DiamanteBlu]

You guys are making me hungry . . .

 

[katebar]

I second the L'' Auberge du Soleil certainly for lunch anyway. We were in the NApa valley on our trip from Australia in October and it was wonderful food was great and the view was just stunning. I can imagine staying there would be a wonderful experience.

 

[appletini]

I''m addicted to Napa...6 trips in less than two years.

Some of my favorite wineries: Napa Wine Company*, Domaine Carneros, Del Dotto, Imagery, Stags Leap Wine Cellars

Taylor''s Refresher...its so worth the 30+ minute wait in line...even in the rain.

Press in St. Helena is a fabulous steakhouse oh and their mac & cheese is in my top 2. Hurley''s in Yountville is really yummy too.

 

[boston_jeff]

I have a million suggestions for you, but here''s a few basics...

Wineries-- I would rather go to Sonoma wineries any day than Napa, although a day in Napa if it is your first time in the area can be nice if you pick and choose wisely-- some good ones in Napa have been previously mentioned (Frog''s Leap, Cakebread-- another MUST in Napa is Goosecross-- they are such nice and funny people and are very generous with their tastings)

Here are a few good ones in Sonoma:
1. Preston (more for the picnic than the wine)
2. Mauritson (Zinfandels) [also Dutcher Crossing for Zins]
3. Christopher Creek
4. A. Rafanelli (appointment only)
5. Seghesio (if you like italian style wines)
6. I''m not much of a white drinker, but I liked the whites at Kunde, especially the "Nu Chardonnay"
7. People like Jordan and J. Rochioli-- IMHO, great wines, but the tasting experience isn''t great
8. The caves at Bella are fun.

For a really nice restaurant, I can''t recommend the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville highly enough. It has 1-Michelin star that is very well deserved and after a day of wine tasting the food is just perfect. It is the only place I would consider going to over the french laundry, and while it is pricey, it certainly is not as pricey as FL.

 

[CrookedRock]

I'm going to add one more Napa winery... Nickel & Nickel, but make an appt! Oh, did anyone mention Opus One? Def check that out, it's one of my favs, very expensive though!

Oh and Asscher Girl.... I agree! Zu Zu's was great. I really loved it!

 

[Patiently_Waiting]

One of my favorite tasting experiences in Napa was Swanson Vineyards.

They do require reservations in advance, but the tasting experience is phenomenal! It is a private tasting with no more than 8-10 people total, and the Salon is adorable (the wines are yummy, too!).

I also second Opus One - I've heard good things about it but have not made it there myself yet. Their wines are wonderful but expensive! Ladypirate mentioned Cakebread, which I would definitely second - another favorite of mine!

I'm so jealous - have a wonderful time!

 

[sumbride]

If you like Cabernet, you need to go to Reverie! That''s where I got engaged! But seriously, the wine is amazing. It''s a newer winery and very tiny. We were one on one with a winemaker on our visit. You have to call ahead, but it is a great place to have a quiet picnic and drink great wine in the middle of their Redwood grove. We took our lunch from Oakville Grocery. It''s on the Silverado Trail, the less busy of the two main roads of wineries in Napa.

 

[sap483]

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. Basically everyone I have asked, including a friend of ours who is an editor for Food & Wine Magazine has said that they enjoy Sonoma more. I’m starting to think that maybe I should only spend Friday visiting Napa area vineyards and then spend Saturday and Sunday in Sonoma?

We did book an appointment at Cakebread and Far Niente. I think I don’t want to book too many tours that require appointments. I’d rather visit the vineyards at my leisure. I think I''d like to visit Domaine Carneros too.

French Laundry looks amazing. Not sure if it’s even worth calling though. I’ll ask my friend if she knows anyone there and can pull a few strings. She also recommended Cyrus (for dinner) and Barndiva (for drinks).

Mara- We are in fact staying at the Napa River Inn. It has gotten mixed reviews on Tripadvisor, but it looked charming.

 

[sap483]

Has anyone visited Quintessa? I was talking to the concierge and this woman next to me wrote it down and told me that I must visit it!

 

[sap483]

Also has anyone visited Black Stallion or August Briggs? From what I read (and hopefully I''m remembering this correctly) they''re both smaller and newer.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Haven''t been to any of the ones you''ve just asked about, but I wanted to say that I think your plan to stick mostly to Sonoma (and Russian River Valley if you get a little farther North) is good - its a lot more of those smaller, more intimate wineries, much less slick and commercial, and IMHO way more fun because of that. It just feels more authentic.

I also did have a conversation with someone at one of the wineries last time we were up who had recently gone to both FL and Cyrus, and he thought that Cyrus was just as good as FL, but for way less $$$, so for what that''s worth thought I''d throw it out there.

I''m sure you''ll have a wonderful time - enjoy!!

 

[appletini]

Black Stallion opened in August so it is very new. The location used to be an equestrian center in 80s so thats why they have the horse theme. They have a great Pinot Grigio!

 

[mintve]

Napa and Sonoma are so much fun! I can''t wait to go back. I really like V. Sattui because they have a cheese and deli area where you can buy some yummy food for a picnic and eat on the grounds of their winery. I really enjoyed that. You really can''t go wrong, each winery has something special and unique. Have fun!

 

[curlygirl]

I always recommend Matanzas Creek winery in Sonoma. They have gorgeous fields of lavender growing there and it''s absolutely gorgeous--feels very "south of France". Great wine too!

I once stayed at the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. Very lovely.

Vella cheese is a must. The Girl and The Fig is great. Also loved French Laundry (impossible to get into but worth every penny if you can get in), Tra Vigne, Mustards Grill. So many fantastic places. You''ll love it!

 

[sap483]

So I went to Napa and Sonoma this weekend and I can''t wait until I get to go back! It was such a wonderful trip! Thank you all so much for your great recommendations. Here were a few noteworthy places we visited...

- We stayed at the Napa River Inn. I cannot stop raving about what a great experience we had there. We had a historic room that used to be part of a roller skating rink. It was beautifully decorated and spotless. We had the romance package so every day we got a bottle of champage, chocolate covered strawberries and breakfast in bed from the bakery next door. The staff that we spoke with were all very gracious and helpful. I don''t have a single bad thing to say about this place. (Note: There is construction going on and I think it could get loud there if you go during the week. It didn''t bother us during the weekend though.

- Ledson Winery & Vineyards in Santa Rosa. The wine there was delicious. This was one of only two places we visited where we loved every single thing that we tasted. Even wines we typically do not enjoy were amazing here. The staff was very knowledgeable and the tasting was a great deal since our concierge gave us a coupon. We are planning on joining their wine club! The castle that the winery is housed in and the grounds are also quite beautiful!

-Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford. The other place where we loved every wine. By far the most informative tasting we participated in during our trip. My only regret is that I didn''t buy more from there!

-Rutherford Gove in Rutherford. For a change of pace, this one was nice and quiet. The staff was very friendly and their Cab was pretty good!

-Buchon in Yountville. We had a really delicious meal at Bouchon that was very reasonably priced. We could not get a reservation at French Laundry or Ad Hoc so we figured we''d try out their third establishment. While it was certainly not the best meal we have every had, it was pretty good!

-Cyrus in Healdsburg. You must go. What else can I say.

Oh and on a sidenote, there were a few wineries that I would not visit again. My least favorite being Rubicon...

 

[CrookedRock]

Glad you had such a great trip. we were there 3 years ago and are dying to get back out there.... I agree with you comment about Cakebread. They really do a fabulous job of helping you understand the wine you are drinking. Any good pics you care to share? Oh and did you make it to Opus for a $25 glass of meritage?