Napa Valley
 

I am planning a short trip to Napa in late October. I will only have 3 days there. I would love suggestions for wineries to visit and places to stay-mid range priced hotels/inns. This will be my first trip so any help is appreciated! Thanks, Karen

We've been out there twice over the past 2 years - here are some of my favorites:

Wineries -
Duckhorn (need a reservation, could spend an hour there). great wine, great room. Napa on the Silverado trail
Hop Kiln - this is in Healdsberg, so it is Sonoma.
Vinsana -

Mustards is a restaurant in Napa
It you are looking for a first class, special occasion restaurant then check out Cyrus in Healdsberg

I really liked Hess (I think in Calistoga). Beautiful grounds and they provide of free tour of the grounds along with three stories of art on their building. I've also become a fan of their wine.

Any suggestions for hotels/inns? Thanks!

I like the Vintage Inn and Napa Valley Lodge both in Yountville. and the Harvest Inn in St. Helena; though none of these are mid-range but maybe they have deals available if you're visiting mid-week. October is a great time to visit, IMO.

Hess is either in or very near Napa, not Calistoga. Other wineries I like are Mumms, Duckhorn and Peju.

I really like Resgusci on Silverado Trail a lot. I have always liked the wine at Sequoia Grove

I like to stay in St. Helena since you can walk to restaurants. El Bonita is very inexpensive for the area, not fancy at all, more like a motel.

This time we Pricelined a hotel in Napa and got the(4 star according to Priceline) Vino Bella Resort in Napa for $152.00/night. Not the ideal location, but they operate a shuttle from 5:30 to 10:30 pm to downtown Napa, so no need to drive. PLEASE DON"T DRINK AND DRIVE.

I, too, like the Peju winery in Rutherford. Try the V. Sattui winery. They have free wine tasting. I love their sweet wines esp. the Madeira. They have an extensive deli w/ picnic tables so you can buy your picnic lunch there. Rutherford Grill is a good restaurant choice nearby.

Downtown Saint Helena has a two blocks of fancy shopping. You could do a Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Calistoga run. Have a great trip!

Karen - You should zone in on what town you want to stay in and then read reviews on tripadvisor.com to locate a hotel or inn that you might want to stay at. Otherwise you might end up in an industrial park (Vino Bella). If you are a foodie then Yountville might be a good choice because of all the excellent restaurants within walking distance of the hotels. However, all the towns, including Napa, St Helena and Calistoga, have wonderful restaurants.

For wineries, you should zero in on the ones you drink at home. What are your favorites? Napa has many great wineries that are among the finest in the world. Many require reservations to visit and most are not cheap. The free ones like Peju and V. Sattui are fine for the casual weekend tourist looking for free tastings but they are not properties that have any international reputation. You can do a lot better.

Put Napa in the search engine above or Sonoma and you will find loads of info.

Here is a nice interactive site with information about wineries:

http://www.napavintners.com/wineries/

This is great info. You have all made this trip planning so much easier!

Wow...over 10 posts and the old Napa v. Sonoma Valley debate hasn't flared up.

We prefer Yountville in Napa Valley. Lotta "walk to" restos and central NV location.

Hurley's, Bottega, Fr. Laundry, Napa Valley Grill, Redd, Ad Hoc, Bouchon's, Bistro Jeanty, Pacific Blues Cafe and some newbies opening soon.

Hellloooooo Ronda....;;)

oh my gosh...Please do not "focus on the ones you drink at home". No offense, but you should strive to find new, hidden gems and limited production wines which seldom make it out of the state. Hess is really spectacular, but it's not in Calistoga. It is in the southern part of the Napa Valley and a gorgeous drive. My rule of thumb is, if you see a tour bus or limos, avoid the place like the plague. That includes all the big names. You'll probably want to do one tour- and you should. Frog's Leap does a really nice tour and tasting. You have to make a reservation, but you'll enjoy it. I suggest going to the Silverado Trail and doing some of the small wineries such as Zahtila, William Harrison, Dutch Henry. Frank Family up in Calistoga is always fun. You are plenty close to Sonoma Valley, which you should visit. I fell in love with Preston last year. Beautiful place, kitties running around, picnic grounds. Geyserville is also a fun stop and they have the BEST pizza place in town. The real thing. I prefer Sonoma, but if I stay in Napa, it's in Calistoga because you don't have the awful traffic that you get in St. Helena.

Hi Kal! Why hasn't there been a Napa GTG?

Our favorite wineries are Rutherford Grove near Oakridge. Nice cabs, go for the Howell Mtn. cabs, reasonable prices, picnic area, can't buy them anywhere else except maybe local restaurants.

Another is William Harrison on the Silverado Trail. Interesting tasting room, low key, great wines, cost a little more($45 up) but you really should do a tasting there if you want your socks knocked off. Can only buy them at certain wine shops around the bay area.

Favorite chard - Rombauer - nice tasting room, too. Can get crowded and have valet parking at those times.

We also like Turnbull but just do the reserve room.

We were also pleasantly surprised by ????? have to ask my husband and let you know later. Or see if I can find my trip report.

I'm searching for my trip report, too, LOL. We were there in April. William Harrison, ahh I have a magnum in the cellar! You MUST go- they were the first Italian immigrants to the valley and they have lots of interesting memorabilia there. And a bear!

Vell, I searched for my trip report and couldn't find it. Guess it is because I haven't posted it yet. lol Half finished.

The name of the winery we didn't expect to like was BV. Right next door to Rutherford Grill. 2 for 1 tasting coupon on the website. Their wines were quite nice and reasonable. You can't buy all their wines in the grocery store. Some you can only buy at the winery.

Ronda on Jul 28, 09 at 11:37 AM
Hi Kal! Why hasn't there been a Napa GTG?

Ah, but there was at least one that I remember. Looooong time ago! Kal, time for another one? ;)

I put together 2 of them.

I served my time! 8-}

I am serving now trying to make South Tahoe sound appealing :))