Wine Spectator Online Wine Spectator Forums Travel and Entertainment Heading to Napa in 2 weeks, must see places?
Wine Spectator Forums Travel and Entertainment Heading to Napa in 2 weeks, must see places?Page 1 2
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This is my first trip to Napa and yes, I have done a search guys. I rented a house in downtown Napa so I am within walking distance of all the restaurants and such. Any recommended restaurants? Any awesome wine bars?
As far as wineries go, I tend to sleep in when doing wine tasting  I figure I can get in about two a day. I was thinking Opus and Montelena day one and Lewelling and Shafer day two. However, I may substitute Lewelling for another as I am not sure if they are open to the public. Any suggestions on what else I should see or do? I am also looking to come home with a bunch of wine  |
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Sticky- keep in mind that downtown Napa is opn the far south end of the valley and Calistoga (where Montelena is- I think) is on the north end. depending on traffic it can take 30-40 minutes between the two.
Etude is in Napa and they always have great juice. They are open to public on Saturdays. I love Larkmead- it is somewhat close to Montelena. You have to make a reservation and its $15/ person but well worth it. In terms of restaurants, my favorites thus far are in Yountville- this is good for you as it is on southern end towards Napa. Highly recommend Bistro Jeanty for lunch and the tasting menu at Redd was excellent food and QPR (all things considered). There was another thread where P Yang talks about a restaurant he frequents in downtown Napa...name escapes me and I am too lazy too look for it. |
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Are you driving or flying to Napa? I don't know how far you are from there. If you need to ship your wine back your best bet if you prefer to consolidate miscellaneous bottles into cases to ship is at Buffalo's on Solano, which is very close to downtown. Make sure you check their business hours as they either aren't open on Sunday's or always opened later than when we had to leave.
If you do your research I'm sure you'll map out your own schedule, but here are a few suggestions based on your post. The wife and I never "got" Montelena. The tasting area was crammed and the regular tasting was hurried and crowded. I've since read that you should call ahead and schedule the Estate tasting. It sounds like a completely different experience as well as different wines. Also, the japanese gardens around back seemed like a bad old Japanese horror movie. I kept expecting to see an evil clown jump out of the bushes. Something about it just seemed off and so wrong...many others love it. A few other wineries on that side of town the we enjoy are Pride, Larkmead and Sterling, not so much for the wines, but for the long gondola ride to the top. If you hit Sterling, skip the tour, skip the wine for the masses and ask to do one of the other two tastings. My suggestion is start at Montelena and work your way back to Napa, preferably on the Silverado trail instead of the main drag. You can cut across to Opus at Oakville Cross. Opus, where to begin...obviously need an appointment. Beautiful property, nice and informative tour even for the wine tour weary. Splurge and drop $25 for a glass of wine while taking the tour. I thought it was worth the visit regardless of what one thinks of the wine and their pricing. No need to go twice, but once is nice. We usually stay in Napa proper when visiting. There are plenty of good restaurants that hopefully you can walk to. Some of our favorites are: Celadon, Allegria and Angele probably in that order. We also would trek out to Yountville for dinner. Plenty of choices there. Good luck and please post a report when you get back. MIZ...ZOU |
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I'll do a search for the restaurant, thanks for the suggestions. I won't be there on Saturday but I will look into Etudes times right now. |
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I am going to drive so the shipping won't be an issue. The gondola ride sounds like something to try, I was considering Larkmead so after two suggestions I think I am going to do it instead of Lewelling. |
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What?!?!?! No stop at Silver Oak?!?!?!?
 Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity.... |
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chop house is downtown and pretty good food. I think healdsburg or yountville has better restaurants though. |
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You know I would if they were not renovating the whole thing. |
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I went right when they started the renovation, I think a week or so after the release "party". Tasting wine in a modified trailer was ok, but it didn't help the juice. I was still early in my wine tasting career and it just didn't do it for me. keytohwy |
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You will get a lot of winery recommendations here, so I will do something a little different. Go and do then Bale-Grist Mill tour. It is really incredible. It is the oldest operating mill on the West Coast. They mill several different types of flour, polenta and cornmeal. I got some rye flour from them, and will soon make bread with it. For $2 a person, this tour is really worth it.
They also have picnic tables, so if you want to bring a lunch you can eat there. If you should want to spend the day there, you can do the Coyote Peak hike after an early tour of Bale Grist. The park closes at 5 pm. *********************** BOYCOTT TYSON CHICKEN!! |
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Silver Oak didn't blow you away? No way! Now I feel like a dork for solely stocking my cellar with it. Fingers crossed this does not become a lets bash Silver Oak thread. I am curious as to when they will finish the renovation. |
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Now that is a cool suggestion, thank you. |
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Sticky, If you like history then you will love this stop. There are several regulars that were in there when I was there and they said it is the only flour, cornmeal or polenta they will buy because of no preservatives and how fresh it is. They also mention there is a sweet nostalgia about stoneground as opposed to the modern marvels of today. Definitely contact them to see when would be a good tour time. *********************** BOYCOTT TYSON CHICKEN!! |
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Hey Sticky-
Don't forget there is now a branch of Taylor's in Napa, at Oxbow, the public market. Also Barbers Q in the Whole Foods shopping center on Trancas is great. Def Angele for upscale. Also Julia's Kitchen at Copia. If you are really going to hit only 2 places a day consider the custom crush tasting rooms at Napa Wine Co and Silenus "Allocating wines is not rocket science. I mean, any dipsh-t can figure out rocket science." Dan Kosta |
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If you don't mind driving to dinner, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena is pretty good.
KarenT www.jeanedwardscellars.com |
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Ribs at the Rutherford Grill cannot be missed!
Lifes too short to drink bad wine!! crownliquors.net / msprinkle@crownliquors.net |
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Another thing that is outstanding at Rutherford Grill is their roasted artichoke and also their cast iron cooked cornbread. Give these a try as well. *********************** BOYCOTT TYSON CHICKEN!! |
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My favorite so far is Terra. Have not made it to the French Laundry which is supposed to be out of this world.
___________________________ (FKA: RWSW and redwingstoneware) |
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It's been a long time since I've been there but I remember having a damn good meal at Tra Vigne in St Helena (http://www.travignerestaurant.com/tv.htm)
------------------------- "I don't want to manage my cellar... I want to drink it." - Jancis Robinson |
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Worst meal we ever had in Napa was at Tra Vigne.
Just one more sip. |
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Tra Vigne: maybe not the worst meal we've ever had but certainly the worst service we've had. Visited a couple of times and the servers all had the same (bad) attitude - they must "train" this or hire based on it. Not a repeat visit for us. KarenT www.jeanedwardscellars.com |
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Zuzu is a really cool place in downtown Napa. Tapas style, unique food and good prices (brilliant Queso frito). Only problem is no reservations, so you could end up standing outside for a while waiting for a table.
Show me a good loser, I'll show you a loser - Vince Lombardi |
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Well, see what I know? As I mentioned, it's been a long time since I've been there, well over a decade, so things have obviously changed for the worse. ------------------------- "I don't want to manage my cellar... I want to drink it." - Jancis Robinson |
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