Took my husband on a fantastic surprise trip to Napa Valley for Valentine’s day. Here are some of the highlights that I hope will help fellow travelers to this area:

Stayed at VINTNER’S INN in Santa Rosa. Had requested a specific room but found upon arrival that we had been upgraded to a suite. This would have been wonderful news but I had really wanted to be in “our room”. The hotel moved us to that room two days later so we got to at least take a stroll down memory lane our last night there. When checking out, they apologized for not having the requested room available and then gave us 15% off our first two nights (the two nights we had spent in the suite at the non-suite rate). Thought this was a class act. The hotel itself is wonderful – beautiful rooms, great staff, incredible breakfast buffet included in the price, etc. A little close to the highway but that also makes access to other towns very easy.

Ate Valentine’s dinner at JOHN ASH & CO. A good meal but not a 5-star meal. The sommelier did recommend a great wine for dinner (a DuMol pinot noir) which we enjoyed immensely.

Toured the SCHRAMBURG (sp?) winery. This is the winery that makes the champagne that is served at the White House and at state diners. You have to take the winery tour in order to taste the various champagnes but it was so worth it. The tour is limited to about 20 people but there were only 12 on our tour. After the tour (which is fascinating), you sit down at a large table and are served four different champagnes. One of the most elegant wine tastings we’ve been to.

Also went to the OPUS ONE winery. A little too high-falutin’ for us but we did pay the $30/each to taste the wine (one 4-oz. glass) and to figure out what all the fuss is about regarding Opus One. Still can’t say that we figured it out!

Ate at a delightful burger joint in St. Helena called TAYLOR’S REFRESHER. We stopped there on the spur of the moment (the number of cars in the parking lot told us it might be a good place to eat) and we are so glad we did. All dining is outside on picnic tables. There were heaters outside near the tables so we were able to keep warm. The burgers and fries were the old fashioned kind that makes your hands smell like onions for the next 2 hours!

Also got to eat at GREYSTONE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA. It was my second time there and it exceeded its reputation again. I think they have the best crème brulee I have ever tasted!

Ate our last evening’s meal at MADRONA MANOR which I heard about on this forum. Wow! What a super restaurant. It was the best meal of our trip. My husband ordered the price fixe meal that had wine with each course (about 7 courses I think) and I just ordered off the menu. EVERYTHING was delicious and the wine pairings they had for his meal were unusual but right on the mark! If the accommodations at Madrona Manor are anything like its restaurant, I would certainly recommend it as a place to stay.

OK. I'm ready to go back.
Great V'tine's Day trip.

A Taylor's Refresher Ahi Burger w/ ginger wasabi mayo and Asian 'slaw after a long bike ride is "ono".

The guys at Groezinger's wine shop in Yountville gave me the name of a winery near to Opus that produces the same quality wine of Opus at 1/3rd the price....just can't remember the name! Musta been that good!
But since I can't afford a glass/bottle of Opus, guess I'll have to take their word for it!
Kal

OK, I'm confused. I've never been in this area before but plan on being there in April. I was under the impression that you either took the Napa or Sonoma tour. (we will take a day tour from SF) However, you say you stayed in Santa Rosa, which on my map is N of Sonoma but you ate at St Helena which on my map is N of the Napa tour. Please straighten out my confusion, any and all information will be appreciated. Thank you.

cd,
If you go by personal car you can drive fairly easily between Napa and Sonoma. Actually Santa Rosa to Napa can be done in under an hour. The town of Sonoma to Napa would take less than 30 minutes. Hope this helps.

Suzie is correct ... all these towns are near each other. During our three days there, we were between Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Yountville, Napa, St. Helena and Sonoma several times.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention we got massages and a couples herbal bath treatment at the LAVENDER HILL SPA in Calistoga (also found on this forum). What a relaxing way to end up an afternoon after sampling wine!!

Thanks Tulsa_Laura and Susie. Thats helps a lot!

I forgot to add the most important part to my trip report. We had read that a great place to buy wines (i.e., cheaper than the winery sells them) is at the Safeway in St. Helena. We stopped in there and were pleasantly surprised at just how great the prices were. If you joing Safeway's store club (which you can do right when you check out), you get the special Safeway discounted price. AND, if you buy 12 bottles or more, you get an additional 10% discount. We were able to buy several bottles of wine at essentially 20% off the normal Safeway prices (which are lower than the winery prices before any discount). This was exciting to us because we got to add some wines to our collection that are normally cost prohibitive to us. Also, we went to a nearby wine shop and bought a wine mailer for $10 (holding 12 bottles) -- it kept our wine packed securely for the plane ride home.

Tulsa_Laura, Was the wine mailer packed well enough to put the case of wine with your checked baggage for the plane ride home? I want to bring back a couple of cases with my checked baggage along with 6-8 bottles of carry-on.

Budman:

Yes, your wine will be safe in the wine packing box!

The wine packer box consisted of the box itself, a molded styrofoam insert that you put the wine bottles in (the styrofoam conformed to each bottle), and then another styrofoam insert that fit over the top of the bottles. When you place the top styrofoam over the neck of the bottles, they don't move or rattle around at all.

We bought the box from a wine shop on the main street in St. Helena (called St. Helena Wine Center) and it only cost $10. This wine shope is just around the corner from the Safeway where we purchased the wine.

Our wine was packed so securely we never worried about it and it made the plane ride home (with 2 connection) just fine.

Thanks, Tulsa_Laura. We will be spending only 1 day in Sonoma, driving up from San Fran for the day. I'm sure there will be a Safeway and wine shop somewhere near by.

Again, thanks for a nice trip report and your recommendations & advice. Might have lunch at Madrona Manor.