Napa & Sonoma - Winery Suggestions
 

Hi Everyone!

I could use a bit of help with a Napa/Sonoma itinerary. My husband and I will be traveling to wine country at the end of July, arriving on a Saturday afternoon and flying home on a red eye during the early hours of Wednesday morning. We have two nights booked in Healdsburg and one night in Yountville, and will realistically have three full days (Sun-Tues) - we were thinking 1.5 in Sonoma, and 1.5 in Napa. This is our second time visiting Napa. The last time we were there, we visited 5 wineries (Kuleto, Schramsberg, Mondavi, V. Sattui, and Castello di Amoroso) and had a wonderful meal at Bottega. We have several wineries in mind for both locations based on research and recommendations, but definitely need to narrow it down as there is no way we can do everything. Our list for each area is below (in no particular order):

Sonoma: Ravenswood, Gary Farrell, St. Francis, Hamel, Quivira, Francis Ford Coppola, Truett Hurst
Napa: Barnett, Frog's Leap, Viader, Hendry, Mumm, Round Pond, Artesa

On our last visit, we did a lot of longer tours. This time we would like a variety of experiences (tastings, maybe a tour or two with a tasting, wine/food pairing). We enjoy all types of wine, so we are looking for a nice variety. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions of wineries we should knock off this list and ones we should definitely visit. I'm also open to other suggestions, and would love some restaurant recommendations. Right now we just have a reservation booked at Redd in Napa for one night. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

When we visited Schramsburg several years ago, we visited nearby Bennessere. Very charming with some great Italian style wines. They make a blended Super Napan called Phenomenon that is very good. They also have some good Zinfandels. Worth a visit.

We also enjoyed J and their sparkling wine flight tasting. I think it was called the Bubble Room but they also have a regular tasting room, as well.

I will be there in September and will be doing the same research. I was there 10 years ago and just loved my visit to Cake Bread. I hope to make it back there again. Worth adding to your list as a suggestion. Have a great time!

Gary Farrell is on Westside Road, which is a drive I like very much between N. Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Many interesting little wineries along there... look at a local wine map and some of those might be worth a stop. Glad you will visit Quivira.. they are known locally for their sustainable practices.

Iron Horse makes some mighty fine sparkling wine... and is a pretty spot as well.

Ferrari Carano has a fabulous garden and it's very pretty out there... farther north, but not too far if you are at the Coppola Winery/Restaurant.

Once in Sonoma County, try to manage at least a drive-by along the ocean... An easy loop is out River Road, along the coast, return Bodega Hwy (or reverse) . (or out Joy Road if you have more time) If you find yourself in Freestone (there's a winery there, as well) you really don't want to miss Wild Flour bakery (only weekends+) where there's always a line and they are very liberal with tastes of their breads.

Artessa, Mumm and Schramsberg are all favorites. In terms of restaurants, Mustards and Gott's (less casual) are favorites. Have so much fun, I need a little more Napa in my life!

In Sonoma, I really like Ravenswood and Truett Hurst.
In Napa, St. Supery and Clos Pegase.