San Francisco and Wine Country

We did it in 2005. We stayed in yountville for a couple days at a b&b and healdsburg in Sonoma at a great inn on the square. Sonoma is very rustic, very much how napa used to be. My favorite stops were prager Port in st helena, Bella in upper Sonoma (in a cave). Must get a sandwich at oakdale grocery and have a picnic at v satui.

Yes, oakville grocery, not oakdale grocery. Sterling is a fun tour. Take the gondola to the top of the mountain

No budget constraints really. We don't want to spend 500-600 a night on a hotel but 300+ is fine. I do know that the wife wants some type of spa. We love to drink wine, but are not necessarily aficionados.


We'd like to eat at a couple of nice restaurants while we are there, but are not opposed to the "hole in the wall" either.

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Wine Country

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go to conn creek and do the wine blending. You get to go down in a room with 19 different wines, you taste them all and then get to make your own blend from the wines, bottle it and take it home. There is a teacher there to help you blend the wine to get the taste you are looking for.

Cole's Chophouse for dinner in downtown Napa. As for lodging, try The Meritage Resort in Napa. Your wife would love the spa - it is in a cave underneath the vineyards.

We enjoyed the Orchard Garden hotel and that part of town. We ate Boulevard for our big dinner and it was insanely good.

We sat up against the wall just across from the kitchen. It was a neat spot but in the back by the windows would have been nice too.

The waiter was not happy with us since we ordered a cheese plate as a pre-app, paired with a white wine, and not as a desert. IDGAF, we want what we want - why have an issue with us? We liked that he left us alone though.

The building almost is an entity of it's own. Amazing brick ceiling.

ETA: Oh shite, I just looked at the dinner menu and I'm starving now (and in BFE Mississippi). Crap.

Bottega is very good.

We did a couple of the bus tours when out there, wish we would have just done our own thing. The bus tours are nice because u dont have to plan anything or drive, but you end up going to some average at best wineries and getting herded into tasting the wines they have set up for your group.

Would recommended doing some research into the types of wines u enjoy, and targeting wineries that are known to have good vintages of that type.

In San Francisco for Italian food I suggest:
Perbacco in the financial district
Ristobar or A16 in the Marina
SPQR on Fillmore
Acquarello if you want something a little more formal and romantic.

If you want old school SF places, go to Tadich Grill or Sams. Boulevard is always solid and as others have posted, it's a beautiful restaurant. Plus there are naked ladies on the wall in the men's room.

If you want Chinese go to R&G Lounge, Yank Sing for Dim Sum, or Henry's Hunan for a cheap lunch.

Bushi-Tei in Japan town is a really under rated Michelin Star quality restaurant serving French fusion. I wouldn't even classify it as asian, just really well done tasty food and good service. I've had many great meals there.

Napa is a little easier to navigate relative to Sonoma given that it's more concentrated geographically. It will also probably be more crowded.

In Napa I'd suggest going to the Oxbow market in the city of Napa, which is basically a food mall. There's a website, and don't miss the Fatted Calf butcher, it's around the corner.

Yountville: it's hard to find a bad meal in Yountville. Bouchon is great french bistro food, Bottega is excellent. Also several great spa options in Yountville. I've been to the Villagio several times and it's a great facility.

Wine wise, if you don't have a preference, I'd try the Napa Wine Co in Oakville on the Oakville cross road. It's a co-op where many small wineries make their wine and it will give you the chance to taste a lot of different wines from different producers in one place. Otherwise, I'd suggest Phelps, it's probably one of the more scenic locations in Napa, but you have to schedule a tasting. I think it's worth it though. I also like Alpha/Omega. New-ish winery, great place to spend an hour or so, and the wines are good.

In Sonoma County, you can't go wrong on the Russian River Wine Road. You can hop in the car, get on westside rd and probably visit 10-20 wineries just by following the signs. Pinot, zin, chard will be the most common varietals you'll encounter.

For food in Sonoma, the Girl and the Fig in the town of Sonoma is good. In Healdsburg, Dry Creek Kitchen, Ravenous, and Bistro Ralph are all good. If you want a Michelin star kind of experience in that area, check out Cyrus, also in Healdsburg.

Have fun!

ETA: looks like the owner of Bushi Tei is selling the place, so I'd scratch that rec. A great, great neighborhood restaurant is Chapeau, I'd definitely check that out.

LINK

this, very quiet, only 6 rooms i think? and the restaurant downstairs is good and not too expensive for cali standards

ETA: its not 5 star or anything, but its location is money, right behind city hall in the town square