Going to Napa with a couple of girlfriends next month. Anyone have any recommendations for wineries to tour or restaurants to try? Thanks!
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@lawbee11: I stayed in Sonoma but let me find my notes on our favorite wineries
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How fun! I went to Napa with my BFF some years ago. We stayed in San Fran and just did a day trip wine tour. I really want to go back and go on the wine train. http://winetrain.com/ it's wine tasting, gourmet food, and scenic route sans motor coach.
Sonoma was on our tour and it was truly a lovely city to visit.
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Frog's Leap (in Rutherford) produces amazing wines and their winery grounds are just so pretty. It's not pretentious and very friendly. You have to make reservations for tastings though.
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I would suggest staying in Yountville! You can walk to lots of good restaurants from the hotels in town. There was one that was cheaper than the rest that was really nice, this was a few years ago, but we loved it there!!
French Laundry is there if you and your girls want to spend a million dollars, haha. But we ate at Bisto Jeanty and Bottega and Bouchon - all fab.
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Agree on staying Yountville! I would add Ad Hoc (which is actually affordable!) and Redd to those restaurant recommendations. I also really like Cook in St. Helena. If you guys are looking to go "out" there is a late night scene at Bouchon too!
As for vineyards, I second Frogs Leap! Other vineyards to make reservations: far niente, duckhorn, robert sinskey and caymus. If you are into sparkling, domaine chandon, mumm and shramsburg are all fun too!
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Thanks! Will look into this.
@Freckles: My friend actually suggested that one so I think we'll definitely tour it...thanks!
@hellobeeboston: @Sparkler: Yountville looks so cute but is unfortunately out of our price range
We're going during harvest so everything is super expensive. If it were DH and I we'd probably splurge but we're planning to basically just use the room to crash in at night so we'd rather put more money towards wine/food. @hellobeeboston: LOL! Definite no to French Laundry, but I've been to Bouchon in Vegas (I'm assuming same owner?) and am obsessed with it. Adding it to the list!
@Sparkler: Will look into these restaurants and vineyards. Thanks!
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@Sparkler: domaine Chandon is gorgeous! We dined at Etoile many years back but it has since closed and I believe is now a tasting lounge.
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We did Sonoma a couple years ago and our favorite by far was Gundlach Bundschu! Definitely check it out if you get up that direction. We also rented bikes and biked between vineyards one day which was fun!
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Do the platypus group tour. You will go in a bus with several other couples to 4 off-the-main-path wineries (many smaller, privately owned ones). It also comes with lunch. It was so much fun and took us to such unique places. I highly recommend. We went to b wise on our last tour and it was one of our favorites. Another favorite is artesa- it is a beautiful winery with tasty wines.
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We've gone a bunch of times and our 2 fave wineries are near Sonoma-- bartholomew park and scribe. Both are tiny/don't distribute much outside the area and have amazing wine, plus the grounds are unbelievably gorgeous. And they have great food at scribe too!
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@Mrs.KMM: I'm not sure I trust myself to ride a bike after visiting all of these wineries
@bloved: Ok will check out this tour. Thanks!
@nana87: Not sure if we'll be near Sonoma at all but will keep these in mind . Thanks!
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We were just in Napa a few weeks ago! Our friend is the architect who designed the tasting room at Domain Chandon and it's beautiful - plus, it's Domain Chandon so it's delicious too!
We had a picnic at the V. Sattui winery and I would highly recommend them. Great selection of wines and fantastic cheese, meat and picnic stuff. Here's a few pics:
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Go to Duckhorn, Cakebread, Chateau Montelena. Amazing wine and great surroundings! Have the best time with your girls! So fun!
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I recently went to Napa for a bachelorette party. We did tastings at Domain Chandon, Mumms, a picnic lunch at V. Sattui and dinner at Farmstead which was soooooo delicious. The beet salad and brick chicken were to die for. I would go back to Napa just to eat there again, lol. Hope you have a great time!
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@HTownMom: LOVED Duckhorn.
We had the nicest, most relaxing time sitting on the porch at Duckhorn and sampling. We also had a picnic at V. Sattui which was super cute...and like the only place to get food!
DH and I did this when we were pretty cash strapped and we ended up staying about 15 minutes away in a Holiday Inn express kind of hotel. Nothing fancy but it was clean and we were only there for one night, so it was totally fine. -
DH and I always stay at the Westin for its proximity to the Market and it's around the corner from the Walmart if you need provisions. Go to the Oxbow Market and get picnic goods - bread from Model Bakery, meats from the Fatted Calf, etc. (The mortadella, pate or rillettes, ham, and cornichons are our favorite). Then picnic at Clos du Val which allows it if you buy something - and if you like Cabs you probably will. There are some others that allow picnicking but I can't remember. Clos du Val has a beautiful olive grove garden you can eat in.
Domaine Carneros is gorgeous and does champagne. Artesa is close to downtown Napa and our favorite - modern, Spanish inspired, gorgeous views and reasonably priced wines. (Their Pinnacle is our fave red and their bubbly is wonderful).
We always eat at Bouchon - old habits die hard, but brunch at Ad Hoc was amazing too. Gott's Roadside - either at Oxbow or the original stand just past St. Helena - is good food and not the wine country sticker. We like to do oysters and bubbly at Hog Island at the market before going out for the evening. Although I haven't been yet many of my friends have recommended Morimoto Napa. If you can't get reservations at Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty is a good backup - solid French food.
Also OMG get the fresh fruit custard Danish at Model Bakery in the morning - I dream of it. That and a fancy cup of coffee from Ritual Roasters is the best breakfast.
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@sweet_p: Love Farmstead! Went there for a wedding and it was amazing! Food was awesome!
@lawbee11: I know a lot of people love V. Sattui but it's very family oriented and for girls only weekend, without kids, you might want to skip it this time. I do think for kids and families, it's amazing to bring a blanket, get a bottle and food and enjoy the day.Also, yes to anything with Champagne! Or you not having to drive and just drink! Fun! The downtown of Sonoma is super cute with shops and wine tastings and some great restaurants like the Girl and the Fig!
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Omg I have so much research to do! Thank you all so much for the recs.
@HTownMom: Lol yeah we might want to stay away from family-oriented places
It does look really nice though! So far we're going to do Mumm and Frog's Leap and probably Caymus. I'll research the rest tomorrow
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@lawbee11: long meadow ranch has a great tasting menu (it's connected with farmstead). For a set price, you get a tour of their vineyard in the mountain, olive oil tasting, & then wine & food pairing with all organic veggies from their farm (which you get a tour of as well).
There are so many great places to try but it really boils down to which area you'll be focusing on & pick a few places that are around each other.
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@lawbee11:
Mumm winery will be perfect with girlfriends - they have a big patio where you can just sit at a table and drink sparkling wine as long as you want. (And they have snacks!)
Gott's Roadside for the garlic fries! So good.
We did a cave tour and barrel tasting at this place: http://www.deldottovineyards.com/. A great time and a cool experience, and a ton of wine!
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I think there was a fair amount of damage in Napa Valley from the Valley Fires, so I'd definitely make sure to check into that before booking anything permanent! By the time you go, it may all be reopened, but I remember hearing on NPR there were a lot of road closures and stuff.
Sounds like a really fun trip! Napa is definitely on my Bucket List!
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I haven't been, but I have a friend who moved up there whose working at a winery. He works at Dutton-Goldfield winery. Ask for Andy. He's very nice.
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We had an awesome champagne flight and charcuterie board at Domain Chandon. I also loved Sterling Vineyards because the winery is set up on hill/mountain and you take a little gondola to get up there. The views were so beautiful.
We're going during harvest so everything is super expensive. If it were DH and I we'd probably splurge but we're planning to basically just use the room to crash in at night so we'd rather put more money towards wine/food. 
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