Originally Posted by
rickg523
Consider the town of Napa.
Andaz Napa was just redone after the earthquake a couple of years ago.
1800 First is a nice boutique hotel disguised as a B&B in a Victorian about 10 minutes pleasant stroll from downtown.
Oenotri - right across the street from the Andaz -is good for casual dining.
Morimoto Napa for a more memorable meal.
Some people turn their noses up at Napa, usually dropping St. Helena or Yountville as preferences. Napa is a more "real" town than those, which (imo) are essentially upscale tourist towns.
Depends on what you like.
We are staying at the Andaz. I've never stayed at an Andaz so that will be new for me (and her) as well.
Thanks for the tips on eats. What is memorable about Morimoto?
I like Rick's suggestions on being in Napa. Oenotri is awesome and there are others int he are as well. I also like LA Toque at the Westin for a good meal. Most places will allow corkage now and if you are big enough drinkers will waive one bottle for a bottle bought off the list.
If this is a once in a long while sort of trip I woiuld recommend some olfder some newer,.
e.g. I think Chateau Montelana is a musty for visitors. Do the library tasting, more fun. As long as you are up there try a place called EMH. The lady who runs it makes great cabs and only cabs from a small plot of land. Tell her I said hi. :-) A pairing woth Ch. Montelena is obviously Stags Leap. Those two won the original Taste of Paris back in the 70's. For the final piece of that puzzle I recommend Grgich Hills bcause the winemaker there was the winemaker at Ch. Montelena for the Chard that won. Great whites there. And for a bit of Disneyland, (hey why not right?) how about a trip to Darioush. Very good quality but way over th top in glitz and glam. Fun to see and taste though. Good people. I think a fun stop is also the bubbles at Schramsberg. They are light years ahead of anyone else in the area for bubbles. You could stop at Opus or Qunitessa or Mondavi or Kenzo Estate, but you will be all the way mainstream at that point. ;-) Not bad juice though.
The place I would absolutely visit if I liked Pinot Noir as well is Failla. One of California's greatest winemakers (with Pinot more than Chardonnay IMHO). and very nice people.
Let me know if you have questions.
M.
This is really a side trip to kill a couple of days before we head into SF for the week. I'm not a huge wine buy but she is very much into it. She loves cabs and that is probably my preference as well. Although I don't mind Merlot either.
EMH sounds like something we are seeking. Shoot me a PM as to who I'm saying Hi for, unless she is a FT and I can say mjm LOL
So realistically if we have one afternoon/evening and the next day (but not evening) and I have to drive the next evening, what could we realistically expect to conquer in that amount of time? or to rephrase, to enjoy ourselves but still see as much as we can, how many wineries are we likely to experience?
thanks