Picnic spots in Napa Valley
 

Our group of 10 is planning a visit next week, and we want to have a picnic on the grounds at one of the wineries. I've found a couple places, but would appreciate others' suggestions for locations with especially fine views. Thanks in advance for any advice given.

On highway 128 near Oakville there is a small grocery store/deli right along the highway that offered almost anything imaginable for a nice picnic lunch or a large dinner. We purchased sandwiches, chips, soda & a small fruit cream cake for a picnic lunch ($38) & they gave us plastic "silverware". We then drove SW to Diamond Oaks Winery (there are signs). It's off Highway 128 on a side road. They have a wonderful picnic area with panoramic views of the hillsides & valley covered with grape vines. It was so pretty & nice, up high enough we had a nice breeze, altho it was pretty hot that day. In order to use the picnic area, you must make a purchase -- that
wasn’t a problem, we enjoyed a nice wine with lunch & saved the sodas for later! Diamond Oaks provided the wine glasses. We did see some picnic tables at other wineries, but we were so glad we found Diamond Oaks, it wasn't very busy at all, no crowds or limited parking to deal with and the view was spectacular.

I forgot to mention, there were 6 or 8 picnic tables & 3 of them had "reserved" signs on them, so if you think this is where you want to go, you might consider making reservations in advance.

Just a wee bit of clarification- Hwy 128 at this point down valley in Napa county is commonly referred to as Hwy 29. I believe Grandma is referring to the Oakville Grocery as the place to pick up your picnic. The Diamond Oaks Winery is a blink south and west from the Grocery up on a road called Oakville Grade. Grandma's suggestion is quite good-the view up there is stunning and it is just off the beaten path of Hwy 29.

R5

Thanks, razzledazzle. I haven't typed my notes from the trip yet and couldn't find them right off (we're remodeling our office, things are boxed up). I knew someone would set me straight, the Atlas map I was looking at wasn't much help. Your better directions are appreciated.

If you would like to picnic on winery grounds, the general rule is to buy some wine at that winery. There are many lovely winery picnic spots. The aforementioned Diamond Oaks is one.
Also:
- Rutherford Hill Winery off Silverado Trail (just up the same road as Auberge d Soleil) has a large picnic area with a fantastic view.
- Casa Nuestra Winery on Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Calistoga has an authentic, rustic picnic area that would be private and pleasant in this non-touristy vineyard. Very friendly place. Call ahead. It will be a very personable experience. (An Elvis movie was filmed on the grounds, too).
- Peju Winery on Highway 29 in Rutherford does not advertise it, but they do allow picnics. There are a few tables, or you can spread out a blanket. The grounds are truly lovely with flowers tended personally by the owners, scultures, and fountains.
- Chateau Montelena in Calistoga has a picnic area set on a tiny island in a very small lake. Reservations are required.

Peju was beautiful. We walked in the "garden", but we didn't notice picnic tables, they must be in the back. I have the best picture of the Peju building looking thru the water of the fountain in the center of the yard. Had just bought a new camera in Chinatown in SF the day before and was amazed at how good it took of the falling water drops of the fountain. Peju was so clean & the flowers so pretty, as elnap29 said. One of my favorites.

Ledson Winery, north of Sonoma, had the most fabulous house, more like a mansion, and they had picnic tables in back, shaded by huge, old oak trees. We sat out there & enjoyed the cool, peaceful setting & sipped a nice wine.

The Napa Olive Company has several picnic tables, and you can buy food for a great picnic in the small store. Note: credit cards not accepted.

I believe the picnic tables at Chateau Montelena are now for use by wine club members only.

For a recent article about picnicing in Napa, go here:

http://www.sfchroniclemarketplace.co...IG9OQ077E1.DTL

For picnicing in Sonoma:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...IG9OQ06771.DTL

For picnicing Etiquette:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...IGH2PVST01.DTL

We've picnicked several times at Rutherford Hill and each time there was a much appreciated cooling breeze coming up from the valley floor.

Sorry to hijack, but ... R5: you're wanted on November 10!!

While we liked shopping for goodies at Oakville Grocery (http://www.oakvillegrocery.com/stores/napa.html), we liked the picnic area and deli at V. Sattui Winery (http://www.vsattui.com). Lots of wine to taste as well as food offerings.