re: Napa Valley recs

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How easy is it to get Ubers if going from one vineyard to the next?

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Hit or miss, depending on how remote your location is. And many are remote.

No Uber available and you’ll miss your next appointment and that’s no bueno.

Hire a driver. You’ll be glad that you did.

Second emphatic vote for hire a driver—not worth the risk and Uber/Lyft is not reliable up valley or in the mountains. If you’re just in Napa proper, Uber works great, Coombsville is okay, Yountville is pushing your luck.

I agree you can drive yourself on two visits a day if you’re there for more than a few days—I do not recommend driving down from Pritchard Hill or Howell Mountain with any sort of buzz. As far as cops, we’ve had trips where we didn’t see a single one and trips where Hwy 29 was littered with CHiPs. If you are visiting familiar places or run into an ‘accommodating’ host, particularly in the afternoon, good chance you can happily get over served and you’ll be glad you have a driver—expensive-yes, but worth every penny. I can give you driver recs if you need them.

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I can give you driver recs if you need them.

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Would love that. Most of our tastings are grouped together but are not in Napa proper. One grouping is in St Helena (Terraces and TBD) and the other is Rutherford (Stagland and Round Pond). Curious the price point to hire a driver for the middle of the day (10-3).

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Here is my recommendation, in order of preference:

1. Colgin (Ann Colgin - from Waco, Texas)
2. Peter Michael (Sir Peter Michael)
3. Fantesca (Heidi Barrett is their winemaker who made the iconic wine for years at Screaming Eagle)
4. Opus One (owned by Mondavi and Baron Philippine de Rothschild)
5. Darioush (did wine and olive oil tasting)
6. Chappellet
7. Quintessa
8. Far Niente (also owns Nickel & Nickel)
9. Nickel & Nickel (also owns Far Niente)
10. Joseph Phelps
11. Silver Oak
12. Schramsberg (mainly sparkling wine (not my favorite), but JD Davies is a good cabernet)

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Had never heard of Colgin until I read your post. Looked into it and wow, rave reviews on their wines. We're going to Napa in August and booked a tasting at Colgin. Price is ridiculous but we'll probably never go again so worth the experience and tasting. Will report back after how it goes.

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hadn't looked into Schramburg, thanks for that rec.

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The Schramsberg tour is really good. They are in the original cave that were carved out by the Chinese in the early 1900s. If you think you will join a wine club, do it before your trip and have one delivery prior. Then you will get 2 tastings/tours for free. I did that with Schramsberg.

I really enjoyed the Del Dotto tour as well. You do barrel tastings there and can see how a wine tastes at different stages of the aging process.

My cousin owns a winery in Sonoma. J Rickards. It is a small winery, but it has won many awards, and they take care of you. I think the tastings are $20/person. It gets great reviews.

Great area