We will be taking our first trip to Napa this July, and I was hoping to get your feedback on our itinerary. Given it’s our first trip, I’m not certain if I’ve given enough thought to logistics (or other consideration), so any/all suggestions are greatly appreciated, including changes to the vineyards and restaurants.
Hotel: Villagio (Yountville)
Thursday Night Arrival: Dinner at Bouchon (still considering Bistro Jeanty as another option)
Friday
10:00 - Melka Wine Tour
12:00 - Lunch at Auberge
2:30 - Palmaz Wine Tour
4:00 - Jarvis Wine Tour
8:00 - Dinner at REDD
Saturday
10:30 - Cakebread Wine Tour
12:30 - Barnett Wine Tour
3:00 - O’Shaughnessy Wine Tour
8:00 - Dinner at Botega
We were also considering wine tours at Chappelet, Pride and Spring Mountain, but felt like we’d really be stretching ourselves thin for a 2-day trip. Again, for a group of Napa first-timers, I’d greatly appreciate any feedback you all may have.
Be polite and be genuine. Remember, you’re not the gift from heaven. There was a guy one time who asked what questions he should ask to pretend he was interested.
Learn something and have a good time
People will tell you to schedule two or three a day and I guess that’s OK. I don’t eat big lunches but I guess that’s also something people do.
No advice other than the above - nobody knows what you like or drink so just enjoy yourself. Cheers!
The tendency is to spread yourself thin, when the most interesting thing you can do is hang around and talk to people. The best advice I got was to ask the people giving the tours what they are drinking or for wineries they’d recommend. We found some great off the beaten path wineries that way. Sometimes, people will call their friends for you and set something up. I’ve been going to Napa for well over a dozen years now and we still did that on our last trip.
For your first trip you should (IMO) go to some of the big industrial wineries to see what that’s like and they give solid if unspectacular tours for the most part. Definitely go to place you like or think you’ll like, but remember that discovery is a great path too. If you’re at Villagio, you can walk over to V Wine Cellar and talk to the guys there. Usually someone is making something there and you can grab interesting and rare for a wine shop (but way overpriced) stuff.
I’m loathe to admit it, but I agree with Greg’s advice too.
I would try and do a sunset at Auberge, if you can. Redds is good for dinner. We had the chef’s tasting menu there. We also had dinner at Botega a couple months ago and it was pretty bad. I would seek another alternative if you can.
Have fun. Have only been to Napa Valley once but highly recommend Schramsberg. Is a somewhat unique experience (compared to just another winery visit -like Cakebread) and has a interesting history.
Cakebread to Barnett may be tight depending on group size and the traffic on Friday. While the tour/tasting ran smooth when we did it last fall, purchasing can slow down as a lot of different groups are all trying to buy at the same time so the total time there was longer than we expected. I think our group of 8 ended up taking about an hour and 20 minutes, maybe longer. Cakebread is a little more commercial than my normal preferences but it is a really well done visit.
I would choose Bistro over Bouchon, and Bouchon over Redd. We’ve been to all several times over the years, and I’m pretty much done at Redd. Just don’t care for the somewhat stark ambience, food was hit and miss. Bouchon is nice, just too expensive for the product. Bistro is always good.
If the wine “tours” occupy significant time, and you taste a significant number of wines, I personally wouldn’t do more than one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Leave time for driving, sightseeing, relaxing, napping. But then I’m probably a lot older than you, lol.
Don’t try to do everything, you can’t anyway, so no point in trying. After you’ve done a dozen or more wine visits, you start to realize they’re all the same, and it’s more about the journey than the destination. Have fun.
would just suggest you look at all the trips on a map to make sure you’re not spending too much time in a car. At least for day 2, it seems like you’re doing a lot of driving between stops, especially Barnett (Spring Mountain) to O’Shaughnessy (Howell Mountain). Plenty of outstanding wineries on both mountains, I’d suggest that you pick one or the other and cluster the visits. That way your drive will be much shorter (5-10 minutes) between the stops, gives more time to spend with the winemakers.
With Barnett, look at Pride, Smith-Madrone, Paloma, Schweiger, Keenan, Sherwin, 7&8, Togni, etc
With O’Shaughnessy, look at CADE, Viader, Ladera, Cimarossa, Black Sears, Outpost, etc
I agree about not overscheduling. We are going in July for two days (will be in Lake County for a party after those two days) and plan on scheduling two a day for the reasons stated above.
For day 1 we have scheduled Stony Hill in the morning and Forman in the afternoon. We have not scheduled day 2 yet but I am think of driving to Sonoma in the morning and going to Ridge (long drive to Lytton Springs, but my favorite California winery) and am debating between Grgich Hill and Stag’s Leap in the afternoon. I am interested in visiting what I might call the classics of the Napa Valley.
Be careful with Stag’s Leap. There are two: Stag’s Leap Wine cellars and Stags’ Leap Winery. The apostrophe was a big court battle. They are both in Stag’s Leap district. They both have an interesting history, but one is more historic than the other.
I also prefer Bistro Jeanty over Bouchon. Auberge is lovely and, sure, sunset is the best time but not if it doesn’t fit into the itinerary. Its been a while since we’ve dined there but we’ve done so a few times and have enjoyed it very much. We’ve been to Redd several times and likely prefer it to Bouchon. Our one dinner to Botega was bad enough to black list it for life. I generally believe in giving restaurants second chances but it was bad and there are a ton of options within walking distance. I’d trade out Botega for Jeanty.
How many tours/tastings is really up to you. Since it is your first Napa visit actual tours of the facility is fun. We’ve seen enough barrel rooms/caves/whatever and are happy to see them again but would prefer tasting the wines. See who you want to see so if your list is who you want to visit then it is a good list. We generally do one appointment in the AM and one in the PM leaving time for a nice lunch and a couple of pop-ins if something strikes our fancy. Chappelet is really, really pretty. They push their wine club pretty hard though. Be polite and on time.
Let me throw out some other ideas, particularly if you have any interest in photography:
Mumm has a rotating photography exhibit that is always interesting. You don’t even have to taste wine there, just park and walk back to the exhibit hall. In addition to the rotating exhibit, there is a permanent collection of some Ansel Adams works that are amazing to see. And if you take their tour (I believe) you will be able to see another Ansel Adams exhibit which was commissioned by the winery decades ago to document winery life.
Turnbull has a really nice tasting room with its own rotating photog exhibit. Last time we were there they had a mix of Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Dorothea Lange, and others. Their wines are just as good as any other mainstream Napa cabs, so consider a stop there.
I hated palmaz. Expensive tasting which isn’t waived unless you buy a case of cab which is the worst requirement I have personally seen. We toured for like an hour before we got wine and the entire operation was scientific and soulless. YMMV but I would go somewhere else with that slot.
Lunch at Auberge should be leisurely and special. No way I would leave that for a tour of a winery. Talk about buzz-kill.
Your itinerary seems task-oriented and “dutiful.” My suggestion would be to relax more, take some time. I would replace some “tours” with more personalized experiences.
This is excellent advice. The drive up both mountains can take quite a bit of time. Our last trip we visited Pride and it was one of the best tastings we’ve experienced. If you’re set on Barnett, I’d try and book Pride along with that so you’re not driving across the valley and up another mountain.
A few years back we had the privilege of a private tasting at Black Sears and it was a spectacular experience. We then went on to Viader. A couple years ago we also visited Outpost, which was a very enjoyable visit. All are quite a drive up the mountain so similar to Spring Mountain, fi you are set on O’Shaughnessy, book one of the many outstanding wineries on Howell Mountain or in St. Helena off of the Silverado Trail.
I can’t comment on your dining choices other than Bottega. We had dinner there during our 10th wedding anniversary trip and thought the experience was great and the food outstanding. We also frequent PRESS while visiting as we enjoy the attention and education we receive from the Somm’s there and have not had a questionable dining experience yet.
This past trip we decided to have a quick, short lunch at Oakville Grocery. A couple of sandwiches and a split of sparkling wine was a lot of fun. You may also want to see if you can picnic at any of the wineries listed, head in to town tot he Oxbow Market to pick up some provisions, and make your own memorable lunch experience.
The ride across Spring Mountain is very pretty. Charlie Smith is entertaining. His tasting area is very low key. If I recall, I tasted with him outside over a barrel. I liked his whites more than reds. Pride on the other hand offers spectacular views, and they’re very nice people. The wines are good too.
I was planning a Napa trip recently and Palmaz looks like an unbelievable, state of the art facility. I’d def swing by there for the full tour if I were you. Also, great wine.
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