Napa Valley vineyard Tour

[cirrrocco]

have any of you been to any of the napa valleys vineyards. which place do you recommend? I am flying in from milwaukee to San Jose and then taking my gf and her parents to one of the vineyards around there.

Is the drive beautiful? and are there any other things to do around there..

edited: changed from wineyard to vineyard

 

[Apex]

Here are a few I've gone too, along with pictures:

Napa trips

Just PM me if you want more suggestions. I think it really depends on your expectations (what you want to see).

 

[KeithTalent]

Well you really don't need to do only one.

If you want something scenic you can take the Sterling tour: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Vineyards You have to take a tram up a big hill to get there and it is very nice, plus the views are great once you get up there. The wine is pretty good too.

If you want something super fancy you could go to Opus One: http://www.opusonewinery.com/ which has beautiful architecture and very good, if somehwat pricey wines.

A fun one, if you are a movie buff is the Coppola vineyards: http://www.rossobianco.com/ they are doing renovations right now, but I think most stuff is till open to the public. They have some cool movie paraphenalia upstairs, so it's fun for non-wine people as well.

Do you like port? If so, go here http://www.pragerport.com/ they make a white port that is absolutely brilliant, plus their other ports are very good. They also do wine, but I was too busy drinking their port to try any of it. I stock up at this place everytime I'm in Napa.

The first three are all pretty large ones. Prager is tiny (like really tiny, it's a small house), but my favourite of all "wineries" in Napa. The guys that run it are all super nice too, plus you get a kickass wine glass after the tasting.

Hope that helps a little. Have fun! :wine:

KT

 

[blackdogdeek]

winetrain

 

[cirrrocco]

Thanks for all the suggestions, let me check it out and give you some feedback..and any questions I have??.

 

[wwswimming]

Chateau Montelena has some really good wines. one of their chardonnays
won some contest in France about 40 years ago, some wine history book
i read made a big deal about it, that's what i went there.

it's a good place to go for a picnic. they have or had some pretty aggressive
geese that will attack picnickers, & try & bite you. or, maybe they have that
problem under control.

i really liked their cabernet when i went there.

right now the area has some really major forest fires. in Lake County
they are advising people not to drive because visibility is really bad.
Napa has a boatload of smoke. maybe it will all be taken care of by
the time you go there. there's supposed to be some rain next week.

it's pretty serious. there's a visual effects technique where you use
layers of smoke in a perspective view to indicate distance. so it's kind
of like a real time lesson using blue-gray smoke.

 

[So]

It's vineyard, not wineyard. Don't go there asking where all the wine yards are.

 

[cheezy321]

Where is Chunkee? That i love you was knocking people for wanting to go to Vegas, and telling them to go to wine country instead. Maybe he should come in here and make some suggestions so I can thread crap everything he says

 

[thegimp03]

I've been to a lot of wineries in the Napa Valley and I'm a red wine drinker. Here are just a few wineries in Napa that I like...

Rutherford Hill
Silver Oak
Groth
Clos du Val

You will probably want to check out their websites and see what days/times they're open. I know for sure that Groth is only open on Saturdays, and Silver Oak requires a reservation to taste.

Other things to do in Napa include taking a hot air balloon trip and going up and seeing the hot springs in Calistoga.

 

[cirrrocco]

Originally posted by: So
It's vineyard, not wineyard. Don't go there asking where all the wine yards are.

sorry man playing Ikariam, i have now started dreaming abt Wine ..hahaha and correspondingly wineyard.

Now I also started saying culture as kulture and typed Kulture in one of my emails to a coworker.

 

[PetunZ]

I was thinking about doing a weekend trip up there as well. How is the smoke coming along?? I just finished a whitewater rafting trip on the American River and the smoke wasn't that bad (mainly because we were so far inland). Are there nice hotels to stay in for around $150 a night?

 

[paulney]

I second Sterling, but only for the looks. The wine is grossly overpriced, because it's such a touristy sport, and the quality is nothing to write home about.

A good one is Sattui (http://www.vsattui.com). They have a deli shop, too, so you can get a bottle, some sandwiches and cheese, sit down in their nice gardens and have a great picnic. Wine is by far better than Sterling. Their muscat, Riesling and Madeira totally kick ass.

If you are into porto, head for Prager (a block away from Sattui). Great place.

All in all, Napa is quite touristy, so expect car traffic and lots of people milling around. I hear much better white wine comes from Sonoma/Mendocino, but I have not made a trip there myself.

 

[thegimp03]

Originally posted by: PetunZ
I was thinking about doing a weekend trip up there as well. How is the smoke coming along?? I just finished a whitewater rafting trip on the American River and the smoke wasn't that bad (mainly because we were so far inland). Are there nice hotels to stay in for around $150 a night?

Right now, you'd have to search around quite a bit. The summer is the busiest time in Napa, and if you're thinking about going, you would probably want to book your room in advance. You may be able to find some B&B's for around that. Places I've stayed in up there include Napa Valley Lodge, The Lodge at Sonoma, and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. Out of those, you'll have the best luck finding lower rates at the two lodges.

 

[PetunZ]

How long is a typical visit for each vineyard? Is it possible and not too chaotic to hop from place to place? Are they pretty closely located to one another?

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: PetunZ
How long is a typical visit for each vineyard? Is it possible and not too chaotic to hop from place to place? Are they pretty closely located to one another?

Yeah, they are not too far from each other, but watch your alcohol intake. A sip here, a taste there - and pretty soon you are loaded.

You could do Silverado Trail - a picturesque road stretch that passes a number of vineyards.

I know some people form a party and rent limos - and they tour around and drink as much as they want. Don't know the cost though.

 

[thegimp03]

Most wineries in Napa/Sonoma have a set flight of wines list each day, which typically range from 4-8 tastes. There's a $5-20 tasting fee at most of the more popular wineries, but in most cases, they waive the fee if you buy a bottle.

It really depends on if you chat it up with the person who's pouring the wine. If you don't, you can be out of there in 10 minutes and easily move onto the next winery. In Napa and Sonoma Valley, wineries are everywhere, which means you can hit like 10 wineries a day if you really wanted to.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: PetunZ
How long is a typical visit for each vineyard? Is it possible and not too chaotic to hop from place to place? Are they pretty closely located to one another?

Yeah, they are not too far from each other, but watch your alcohol intake. A sip here, a taste there - and pretty soon you are loaded.

You could do Silverado Trail - a picturesque road stretch that passes a number of vineyards.

I know some people form a party and rent limos - and they tour around and drink as much as they want. Don't know the cost though.

Yup. The Napa valley is not a huge valley. It's only about 30 or so miles from Napa in the south to Calistoga at the north. I dunno the exact definition of the north and south ends of the valley but that's a reasonably close approximation. The width of the valley is much less than that - look at those two towns on Google maps with terrain turned on and you'll clearly see the valley. You can hop from winery to winery, or head over the ridge to Sonoma valley.

 

[iotone]

If you could, I would change your flight to go into Oakland. The drive is a bit shorter to Napa from there...

You might also want to call some of the wineries before you go, as some places get busy and can only be seen by appointment.

I would highly recommend Kuleto. Beautiful place, but you gotta call for an appointment for tasting. Excellent wines, especially their Chardonnay if you're lucky to get a tasting of it. It's a bit of a tricky drive to get there, but well worth it.

A very cool tour to take is through the Del Dotto Cave. You get to taste straight from the barrel, pretty good wines (the Cave Blend I believe is their most popular).

Something else that is a bit different is Round Pond. It's a winery, but also across the street is their olive mill where you can taste their olive oils. Again you might need to call, but excellent if you're into different olive oils.

Someone already mentioned V.Sattui, which is nice. And the ride up the Sterling cable car is great, but their wines are just ok. Across the way from that is a winery that has a sort of castle looking thing that I've wanted to check out, thought I don't know the name of it.

There are so many just on the 29, you won't have any trouble finding a variety of places to go. Talk to the people who are pouring at any of the tasting rooms for their other favorite winery, you never know what kind of jewel they have hidden up their sleeve.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: cirrrocco
have any of you been to any of the napa valleys wineyards. which place do you recommend? I am flying in from milwaukee to San Jose and then taking my gf and her parents to one of the wineyards around there.

Is the drive beautiful? and are there any other things to do around there..

You should go looking for Nick & Hallie Parker and Chessy... maybe you'll even find the hot legged Meredith Blake!!!

 

[SoulAssassin]

I would consider the types of wines you like when you look at where to go, different parts of Napa/Sonoma are known for different types of wines. I went through the Russian River Valley area and that's more Pinot Grigio/Noir. Figure out what you or your family likes and see if certain areas are known for that.

 

[EagleKeeper]

A little over 1.5 hr drive from San Jose to the Napa area (went through there last week end)

Most places are open from 9-5.

We will be going back to actually take a tour of one of the places. Not for the vino, but for the knowledge.

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: iotone

Someone already mentioned V.Sattui, which is nice. And the ride up the Sterling cable car is great, but their wines are just ok. Across the way from that is a winery that has a sort of castle looking thing that I've wanted to check out, thought I don't know the name of it.

It's a culinary art college. Don't know why it's in a castle, but definitely looks cool!

 

[TangoJuliet]

I'll be in SF next month....thanks for this (marked)!

 

[iotone]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: iotone

Someone already mentioned V.Sattui, which is nice. And the ride up the Sterling cable car is great, but their wines are just ok. Across the way from that is a winery that has a sort of castle looking thing that I've wanted to check out, thought I don't know the name of it.

It's a culinary art college. Don't know why it's in a castle, but definitely looks cool!

Ah got it. Thanks for the heads up on that.

There's also a lot of great places to eat out there. Check out Cindy's Backstreet Kitchenand Cole's Chop House (call for reservations) .

 

[gar3555]

+1 for Prager Portworks, I got me a couple of the white ports while I was there. Good stuff.

I would say go see the Graeser Winery. It is this small family winery, run by this old man. He is cool as hell.

We did some tour through our Hotel (We stayed at the Vino Bello Resort). There were 5 couples on a small bus, and lunch was provided. The guy was cool b/c he took us to some small out of the way vineyards, which offer a much more personal tasting experience.

Make sure you hit up Taylor's Refresher though, it has a tuna ahi burger that is amazing, plus you can bring your own wine. It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.