Napa suggestions?

[RemysMaster]

Heading to Napa in a couple weeks. Booked a tasting & tour at Hendry Ranch. Was wondering about any other not so well known places that are a must visit. Any suggestions?

 

[LA2La]

Hi,

Are you going to have a car? Are you just going to concentrate on Napa or are you going anywhere else in the region? My wife and I did the Sonoma wine tour of 25 Vinyards a few months ago and found some great places worth checking out, and some dogs to stay away from. If interested in zipping over to Sonoma on your trip, let me know and I can give you some suggestions and a scanned map.

 

[RemysMaster]

We will have a car. Figured we would do our tour at Hendry and hit a coue in Napa then cross over to Sonoma for a few before heading back to San Jose

 

[dan69man]

Go to V. Sattui Winery in St Helena for a pik nik they have great Cabernet Sauvignons and a deli where you can buy some food for lunch and enjoy the ambiance. Sterling winery was really nice too you have to take cable car up to the winery. Man there are so many great places. Maybe I need to go back

 

[robie]

By all means visit Sonoma County. You might find Napa to be much less laid back than Sonoma. I like to get away from the crowds and visit the outlying areas of both Napa and Sonoma. Go up into the Russian River and Dry Creek areas of Sonoma. There are lots of wineries there.

Drop by the grocery store and pick up a loaf of French bread and some nice cheese. They will help you soak up some of that wine, so you can try a couple more wineries each day.

Eat lunch in Healdsburg in Sonoma County. I nice little town surrounded by wineries.

Many of the same commercial wines you might buy at the wineries can be found in the grocery store at a much better price. This is not the case for boutique wineries, which don't usually sell other than through their tasting room or by mail.

Have fun! I'll be there in mid-March, myself.

 

[LA2La]

x2 on V Sattui. Also check out the website for "Heart of Sonoma Valley Wine Trail"...they have an event coming up in the beginning of March, Savor Sonoma Valley. Check out Loxton Vinyards if you can....its an Australian guy who relocated to Sonoma and he really has some great wines. Strangely enough, Kenwood was one of the nicest vinyards, considering they are mass producers of really affordable("cheap"), mass produced wine They have some dynamite higher end stuff and the grounds are awesome. Also, St. Francis vinyard is worth stopping to check out.

The only place that is consistently a dog has been Ledson...wines are not that good, and when we went to a tasting, one of the pairings they gave people was a chicken skewer, but the chicken was almost raw and a bunch of people were freaking out. They are really the weak link in that area.

If you are looking for dinner in Sonoma, check out "The Girl and the Fig", great food at pretty reasonabl prices, considering the quality and setting.

 

[ibglowin]

Make sure to take lots of.........

 

[Gmichaelcellars]

Cosentino Winery is my favorite winery in Napa... Great wine at about 50% of the Napa price point..winery isnt scenic or picturesque worthy but makes great wine. Have fun.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Livermore is a nice place to go to get away from the "Napa" crowds. Only a few hours away.

No wine trains, no large bus tour groups, no high mark-ups "because we are in Napa" etc.

 

[Gmichaelcellars]

Also, if youre willing to drive 2 hours away from Napa you can drive to Lodi where youll taste great wines and get the best value for your money...minimal tasting fees which are waived with any purchase.PM me if youre interested and i will send you to the great wineries....so much wine, so little time!!!

 

[JohnT]

The vincent Arroyo winery. Its up on silverado trail (towards calastoga).

Not very fancy. No real tasting room, but MAN DOES HE MAKE UP FOR IT!!!!