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Started By
Message
Going to Napa in early April recommendations
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:18 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:18 am
The last thread good thread looks like it's from 2016.
Looking for newer info since there have been natural disasters and whatnot in the meantime.
TIA
Looking for newer info since there have been natural disasters and whatnot in the meantime.
TIA
10
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:22 am to tigerpimpbot
Try the wine
Posted on 1/10/19 at 5:56 am to tigerpimpbot
Do a search in travel board. Lots of more recent info.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 6:03 am to tigerpimpbot
Domain Carneros for “champagne”
Peju must try the cab franc. Ask for Thomas for your tasting. Give the hostess a Geaux Tigers. The tasting is about an hour or so, plan accordingly.
Hog Island Oyster Co has built a restaurant in Napa. Great oysters.
If you need a slow down for a few hours, you can sit under the trees at Chandon and chill for a while. You can do the same on Carneros’ porch.
Peju must try the cab franc. Ask for Thomas for your tasting. Give the hostess a Geaux Tigers. The tasting is about an hour or so, plan accordingly.
Hog Island Oyster Co has built a restaurant in Napa. Great oysters.
If you need a slow down for a few hours, you can sit under the trees at Chandon and chill for a while. You can do the same on Carneros’ porch.
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 6:05 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 6:59 am to tigerpimpbot
Robert Mondavi tour was the most informative in terms of the history of Napa winemaking. They only make their reserve stuff there so it's not their meh wine.
Charles Krug is another place that's more of a laid back, relaxing time.
Castello di Amorosa is a legit castle and pretty cool. The VIP tasting is in a cool room upstairs.
Sterling is a must just for the beautiful scenery and tram ride.
The new Louis Martini stuff might be open around then. I think it opens in March. It's one of the oldest in Napa and has a really cool history. The new place they're building is supposed to be really cool.
Charles Krug is another place that's more of a laid back, relaxing time.
Castello di Amorosa is a legit castle and pretty cool. The VIP tasting is in a cool room upstairs.
Sterling is a must just for the beautiful scenery and tram ride.
The new Louis Martini stuff might be open around then. I think it opens in March. It's one of the oldest in Napa and has a really cool history. The new place they're building is supposed to be really cool.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 8:57 am to TH03
Wife and I went at the end of November for our anniversary.
Yep. Did the Twilight tour and it was awesome. Over 2 hours and a gorgeous setting.
This was another good tour and you get to pick what you taste. Several good wines, and the guide,Austin from Houston, was great.
We did Domain Chandon and Mumm for champagne in the mornings. Very much enjoyed both of those.
Cave tour of Stag's Leap was great, and got to have some very good cabs. JoJo the guide was a Bama fan, but was cool none the less
Peju was just OK overall, but the cab franc was very good as the other guy said.
This is going to sound really dumb, but the food we enjoyed the most was the english muffin at Model Bakery in Yountville. We ended up getting them every morning. They'll ruin all other english muffins for you though.
We had a lot of other good food though It was a great trip, and can't wait to go again.
ETA: Adding pics of muffin because why not
quote:
Robert Mondavi tour was the most informative in terms of the history of Napa winemaking. They only make their reserve stuff there so it's not their meh wine.
Yep. Did the Twilight tour and it was awesome. Over 2 hours and a gorgeous setting.
quote:
Castello di Amorosa is a legit castle and pretty cool.
This was another good tour and you get to pick what you taste. Several good wines, and the guide,Austin from Houston, was great.
We did Domain Chandon and Mumm for champagne in the mornings. Very much enjoyed both of those.
Cave tour of Stag's Leap was great, and got to have some very good cabs. JoJo the guide was a Bama fan, but was cool none the less
Peju was just OK overall, but the cab franc was very good as the other guy said.
This is going to sound really dumb, but the food we enjoyed the most was the english muffin at Model Bakery in Yountville. We ended up getting them every morning. They'll ruin all other english muffins for you though.
We had a lot of other good food though
It was a great trip, and can't wait to go again. ETA: Adding pics of muffin because why not
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 9:20 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 9:14 am to TH03
quote:
Robert Mondavi tour was the most informative in terms of the history of Napa winemaking. They only make their reserve stuff there so it's not their meh wine.
Charles Krug is another place that's more of a laid back, relaxing time.
Castello di Amorosa is a legit castle and pretty cool. The VIP tasting is in a cool room upstairs.
Sterling is a must just for the beautiful scenery and tram ride.
The new Louis Martini stuff might be open around then. I think it opens in March. It's one of the oldest in Napa and has a really cool history. The new place they're building is supposed to be really cool.
This is a good post for intros to Napa. Most of those aren't what I would considered the best wines but offer some good experiences.
I would recommend doing a cave tour at Del Dotto (I think they now have 3 locations). Make it the last stop of the day because you get a lot of wine. You also get to try the same grape at different stages of aging and different barrel types. So you don't get a finished product on those, but see how different things impact the taste.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 11:30 am to tigerpimpbot
I get out there quite a bit and here are some quick thoughts:
Small wineries I like:
Reverie
Eeden
Mending Wall
The Terraces (they do an optional ATV tour)
Ehlers Estate
OBrien Estate
Mending Wall
Fairwinds Estate (has a cave)
Venge
Burgess
David Fulton
Charbay Distillery (something different)
All of these require appointments - a lot of places do.
There are some decent larger scale places, though, if you want to go that route - Pride Mountain, for one. Schramsberg is interesting but overpriced for what you get. It does have a huge hand carved cave (thanks, Chinese migrant workers). Kuleto Estate has an almost 360 degree view of the entire valley. It is far and away the best view in Napa. It is owned by a large wine corporation, but the wines are still good. Do not drive there buzzed. It is a one lane road straight up.
Tips:
-Try to hit up places that don't sell their wine at your local package store.
-Try to get up into the mountains and off the beaten path. There are fewer tourists off the Silverado Trail.
-I would book one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon and then do walk-in places the rest of the day. 4 wineries is a good target number per day. I'll try to remember to post some good drop in places later.
-Platypus tours are a great option if you haven't ever been to Napa before.
-The wine train is a ruse. The wineries it goes are pretty marginal compared to most other places.
The fires of 2018 did not impact this area other than Smokey conditions outside. The 2017 fires burned down a few wineries but were mostly relegated to residential areas of Santa Rosa (Sonoma side). Most wineries were not impacted other than some of the 2017 crop was trashed; however, the fires in occurred in late October which is post-harvest for most varietals. Still a lot of burned forest but other than that, you should be good.
Small wineries I like:
Reverie
Eeden
Mending Wall
The Terraces (they do an optional ATV tour)
Ehlers Estate
OBrien Estate
Mending Wall
Fairwinds Estate (has a cave)
Venge
Burgess
David Fulton
Charbay Distillery (something different)
All of these require appointments - a lot of places do.
There are some decent larger scale places, though, if you want to go that route - Pride Mountain, for one. Schramsberg is interesting but overpriced for what you get. It does have a huge hand carved cave (thanks, Chinese migrant workers). Kuleto Estate has an almost 360 degree view of the entire valley. It is far and away the best view in Napa. It is owned by a large wine corporation, but the wines are still good. Do not drive there buzzed. It is a one lane road straight up.
Tips:
-Try to hit up places that don't sell their wine at your local package store.
-Try to get up into the mountains and off the beaten path. There are fewer tourists off the Silverado Trail.
-I would book one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon and then do walk-in places the rest of the day. 4 wineries is a good target number per day. I'll try to remember to post some good drop in places later.
-Platypus tours are a great option if you haven't ever been to Napa before.
-The wine train is a ruse. The wineries it goes are pretty marginal compared to most other places.
The fires of 2018 did not impact this area other than Smokey conditions outside. The 2017 fires burned down a few wineries but were mostly relegated to residential areas of Santa Rosa (Sonoma side). Most wineries were not impacted other than some of the 2017 crop was trashed; however, the fires in occurred in late October which is post-harvest for most varietals. Still a lot of burned forest but other than that, you should be good.
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 11:34 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 11:52 am to tigerpimpbot
Go to Frog's Leap. That was the best vineyard/winery experience that we had.
This post was edited on 1/10/19 at 11:53 am
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:06 pm to tigerpimpbot
A lot of vineyard recs in here, so a couple restaurant recommendations.
The obvious one is The French Laundry in Yountville. It's expensive, but it's a once in a lifetime experience.
Another fantastic option (from everything I've seen and read, never had the pleasure of going) is Auberge du Soliel. The views look outstanding and it does have a Michelin Star.
The obvious one is The French Laundry in Yountville. It's expensive, but it's a once in a lifetime experience.
Another fantastic option (from everything I've seen and read, never had the pleasure of going) is Auberge du Soliel. The views look outstanding and it does have a Michelin Star.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 12:13 pm to tigerpimpbot
quote:
Going to Napa in early April recommendations
stay in sonoma.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 2:51 pm to AbitaFan08
Bouchon in Yountville is a great restaurant. Red's is good as well.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 2:53 pm to tigerpimpbot
Valley of the Moon
Cade
Castle was cool. Their wines were just okay but you do get to pick them so that is nice
Cade
Castle was cool. Their wines were just okay but you do get to pick them so that is nice
Posted on 1/10/19 at 3:01 pm to CoachChappy
quote:My son and I ate there. I'll second that nomination. Excellent food and really had a fun time.
Hog Island Oyster Co has built a restaurant in Napa. Great oysters.
For wine, we enjoyed Cliff Lede and Plumpjack on the Silverado Trail. Also Spring Mountain Vineyard, althoguh I think you have to make an appointment for that one. We had a tasting set up for us by a 3rd party.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 3:37 pm to FinleyStreet
David Fulton Petit Syrah is wine crack. So, so good.
Eat lunch one day at Gott’s Roadside Burgers. Don’t let the line scare you away. They’re good.
Eat lunch one day at Gott’s Roadside Burgers. Don’t let the line scare you away. They’re good.
Posted on 1/10/19 at 7:01 pm to L.A.
quote:
Hog Island Oyster Co has built a restaurant in Napa. Great oysters. My son and I ate there. I'll second that nomination. Excellent food and really had a fun time.
My wife’s bday is this weekend. They are shipping us 6 dozen oysters. It’s helps when one of the owners is my wife’s uncle/godfather.
If you get a chance, you have to go to point Reyes at the originalPosted on 1/10/19 at 8:42 pm to tigerpimpbot
Oakville Grocery
Parish cafe
Joseph Phelps
Parish cafe
Joseph Phelps
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