Napa vs Sonoma
 

We have 4 nights in the area. We are trying to decide to try 2 nights in Napa and 2 in Sonoma, or 4 in Napa. We have never been to area before. What would you do??

Personally, I would do all 4 nights in Sonoma Valley (most likely Healdsburg) and take one day trip to Napa. I find it to be a much more user friendly, less crowded, and less corporate area. You certainly won't run out of wineries to visit and wonderful places to eat.

Check out www.wineroad.com

Ditto to what Grasshopper advises!
but I'm not biased....LOL!
R5

Hi
My tuppence worth is definitely go for Sonoma! Friendly, pretty town centre and lots of great vineyards! We enjoyed Sebastianis, Buena Vista and I am sure there are lots more. We stayed in the Sonoma Valley Inn ( a Best Western), which was really near the town square. We ate in Mayas and the Swiss Hotel and could not fault the service or menu! Have A great time.

Gill

Here's another vote for Sonoma Valley. Much more winding and picturesque in my opinion. We stayed at the Gaige House B&B in Glen Ellen -- a very charming inn with memorable breakfasts. Lots of great wineries in the area. We liked Ravenswood and Gundlach Bundschu, among others.

Another vote for Sonoma. The town itslef is more interesting historically speaking than towns in the Napa Valley. You might alos want to see General Vallejo's home, and farther out, Jack London State Park. Next to it is Benziger Winery and Glen Ellen has a store (the Olive Press?) where you can taste and buy locally pressed olive oils.

Well, here's one vote for St. Helena, in the Napa Valley. The area has any number of good places to stay and many fine restaurants. There's also an olive-oil producer with a great little shop for things Italian--and there's also a branch of Dean and Delucca. From St. Helena you could visit Calistoga to the north and the Yountville area to the south, having a meal at the fine Bistro Jeanty.

Yup,another vote for Sonoma. If you do choose to stay in Napa you might also look into Yountville.

All this talk about preferring Sonoma reminds me of a T-Shirt that I saw in a wine shop in Sonoma.

"Sonoma is for wine
Napa is for Auto Parts"

Ps..There are some excellent wineries in Napa

Why are you going to those areas? Is it for the wine? If so, I would suggest not missing Napa.

Sticking my neck WAY out: I happen to think that the Napa wines are better than the Sonoma wines - by just a tad. This is speaking generally, not comparing specific wines. Wine is very, very subjective, so please don't flame me! :)

On the other hand, Napa is so commercialized that it no longer has "charm", just huge prices. For charm, go to Sonoma, or better yet, go north of Sonoma.

You could stay in Sonoma and just drive to Napa during the day. Napa is closer to Sonoma than Healdsburg, which is probably more the "center" of the "Sonoma" wine country.

Also planning to spend some time in Napa later this August. Can anyone recommend the Villagio Inn in Yountville? Are there any other places in the Napa/Sonoma valley that someone can recommend as a "top" pick for lodging? Thanks!

I actually split the two, staying two nights at Auberge(stunning and worth the price) and two nights at Sonoma mission inn(rooms were adisapointment, although decent golf course and good spa treatments).

Even thought is is only a 45 minute drive between the two, we enjoyed having the opportunity to compare two sensational wine experiences.

First of all, thank you to all that responded to my dilemna!!!

We decided to do 2 nights in each place. We have never been to the area, but really want to get a "taste" of both areas. Even though Napa got a lot of bad press, there are some wineries that are a must see for us. We are also going in March, so I don't think it will be too crowded, or I hope.

We decided to stay 2 nights at The Villigio, and 2 at the Lodge at Sonoma.

The Napa Valley has any number of good hotels and inns. Just be sure that wherever you stay has a/c, as the valley can be pretty hot during the summer months.