Among about 15 wineries I hoped to visit based on friends' recommendations, I could only visit six of them during my stay. I wanted to visit as many as possible, but it is hard to visit more than three or four wineries a day. This is because each winery has different tasting schedule, and most Napa Valley wineries only accept visitors by appointment. Also, each winery pours 4-5 glasses of wine during tasting - although these are not full glass but tasting portion, it is still a lot of wine to drink in a day if you visit more than four wineries.
Oh! in terms of foods. Here are some of my recommendations for casual dining.
- Oxbow Public Market: There are many small spots in the market, but please check out Ritual Coffee, The Fatted Calf, Ca' Momi, C Casa, and Hog Island Oyster.
- Redd Wood: Stylish casual Italian restaurant with good wine list. The menu is very simple, and the food was delicious.
- Mustards Grill: Seasonal Northern Californian cuisine. Wandering around the vegetable garden in front of the restaurant is another fun.
Here are the six wineries that I visited:
| a. Chateau Montelena 1429 Tubbs Ln Calistoga, CA 94515 b. Schramsberg 1400 Schramsberg Rd Calistoga, CA 94515 c. Joseph Phelps 200 Taplin Rd St Helena, CA 94574 | d. Opus One 7900 St Helena Hwy Oakville, CA 94562 e. Clos Du Val 5330 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558 f. Hess Collection 4411 Redwood Rd Napa, CA 94558 |
Chateau Montelena , 1429 Tubbs Ln Calistoga, CA 94515
Have you watched the movie, 'Bottle Shock'? The movie is about the "Judgment of Paris" in 1976, where Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay won against Grand Cru and Primiers Cru white Burgundy including Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973 (Grand Cru), Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973 (Primiers Cru), and Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973 (Premiers Cru). The chateau still makes great Chardonnay and also red wines (Cab and Bordeaux-style blend). Its Riesling from Potter Valley was surprisingly delicious!... very similar to Alsace Riesling.
Schramsberg , 1400 Schramsberg Rd Calistoga, CA 94515
There are three wineries I wanted to visit for their sparkling wines - Schramsberg, Mumm, and Domaine Caneros. All of them produce high quality sparkling wines, but Schramsberg seemed most attractive, with its tour of historic 125-year old caves. Even if you are familiar with how sparkling wine is made with traditional method (méthode champenoise), the tour is definitely worthwhile, and the wine tasting that follows at the end is great. I was also lucky to hear explosion sounds ("POP!") from a bottle with defects during the cave tour - if the bottle has defects, it will explode due to the high pressure in the bottle during the second fermentation process!
Joseph Phelps , 200 Taplin Rd St Helena, CA 94574
Wine tasting at Napa wineries are often pricey, yet I found tasting at Joseph Phelps is really worthwhile. With the great view, at the pretty terrace, you can taste great selection of the wines. My favorite among the tasting was Pinot Noir from Freestone Vineyards. Of course, the Insignia (Bordeaux-style blend) was great... and Viognier from Spring Valley was balanced very well.
Opus One , 7900 St Helena Hwy Oakville, CA 94562
Opus One is a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippine de Rothschild, who makes famously delicious Bordeaux-style blend red wine. During the winery tour, you are introduced to many modern technologies employed in today's wine making. Also, the grand estate was designed and built to perfect wine production... in a very elegant and exotic shape. During the tour, I also tasted Overture, the second label of Opus One as well as the current vintage Opus One. :)
Clos Du Val , 5330 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558
I visited Clos Du Val for its beautiful picnic area as well as its tasty wines. After wine tasting, you can take your last glass of wine to the picnic table and enjoy it with your meal. It was really relaxing and pleasant to drink wine with meatloaf sandwich that I bought from Fatted Calf under the bright sun looking over the green vineyard and Mayacamas Mountains.
Hess Collection , 4411 Redwood Rd Napa, CA 94558
Hess Collection was the most beautiful winery that I visited on this trip. From its charming wild flower garden and lotus pond at the entrance to the great modern art collection housed in its main building, the winery is definitely a lovely place to visit. Complimentary winery tour with a short film at the end introducing the vineyards on Mount Veeder is highly recommended!
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