Ever been to Napa Valley, CA?
Find a Conversation
Ever been to Napa Valley, CA?
| Tue, 12-28-2004 - 6:00pm |
I'm planning a trip with 4 other couples to Napa Valley and was wondering if any of you who've ever been there and gone wine tasting have any must-see's or must-do's. None of us have ever been, so we're the blind leading the blind.
TIA, Adrienne

I have been a few times. I have never done the wine train, but would love too and with friends it would be perfect. I think the best wineries to go to are the ones that are not the big ones. I like going to the little mom and pop places and buy wine that you can't get in the stores.
There are so many great restaurants that anywhere you eat should be great. I ate at The French Laundry once and it was just amazing. Of course the wait list is months long unless you get lucky for a cancellation. It was a 4 hour 15 course dining experience and will run several hundred dollars.
If I think of anything else I will let you know.
Sarah and Maggie
Sarah
Well I looked for a few links for you and found nothing.
Here are a couple of my favorites.
Van Der Heyden Winery. I have not been there since 2000? and have not yet found their wine in the stores. It used to be just this tiny little place in the middle of no where. Not sure if they have grown much.
This one is my favorite to buy Far Niente I have not been to the winery since I discovered it after my last trip to Napa.
I would also think that visiting Opus One would be an experience.
HTH
Sarah and Maggie
Sarah
Hi Adrienne,
First off, depending on how many days you plan spending in Napa, you really need to plan in advance otherwise you'll spend to much time driving all over Napa (trust me ~ I've done it) I've been to Napa about 6 or 7 times now (I live about 30 minutes away) Since you'll have a big group, I suggest you rent a limo (no need for a designated driver and everyone can pitch in $$) Go to a search engine site (Yahoo or Google) and type in "Napa Wineries Map" and you'll get plenty of info on wineries also somewebsites offer free tasting coupons to print out. Some of the wineries I've been to and have enjoyed are Beringer, Sterling ~ the winery sits on top of a hill and you can ride a gondola up to it, Domaine Chandon ~ this is an absolute beautiful winery which only does champaigns, Visatui ~ great place for a picnic lunch, Cakebread Cellars, Robert Mondavi, Oakville Grocery is a great place for picnic lunch items. I suggest you look at a map of all the wineries in Napa and map out the ones you'd like to visit.
Have a wonderful trip!
Thank you ladies. We actually plan on visiting Beringer and Sterling and are thinking about Mondavi and Coppola too. Sounds like we'll have a great time. Thank you for all your tips!
Adrienne