Napa trip rerort- Sonoma on other post
 

I will abbreviate where possible.After each winery I'll list our fav wine.Will eliminate "winery" from names in caps.<BR>Arrived in Napa 3 pm Mon.Traffic bad. Stopped at V SATTUI for lunch- great deli,shop and picnic grounds.Crowded.Loud.<BR>GRGICH - nice room, 99 Chardonnay.<BR>Drove to Calistoga for stay at COTTAGE GROVE INN. Stayed in Rose Petal cottage- lovely. Read my review on Rants and Raves.<BR>Wine/cheese that night- walked to WAPPO GRILl- sat on romantic patio. Great food/service. Tues:<BR>CAKEBREAD CELLARS for 1 1/2 hr tour/taste with the fabulous Brady- a native of the valley who gave a non-stop narrative injected with one pun after another. He's a delight- this is the best tour in Napa.98 Cab.<BR>Lunch at Auberge du Soleil. Read Rants and Raves. Cost 100 bucks for 2.Nice view, but traffic loud.<BR>ROUNDHILL - below Auberge- pretty, nice reds. 98 Sig. Res. Cabernet<BR>ROMBAUER- 2000 Caneros Chardonnay<BR>MARKHAM- Oscar served us-enjoyed him.98 P. Syrah. Gift shop nice.<BR>CHARLES KRUG- oldest winery in valley.Very cool.1998 dean York Cab.Sauv.<BR>Skipped dinner-too full. Wine/cheese at Inn.<BR>Wed: Drove north to CHATEAU MONTALENA- an incredible place with castle @1882. Overlooks Jade Lake with pagodas, plants, flowers- don't miss this. Monty the cat is the biggest in N/S. 25 lbs?Beautiful drive to FERRARI-CARANO- most beautiful gardens I've ever seen.97 Villa Fiore Cab.Sauv.<BR>

Linda,<BR> Great reports! Wow- you did a lot of tasting, hiccup. Did you check out any other cottages as CG Inn? Were there kids there? We want to go in July.

Joy,<BR> I don't think they allow children there- I may be wrong, but I didn't see any.Lots of places in Napa don't. I don't know why parents would want to anyway - the few I saw were so bored! I guess if you're biking or canoeing the river, that's okay- but not touring wineries.Didn't see other cottages, but loved ours.Check out rants and raves for other opinions.

Hi Linda, great info! We are going to Napa/Sonoma for 5 days: Santa Rosa area for 3, Napa for 2. I'm soooo excited. I think the Cakebread tour sounds wonderful. <BR>Did you rent a limo to drive to the wineries? Just curious....don't want to be over the limit &lt;g&gt;.

Hi Judy!<BR> No, didn't do the limo. (It was easy driving.)They are pretty high! If you do your tasting slowly and don't try EVERY wine on the list ( which you can do many places) you should be okay! Be sure to call ahead for an appt to Cakebread's tour. If you take the free tour, you get a free tasting. If not, you pay. Good deal, huh?

I'm so glad you enjoyed our favorite, Chateau Montelena. A picnic there is heaven, but reserve a space ahead. Didn't meet Monty the cat, but they allowed us to bring our puppy to the crush one year when they found out he shared the same first name as the winemaker's son! What nice people and what a gorgeous place! I also agree with Cakebread. Did you get to Silver Oaks, Clos Pegase, Trefethen or St. Clement? They are also favorites. Anyone who says skip Napa is not being fair, but you need to know what you're doing and it sounds as if you did it just right! Thanks for your report. Hope other future visitors will realize it's right on.

Hi Kam,<BR> Thanks for the note. We missed a few of the ones you mentioned,because we did 3 days in Sonoma instead of an extra in Napa. Just liked it better. I think it's good to visit both places the first time- the wines are wonderful as well as the experience. Please read my Sonoma report as well- we met some great folks out there!

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