Napa Winery Suggestions
09-06-2010, 09:33 PM
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i'm planning a day trip to Napa in early October and i wanted to reach out to some of the wine connoisseurs out there.
i'm looking for wineries to visit and tour. since it's our first time visiting, we'd like to visit the top 3-4 wineries for the scenery and beautiful surroundings.
As of right now, i know we definitely want to visit Opus One and Sterling.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
i'm looking for wineries to visit and tour. since it's our first time visiting, we'd like to visit the top 3-4 wineries for the scenery and beautiful surroundings.
As of right now, i know we definitely want to visit Opus One and Sterling.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
09-06-2010, 09:56 PM
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living just north of napa i have heard great things of these few places..Jarvis Winery- www.jarviswines.com. ...Quintessa-www.quintessa.com .....Pride Mountain Vineyard- www.pridewines.com they should all be a good experience.hope the weather stays nice for you but rain usually doesn't start for us up here till mid nov.
09-07-2010, 01:57 AM
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Opiss, errr, Opus is HORRID. Easily one of the worst tastings I've ever been to, though the building is impressive.
How much are you willing to spend for each tasting?
Are you interested in places like Rubicon (for film history buffs)?
You should probably go to Pride, like guysk8r1717 suggested. Call and ask for Tim Bouchet when booking the tour. Tell him Gabe sent you. He does a great cellar tour. It's also a nice place to take some food and have lunch.
Chateau Montelena is another nice place:
The library tasting is better than the standing one. You can picnic there too. There's a nice lake:
Darioush is probably the most Disneyland of all of the Napa vineyards.
Phelps has some nice vineyards, but the building itself isn't great.
Castello Di Amorosa is a great place to take pictures. It's a huge castle owned by the V Sattui folks. Not great wines, but great for picts.
If you want good wine, do Shafer. You'll have to call and reserve a tasting.
How much are you willing to spend for each tasting?
Are you interested in places like Rubicon (for film history buffs)?
You should probably go to Pride, like guysk8r1717 suggested. Call and ask for Tim Bouchet when booking the tour. Tell him Gabe sent you. He does a great cellar tour. It's also a nice place to take some food and have lunch.
Chateau Montelena is another nice place:
The library tasting is better than the standing one. You can picnic there too. There's a nice lake:
Darioush is probably the most Disneyland of all of the Napa vineyards.
Phelps has some nice vineyards, but the building itself isn't great.
Castello Di Amorosa is a great place to take pictures. It's a huge castle owned by the V Sattui folks. Not great wines, but great for picts.
If you want good wine, do Shafer. You'll have to call and reserve a tasting.
09-07-2010, 04:45 AM
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My wife and I visit Napa and Sonoma about once every other year.
First of all besides tasting, you must do lunch at Auberge de Soleil on Rutherford Hill. Ask for a table on the terrace which overlooks a lot of the Napa Valley.
For serious wine, go to Duckhorn for a private tasting. They make fantastic merlots and cabs.
For the glitziest tour, go to Rubicon Estate. This is Francis Ford Coppola's winery.
Joseph Phelps has a killer cab. Not much to look at in terms of impressive buildings but the tasting is wind blowing.
The chairlift ride at Sterling is fun and the wine is good.
One of the wineries that really put Napa on the map is the Robert Mondavi winery. To me, this is a must visit winery if you haven't been to Napa much.
I loved the quality of the wine at Opus One although a tasting certainly is quite pricey.
If you want to do some twisties driving, go to Oakville (in the Napa Valley) and take the Oakville Grade to Sonoma. The road goes right over the mountains separating Napa and Sonoma and is a fantastic twisty road.
For more twisties, visit the Hess Collection which is up on the mountains that separate Napa from Sonoma. One great twisties drive is to take the Oakville Grade and then make a left on Mt. Veeder Road, which takes you near the the Hess Collection winery (make right from Mt. Veeder Rd. onto Redwood Road which take you to the winery . This ride made my wife a little carsick (we did it in a Dodge Challenger RT with a Hemi -- great throttle response but not great body control in the twisties). Hess Collection has great wines.
For something really offbeat in Napa go to the Prager vineyard which specializes in ports and late harvest wines. There is no tour for the tasting, presided over by a nutty, old family member, was a lot of fun.
My favorite tasting experience is at the small, family owned Swanson Vineyards. Therre is one tasting a day and it is a 2 hour affair with a decent amount of food.
My favorite tour/tastings are actually in Sonoma. Check our Gundlach Bundschu for an amazing tour of the family massive vineyard in a Swiss Army military vehicle conducted by a family member and Benzinger which has a tractor tour of its vineyard.
If you love mind blowing gardens, check out Ferrari Carano in the northern reaches of Sonoma County.
By far the best wine we had in Sonoma was at Chateau St. Jean, where we are wine club members. No tour but the tasting is killer.
In terms of an amazing restaurant, check out The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma. Obviously, if money is no object and you are willing to reserve a table months in advance and dress up for the meal, the French Laundry in Yountville is considered one of the best restaurants in the world. For fantastic, top drawer, Michelin-star-level food that is a little easier to access, try Cryus in Heraldsburg (in the northern reaches of Sonoma).
Want more 411? PM me.
First of all besides tasting, you must do lunch at Auberge de Soleil on Rutherford Hill. Ask for a table on the terrace which overlooks a lot of the Napa Valley.
For serious wine, go to Duckhorn for a private tasting. They make fantastic merlots and cabs.
For the glitziest tour, go to Rubicon Estate. This is Francis Ford Coppola's winery.
Joseph Phelps has a killer cab. Not much to look at in terms of impressive buildings but the tasting is wind blowing.
The chairlift ride at Sterling is fun and the wine is good.
One of the wineries that really put Napa on the map is the Robert Mondavi winery. To me, this is a must visit winery if you haven't been to Napa much.
I loved the quality of the wine at Opus One although a tasting certainly is quite pricey.
If you want to do some twisties driving, go to Oakville (in the Napa Valley) and take the Oakville Grade to Sonoma. The road goes right over the mountains separating Napa and Sonoma and is a fantastic twisty road.
For more twisties, visit the Hess Collection which is up on the mountains that separate Napa from Sonoma. One great twisties drive is to take the Oakville Grade and then make a left on Mt. Veeder Road, which takes you near the the Hess Collection winery (make right from Mt. Veeder Rd. onto Redwood Road which take you to the winery . This ride made my wife a little carsick (we did it in a Dodge Challenger RT with a Hemi -- great throttle response but not great body control in the twisties). Hess Collection has great wines.
For something really offbeat in Napa go to the Prager vineyard which specializes in ports and late harvest wines. There is no tour for the tasting, presided over by a nutty, old family member, was a lot of fun.
My favorite tasting experience is at the small, family owned Swanson Vineyards. Therre is one tasting a day and it is a 2 hour affair with a decent amount of food.
My favorite tour/tastings are actually in Sonoma. Check our Gundlach Bundschu for an amazing tour of the family massive vineyard in a Swiss Army military vehicle conducted by a family member and Benzinger which has a tractor tour of its vineyard.
If you love mind blowing gardens, check out Ferrari Carano in the northern reaches of Sonoma County.
By far the best wine we had in Sonoma was at Chateau St. Jean, where we are wine club members. No tour but the tasting is killer.
In terms of an amazing restaurant, check out The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma. Obviously, if money is no object and you are willing to reserve a table months in advance and dress up for the meal, the French Laundry in Yountville is considered one of the best restaurants in the world. For fantastic, top drawer, Michelin-star-level food that is a little easier to access, try Cryus in Heraldsburg (in the northern reaches of Sonoma).
Want more 411? PM me.
09-07-2010, 07:16 AM
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Agree with Scott,
Duckhorn for a private tasting and Rubicon Estate!
Duckhorn had/has a deal where you can visit 3 of their properties and experience a private tour and tasting for about ~~ $250/couple.
Duckhorn for a private tasting and Rubicon Estate!
Duckhorn had/has a deal where you can visit 3 of their properties and experience a private tour and tasting for about ~~ $250/couple.
09-07-2010, 11:00 AM
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09-07-2010, 12:57 PM
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4 Is a nice comfortable number, taking your time, and swallowing everything. Going at a reasonable clip, 5-6 is doable.
Are you looking more for the building or the greenery for shooting?
09-07-2010, 01:00 PM
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Gabe - i'm gonna have a group of 15 with me, so i think 3-4 is good enough. personally, i'd like to be able to shoot some nice landscapes and also enjoy the winery. just looking for a nice first time experience.