Napa Valley wineries

[matthew_hull]

We're going to San Francisco and are going to spend a day driving up Napa Valley. Can anyone recommend some wineries that stand out above the numerous others? We stumbled across the Hess Collection Vineyard, and were impressed by what to see and do. Can anyone name similar places? We want gardens, tours, art: the quality of the wine offerings is decidedly secondary, although we'll be doing the tastings, too.

 

[anniemae]

It's been a while since I have been, but I love Napa!!

We loved Coppella Vineyards. Really pretty gounds.

Sterling had a gondola ride to the top. Beautiful views and great tasting room.

Berengers had a great tour.

Beaulieu had a nice tasting room and tour.

So much to explore, and there are some that are off the beaten path.

 

[java]

We really enjoyed Sterling and Cakebread
http://www.cakebread.com/tours/tours_tastings.cfm

Hess was fun just for the art collection and the wine is delicious
and when we went it was a FULL glass of wine at the tasting.
I was smashed in Napa and thankfully not the one driving.

I wish I could remember which one had the cute market attatched- with cheese and bread- That's where we sat and had lunch fruit cheese and bread. mmmmmmm. Was it Sterling?

 

[TurkA77]

Just had a tour at Berringers in February and it was amazing, I highly recommend it.

Also had lunch at V. Sattui. They have a shop that sells all kinds of meats, cheeses and picnic type foods. They will match their wine to the food and uncork it for you. They also have picnic tables outside so you can enjoy everything right there.

 

[diznygirl]

Love Sattui!

Didn't like the wine at Sterling - but at least the view was nice.

Silverado is Diane Disney Miller's winery.

Merryvale is pretty with good wine.

 

[theycallmered]

My husband I drove up from Silcon Valley for a quick day trip to Napa Valley back in February. We really enjoyed our tour at Del Dotto Vineyards (http://www.deldottovineyards.com/). Domaine Carneros Winery (http://www.domainecarneros.com//index.cfm) is a stunning establishment. I really enjoyed their tasting and had wished that we had visited earlier so that we could have done one of their tours.

Friends of ours rave about Castello di Amorosa (http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/index.cfm?method=homepage.showpage). It is definitely on our list of 'Must Do' for our next visit.

For dinner we grabbed a spur of the moment reservation off OpenTable.com for Uva Trattoria (http://uvatrattoria.com/). Nothing was particularly bad, however nothing was particularly good either. I would not recommend this restaurant.

Neither my husband or I are big wine buffs. Generally we simply drink what we like regardless of price point, vintage, or vineyard. For the most part, we went into our Napa Valley trip blind and without any expectations. My best advice: If you find yourself not knowing where to go to next, simply ask someone. Most people are more than willing to give their advice as to where you should go.

Have fun!

 

[matthew_hull]

Thank you; this is all most excellent. I'll have some research to do tonight! I am hoping to fit in four wineries into our day trip, but am not going to stress about it. Thus, the southern vineyards have the advantage, since we'll be coming up from SF.

 

[pixiewings71]

I live 20 minutes from Napa, we LOVE driving down the "winery roads" as we call them. LOL Our favorites are as follows;

Domaine Carneros (excellent sparkling wines and they do offer food pairings as well, DBF and I normally get 1 tasting and a food pairing to share)
Domaine Chandon (also very good sparkling wines and they have a fun tour that shows you how to mix your sparkling wine with other items to make yummy drinks)
V Sattui (my absolute fave!!!! I LOVE V Sattui!!!! Gamay Rouge is my favorite wine and we love the deli that is attached, they also BBQ oysters in the summer and they have picnic tables for anyone to use)
Peju (excellent wines, our faves are the Carnival and the Provence)
Castello di Amarosa, OMG absolutely beautiful!!!! Go for the tour of the castle and then LOVE the wines!! They have quite a few we really liked, our favorite is Fantasia (Fantaseea) it tastes like sparkly grape juice, so good!!
Goose Cross Cellars is a small winery with very good wines, the Chenin Blanc is great!

For something to eat, go to Rutherford Grill, get the blue cheese chips and you'll be in heaven...they are sooooooooooooooo good!!!! Mustard's is also very very good in that area.

Make sure to get a winery map from your hotel, if they don't have one stop by a Napa area hotel and get one there, you won't regret having the map. The Vino Bello will have them and I know you can just get one there without being a guest, we've done that before. We've also stayed at the VB, absolutely AMAZING hotel, one of the top hotels in the country.

If you have any questions please let me know.....living so close and loving wine like we do going to Napa is a fun hobby of ours.

 

[minniebeth]

We used to live in the Napa Valley area and our all time favorite, already mentioned is V. Sattui~

 

[bekkiz]

Cliff Lede and Miner Family are two of my favorite off the beaten trail ones. Plus they're near Bouchon Bakery, which I consider a must do!

 

[matthew_hull]

Wow, this is great. Too bad I am limited the two of us to only four locations, because frankly I wouldn't be surprised if we end up visiting only two of them. I think the day is going to be fun and is going to fly by! My sweetie wanted to make the "wine country day" on the last full day of our California trip, but I nixed that idea, because it just might rain. If it rains,and the next day's weather forecast is good, we'll go the next day. This mini-trip up the Napa Valley is my expected highlight of the trip. Hers is visiting the "culture-rich" local neighborhoods of San Francisco.

Many thanks to all of you for helping us out. Now I just have to winnow down the suggestions to three or four.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well if I had to choose 3 or 4 I would go with 1 sparkling and the rest still wines. So I'd go with these choices from my post.

Domaine Carneros, tasting and small plate to share.
V Sattui, tasting and then I'd use their deli for a little light lunch to share with my sweetie on their gorgeous lawn, take your own blanket just in case the tables are all taken.
Castello di Amarosa, the tour and a tasting.
Peju, tasting and then a walking tour of their grounds, it doesn't take long but the grounds are pretty, they even have Koi.
Then I would eat at Rutherford Grill (I suggest trying to make a reservation, otherwise you'll have a really long wait. Sometimes they don't do ressies tho.) for sure, I've loved everything I've eaten there and if you happen to buy wine at the Castle (Castello di Amarosa) you should get a free corkage certificate to use at RG which means you could have some of your delicious just discovered wine with your amazingly delish dinner.
Also, just an fyi, in downtown Napa (on first street) is the Oxbow Farmer's Market, Hog Island Oysters is in there and YUM!!!!! They are the best oysters and quite fresh. Of course there's also a Hog Island in SF, that's where the Napa location gets their oysters.
Again, if you have any questions feel free to PM me. I'm happy to help and I may be able to get a winery map for you depending on when you're coming......We are going to Napa at the end of next week for a weekend.

 

[pixiewings71]

OMG I just remembered...another great winery has a tasting room in downtown Napa, actually there are a few. This one in particular is on First St also, but it's the opposite direction of the Oxbow Market, it's the Ceja tasting room, if you go there then you should also stop at Bistro Sabor...the BEST BEST BEST latino food you will EVER eat....trust me, it's amazing!! It's owned by the Ceja's son, his name is Ariel Ceja, if you go in ask for him, he's extremely personable and loves giving suggestions from his menu. One of our favorite things to eat there is the Chile Relleno, now you might think, "eh, I can get one of those anywhere" but NOT Ariel's way...no way!! Ariel's Chile Relleno is not dipped in batter and is not deep fried, it's stuffed with cheese and steamed and OMG....the BEST ever!! DBF and I have a system, we do Hog Island oysters as an appetizer then head to the Bistro for some amazing food!!!! It's so good and so worth it! Also down that way is another tasting room, that one has wines and beer from different local wineries and breweries, we haven't done a beer tasting yet but I think we might when we are there later this month.
Down towards the Oxbow Market is Taste of Oxbow, also a tasting room that has multiple wineries, directly across the street from Oxbow Market is another small tasting room and inside the Market is a wine & cheese tasting place. The Market is indoors but it's all "open air" meaning you can get food from 6 different places and sit in one spot to eat it all. lol

 

[java]

Just had a tour at Berringers in February and it was amazing, I highly recommend it.

Also had lunch at V. Sattui. They have a shop that sells all kinds of meats, cheeses and picnic type foods. They will match their wine to the food and uncork it for you. They also have picnic tables outside so you can enjoy everything right there.

That's it!! that's the one! The picnic was so nice. We actually drank our cakebread wine here though.

 

[anniemae]

V. Sattui is the other one I liked. Great shop for getting lunch and eating outside.

 

[Bilberry]

I wish my parents were here visiting this evening. They are leaving for Napa Valley next week with friends. As I kid I lived in the area, and can remember touring the different wineries with the folks.

 

[matthew_hull]

I just wanted to say Thanks to all those who took the time to offer some advice. We had a fabulous time in San Francisco, and the Napa Valley day was terrific. We had gorgeous weather the whole trip. We went to Hess first, then V. Sattui, then the gondola at Sterling, and finally visited the Castella di Amorosa castle, which was a blast. I think all-considered we enjoyed the Hess Collection vineyard the best, but maybe becuase it was the first. And I personally really enjoyed wandering about the castle and looking at all the detail that went in to it. It was a great day, and we drove back to SF totally exhausted and not at all drunk. In fact, the wine was only a small part of the daytrip; it is such beautiful countryside, we enjoyed just looking around.

Anyways, thanks for all you help.