If a visit to Napa Valley has been on your “to do” list, it’s time to book your flights. Our River City Lifestyle team offers suggestions about where to stay, dine and shop as well as how to approach vineyard tours.
Step 1. Choose your location. Each Napa Valley region has a unique flavor. You can choose your lodging based on desired area or plan your activities and wine tours first and then back into the best location for your stay. We hedged our bets and stayed in two different locations on our recent stay.
Calistoga: Quiet, relaxed and tucked away on the north end of the valley, Calistoga is known as a wellness destination. It boasts more than two dozen spas, many located within luxury hotels.
We enjoyed a signature mud bath at Solage, L’Auberge Resort followed by a delicious poolside lunch at Solbar. Reserving your spa treatments enables you to make full use of the facilities, including a variety of different plunge pools and saunas.
St. Helena: Just south of Calistoga, the town of St. Helena is affectionately nicknamed “Napa Valley’s main street,” due to its central location and sophisticated downtown. The half-mile long area is perfectly walkable, featuring high-end clothing boutiques, cafes, coffee shops and jewelry/antique stores. Our hotel recommendation from a previous visit is Meadowood, an exceptional resort just a bike ride away from downtown.
We spent a few afternoons in St. Helena, primarily to refuel at Model Bakery and Coffee Shop and to hit the stores! Some of our favorites were: Reeds (wonderful California-style pieces), Patina Estate & Fine Jewelry (bought some wonderful wine bottle charms), Allison [in wine country], Elyse Walker and Pearl Wonderful Clothing.
Yountville: Continuing south through the valley, Yountville is a “can’t miss” foodie destination. Perhaps best known as the home of Thomas Keller’s famous restaurant, The French Laundry, Yountville has more Michelin stars per capita than any other town in the U.S.
We spent four nights at Hotel Yountville, a charming cypress-lined inn with a European feel. Our room had its own secluded back patio and a wood-burning fireplace. With complimentary breakfast, a full-service spa and lovely pool, it was a great place to recharge between activities.
We were provided bikes to explore the town, including art galleries, gourmet chocolate shops and clothing/gift boutiques (our favorite was Alchemy Works). We walked to a variety of different restaurants, including Bouchon Bakery (chocolate croissants on their Parisian-style patio) and Mini Model (Model biscuit with sausage, egg and pepper jack on a made-from-scratch English muffin).
Napa Valley: Farthest south of these main regions, Napa offers a little bit of everything. There is a wonderful, historic downtown located on the Napa River with a variety of great restaurants and stores.
Outside of the downtown, the area feels more spread out with rolling hills and beautiful views. Where Yountville had a few small boutique hotels, Napa is home to several larger resorts.
We stayed four nights at Carneros Resort and Spa, set on 27 acres amid beautiful vineyards. The pool overlooks the mountains and there are several lovely restaurants and “to-go menu” options for dining. Our cottage-style room had its own hot tub on a private patio, equipped with outdoor TV screen.
Step 2. Book your wine tours and tastings.
Consider which varietals you want to taste:
The Napa Valley region is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays, but you can also find Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, sparkling wine and some more interesting varietals. Visit the vineyards' websites to know which varietals they produce and to book your visits. Just FYI – if you are a "never-Chardonnay" person, you may want to rethink your stance while you are here. The Chardonnay at many of the local wineries is more crisp and dry, less oaky and buttery, than other Chardonnays I have experienced.
Consider what type of tours and tastings you are interested in:
There are a wide variety of offerings, including expansive tours of the wine-making process and facilities and tastings that range from free to several hundreds of dollars.
We suggest visiting smaller, lesser known (and therefore, less touristy) wineries. We loved the Lawrence Wine Estates' collection of smaller vineyards, including Heitz Cellar, Burgess Cellars and Stony Hill Vineyard. The owners of the group considered themselves Memphians for many years before relocating to Nashville. These wineries provide exceptional customer service. We always reserved private tours and tastings, which often led to getting to try some extra special reserve bottles! Other wineries we visited and recommend: Cliff Lede Vineyards (wine batches named for favorite rock songs and albums), Staglin Family Vineyards (setting for The Parent Trap movie), Stags’ Leap Winery and Far Niente Wine Estates.
You also need to decide how many tours and tastings you are interested in doing per day. Some people recommend loading up on four to five vineyard visits in one day, making it easier to justify the cost to hire a professional driver. We opted to reserve one or two visits per day—preserving the remaining time for other activities—and were easily able to utilize Uber drivers for our tours.
Step 3. Make dining reservations.
There are so many wonderful restaurants to choose from – it can seem overwhelming! Our overall recommendation is to try to create a balance between rich/lighter food and casual/fine dining atmosphere.
Reserving at least one wine-paired meal is a must! We decided not to make a reservation at the French Laundry, opting instead for a terrific meal at PRESS Restaurant. The highlights of the meal were the hamachi with shaved radish, the Brentwood corn raviolo with shaved black truffles and the 21-day aged ribeye (might have been the best steak I’ve ever eaten). The paired wines were thoughtfully selected and our waitress was charming and knowledgeable.
Other restaurants we recommend –
Favorite lunch spots:
Bottega Ristorante (Yountville) – Seated on an elegant European-style patio, we enjoyed the hamachi crudo and melon, prosciutto and mozzarella salad.
Mustard’s Grill (St. Helena) – Casual diner-style favorite among locals.
Scala Osteria & Bar (Napa) – Great atmosphere, broad menu and unique specialty cocktails in bustling downtown.
Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch (St. Helena) – Celebrated American farmhouse cuisine sourced from the Hall family’s local vineyard, farm and ranch. We indulged in oysters mignonette, warm di stefano burrata and grass-fed beef tartare on their lovely outdoor café.
Favorite dinner spots:
Bouchon Bistro (Yountville) – Elegant cozy interior serving authentic French cuisine. We especially enjoyed the escargot in puff pastry and steak frites.
The Charter Oak Restaurant (St. Helena) – Seated on their ivy-covered outdoor patio, we enjoyed grilled avocado and bavette (flank steak) with radish leaf pesto and pickled mustard seeds.
Bistro Don Giovani (Napa) – Lively patio with fountain and colorful umbrellas gave Italian vibes. We enjoyed simple meatball appetizer, margherita pizza and a red blend from their local vineyard.
Angele Restaurant & Bar (Napa) –We enjoyed delicious French cuisine on their beautiful waterfront patio overlooking the Napa River.
Napa Valley Recommendations –
Location and hotel: Calistoga (wellness destination - Solage, L'Auberge Resort), St. Helena (Napa Valley's main street - Meadowood), Yountville (foodie capital - Hotel Yountville) and Napa (larger resorts, rolling hills - Carneros Resort and Spa)
Vineyard tours & tastings: Heitz Cellar, Burgess Cellars, Stony Hill Vineyard, Staglin Family Vineyards, Cliff Lede Vineyards, Stags' Leap Winery and Far Niente Wine Estates
Dining:
Lunch - Bottega Ristorante, Mustard's Grill, Scala Osteria & Bar and Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch
Dinner - PRESS Restaurant, Angele Restaurant & Bar, Bistro Don Giovani, The Charter Oak Restaurant and Bouchon Bistro