bsdstone

The wife and I are trying to put together a long weekend trip to Napa/Sonoma area for our anniversary. Looking at Oct 10-13th. Would stay near the airport when we landed late on the 10th, then want to do a wine tour on the 11th and/or the 12th.
We've done the big group tour on the bus that hit Viansa, Chandon, Beringer (I believe), and that was fine, but we want something a little more intimate/upscale/boutiquey if you will.

Can anyone recommend a good itinerary or tour person to contact?

I know I'm asking generalities here, but we're pretty flexible...willing to join an existing tour, or get a private coach if it's not too outrageou$!

Thanks in advance for your help!

darthbimmer

Maybe it's just because I'm a semi-local, but I've always done a self guided tour when visiting Napa and Sonoma. An approach I've found works well is to focus on a small geographical area rather than fan out across wineries 50 miles apart. Pick an area or a cluster of wineries you're interested in. For example, I like zinfandel, so on my last two trips I focused on the Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley, two areas well known for their zins. I mixed in some wineries in nearby areas on each trip to keep from getting myself in a rut. If you're willing to rent and drive a car, or hire a non-guide driver for the day, that's one way to go.

bsdstone

That's definitely on the table as an option! We love zins as well and may focus on that area...dumb question, but what resource do you use to find and research wineries in a specific region?

darthbimmer

My main resource is a map.

Seriously. Out here near SF, at any gas station or drug store where you find a rack of road maps, there are maps focusing on wine country and wineries. Some are state-wide, some are Napa/Sonoma only, some are nicely laminated to resist spills, etc.

I start by picking one location. It might be a specific winery whose products I want to learn more about, it might be a region that specializes in a varietal, or it might be a town where there's a hotel I plan to stay at.

Next I ask the question, "What (other) wineries are reasonably nearby?" That's where having a wine country map is really useful. They're all marked on there as points of interest. Hundreds of them.

I plot routes along the map and choose wineries partly based on name recognition (Have I had a good experience with their wine? Has someone recommended it to me?) and partly based on "Hey, this one's right along the route, I'll stop by if I have time." The latter is a deliberate move to broaden my experience outside my comfort zone.

LongingForORD

Hi,
I am local and I just went to my map file and pulled some of my wine maps (that I usually use when I have visitors). All of my local wine maps have websites, so I will list some for you and hope this is helpful. (Sorry this is only Sonoma County, as that is where I live).

www.wineroad.com or facebook.com/wineroad (this might be the best place to start, as I have several maps that list the viticultural areas, ie: alexander valley, chalk hill (where I live), Dry creek (where I was this morning taking Mom to the drs.), Russian river, ect.....)
www.sonomacounty.com
www.visitsantarosa.com (wine and visitors map)
www.windsorchamber.com

SWCPHX

The Napa Valley tourist center in Napa often has free tasting coupons and advice about specific wineries if you know what kind of wine you like.

bsdstone

AWESOME!!! Thanks so much!^

bsdstone

Good to know there are good maps available locally! Thanks so much!

frenchie2

The websites previously listed are mostly for Sonoma County, which is an hour drive from Napa Valley. Here's two websites if you want to check out Napa Valley:

http://napavalley.com/
http://www.silveradotrail.com/

I live less than two hours away from either Napa or Sonoma and usually goes there at least one weekend every season, probably more during the Summer. October is among harvest season and hotels are usually quite full and expensive. Hopefully you have that part taken care of.

I am definitely more familiar with Napa Valley area. Silverado Trail runs parallel to Hwy 29 which is the main road in the valley. Most big named wineries are along Hwy 29, whereas along Silverado Trail you will find many smaller wineries, some only sells their wine only at their wineries. The drive along Silverado Trail is absolutely beautiful, not to mention less traffic!

My husband and I never joined a tour simply because we like to pace it on our own and we like to discover smaller wineries. Among our favorites are Van Der Hayden and Casa Nuestra, both along Silverado Trail. Van Der Hayden makes fantastic Cab and they are probably the only one that makes a late harvest Cab (whenever mother nature gives them the grape that needed for the late harvest Cab. Casa Nuestra has fantastic Meritage and Tinto and Cab Franc. Last couple years our favorite small winery is David Fulton Winery in St Helena. Our latest find is Scott Harvey Wineries, but unfortunately their tasting room isn't in napa area (even though their owner lives in the valley).

Our other favorite of many years is Peju. They have a beautiful ground and beautiful tasting room. We invited some friends with us the past two years straight for a private tasting, we had a wonderful time and tasted more wine than we thought we would. The winery will always have a special space in our heart as our youngest daughter was named after one of their dessert wine Liana, which they only made it one vintage only. It has grown so much since our first visit 15 years ago, and it is probably as large as a winery we would like to visit.

Napa valley has tons of great places to dine. If you need any recommendation, I would be happy to share some of my favorites.

ALadyNCal

That's our favorite area ^

manneca

I prefer Sonoma over Napa. It's a lot more low key and IMHO more beautiful. I just drive around. I love Alexander Valley.

flyboy60

I TOTALLY agree - nowadays, almost every winery in Napa is charging $25 per person for tasting - and in many cases, that's only to taste 3-4 of their lesser wines. Meanwhile in Sonoma, tasting fees range from free up to $10 per person, and the attitude you'll run into is a whole lot less arrogant than you'll find in Napa tasting rooms.

Here's an excellent website to start out your research for wineries in Sonoma - when you get there, if not before hand, grab a brochure called the Russian River Wine road:

http://www.wineroad.com/maps/

In any case, the specific best area sort of depends on what your favorite types of wines are:

In Alexander Valley, the best wines are Cabernet, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Rhone Varietals
In Dry Creek Valley, the best wines are Zinfandels and Rhones
In the Russian River, it's Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, and to a lesser extent, Zinfandels

bsdstone

We've changed course a bit now...we're flying in LATE Friday night and staying at a Courtyard near the airport using a free cert.
Up in the AM and driving up to Napa. Staying in downtown Napa at the Andaz. Doing one tasting on Sunday at the White Rock Vineyard at 11 a.m. then heading back to San Francisco staying at the St. Regis (if a night opens up on points) or the W (currently booked).

Would love suggestions for vineyards on the way up to Napa or in the Napa area...focusing mostly on reds.

Also any San Francisco recommendations on restaurants for our anniversary (upscale) would be greatly appreciated for Sunday night!

frenchie2

Peju on Hwy 29, and Van de Hayden on Silverado Trail, both have lovely reds, and the two wineries are completely different in terms of experience. But their reds are fantastic! Van de Hayden for a long time was the only one makes a late harvest cab (they might still be). I know they are pre-releasing the 2006 vintage. If you decide to check them out, be sure to try their chocolate too, filled with their late harvest cab, delicious, but eat it in one bite!

There are lots of wonderful restaurants in downtown napa along the napa river, close to Andaz. A little farther drive would be Yountville, which is filled with wonderful restaurants (my favorite is Redd).

For the city, it might be tough to get a reservation now, but I would recommend Gary Danko (delicious food but tables are a bit close), Jardinere (french food) near the opera house is always a great choice and one of my favorite). There are many other fine dining spots in financial district (ie Blvd, 5A5 Steak Lounge, Alexander Steakhouse etc..)

bsdstone

Wonderful suggestions...thanks so much for the response! ^