First Timer in Napa - Wine Country travel ratings and reviews

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Napa Valley - Wineries to Visit

First Timer in Napa

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Author	Topic: First Timer in Napa
Liz Junior Member	posted 06-08-2011 05:59 AM This is fantastic!! I can't thank you enough - and I will raise my glass to you when I have my first glass of Pinot there! Much appreciated. IP: 69.77.165.26
damombo Member	posted 06-07-2011 08:14 PM Another thought would be to do the tour at Castello de Amorosa. It is a pretty cool tour - the castle is constructed of parts of actual European castles. Perhaps schedule a morning appointment at Cakebread Cellars - they do a nice tour about the inner workings of a winery, and we do love their wines. Then lunch in St. Helena: Farmstead as mentioned earlier, or Gott's Roadside for burgers, or Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen for yummy comfort food. Then the Castello de Amorosa tour. Then Siverado Trail back down to Napa and the hotel. Then dinner: Celadon is wonderful, Cole's Chop House is delicious, and we have enjoyed Fume Bistro and Restaurant Cuvee. This may have just added to your dilemma! But once the ideas start coming, sometimes it's hard to stop suggesting. Here is a very good suggestion: spend more than one day in the area!!! [This message has been edited by damombo (edited 06-07-2011).] IP: 76.31.52.34
damombo Member	posted 06-07-2011 07:57 PM OK, here is my first suggestion for your day: Schedule an appointment for a tour at Robert Mondavi - everyone says this is one of the best tours for first timers in the valley. Apparently they are very in depth and detailed and of course Robert Mondavi was one of the driving forces in making California wines world renowned. If you leave San Francisco at 9ish and cross the Golden Gate Bridge, you will probably be able to get to Mondavi in one and a half hours. So, if you are like me and tend to prefer to be early than late, schedule an 11:00 tour. The "Signature Tour" lasts approximately 75 minutes. For lunch, I would highly recommend Farmstead in St. Helena. It is about 6 miles up the road from Mondavi. Go to Opentable.com and make a reservation for 1:00. Enjoy a delicious lunch. Schedule an appointment for 3:00 at Madrigal Vineyards. This will be a very different experience from Mondavi because it is a small, family owned/run winery. Their wines are delicious and you will all find something to enjoy, I'm sure. You will have been traveling along Hwy 29 to go to these two wineries and the restaurant, but now I would suggest you head up 29 about half a mile to Larkmead and take it over to the Silverado Trail. Take the Silverado Trail back down to Napa (town) - it is a beautiful, scenic road with less traffic and just a wonderful drive. Check into your hotel. For dinner, I would highly recommend Celadon in downtown Napa. You can make a reservation through Opentable.com. So that is my first attempt at a plan for your day in the Napa Valley. Go to the Mondavi website and the Madrigal website to see if they will work for you. Also, check out the Wine Country section at OpenTable.com for other restaurants. I'll see if I can think of some other possible scenarios.... IP: 76.31.52.34
Liz Junior Member	posted 06-07-2011 02:05 PM Thanks so much for replying! We are leaving San Francisco that morning around 9am and driving through Sonoma to Napa. We are staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Napa Valley/American Canyon. We would ultimately love to do 2 fairly longer tours. Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. IP: 69.77.165.26
damombo Member	posted 06-07-2011 08:49 AM Hi Liz - where are you staying that one night? That will help us in pointing you in the right direction Depending on that, I am sure we will have loads of suggestions for you. For example, if you stay in Napa town, you could have lunch somewhere wonderful up valley and then dinner in Napa that evening. Are you wanting to do any tours and if so, what kind? Really in depth tours or just a quick overview? Or just chatting with the tasting room folks? Let us know and we will be full of ideas! IP: 166.205.15.70
Liz Junior Member	posted 06-06-2011 01:39 PM Hello! Six of us are planning a vacation to California for 11 days in July. We will be in Napa for 1 day, 1 night. We do have a rental car and we are thinking of seeing 2 vineyards - part of the group likes, Pinot Noirs (my fav), Zinfandels and the other half Cab Franc and Merlots - so basically reds opposed to whites. We are travelling from Canada so we won't be able to bring too many back home - but I definitely would like to pick up a few bottles to enjoy along the way as Napa is earlier on in the trip. Can you help me out? I find there are so many to choose from .. and I'm having a really hard time deciding. Where to have lunch and dinner would be helpful too. Thank you! IP: 69.77.165.26

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