So I ended up using my SW ticket for a long weekend to Napa. I hadn't been there in 12 years and had never really had a chance to visit very many wineries. Fellow Fodorite Ronda and others provided lots of recommendations for tasting, lodging and restaurants. Grazie!

My Southwest flight took off right on time from SLC, even though the jet wasn't even at the gate until 15 minutes prior to departure time. It's amazing how fast they turn those jets around. It was interesting to be on a plane that was only 1/2 full! First time in years that every seat wasn't packed. Had a nice early evening flight over the west desert and the Sierras. Looking down, the CA foothills in Gold Country were nice and green due to recent rain. Thank goodness.

Got a great weekend rate on a car rental from Hertz. $75 for 3 days! Oakland is evidently one of those cities where all the rental car demand is business travelers, so weekends are cheap. All car rentals are now off site and it took about 20 minutes on the shuttle bus just to get to the Hertz location. I thought the driver was going to take us all the way to Napa.

Being a native southern Californian, I had been concerned about driving out of Oakland right during Friday evening rush hour, but had been advised I would be behind most of the traffic. Uh oh, never counted on the Oakland A's opening night game at the Coliseum!!! I sat in gridlocked traffic for 45 minutes just trying to get past the Coliseum which is right next to the airport. Finally darted out to the left lanes and got out of there, all the while thinking, Yes, THIS is why I don't live in CA anymore. Yikes!!
Good thing I haven't lost my flair for the necessary moves in heavy traffic.

I stayed at the Oleander House just next to Mustard's Grill outside Yountville. I had read the usual mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but didn't get any first hand accounts from fellow Fodorites. It is a fairly nice place, but it is right on the highway, gets a lot of traffic noise, and it is hard to make a left turn out the driveway. It was built as an inn, so has a very nice layout for quiet rooms and unshared walls. Rooms are large and comfortable, although the decor is rather dated country French. Kathleen, the owner, is updating rooms now. The one I had reserved (and the only one on the ground floor, facing the road) was lovely. Since her only guests Easter weekend were myself and a mother/daughter couple, she upgraded me to one of the larger rooms upstairs in the back with a fireplace.

Comments on Trip Advisor had complained about heavy cigarette smoke odor and mustiness. There was some, but I am extremely sensitive to smoke and it didn't bother me, until the last evening (coincidentally when I was the only guest). Breakfasts were quite good, but a little repetitious. Main entree varied, but sides were the same each day. Prepared well and tasty. Good start for a heavy day of serious winetasting! would I recommend the Oleander House? It was just ok, but probably not. I would choose a more quiet location next time.

Fodorite Ronda and her DH, DD and SIL joined me for winetasting Saturday. What a nice and fun family! We visited 5 wineries and did a picnic too. I have to say, being instantly transported out to Napa on an absolutely perfect spring weekend was heavenly! That warm sun, green hills, and blooming flowers felt SO good after a Utah winter, one that wasn't quite over.

Trying to remember all the wineries we visited. The Frank Family, Rutherford Hill, Wm. Harrison. Stopped at Mumm but it was too crowded so we left. We did get to Rombauer which was also crowded. Lovely gardens and art. They had a fabulous Chardonnay (which I don't usually drink) but this was so good I bought a bottle. I thought it was pretty cheesy that they didn't credit the tasting fee toward purchase though!

We finished the day with an evening new release party at Turnbull. Ronda and family are members, so had invitations to the release party and photo exhibit in the barrel room. Super hor d'ouvres and very interesting photo collection belonging to the owner. Tasting was new release Vognier and Cabernet. Both were good, but young. I can get their Cabs in UT, so I chose to buy just a bottle of their Zinfandel which was very good. their gardens include lots of wisteria wines which were all blooming, purple and white. Gorgeous! The white is very fragrant.

Thanks so much to Ronda and family for including me on this very fun day!

Sunday I was on my own and it was Easter so many wineries were closed. I started at Peju (nice gardens and gift shop, boring wine), but since it was early I had a great conversation with the pourer (what DO you call them?) as he is a big fan of southern UT and has hiked a lot of the Escalante slot canyons. Unfortunately, the only wine I tasted at Peju that I liked was their reserve Cabernet and far beyond my budget. So, nothing purchased at Peju.

My innkeeper had mentioned that Castello d'Amorosa made Italian style wines, so I decided to give it a shot and check out the "castello". I really wasn't expected much in the way of wine what with the whole Disney-castle-replica-tour thing, but I was really impressed with several of their wines. They poured extra tastes since I and the couple next to me were obviously serious about tasting. I ended up with a Pinot Bianco, 2 Sangiovese, 1 Cabernet and even 1 Gewurztraminer late harvest. Really liked their wine - big surprise. Skipped the "castle" tour and went on to Calistoga for lunch.

I had lunch at a cute little place, All Seasons Bistro on the main street. They had a delicious Eggs Benedict, but with crispy Proscuitto (SP?) and a whole grain wheat toast. Very yummy!

Drove back down the Silverado Trail, just enjoying the beautiful day, little traffic and scenery. Lots of CA poppies in bloom. Perfect time of year to visit, just like the Italian wine producing areas. The vines were just leafing out. I finished the day tasting at Alpha Omega, where I was completely unwhelmed. Again, boring wine, nothing special except the prices.

Overall, I was very surprised at the prices the wineries were charging for what I felt were just very average wines. There were a few standouts and the ones I felt were OK value, I bought. Others were just way beyond my budget. It was a nice, relaxing weekend and the weather was absolutely perfect, but as far as going to Napa to buy wine - I won't be returning anytime soon. Due to the ridiculous UT liquor laws, I had to have it shipped to a friend in NM who is joining me on vacation in a couple weeks and will "smuggle" my case to me!

Dinner was at the Rutherford Grill just down the road. Their house dinner salad was great with greens, fresh corn, walnuts, feta cheese, tomatoes. Steak, grilled veggies, and a Cabernet made a good dinner. My waitress's Lab got steak for dinner that night!

It was a nice little weekend jaunt, which I rarely do out of state. Especially nice to meet Ronda and family. Thanks again to all the Fodorites for their suggestions for this trip.

Dayle

Sounds like a lot of fun, we also had a great weekend in the wine country last month. **kim**

Hello Dayle, your weekend sounds wonderful. Glad you were able to visit when the wildflowers were in bloom. Yes Napa Valley has gotten so expensive. Most people in the area that I know do not go to Napa Valley for the day nearly as much as we use to years ago. Your day with Ronda and her family certainly sounded delightful!

Nice trip report, Dayle - makes me miss it, even though I was just there last month. I agree about the wine prices, though there are some wines you can get there that aren't available elsewhere. But we've spoken to many people when we've been out there who are obviously stocking up, and I know they're spending a bundle!

Most Napa wineries don't credit your wine tasting for one bottle of wine..maybe if you bought a case but since wine tasting these days are up to $25 pp..are they going to give you the bottle for free?
We love Rombauer and were there for the second time last September and they did credit our wine tasting since we bought a case.
Great report!

Napa Valley wineries have escalated their prices in the last couple of years. Now we went to Sonoma Valley our last two trips - last time was this March. More reasonable and great wineries.
But we do love Rombauer and the Rutherford Grill!!!

Great report, Dayle. Sounds like the perfect holiday weekend. I don't know what you will think of our NC wines, but look forward to hearing your opinions.

Reading the title of the thread, I was hoping to see the kinds of numbers that caused that "bottle shock". Wondering if they can be any worse than here in Oregon. Great trip report though; thanks.

And thanks for your trip report too, kimamom, however brief.

cmcfong,

Yes, I will be focusing on NC next month, AFTER I do my home exhcange trip to Moab with my best friend and her fiance. After being friends for over 30 years, I have finally talked her into visiting Moab (which she has been hearing about for 20 years).

The home exchangers in NC just sent me a "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway" book that I'm looking forward to reading.

When I was tasting, the least expensive bottles I tasted were $26, and the most was $105. I wasn't impressed with most of them because I usually pay in the $15 - $40 range, and usually find good wines for that price. If that sounds low to some serious winos, then you have to take into consideration that incomes are significantly lower in Utah. So are a lot of other things, which is why our state isn't hurting as badly as some of the other states right now. (Thankfully)

Anyway I had a very nice weekend and made some new Fodorite friends, so it was a very successful trip!

Glad to read your trip report.
It's amazing how diverse everyone's palate is. Just met some folks who raved about how great Peju wines were and HATED the wines from Castello d' Amorosa. Also, a lot depends on the time of day and what's in your stomach or what you've just eaten.

elnap,

You hit the nail on the head! Diverse palates, right! Some people love white zinfandel, me - I cringe. But just think about foods too - we are all SO different! Life would really be boring if we were all the same.

PS - a couple years ago I did a wine/cheese paring "class" just for fun. The last pairing was a Port and a Blu Cheese, both of which I normally cannot stand. Together they were an amazing revelation!

Enjoyed your report Dayle. We, too, liked the wines at Castello (more so than other still California style wines) and shipped some home. The castle tour was great - a lot of work and effort went into building it using materials and artisans from Europe.

Dayle - I too was astounded when someone paired Port (which I normally have with a nice dark chocolate) with a wonderful blue. Wow!

this is our first trip to visit the wine country around Healdsburg, just a short stay, any special wineries to visit-we do hope to see the DeLormier/Mosaic winery in Geyserville, but would like another suggestion or two? Now, don't laugh at this novice question, but when you visit a winery do you always have to do a tasting or can you just...visit? When you do a tasting, are you pressured to buy the wines or is the tasting price enough that they don't get bent out of shape if you don't care for them and don't wish to purchase?

You can browse & not tasste all you want - that's what we do.

No pressure to purchase wine.

Here is a portion of my much larger post about the wine country:

You are now in the Sonoma County Wine growing area. In contrast to its more famous neighbor to the east (Napa), you will find the Sonoma wineries more inviting & less hectic – I actually like them better. In the Napa Valley, there are very few wineries where you can take a picnic lunch & spread out on the lawn. In Sonoma, they seem to go out of their way to invite you to use their facilities. On Westside Road, stop at Rochioli (one of the best Chards in Calif), Hop Kiln to see an interesting former kiln turned into a winery, and perhaps Armida, or Mill Creek. Just past Mill Creek winery, Westside Road will turn right (east) to head into Healdsburg just in front of the Madrona Manor. Turn left into the Madrona Manor Hotel, park the car & explore the lovely gardens & the exterior of this fantastic Victorian manor house. Go inside & poke your nose into some of the common rooms & pick up a brochure for your next visit to this area. It has a lovely dining room with excellent cuisine. It’s a popular wedding spot. Exit Madrona Manor and turn left and head north on West Dry Creek Road (not straight to Healdsburg).

You are now in the Dry Creek appellation of Sonoma County & it’s my favorite area in the wine country. Continue north on West Dry Creek Road (there’s a Dry Creek Rd which you will follow later). Stop at Lambert Bridge winery – this is one of the wineries that “invites” you to picnic on their lawn (they have lots of picnic tables). Just past Lambert Bridge winery, turn right on Lambert Bridge Rd & proceed a couple 100 yds to Pezzi King Winery. Stop & explore this winery too (great Zins). Return to West Dry Creek Rd & head north again. Continue on this road until you see a sign for Preston Vineyards. This is another winery that “invites” you to picnic. It has very pretty grounds – explore the outside bread oven, boules court, vegetable garden, flowers, and cats. The tasting room is quite nice – my wife likes their Rose wine. Return to West Dry Creek Road & continue north until the road ends. This is a pretty drive – would you like to own one of the houses near this dead-end? Turn around & head south. Turn left on Yoakim Road & then turn left (north) where it dead ends at Dry Creek Road. Proceed north on Dry Creek Rd & stop at Ferrari-Carano winery. This is the most "extravagant" winery in this area – it received a lot of criticism from locals (we know a few) when it was built. However, it is quite impressive. It has lovely gardens, a large “Tuscan” type villa, and a pretty tasting room (good Sauvignon Blanc). Exit Ferrari Carano & turn right (south) on Dry Creek Road towards Healdsburg. This is another pretty drive.

Healdsburg is our favorite town in the wine country – including anything in Napa. When you go under the freeway (on Dry Creek Rd) turn right when you hit Healdsburg Blvd & continue south until you see the town square – it’s obvious. Park the car & get out & explore. Tour the square & several blocks north & south of the square on Healdsburg Ave. There is a produce market Saturday morning west of the big hotel. This is a wonderful town to spend the night in. There is a new (overdone, in my opinion) large hotel (expensive) on the west side of the square – I think it’s called Healdsburg Hotel or something like that. There is also a B&B on the south side of the square & there are other B&Bs scattered throughout town. For dining in Healdsburg, we like Ravenous, Bistro Ralph, and Charcuterie which are all very popular with the locals. We also like Manzanita. Madrona Manor is less than 5 mins away, by car.

Day 2

If you’re staying near the square in Healdsburg, go to the Downtown Bakery (on the east side of the square) early in the morning & rub elbows with the (lucky) locals. Have a sticky bun &/or a scone. This bakery is very well known throughout the area. There are benches outside the bakery where the “bench bunch” meets each morning to chew the fat.

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu--my husband printed out your whole report for us, has been reading and underlining it this weekend! What a marvelous guide! Thank you.

Nice report Dayle! Can't believe I just saw this. So glad you had a good time.