Wine Country
Dec 6th, 2001, 09:48 AM
#5
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Suggest the Sonoma wine country and staying in the town of Sonoma at the El Dorado Hotel on the main square. Lots of nice things to do in town and then you can tour the various wine areas. ANother suggestion would be to stay in Santa Rosa which is a larger town, not really in the wine country but close by and quite affordable (think there's a Best Western and look for La Rose Hotel also and you could easily do day trips to wineries. Go to www.sonomavalley.com From Sonoma you can drive over to Napa, but that will be more crowded. Remember September is a very busy time of year in wine country so make reservations well ahead. Another suggestion would be to go to Monterey where there are also wineries and lots of other things to do. There's another good wine area just north of Santa Barbara in the Santa Inez Valley. Affordable lodging in towns like Solvang and Santa Maria. There are wonderful wine areas all over the state of California as well as in Oregon and Washington state. Napa is the most touristy of all. If you must go to Napa, however, look into the El Bonita Motel--a retro motel in St. Helena but very affordable for the Napa Valley. www.napavalley.com
Dec 6th, 2001, 11:10 AM
#6
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I would second kam's recommendation of the El Bonita. During our starving grad student days, my husband and I used to stay there on all our trips to Napa/Sonoma. By local standards, I thought it was a fabulous price for a pretty nice motel, right in the heart of it all. Relatively nice decorating, new linens, coffeemaker and complimentary coffee in the a.m.
Dec 6th, 2001, 11:28 AM
#7
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We passed the El Bonito on Tgiving weekend and thought "wadda hoot". We like the funky places, like the Rail Inn in Yountville (talk about low key and not pretenscious) so The El may be next on the Nap-Val list.
Looks like it's within walking distance to our new favorite restaurant, The Martini House...another Kuleto home run.
kam, just wondering why/how you consider Napa more crowded that Sonoma?
We usually find if it's crowded in Napa, crowded in Sonoma too. A pain getting around the town sq out to SMI area sometimes. You know the short cuts, yah?
Della Santina's still open and putting out the Dolce Vita cuisine?
Mahalo,
Kal
Looks like it's within walking distance to our new favorite restaurant, The Martini House...another Kuleto home run.
kam, just wondering why/how you consider Napa more crowded that Sonoma?
We usually find if it's crowded in Napa, crowded in Sonoma too. A pain getting around the town sq out to SMI area sometimes. You know the short cuts, yah?
Della Santina's still open and putting out the Dolce Vita cuisine?
Mahalo,
Kal
Dec 6th, 2001, 06:31 PM
#8
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Most of those who have replied seem to be stressing California. I'd like to put in a plug for New York as well, in the event that you may be near this part of the world.
The Finger Lakes region, roughly between Rochester and Syracuse, has some of the best wines one can find. There are dozens of wineries and wine tastings are plentiful.
If you'd like detailed information on our area, send me a note and I'll provide some suggestions.
The Finger Lakes region, roughly between Rochester and Syracuse, has some of the best wines one can find. There are dozens of wineries and wine tastings are plentiful.
If you'd like detailed information on our area, send me a note and I'll provide some suggestions.
Dec 7th, 2001, 06:20 AM
#9
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Hey Doc, I agree- NYC is a wonderful place to be- Rudy did a fantastic job of making it an inviting & welcoming place to be, but I already live here!!
We were originally planning to go to Italy this coming year, but we've decided to keep our $$ in the USA.
Thanks eveyone for the good advice, I can't wait to go!!!
We were originally planning to go to Italy this coming year, but we've decided to keep our $$ in the USA.
Thanks eveyone for the good advice, I can't wait to go!!!
Dec 7th, 2001, 09:03 AM
#11
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Just to answer Kal's questions: maybe it's an illusion, but to me there is more space in Sonoma with the 3 different wine areas and more territory between them. We usually stay in the town of Healdsburg which is nice and walkable. In Napa there is a choice of 29 or the Silverado trail and I find 29 terrible at times. Also, I feel that most of the tourists not familiar with CA Wine Country go first to Napa which leaves Sonoma to more knowledgeable folks. Just my impression, has nothing to do with quality of wine. Some of our very favorite places are right here in the Sta. Cruz Mtns. and then down by Carmel Valley. Very few tourists in either place.
Dec 17th, 2001, 02:32 AM
#13
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We stayed at the El Bonita in St. Helena just last August and found it excellent. We took their two bedroom, one bathroom suite (two couples)and found it just perfect--had a living room with dining area that had an 8 ft. table with extra leaf. All for $222/night. The pool was cute and they offer free buffet breakfast in their lobby. On Friday morning we went to the St. Helena farmer's market. Figs, heirloom tomatoes, Martha Stewart green eggs and a Kenny G. like saxaphonist. Wonderful. We did picnics for lunches and loved it. Good picnic spots are:
Viansa (you have to buy their food, it's great but not cheap), Trentadue, Pezzi King, Ledson (you may have to buy their food here too), V. Sattui, Stinksy. Have plenty of suggestions for dining and lists of which wineries to see in which order to take advantage of early openings or late closings in order to pack the most stops into a single trip if you're interested.
Viansa (you have to buy their food, it's great but not cheap), Trentadue, Pezzi King, Ledson (you may have to buy their food here too), V. Sattui, Stinksy. Have plenty of suggestions for dining and lists of which wineries to see in which order to take advantage of early openings or late closings in order to pack the most stops into a single trip if you're interested.
