weekend wine country trip early nov?
 

Hi! looking for itinerary suggestions: <BR>- early Nov weekend at bnb in wine country <BR>- 2 couples age 30-35 from Wash DC area <BR>- flexible price range <BR>- like nice dining options <BR>- bike/hike interest <BR>- will fly on American Airlines <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance!

For World Class Pinot Noir and fine dining, The Yamhill valley area of Oregon is going to be hard to beat. Just a one hour drive from Portland International puts you in the heart of Oregon. The B&B accomodations are readily available during November and are suburb.

You won't go wrong in following the advice for Oregon, excellent all the way around. However, I'll take the Russian River Valley (Sonoma County) in California for the same reasons. Airfare from D.C. might be cheaper to SFO or Oakland than Portland. Pinot, Zinfandel or Chardonnay...even some good Cabs. In Healdsburg the Grape Leaf Inn is a fine B&B. Near Gureneville is the Ridenhour Ranch Inn. If you want to stay close to the wine country, but nearer the coast, the Roundstone Farm Inn near Point Reyes is excellent. Still another possibility is the growing and excellent area near Santa Baraba, fly to LAX and head north. Top notch Pinot and Chard from the Santa Yenz Valley. Small hotels & B&B ins Los Olivos, Santa Yenz.

Alaska Airlines just opened up their Wash DC route, so you might be able to get a good airfare to Portland. Yamhill County is so much less commercialized than Napa and Sonoma, which makes it a great place to spend a quiet and relaxing weekend. There are plenty of great wineries, but be warned that some of them are only open to the public on Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends.

The Santa Ynez Valley inland from Santa Barbara or the Sonoma/Alexander Valley/Russian River area are our favorites. In early November, I think I would look to the Santa Ynez Valley and try to book a room in Los Olivos at the Wine Country Inn (Fess Parker's) if budget allows.