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Napa Valley [all categories]

Napa Valley - Wineries to Visit

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yesilovewine Member	posted 03-30-2011 04:47 PM Well Pooh, where have YOU been???? Mighty quiet lately.....! Glad to see you didn't fall into the bay or sumpthin' IP: 98.232.221.183
Poohh66 Member	posted 03-30-2011 04:24 PM y'all crack me up just sayin IP: 173.168.214.16
yesilovewine Member	posted 03-30-2011 02:52 PM Hawkeye, I knew you were a man of good judgement! "Southern by Choice" is the best testament! IP: 98.232.221.183
Hawkeye Member	posted 03-30-2011 10:58 AM Hi Judge, Sure hope I am not in trouble! If you will go to the top of this post you will see a small box with a face and question mark in it. If you will click on that, you will find my email address. I am southern by choice, having moved to Tennessee in 1974 from Iowa. Have never regretted it for a minute. IP: 68.169.189.111
yesilovewine Member	posted 03-30-2011 08:47 AM Hi Judge. I'm not in California. Left coast, though...Willamette Valley. To e-mail through this site, note at the top of each post a series of little pictures. One is a letter. Click there to e-mail. Hawkeye has that option, but I don't. I'll think of something. ---By the way, where did God's Grace plant you??? [This message has been edited by yesilovewine (edited 03-30-2011).] IP: 98.232.221.183
judge2 Junior Member	posted 03-30-2011 08:29 AM Good morning all you California people... Thanks to your advice, I am going to stay at Best Western in Calistoga, rent a bike, ride the Silverado Trail at least to Deer ? where my local South African wine dealer told me is one called Rombauer Vineyards, stop again at Chateau or another, and enjoy the day with maybe some BarBQ. One last favor; what restaurant in Calistoga or within (20) or so miles driving would be good place for sunset, outdoor dining, not-too-sophisticated dinner? Signed, Southern by the Grace of God. P.S. I would like to email YesILoveWine or Mr. Hawkeye but don't want to put up name and address. Is there a way to do so? IP: 75.151.222.54
yesilovewine Member	posted 03-30-2011 08:15 AM Me again, Judge. I think that I would visit Chateau Montelena and Vincent Arroyo- very convenient to Calistoga and I am interested in the Chateau's connection to the Judgement of Paris. I am pretty sure that VA requires an appointment, but think that CM does not. As you are a Southerner ( by choice or "the Grace of God", as my mother would ask...?) you might like to try Buster's BBQ. That is my plan - what self-respecting Southerner doesn't want to check out the BBQ in a new location, right? That taps all I know for Calistoga. Please do get back to us after your trip as I would love to hear about it. IP: 98.232.221.183
Hawkeye Member	posted 03-30-2011 05:49 AM Hi Judge, I am glad you finally recanted (am I using this correctly?) and said you would visit a couple wineries. If you had not changed your mind, I was going to have to call a mistrial. It would be sacrilegious to be in the heart of wine country and not partake of the juice of the grape. That being said . . . Places to stay in Calistoga. You basically have a choice of motel like accommodations or B&Bs of which there are several. There is also an upscale resort called Solage, but I read on another forum that they have missed their mortgage payment, so if you go that way, do not pay in advance. A good place to find the type accommodations you would like is to check out http://napavalley.com/lodging/calistoga.html where you will find even mud baths if that tickles your fancy. Personally, we stay at the Stevenson Manor Best Western Inn which is a cut above the normal BW. It sounds like you are going to go south along Hwy 29. If you do, there are probably 150 wineries (or more) along this route. You could probably pick any two and not go wrong. Also, there are several restaurants along the way for lunch. You might consider bicycling the Silverado Trail. It would be more interesting with it's winding up and down hills trail. Again, along this Trail, you could stop in at any and not go wrong. If you want to tell me which trial you would like to take and how far you will be going - will you also bike on the return - then maybe I can be more specific on wineries. Are you a hanging judge? If so, please be lenient with me for this post. P.S. I have no idea how far you can bicycle in a day. M exercise is limited to bending my elbow . . . but not enough to get me in trouble with the law! [This message has been edited by Hawkeye (edited 03-30-2011).] IP: 68.169.189.111
judge2 Junior Member	posted 03-30-2011 05:24 AM Many thanks. So I am going to Calistoga to spend the night, and yes, I think I'll rent a bicycle and take a long ride. What would be the best lunch, two wineries to see between C. and Napa, what is a good hotel? I am enjoying talking to you all that live and visit there a lot. IP: 76.123.172.104
yesilovewine Member	posted 03-29-2011 07:43 PM Hi again judge. Sorry about the lousy answer before, I was hurrying off to an obligation. I see that damambo has piped in...the others will follow I'm sure. My knowledge is mostly about Sonoma, but I do have this "dream trip" that includes the upper reaches of Napa, so I will share those thoughts with you and perhaps you will find something useful. I like the concept of Calistoga for lodging/dining because it is out of the fray of the lower valley. It will be more rustic and outdoorsy from what I know. I too am a big nature fan, so the hot springs, geyser, petrified forest, and good access to northern Sonoma County are draws for me. I have notes about a cyclery called Getaway Adventures which offers guided tours or rentals and they also have kayak and hiking guides. Calistoga Bike Shop also is in the area and they offer a self guided winery tour that sounds interesting. You can tailor it to your abilities and they arrange for wine pick-up if you make purchases. Regarding hiking, the Robert Louis Stevenson park is a little north of Calistoga and has a pretty extensive trail system. It is where he and his bride spent their honeymoon in an abandoned bunkhouse for the Silverado Mine. In one of my many guide books there is a very diverse itinerary suggested for a 1-day visit. It goes something like this....start with a tasting at Domaine Carneros around 10 am. then head to diRosa Preserve " to see wine country at its weirdest", then to Oxbow Market for lunch then to the Silverado Trail where visits to Darioush and Quixote are suggested for far out architecture, Stag's Leap and Phelps for premium wines, and Frog's Leap and Casa Nustra for "good times". They next suggest a mud bath at one of the spas in Calistoga followed by a straight from the farm meal at Jole'. So, there are a couple of ideas for you to start with. Hopefully some of our other folks who really know Napa will come on soon. IP: 98.232.221.183
yesilovewine Member	posted 03-29-2011 04:31 PM Just thinking about what you might like to do in the area and I came up with these ideas. If you like cycling, there are a couple of bike rental companies in the area. I believe that guided tours are available as well as individual rentals. I recall a velo group being advertised as well. If you like kayaking, that is available too. If you would like to take advantage of the vineyards, there are some guided vineyard hikes in Sonoma, and I suspect Napa has tthem too. Napa isn't my best thing, but maybe these will get you started. Wine Country's main site will have information about these suggestions as well as others. Its nice to have someone inquire about some of the other options for a change; I think folks forget that there is more to the area than just wine. Hopefully you won't have to wait long to hear from the rest of the peanut gallery. Enjoy your trip! IP: 98.232.221.183
damombo Member	posted 03-29-2011 04:25 PM well shoot - that is just too little time!! hmmm, our outdoor activities consist of walking to the car to drive to the next winery we have decided to try. You actually don't mention wines - are you not interested in that part of the Napa/Sonoma experience? You might check out the new category entitled "Things to do" because we made some (feeble) attempts to come up with stuff to do other than taste wine There are sooo many fantastic places to eat - where (town) are you thinking of staying? I take it you will have a car? As far as lodging, what were you thinking in terms of budget? We go to the less expensive places because we spend our time out and about and would rather spend money on shipping wine home instead of fancy digs... IP: 98.198.194.134
judge2 Junior Member	posted 03-29-2011 01:21 PM Hello. On way to SF in May and want to see/do as much as possible in the Valley(s) in 24 hours (Fri/Sat). Narrow it down to outdoor-oriented, traveling alone, local color, food and lodging you love most. Thank you in advance... IP: 75.151.222.54

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