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 Napa Valley [all categories]
 Napa Valley - Wineries to Visit
 November Itinerary
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| Author | Topic: November Itinerary |
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RC456 Member |
posted 09-15-2011 04:56 PM
 
Harvest Moon Cafe is a very good choice. Sorry to hear that service @ G & F was not good for you and Hawkeye when they were there. We had a great server....can't remember his name but I remember he was from Argentina. But, this guy was right on top of everything. I just know that he earned a 20% plus tip from our party of 4. IP: 99.18.69.239 |
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Hawkeye Member |
posted 09-15-2011 10:59 AM
Hi Carjeff, I keep getting all these places mixed up, and I don't keep a running total. If the El Darado Kitchen is the one right across the street from the Girl and the Fig, we ate there the last trip. I remember it as being nice, but a little stark, by no means a restaurant I would go to for an anniversary or other special occasion. I guess the food was okay . . . I usually remember a place if the food or service was bad. We also ate at the Girl and the Fig . . . Can't say I was too impressed with it either . . . remember the service being a little lax but they were busy so maybe that was the reason. That's my 2c worth. -Hawkeye [This message has been edited by Hawkeye (edited 09-15-2011).] [This message has been edited by Hawkeye (edited 09-15-2011).] IP: 68.169.184.155 |
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carjeff Member |
posted 09-15-2011 06:41 AM
RC, Thanks for the reply. We had tried girl and the fig a few years ago. We enjoyed it, but prefer Italian more, so that's why we want to go back to Swiss Hotel. We also had better service at Swiss Hotel. I'm thinking of Della Santina's, Harvest Moon, or El Dorado Kitchen. IP: 155.178.4.10 |
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RC456 Member |
posted 09-14-2011 05:05 PM
carjeff Dinner in Sonoma......have you tried The Girl & The Fig? Same side of the street as Swiss Hotel, just across 1st Street W. We have eaten at both and prefer The G & F. Just a thought! Also, we have always enjoyed Brannan's Grill in Calistoga for a good meal. Saw that a meal night was still up in the air over on that side. RC IP: 99.18.69.239 |
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yesilovewine Member |
posted 09-14-2011 02:41 PM
Sorry Jeff, I didn't read the post carefully. IP: 71.65.198.80 |
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carjeff Member |
posted 09-12-2011 07:28 AM
Damombo - Thanks very much for the offer. We might have to take you up on that one Yesilovewine - We have already added Audelessa to the list. [This message has been edited by carjeff (edited 09-12-2011).] IP: 155.178.4.10 |
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yesilovewine Member |
posted 09-09-2011 06:23 PM
Jeff, if you are going to Sojourn, then make Audelssa a must visit- Eric Bradley is the winemaker at both and he is VERY talented. IP: 71.65.198.80 |
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damombo Member |
posted 09-09-2011 04:26 PM
YOU WOULD! IF WE WERE THERE AT THE SAME TIME!!!!! or better yet, come on down to Texas to the lake - where we have the "Wine Room"  IP: 96.8.187.200 |
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Hawkeye Member |
posted 09-09-2011 03:56 PM
Hey Carjeff, I don't get invitations like that. -Hawkeye IP: 68.169.184.155 |
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damombo Member |
posted 09-09-2011 03:28 PM
HAPPY FRIDAY AFTERNOON!! and happy me because we are back to normal and going out on the boat this evening and having some wine as the sun goes down!!! Carjeff - I have an invitation for y'all: As club members, we can reserve one of the little islands on Jade Lake on the Chateau Montelena property for a picnic. We can also take y'all, as our guests, to do the Library tasting at Chateau Montelena. I could schedule the tasting at 11:30 (that is when they offer it - and one is supposed to be there at 11:15), then we could picnic at 12:30. The only problem would be the tour, because they wouldn't get back until probably after 11:30 - and that is if you get to do the tour. The fellow I just talked to at the winery said that it fills up quickly and they don't take reservations. Apparently people start lining up at 9:30! Just an offer - no pressure There ya go - just thought I'd add an additional option into the mix- where there are already too many choices, right? IP: 96.8.187.200 |
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Hawkeye Member |
posted 09-09-2011 11:43 AM
Hi Jeff, Saturday, the ones I am familiar with are Steltzner which has a pretty good cave tour and we really enjoyed their wines. Baldacci, which is one of our all time favorites and they have a whole bevy of very good cabs. Stags Leap Wine Cellars we will be tasting in October. We have tasted their wines and although pricy, they are excellent. If you haven't tried Joseph Phelps, they have an outstanding cab. On Sunday, we have done the Bottle Shock tour and enjoyed seeing where the movie was partially made. However, I don't believe we needed two autographed copies of the DVD. Also, they charged an extra fee to taste their reds which I thought tacky. I know Damombo is a member of their wine club, but I thought their wines were marginal. Maybe it was because of the extra charge. We have tasted at both Zahtila and Burgess and enjoyed being hosted by the owners at each place. Their wines were very good. We are members of Joseph Phelps wine club and enjoy their wines immensely. Again, they are a little pricy. Terraces we are going to taste in October. On Monday, we have visited Paradise Ridge and have some of their wine in our cooler. Tuesday, I am not familiar with any of your wineries. When in Sonoma, we usually try and travel the Dry Creek Road. Since you are staying in Sonoma, why not try to visit Sojurn? Some excellent Pinot. Can't be much help with the restaurants. Hope you have a good trip and let us know your favorites when you return. -Hawkeye IP: 68.169.184.155 |
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carjeff Member |
posted 09-09-2011 11:38 AM
Yesilovewine - thanks for the winery suggestions. I just realized that I don't have Hawkeye's fav Sojourn on my list, so I have added that one too. Too much wine, too little time. Damombo - thanks for the restaurant suggestions. My neighbors are going to El Dorado Kitchen in about a month, so I'll see what they think of it. Also, I have changed the itinerary, and switched Sun with Mon. We're planning on Chateau Montelena Monday morning, possibly for their Vineyard tour now. Maybe you can arrive a little early that day and say hello! IP: 155.178.5.10 |
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yesilovewine Member |
posted 09-09-2011 10:34 AM
Well I think that its reasonable to remove F-C for this trip and perhaps you could plan the next one for the spring when their spectacular garden is blooming. Just so you know, and not trying to push, but Saddles does serve more than steak, its just their primary "thing". There is a cozy fireplace room which we enjoyed and i think in November it would be a delightful place to dine.... Also, without meaning to hijack this thread, there are 2 new tasting rooms that will be opening in Sonoma (town) soon. Haywood winery and Two Amigos/Glen Lyon winery are going to have tasting rooms in Sonoma very soon, if they haven't already opened. Each offers very good wine and I think you would enjoy them. Two Amigos is an off-shoot alliance between Squire Fridell of Glen Lyon and a long-time friend and though I haven't had their wine, the Glen Lyon ones are quite good in our opinion. I would recommend the Suzy's Toast and Hog Wilde Chard in particular. You might add either of these to your Sonoma day. IP: 71.65.198.80 |
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damombo Member |
posted 09-09-2011 09:35 AM
We have eaten lunch at LaSallette in Sonoma - it's off the square down a little alleyway maybe in the middle of the block. Really enjoyed lunch - it's Portuguese/Mediterranean and delicious! We've also had lunch twice at El Dorado Kitchen - great the first time, and good the second. Your winery list looks great! What do you mean by "too many wineries"? Is that even possible? IP: 76.31.52.34 |
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carjeff Member |
posted 09-09-2011 07:37 AM
Yesilovewine, Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning towards removing Ferrari-Carano from our list for that very reason. It's somewhere we'd really like to visit (we drink their wine routinely), but might be too far of a drive. We don't go to wine country thta often (only every few/several years), so I'm trying to talk my wife into going back soon so we can concentrate more on Dry Creek, and other areas. We are not steak eater, but thanks for the recommendation of Murphy's and Della Santinas. IP: 155.178.6.10 |
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yesilovewine Member |
posted 09-09-2011 06:16 AM
Hi carjeff. AS you know, I'm no help with the Napa side of things, but for your Sonoma day I do have a comment. All your Sonoma visits are in the Sonoma Valley except for Ferrari Carano, which is in the upper part of Dry Creek. That's a really big spread to visit one place, in my opinion,..almost 3 hours of driving time round trip from your lodging in Sonoma! Given the time of year and shortened daylight hours I think you may want to reconsider that unless you are thinking to stay in Calistoga and hit F-C on the way down to change lodging sites to the Lodge at Sonoma. Regarding dining, we really enjoyed Saddles which is the steakhouse restaurant at MacArthur Place, and Murphy's Pub which is down the alley alongside the Sebastiani Theater at Sonoma Square. Della Santini's is still getting good reviews elsewhere, but we opted for steak instead of Italian on our last visit so I can't speak from personal experience on that one. [This message has been edited by yesilovewine (edited 09-09-2011).] IP: 71.65.198.80 |
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carjeff Member |
posted 09-07-2011 10:44 AM
My wife and I will be in Napa/Sonoma from Nov 12-15. We were originally going to stay 2 nights in Calistoga, and 1 in Sonoma (Lodge at Sonoma), but due to our 1/2 marathon in Calistoga being cancelled, we may spend all 3 nights in Somona. We were originally going to concentrate on Calistoga wineries, but now will be spreading ourselves out across Napa and Sonoma. Here's a rough draft of our itinerary (with of course too many wineries). Any help narrowing down our choices would be greatly appreciated. We like both whites and reds, and prefer family owned wineries to the larger ones, but like to visit places where we can get the wines back here in NJ (either at local stores, or shipped direct from the winery). Sat - Dinner - Swiss Hotel Sun - Dinner - TBD Mon - Dinner - Hurleys Tue - Dinner - Oenotri We wanted to concentrate on Stags Leap, Carneros, and Sonoma Valley, but always find the need to spread out across all of Napa and Sonoma. Also -from the Lodging forum, we are trying to decide between the Renaissance Lodge at Sonoma and Napa Valley Marriott. We have stayed Lodge and thought it was a beautiful property. We find ourselves more drawn to Napa than Sonoma, however, and we wondering if we should stay at the Marriott instead. Any suggestions for another restaurant in Sonoma Square/Plaza? We dined at girl and the fig, Swiss Hotel, and Meritage on a previuos visit, and only have the desire to return to the Swiss Hotel. IP: 155.178.5.10 |
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