After reading more posts, and various travel books, not sure if we have made right choice to stay in Yountville at Villagio. Had just assumed Napa would be the better place to go. Would Sonoma be the better experience of the two? Is Napa really that crowded and commercialized where it is not that enjoyable or should I just stay with what I have? We would be there mid-week in the middle of June - not on a weekend. I really want to see breathtaking countryside, vineyards, and taste some great wines!!! More opinions please!!!

Relax, Allison. When we first started visiting the wine country, about six years ago, our first visits were to the Napa Valley. I absolutely loved it and was hooked! We would stay a couple of nights in Yountville, then go up to Calistoga. Amazing restaurants, gorgeous scenery and excellent wines!

We started going to Sonoma about a year after that and now visit this area every March and save Napa for May. Both areas are very beautiful. This time stick with the Napa Valley, and concentrate on that region, next trip see Sonoma and then you can decide which you like better.

I think you will love the Villagio, I've seen the property many times but we stay at the Yountville Inn since it is a bit cheaper. Since you are visiting during the week (that's what we do also!) the crowds should be much less than on a weekend. We like to travel mid-week whenever possible for monetary reasons and have never had any trouble with huge crowds.

Where are you planning on dining in Yountville? ***kim***

For once I agree with Kim: relax It's hard to guess which area you'll like more. But do visit Sonoma (not the valley, the town plaza) if you have time. There is also TrainTown if you like a steam train ride which lets you get off for 15' to feed the goats.

Honestly, I would much rather go to Sonoma, or more specifically Alexander Valley/Dry Creek/Russian River. But if everyone else did then they'd get too crowded.

Terra,Tra Vigne,Bistro Jeanty
The Wappo Bar & Bistro, Don Giovanni
(Can only choose two of the above because only staying two nights - which two?

Maybe Taylor's Refresher or Hurley's for lunch

Gordon's cafe for breakfast

How does this sound?

I was surprised how close Napa and Sonoma really are. We stayed in the town of Napa and made a day trip to Sonoma. You may want to do this one day. Have lunch in the plaza. We enjoyed lunch on the back patio at the Girl and the Fig. There are several wineries close by and some great ones on the way like Artesa.

allison,
Sounds GREAT. You buying?

Love b'fast at either Gordon's or Pacific Blues Cafe.

The town of Napa really isn't Napa Valley.

If you want to see some nice scenery, a good drive would be back out Youtville Crossing Rd to Silverado trail and then cut over to Hwy 29 to Calistoga then down to Oakville and cut across Oakville Grade to Sonoma Valley.

Make sure your car has good brakes and keep an eye open for us darn bicyclists!

Hurley's is one of our faves. Nice patio dining. Jason is our fave waiter.
We were thinking about having the next Yountville Fodor's GTG there. Great rib eye steak and excellent wine list.

Ching Ching!

Such choices!
Have just returned from our neighbor
Napa and oh my the dining is great!
My fave meal of THIS trip (we go over
and make a mini-vacation of it about 4X a year) was Martini House
in St.Helena.
Terra is owned by friends and is always
a good choice.
For lunch, my fave is Cindy's Backstreet
Kitchen in St. Helena, but this trip we
stopped in at Market in St. Helena-
truly superb!
Kal's advice about using the Silverado Trail is Very Good-the traffic WILL
definetly be a ZOO in June.
Do come over to my Sonoma next trip!
R5

We love Martini House too. We did not enjoy Terra when we dined there although it came highly recommended. We also really liked Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.

Yountville is actually a much more laid-back, quiet town than Sonoma. Sonoma the county is very large and has lots of room for everbody (so far) but as much as I love taking my kids to Train Town, or the playground on the square in Sonoma, finding parking on the town square on a summer weekend is no fun at all.

Hi Allison! I hope your trip is coming together...I've seen 2 or 3 threads for you. My husband and I did a very similar trip about two years ago and had a wonderful time. To address your concerns about Napa: it does get crowded, but the road is a two laner, which is part of the reason. Just a parade of cars through the valley! The wineries do get crowded, especially the larger ones, but overcommercialized is not really a problem. (You want to see over commercialization - go to Fisherman's Wharf...it's a shame what the city leaders have allowed to happen there, but I digress). Keep in mind that the valley is long so everything is spread out, and mid-week should not be horrible. Make sure you contact the tourism center so you have maps ahead of time if possible and can plan your strategy. Otherwise you may feel alittle overwhelmed by the number of choices. Also, you will be able to make necessary reservations at the ones that require them (crowd control, really). And you might consider a wine guide (person, not a book), who will take you to wineries that suit your tastes. The guides can often gain access to wineries that are closed to the general public, also. This worked well for friends of ours. And lastly, remember that there is a limit to how many of the wineries you can go to in one day and still be able to drive safely (or course you can just swish and spit, but is that really fun?). The police do keep an eye open!

Thanks again guys for the invaluable information. We are really planning a great trip and can hardly wait until June. Keep the ideas coming!!!

I'd say with such limited time follow the advice for Martini House, Cindy's Backstreet kitchen & Terra. I trust Kal & R5 to give you very good advice. These are both places that seem to retain their quality over time. Skip Tra Vigne IMO.
I had my 40th bday party at Terra(that was 14 years ago). We've returned over and over again with family for special occasions. I prefer the dining room to the right as you enter the front door but either way you are in good hands.

My in laws request Terra for their anniversaries and bdays. They have been married more than 50 years!! They live in Napa and also are very big fans of both Cindy's and Don Giovanni. I like Don Giovanni because it doesn't ever seem terribly precious, the food is consstently good and they have a resident cat.

We also really like the Foothill Cafe which is off the beaten track in Napa.
It is our go to family place after Don Giovanni. It is a small dining room in a strip mall kind of place. The food is GREAT!! You will absolutely be dining among the locals. All in-laws live in Napa and hold strong opinions on where we can eat. Foothill still, after all these years, feels like a treat!

You are in a great location in Yountville. You will have ready access to either the Silverado Trail or Hwy 29.Stay with what you have. Everything is relatively close together.

In the middle of June, it will be great. It will not be terribly hot and you will see some great countryside.

Relax, enjoy and come back again.

Thanks Pam!

Great list allison! I've been to all of them except Don Giovanni. I know you aren't looking to add more to the list, but a stop at Auberge du Soleil would be very nice. We like to dine out on the terrace with the gorgeous views. Domaine Chandon is another very gorgeous place (don't miss this one) and we have enjoyed lunch out on the back patio there, also. Cheers! ***kim***

Yeah, but the Happy California Cows definitely live in Sonoma County and give much better CHEESES there!

When I read the sentence that you wanted to see "breathtaking countryside, vineyards, and taste some great wines", all I can say is SONOMA!!!!!!!!!!!! I am from a wine family, and affiliated with many wine organizations and have been to Napa and Sonoma so much, they are my second home. (I've lived in San Fran for 16 years) Sonoma has some amazing wineries, and is not as tourist driven as Napa. (Although I will not argue, Napa has some incredible wines) But, if you want to drive some windy roads, see some incredible vineyards on hills that you wonder how people can even stand up straight!, and feel like you are relaxed and driving down some old windy road in the back roads of Italy or Provence, then I suggest Sonoma. Many of the wineries also have picnic tables with beautiful views, so after you taste the wine, bring a picnic lunch and have yourself a picnic.

Best of luck to you. You can't go wrong with either Napa or Sonoma. Hope you enjoy yourself!

I'm with Kimamom--try to make it by the Auberge du Soleil. A beautiful resort set in an olive grove. The restaurant is wonderful, and so are the views from the terrace. I also had a very enjoyable dinner at Tra Vigne, but this was many years ago.