Napa/Sonoma trip itenerary
 

Here is a new trip itenerary for our trip in late March. Please review and make suggestions. This will be our first trip since we've had kids and may be our last for a while. We want it to be both romantic and fun. Don't have a huge budget but we do want a true experience. Please help.
Day:1
-Arrive in Sacramento 10:00
-Drive to Yountville via 128 - Lunch at Brix
-Wine tasting up the valley-some of the wineries we have thought of visiting include Silver Oak, Mumm Napa, Conn Creek, V. Sattui, Beringer
-Check in to Euro Spa & Inn, Calistoga
-Dinner at Taylors Refresher in St. Helena w/bottle of wine purchased(weather permitting), or dinner in Calistoga

Day 2:
-Visit Old Faithful Geyser
-Sterling Vineyard - tram ride
-Von Straser Winery
-Lunch-either picnic at local winery or Calistoga Restaurant & Brewery
-Wine tasting east of Healdsburg-Fieldstone winery, Alexander Valley, White Oak, Sausal
-Dinner at Pizzaria Tra Vigne in St. Helena

Day 3:
-check out hotel
-drive north towards Healdsburg/Geyserville
-wine tasting-either Stryker Sonoma or Murphy-Goode
-Locals tasting room
-Lunch at Willie's Seafood in Healdsburg
-Shop/taste Healdsburg Plaza or drive south towards Windsor and visit wineries along the way, like Alderbrook, Armida, Mill Creek, Belvedere, and Hop Kiln.
-Check into Windrose Romantic Cottages in Windsor
-Drive to Armstrong Forest - possibly stop by Korbel
-Drive to coast(Jenner) for sunset and depending on weather, either picnic on the beach or dinner at River's End

Day 4:
-check out cottage
-drive to Fairfield via hwy 12 thru Sonoma and hwy 116 thru Napa
-Jelly Belly tour - souviniers for kids, plus my wife loves jelly beans.
-drive to Sacaramento airport - need to have car back by 2:00 and flight leaves at 4:00

I hope I am allowing enough time for all the driving. Not sure what traffic is like and what the distances are between wineries. I've done a lot of research and tried to plan wineries and restaurants that are close to each other or on the way to other ones. Would also like to know what time the sun sets in late March and what the tempature will be like. My wife posted a similar iteneray on another site if you happen to see it. Please give us any recommendations or suggestions you think might help. Again, thank you for the help.

I think you can do it in the time you plan. But don't visit the Alexander Valley and then drive back to Napa. Alexander Valley is part of Healdsburg..so I'd change that. Armeda, etc are all part of Hbg too, so that's all very do-able. Windsor is only about 7 miles from Hbg...easy to get from there to the Coast... do see Armstrong woods!!
On your last day, if you get a late start and/or traffic is bad, you can skip the Jellie Belly tour and make excuses to the kids.....

Do try to make it to Korbel. We were there twice and enjoyed the experience. The first time near closing time (5pm) and the champagne was flowing because they were going to throw it out anyway. :-)

The second time I ended up buying their 2002 Sonoma Zin -- excellent. ((b))

Dear cofarmer:

Glad to see your trip is coming along. I saw your other post on Fairfield to SActo. It is true about traffic being a nightmare in Fairfield/Vacaville. But if you get an early start and allow for it, you should be fine.

The only hesitation I see is the Hwy. 128 route from Sacto to Napa. This is a very tedious drive. It looks more direct but it isn't. Although, if you are a farmer, you may enjoy the diverse crops grown thru Davis and Winters. You may want to have lunch in Winters.

Good luck on your planning .

MY

Agree with not taking SR 128 unless you just like back roads. It will take longer, even considering traffic on 80. Recommend "J" in Healdsburg for sparkling wine, they pair the wines with foods to show how they enhance each other. Also in the Dry Creek Valley north of Healdsburg consider Ferreri-Carano (not spelled right Iknow)...great gardens and excellent wine. If take Westside Road out of Hberg for Korbel visit Hop Kiln as well. In Napa, consider Domain Chandon for sparkling along with Mumm Napa (Chandon has an excellent restaurant as well). Silver Oak is worth the visit. Check out Rombauer as well and Sequoia Grove (fine Cabernet). ENJOY

Domaine Chandon is in Yountville, I second the suggestion to add this one to your list. We have enjoyed lunch here out on the back patio area and the grounds are very pretty, also. You many want to also consider Bistro Jeanty for lunch in Yountville, it's fantastic if you're not totally set on Brix. We will be trying Redd and Cindy's in St. Helena for lunch soon. Cheers and enjoy the wine country! ***kim*** ((f)) ((l))

Thumbs up to visiting V. Sattui. Beautiful winery and the staff is very friendly. Their gourmet shop is loaded with great deli meats, cheeses, and fresh fruit. We've always been there during the week and it has never been crowded. I hear that it can get very busy on weekends.

Regarding the Geyser: Call ahead to see how often it is erupting that day. Although I love a picnic at various wineries, you might enjoy bringing your picnic to Old Faithful Geyser. There are picnic tables and you pretty much have to hang around until the geyser decides to put on its show. It is pretty cool, though.
At Taylor's Refresher, you can sit under the patio cover next to the heaters if it's raining or cool. If the weather doesn't feel right for it, try Market in St. Helena - it is casual, unpretentious, and entrees can be around $10, depending on what you select.

I believe you are close enough when at Sterling...we really enjoyed Mondavi and Coppola as well!

8-)

You'll have a fabulous time! I just went there on a trip last fall and a family friend who's a wine aficiado/sommelier give us the BEST itinerary. Below are some vineyards not to miss:

Cliff Lede...gorgeous grounds and excellent wine
Spring Mountain Vineyard (my favorite)..you must call to have a tour/tasting
Frog's Leap..funky and fun

Also, I had one of the best dinner's of my life and I love food...
Bistro Jeanty, Yountville. I promise you won't be disappointed...MUCH better than Pizzaria Tra Vigne.

Have a wonderful trip! It's amazing there and so much fun.

Domaine Chandon V.Sattui Sterling are all wonderful places to go. If you do make it Sterling Clos Peagse is right across the street. One of my favorites was St. Jean if you do the reserve tasting sit out on their back patio and have your tatsting there It iswonderful.

If you are pressed for time on your return to the Sacramento Airport, you do not have to take the Jelly Belly Factory tour. The tour is very interesting, but not worth a long wait. I frequently run into the factory store and buy several bags of "belly flops". They are the jelly beans that are not perfect. Last time I got four 1 lb, bags for $12 or $15. They taste just as good. Also, they have a snack shop that serves burgers, etc. if you don't have time to stop anywhere else. And, just in case you have extra time,the Budweiser beer factory is very close to the jelly belly factory. In fact, you will pass it on your right as you exit I-80 and head toward JB factory. To get to the JB factory, follow the little JB man signs.

Have a great time.

You certainly have done all lot of research!!!! River's End restaurant is a must stop if weather is chilly on the beach!!!

I live in Sonoma and work in St. Helena, so I've seen all these places multiple times. Taylor's is a great lunch spot, but is deserted in the evening at this time of year and will likely be too cold. Consider swapping it with your Day 2 Calistoga lunch destination.

Tra Vigne's food is okay, but not noteworthy. Consider Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen - a bit more money, but world's apart in terms of the food. It's a nice atmosphere there and you can ask for a booth in the back room, which is a bit more comfortable for the kids if they're younger. Alternatively, just find a place that looks good on your way back fro Healdsburg and do a little less driving. If you have your heart set on Italian, LoCoco's in Santa Rosa is heavenly.

We've taken our young kids to see the Geyser and it's a snoozer even for them. Consider skipping this and for lunch on Day 2, get some deli sandwiches (Sunshine Market in St. Helena is excellent, but there are lots of good places) and have a picnic and take a walk at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park.

All that said, the wonderful thing about visiting out here is that the views are all wonderful and if you feel like you're driving too much, just stop. Odds are you're always within a stone's throw of a winery and the scenery right there will be pretty damn nice.

Have fun!

Well, plans changed. Day 1 is pretty much the same, except lunch is now at ZUZU's instead of Brix. Every thing else is the same. Since we will be in Napa, would love to add Del Dotto to wine tasting, but sounds like I would never make it up to Calistoga. Day 2 starts off with massages instead of the geyser. Lunch will most likely be at the Thai Orchid in Healdsburg followed by tasting around the square before returning to Calistoga. Will still do as many of the wineries around Calistoga as we can. Von Strasser is a must. Dinner is still at Pizzaria Tra Vigne. My wife and I love pizza, and unfortunately the closest thing we get to great pizza where we live is Red Baron or if I'm lucky Digiorno. So pizza is a must, but other suggestions for pizza other than Tra Vigne would be helpful. Day 3 is now starting off with driving to Armstrong forest, followed by picnic at beach by Jenner. Really wanted to do dinner at River's End, but looks like they are closed on Wednesdays. Dinner will now be at Cena Luna in Healdsburg. May try to hit a few wineries on the way. Day 4 will still be Jelly Belly tour if we can make it. Budweiser tour sounds good, but not sure I want to tackle Sacramento traffic afterwards. If there is anything else you can think of as far as suggestions go, please let me know. I'll let you all know how the trip went after we get back. Thanks again.

There's Bistro Don Giovanni along Hwy. 29 in Napa (the city). I have never had their pizza, but others that I know liked them. It's a popular restaurant in the wine country, hence, you may consider reserving in advance.

http://www.bistrodongiovanni.com/

After reviewing you well-planned itinerary, I'm surprised by your stop at Budweiser?? Skip it... not worth the stop!!

Bring coats and shorts. The weather here can be crazy in March, sunny warmish days but really chilly nights. Hopefully the rains will be over by then! I don't know how old your kids are but you might want to include a hike if they are old enough to enjoy it, and take warm clothes for the beach-picnic- the coast can be windy. One site you might want to check out is the Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, if you like that sort of thing. The ruins of his home are a short hike but my kids really liked seeing the museum, walking the trails and seeing the burnt out stones of his never lived in mansion. The geyers are a little small and campy - we did that and the petrified forest - both can be a little disappointing if you are expecting something grander. Honestly, it sounds like you are going to do a lot of drinking and driving - with kids (?) - and that is a little scary to me!!

Sorry for all the confusion. This is our first trip w/out the kids. Not including budweiser, since we will be leaving the same day. Would never be able to drive in Sac. traffic after visiting a brewery. Plus, have done enough brewery tours while in college here in colorado. Don't remember much about them, but then again don't remember much of college either. Thanks again