h2babe

We finally drafted our mini-moon trip to the Wine Country for Aug 2-8 and really would like you to critique and offer your feedback/comments/suggestions to streamline it since we don't have a lot of time.

Sun - Aug 2

Arrive late in SFO, from DTW, around 10PM local time. We booked a room in the Courtyard downtown.

Mon-Aug 3

We are considering to spend the morning and aft in SF before driving to Yountville in the early evening time frame.

What are the must do's in SF for a short visit like this? We're looking for a great place for dim-sum or nice breakfast spots, do you have a good recommendation?

Lodging: Petit Logis in Yountville for 2 nights.
Dinner reservation at Redd.

Tues-Aug 5
Robert Mondavi Kalon Tour & Tasting 10AM (since they stated that children are allowed on the noon tour).
Lunch - TBD (Potentially Taylor's Automatic Refresher)
Rubicon Estate
Dinner Reservation at 8 for Bistro Jeanty (Bouchon Bistro isn't accepting any reservations for the 4-6 Aug).

Wed-Aug 6
5AM Hot Air Balloon - reservation with Balloons Above the Valley
Maybe grab pastries for breakfast at Bouchon Bakery.
We haven't decided what to do yet this day.

Drive to Healdsburg
Lodging: Madrona Manor in Healdsburg for 2 nights.
Dinner reservation at Cyrus.

Thurs - Aug 7

No events planned yet other than dinner and in-room massage at Madrona Manor. We got the room, dinner and message package from Madrona Manor.

Fri - Aug 8
Drive to SF to catch our flight to DTW at 12:40 PM

I took notes of some other restaurants that might be good for lunch: Ad Hoc, Mustard's, etc..

We still really need help with wineries to visit. Thanks in advance for your help!!

casey_reed84

What a great itinerary! When in San Fran make sure to go to R&G Lounge for lunch or dinner. The best and most authentic Chinese food you'll get in San Fran. Not in Chinatown but just a few blocks away. You must see Chinatown of course and go to Coit Tower, it will give you a great view of the whole city including the Golden Gate Bridge, plus it's just a mile or so away from the crooked street. This is the most efficient way to see everything in the shortest amount of time possible.

Yountville is amazing. You'll love it. The Rober Mondavi tour is the best I've ever been on. Redd is great but very pricey. Plan on spending around 400 bucks minimum for two of you if you order wine, which is a given in Napa. The Refresher is wonderful, very busy though so try to get there early or later than 1. Also there is a great place called Martini House just a block away from The Refresher. I highly recommend this place. Best meal I've ever had was their tasting menu in the fall. Not too expensive, nothing like Redd.

Make sure to visit Opus One winery. Very beautiful and great cabs to try. For a more laid back experience try Sonoma wineries. I would recommend a taxi or driver for your winery tours. You will get plowed.

Kal

Dim sum at Yank Sing in SF.

Ad Hoc may not serve lunch.
Go Fish or Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, both in St Helena are good lunch spots. Both owned by Cindy Pawlcyn.

Hurley's in Y'ville also serves a good lunch.

All have patio dining.

Have fun!

Parrothead

For SF, I like the dim sum at City View in Commercial Alley and Yank Sing at Rincon Center; you'll need resv. for Yank Sing, probably not for City View. I believe your hotel is closer to Yank Sing.

With only half a day in SF, I'd do a walk from your hotel towards Market Street and on to Union Square then head down to Rincon for your YS lunch. After lunch you could walk the Embarcadero (street, not shopping center), go into the Ferry Building and then continue over to Chinatown before you head out for the drive north.

You have 2 options for the drive, either across the Golden Gate or the Bay Bridge...I'd choose Golden Gate for obvious reasons.

Your itinerary is a great one, by the way.

cabovacation

You have done a great job planning your trip! I also recommend Hurley's for dinner.

Just so you know, Taylors is great but don't be surprised to find that it is like a custom Dairy Queen.

h2babe

Thanks everyone for the feedback, keep them coming...!!

razzledazzle

.."before driving to Yountville in the early evening time frame.

How early in the evening ? The commute traffic on Hwys 101 & 80
will be a real slog until at least 6
or 6:30 on a no "incident" day.

I would pass on Rubicon-there are many other much better wineries,
IMHO.

Kals' lunch picks in St. Helena are spot on !

R5

h2babe

Hi Razzle-When should we leave SF to avoid the traffics, around 4? The only reason that we're staying around in SF is because we thought since we're already there, we may as well take advantage of the city and check out the scenes. Our primary goal was to hit the wine country. Chinatown is definitely a must since we don't get to eat dim sum where we live

Cabovac-Yes, I sort of expect Traveler's to be more like Johnny Rocket diner, I was actually surprised when I saw it featured on one edition of Bon Appetit for its Ahi Burger.

We don't think that we can hit Martini House since they only serve lunches on Fri-Sun. So maybe we'll try Hurley's.

I am a little bit nervous about Redd since honestly, we have never spent $400 one evening's dinner before. But we've heard only positive reviews everywhere, so we'll give it a shot.

Still looking for more winery recommendations to fill up our days...We heard Rubicon just has good stuff to check out (not necessarily the wines), so that one is still flexible to changes.

Kal

R5...of course it may have something to do with the comapny yah keep?

While we liked Redd (we've only had lunch there but have had cocktails during the dinner crowd) we really liked Ad Hoc for dinner and would go back in a heartbeat.

Less formal and the night we ate there the menu was tutto bene!


BTW, there is a Taylor's Refresher in the SF Ferry Bldg.
Same menu, different view.

h2babe

We're still deciding on Redd although we have reservations... $400 seems steep..ugh!

Kal

I'm usually full at $200.

LoriNY1

wineries in the Yountville ares - Domaine Carneros - champagne, Hess Collection, Artesa, Quintessa, Phelps, Plumpjack - all better than Rubicon IMHO.

beach_dweller

Some wineries we really liked in Sonoma County, in no particular order:

Robert Young
White Oak
Rued
Hook & Ladder
Landmark
Ledson (a little touristy, but some good wines)
Chateua St. Jean
Alexander Valley Vineyards
Imagery
Hop Kiln
Raymond Burr

two in Napa we liked a lot were Rombauer and Frank Family (some really neat sparklings, and what has to be one of the last free tastings in Napa Valley).

Lunch in Healdsburg, we liked the Charcuterie, as well as Zin, for the money, and at dinner Willie's Seafood Bar was really good.

I agree with others too: you have designed a great itinerary!

elnap29

I agree Hurley's in Yountville is a lovely lunch spot. Excellent food and service.

I haven't yet eaten at Redd or Ad Hoc, but there really are quite a few excellent dinner spots. Bistro Jeanty in Yountville is lots of fun and superb.

Also Bistro Don Giovanni (Napa), Go Fish or Martini House (St. Helena) or... just check all the threads - more suggestions than you can process!

elnap29

Oh, regarding your drive from SF to Yountville. To avoid trafic snarls, leave The City at 2 PM or wait until 7 PM and you should sail through in an hour or less.

h2babe

Kal, yes-I'm usually full after two pieces of bread, so this will be an interesting experience!

Thanks for the others for the winery recommendations, we took notes and Elnap for the suggestion on the departure time from SF.

Can you recommend a place where we can have a picnic (with our own wines and lunches)? I believe I saw one recommended on the board...

jnjfraz

Good plan... you should have a wonderful time.

Just a few thoughts. We didn't like the atmosphere of Redd. Our favorites in the valley are: Martini House in St Helena, Mustards in Oakville, Don Giovanni by Napa and Bouchon in Yountville.

In Sonoma, Della Santini and I've heard that Cyrus is wonderful.

Mondavi does a spectacular tour. Rubicon has changed in the last year but I assume the tour is still good. Give some thought to Robert Sinskey Winery on the 6th. They do a great food and wine pairing.

We spent the month of march in Kenwood and toured 40 wineries in the Sonoma and Napa area. My husbands thoughts and reviews are on our web site. Vinorossoidaho.com
(we only went to wineries that we had not gone to before... so Sinskey and Mondavi were not included).

Kal

h2h,
When I go to place that's "all you can eat for $20", I get $40 worth!

For traffic reports in the area, tune the radio to 810, 740, 560, 680, AM stations that give traffic updates.

palmies

I will have to check some of my old vacation notes from my trips to that area, but I can make a few initial suggestions.

First, I would try to leave SF (by way of the Golden Gate) by 3:00 or 3:30 at the latest. Traffic does get pretty heavy through there, and it will be nice to be able to take your time on the way to Yountville. If you get into the area early enough, you might have time to hit Viansa and/or Domaine Carneros before they close for the day (probably 5pm or so). They are both visually appealing wineries on the southern tip of the Napa Valley - lots of fun.

As far as a "must-eat" dinner experience, I agree with the post for Willie's Seafood Bar. It's up in Healdsburg on the Sonoma side. They offer a Tapas style menu, so you get to taste lots of different items, and you can really pace your meal over several hours if you need to.

My final recommendation (until I follow-up with some of my favorite wineries later, of course!) is to try packing a picnic lunch at least one day. Many of the towns along the way have extremely excellent markets/delis where you can show up early in the morning and have them prepare a sandwich for you. You can also purchase a little cheap styrofoam cooler to keep the items fresh. Then, you don't really have to schedule when you eat...you just find a winery you like when you get hungry, maybe buy a bottle of wine, and enjoy the food/scenery!

LHS

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