thx4helpingme

on a saturday a group of us (F- late 30s) are paying a limo to visit napa wineries. For those in the know, please provide feedback/critique to our agenda or suggest modifications? We are not experienced wine enthusiasts and enjoy meeting new people vs. keeping to ourselves
BERINGER VINEYARDS HELENA, CA
V. SATTUI WINERY HELENA, CA
LUNCH AT V. SATTUI
NIEBAUM-COPPOLA-RUBICON RUTHERFORD
GRGICH HILLS CELLARS RUTHERFORD, CA 94573

LLindaC

they will all be packed, for sure as those are the biggest and more commercial wineries there. The only one on your list that I will recommend is Grgich Hills. Rubicon....25 bucks to get in to drink Diamond Series wine etc? V Sattui will be slammed- it can take 30 minutes to get a taste of mediocre wine.

MichelleY

Since you are not experts, I think your trip will be fine. Have you planned this yourself or has the limo co? Sattui is a deli-type situation. You may want to go to a restaurant instead. As mentioned above, Coppola is now charging $25 so you may want to skip it. Maybe check out something on the Silverado Trail. It will be less crowded.

No matter where you choose, I am sure you all will have fun!!!

MY

LLindaC

I agree, there are so many fabulous restaurants, V Sattui is a big deli type operation with picnic tables right on the main drag (lots of traffic, noise, etc) Good luck even finding a spot- people even bring kids here. I suggest on Silverado Trail Cliff Lede, Rutherford Hill, Rombauer. See if you can get in at Vincent Arroyo- they have an athletic dog who jumps barrels, lol, and it's a fun visit.

kimamom

Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen is in St. Helena, we will be having lunch there soon, I'll let you know how we like it. If you decide against lunch at V. Sattui (they have a great Gamay Rouge there we like) Bistro Jeanty is very good for lunch, it is in Yountville.

You may want to plan a stop at Freemark Abbey, a small boutique-style tasting room with excellent wines, it is in St. Helena. Cheers! ***kim***

Kal

t4,
Looks good to me but I think you can do better than V Sat for lunch.

LLc,
Rombauearrrrrrrr...
some of the best Zins and Chard I've tasted.

***k*** what is your definition of "soon". I think you've been "sooning" Cindy's for 3 yrs now.
Hope you get there before she closes!
I believe she just opened "Go Fish" also in St Helena. Anyone?

JayZee

Don't worry about visiting the trendy places (wineries that someones else thinks it's great). Just enjoy the day with your friends. Visiting Napa on a weekend is like going to any popular theme park... it's overwhelming for first timers if you try to drive. Smart decision on using a limo. Enjoy your trip!

bobludlow

Grgich, Beringer, and Niebaum offer great history and great wines. Sattui is unexceptional. I very much recommend booking Cindy's Backstreet ahead of time. You should also consider adding one of the great sparkline wine houses in the area: Gloria Ferrer, Schramsberg, Domaine Carneros, and Domaine Chandon would all be great stops.

elnap29

Across the road from Niebaum-Coppola is Peju Winery. Stop there instead of N-C. Peju has a variety of wines to tase but is known for their wonderful cabernets. It's a fun place, too. For lunch you could try Rutherford Grill in Rutherford or get deli fixings and go to Rutherford Hill winery to enjoy their picnic grounds with lovely views.
Sattui has good deli items but the wine is not so great. Dean and Delucca is across the street and has deli food there as does Sunshine Market in St. Helena. Whatever you choose to do, you will have a great time.

easytraveler

Neibaum-Coppola is a rip off as far as I'm concerned. The wines are nothing special and they charge a whole bunch. Mr. Coppola has sold the place and now has moved over to the better wine district: Sonoma County.

If you must DO Napa, then stop off at Artesa first. You will not regret it.

Downhill from Artesa is Domaine Carneros another nice stop for novices.

Then you can get on Route 29 and stop off at any other wineries of your choice.

V Sattui and Grgich Hills have nice wines. You stop there not for the architecture nor the views nor the atmosphere nor the art, just simply for the wines.

If your limo is willing to go that far, way at the other end of the valley is Clos Pegase with it's modern art and Chateau Montelena with a totally different feel of peaceful gardens.

Great place ot visit! Have a fine time!

McAllister

Please listen to Easytraveler and go to Artesa! Our limo driver planned our day in wine country (including our lunch reservations at a lovely spot) and Artesa was our first spot...love at first sight!

PetalumaDawg

Dining in St. Helena - Cindy's is consistently good and pleasant. Cook is also very good and less known. Go Fish has worked through some early issues and is getting great reviews from seafood lovers. Taylors is great gourmet American food, less fancy, and you can sit outside and enjoy the scenery if the day is nice. Press at Dean & Delucca is also nice - had dinner & drinks there last night on the patio and it was a perfect eveing with great weather and a beautiful sunset.

razzledazzle

Uhhh, darlins'-this adventure already happened-it appears from the OP's first post that the outing was on 3/4/07.

PetalumaDawg-methinks we live in the same town !


R5

thx4helpingme

My NAPA Trip Report (detailed)
------------------------------------
(thanks to all who helped me plan on here by their great postings
First, here is a really good map of wine country ONLINE and if you are staying at a CA hotel, check your hotel for hardcopies - they might have them there where you can find coupons for some free tastings too (why not ) http://dayguide.com/napa/map0607.htm
(entire guide) http://dayguide.com/napa/printbrochure.htm OR send for a guide in the mail in advance to get coupons. I found this map in our hotel.

On our trip in March 2007, we had 4 people, and thus decided renting a limo/driver (100$ - 150$ per person including tip) would suit us better that joining a bus or van trip.
*** NOTE!! when reserving limo company, ASK if you can eat in the limo. The driver told us we could not, which foiled our plans of eating breakfast on the way. One of us sneaked eating, but we were annoyed we were not told this upfront, and didn't know to even ask when making a reservation! ****
Limo (stretch) picked us up in San Fran at 10AM at our hotel. (If I were to go again, i would try to leave earlier, as i believe some wineries open at 10. It was about an hour + drive, light traffic. It was cloudy in San Fran, but sunny in NAPA. Yeah!
***Note many wineries as below have their own websites. Just search on the 'net I have not included them below.
1) We went to Artesia first, but made the mistake of NOT calling ahead to verify open/closed. It was closed for the day for an unknown reason. Three or four people told me this winery was a "must see". The outside sure looked gorgeous. Annoyed at time wasted. I then called each remaining winery by mobile phone in limo to verify it was open to avoid further annoyance.
2) Trefethen - Beautiful gardens and building. Seemed smaller, with personal attention. Staff very nice. When a customer spilled red wine on my entire light colored pantleg (!!) the winery gave me a bottle of their cabernet, about 40$. nice! They also had spray wine remover ready, and gave me the bottle of that too. Very accommodating.
3) Peju - of the 3, this was my least favorite. There was a line for tasting, and it wasnt clear who had "reservations" and went ahead of others in line,while you were kept waiting - or if the young girl "in charge" was not truly paying attention to who was next -as we shopped the gift shop. However our wine person was very entertaining and knowledgeable. Cool outside structure of buildings, fountain, and trees in driveway are special.
3a) stopped at take away market known by limo driver
4) Rutherford Hill Winery This drive was up a winding hill. It was (or looked like) a big, old barn (very cool) They had a tasting area outside
under shade, I liked this option with the gorgeous weather. The wine glasses were complimentary. I bought wine here.They have picnic tables here where we ate a quick sandwich from a nearby market that the limo driver knew about.
5) Limo driver took us to a winery he really liked (forget the name) that was all marble and very modern looking. We literally ran in and out, since were running out of time on our day trip.

We wanted to also see Grgich Hills, but out of time, as our limo left at 3 for San Fran to be back by 4. Again, would have liked to stay longer as most wineries were open til 5. There was already a lot of traffic back around the SF city limits as we returned.

Don't forget !! You are not allowed to carry on liquids back in States if you travelled to CA by the plane. Staying at the SF marriott, they had a mail room, where i purchased bubble wrap, and wrapped up the 2 bottles I bought. I then sealed them in a garbage bag in my checked luggage and kept my fingers crossed ! I didnt want to waste time at wineries asking about special boxes, transport, etc. but you may want to research this in advance.