California - 3 days in Wine Country. Need info on Napa, Sonoma.

My business partner and her husband are spending a couple of days in San Francisco; and 3 days in wine country.

They just want to tour the area. Maybe Napa and/or Sonoma.
I suggested the Wine Trail. I also suggested heading west to the coast; and returning to SFO via the city. Maybe a stop along the way at Pt. Reyes Lighthouse.

Since I can't go with them, they can use some suggestions.

Thanks.
Dan

I very much enjoyed having lunch at the restaurant at Auberge du Soleil. When making a reservation, ask for table on the terrace.

http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/

I suppose it all depends on how much time they have and how interested they are in wines or in specific wines. They wont be able to visit close to a majority of all the wineries so they should make some choices and kind of make a little itinerary.
Note also that many winieries have tasting but no real "tours"
Heres what I would recommend ( but note its just a personal preference)

Try to do the wine thing during the week, weekend traffic can be heavy.
For wine lovers as opposed to "beginners"
Napa : Drive up 29, start at Mondavi and go to Silver Oak on the Oakville Cross and double back to the Rutherford Grill for lunch. Visit Mumm's ( best and most informative "champagne" tour) their tours I believe run every two hours so make sure to check so you can fit it in.
Drive up the Silverado Trail for the smaller but somewhat better wineries which are usually not as crowded and you might even meet the owners.
Recommended ZD and Rombauer. Visit the geyser and have dinner in Calistoga. Nice small town lots of little shops and restaurants.
Spend the night and get a mud bath.

Alternately after leaving Mondavi head for Beringer ( one of the best tours in terms of wine making information) drop in at Freemark Abbey and relax at Stirling Wineries' hill top tasting room with great valleys views by taking their cable tramway up the hill. Very nice in the later afternoons after you have imbibed a few "tastes"
Have dinner at Mustards Grill one of the valleys best (reservations needed) on the way back to SF.

If a full day in Napa is too much I would highly recommend a stop in Muir Woods to see the giant redwoods and/or Suasalito on the way to Napa.

Sonoma though smaller is also a very interesting town surrounding a park in centre and may a little closer to SF. If time permits take the fantastic ( and scary to some though I dont know why) Valley of the Moon over the mountains I believe you go up to about 8000' over to Napa from Sonoma on US 121??.

They will have a lot of fun.

mike

Personally, I like Sonoma County, especially the region between Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay. Bodega, of course, is where Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds was filmed, and seeing the old schoolhouse is kind of a kick.

There are lots of fun places to walk around Bodega and several excellent restaurants.

A neat town near Bodega is Occidental. It was settled primarily by Italians and Chinese, and has preserved some of the flavor of the old town without getting too touristy. Of course, there are plenty of good wineries, many less well known than the ones in Napa. And best of all, it is far less crowded than Napa.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/travel/18sonoma.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1082563392-lDoX868PH9YYWJVnTezxrg

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I would recommend Greystone for dinner. I think there is another thread in this forum discussing it.

I like all tips, ideas from fellow FTs.
Here are my winery tips: Niebaum-Coppola, BV (Beaulieu..), Mondavi, Mumm, Domain Chandon ...

We always buy food for a picnic at Dean & DeLuca in (I believe) St. Helena.

The tip for Auberge is great .. a drink at sunset is even better ...

And yes, Bodega Bay and Muir Wood are great (may be cold and windy).

Thanks for the heads up. I've e mailed this page to my friend.

Dan