California has several wine valleys.
This trip, we made our base at the Westin Verasa Napa, just steps from the town of Napa, where we had tastings at Trahan Winery and Brown Downtown–enjoyed the wine and friendly staff at both. Breakfast at Napa’s Casa, in the Oxbow Market, was really delicious–excellent breakfast tacos in addition to other items.
One day, we booked a driving tour with Napa Private Tours. I must say this is a terrific way to go! We were driven to four wineries without worrying about driving ourselves, and we were provided with delicious snacks, water and an entertaining driver along the way. Mumm was a great spot to start, tasting sparkling wines.
Vine Cliff, Viader and Knights Bridge rounded out the four wineries included in the tour. All three were new to me, with Viader having my favorite wines of the three. Halfway through the day, Napa Private Tours included wine and food pairings at Knights Bridge for a light lunch.
A good place to stay in Sonoma is The Lodge at Sonoma–about one and a quarter miles from downtown Sonoma. San Francisco Mission is historic and beautiful.
Wonderful places to dine in Sonoma are Fig & Girl,
Sonoma Lodge,
and Sweet Scoops for yummy ice cream.
Another great sparkling winery is Chandon.
Conn Creek, Cakebread Cellars (another favorite for over 30 years) and Sattuie are all wonderful places to taste wines–all very different. At Sattuie, you can purchase food to accompany your wine and have a terrific picnic under the trees.
To delve further into wine country, try Russian River, Livermore or Mendocino Valleys. You can’t go wrong with any!
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