The Auswine Forum

Hi Guys

I am heading to the Napa Valley for a fews days in late December this year. Does anyone have any recommendations for wineries to visit and/or places to stay?

Cheers

Mark

I just got back 2 weeks ago. Did a few wineries.

Wine-wise no real standouts. All of the wines were of decent quality. Pine Ridge was probably the pick for quality.
Sterling Wines (great CD, cable car up to the top) get the reserve tasting (Silver/Gold) and ask questions when in the reserve room at the end of the tour. If they know you are keen about wines they'll more than likely get out some better stuff.
Pine Ridge, had a great experience here, got a personal tour with Ray Sittig and some great stories of his time in Rutherglen.
Mondavi - was OK, nice setup there. Just make sure you get the guy at the tasting counter.

Eat
Cole's Chop House (best steak ever) great service, very reasonably priced and the lobster bisque is fantastic. Lots of good digestifs as well (Armagnac, Bourbon, Cognac) great wine list. The 21 Day old USDA steak is simply superb.
Breakfast at the Napa General Store Cafe (eat outside)

Stay
We stayed in a small house (their version of stayz.com I suppose) http://www.flipkey.com/napa-vacation-rentals/p250718/ had an awesome Mexican take-away 30m up the road, for a quick bite (they can hardly speak English)

There is also a Factory Outlet close by if anyone has the shopping bug, while you do the wineries. (Brooks Brothers, Guess, Sunglass Hut, Levis etc)

Check this out:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestrave ... concierge/

I would try go to Cliff Lede (good zinfandels and some very nice cabernet sauvignon's). Each vineyard is named after the owners' favourite rock song - I walked away with some 2008 Lonely Wizard Cabernet Sauvignon which was top notch, albeit expensive. Paraduxx was also well worth a visit. Tastings are usually conducted at your own pace in a nice courtyard and matched with various cheeses. They make some interesting blends.

You'll find that most wineries charge $25 for a tasting, redeemable on purchase.

In terms of places to stay, at the very high end there is the Bardessono Hotel - this was quite a place. There are a lot of great restaurants around, and if you're going all out, try booking dinner at French Laundry.

Thanks for the assistance guys. I will try and post a note of any interesting wines I try over there.

Cheers

Mark

And bring your money with you. I spent almost $200 per day just on the fees to taste wine......

Cheers

Mike

Napa is certainly worth seeing, but is now now extremely commercialized, very busy, and very expensive. Weekends are particularly busy, and room prices shoot up. You'll pay $15-25 just to taste the basic wines of many producers. If you want to escape the crowds a bit, check out the Sonoma region (right beside Napa). Fewer people, lower or no tasting fees, and you may even meet a wine maker or two. But it tends to be much more pinot and chardonnay there, as opposed to cabernet and other Bordeaux red varieties in Napa (also chardonnay). I'd suggest checking out the Wineberserkers forum to figure out how you can match your desired experience with the correct cellar door: they have a lot of travel notes about visits to the CA wine regions, including Napa and Sonoma. Most of the producers already mentioned are rather basic, large producers where the caller door is a tourist experience only- nothing wrong with that, but if you are looking for a more authentic experience, avoid these kinds of places!

I usually stay in the north end of Napa, in Calistoga, as the prices are lower for accommodation. In Napa itself, be prepared to spend big money.