Sneaking Over into Napa Valley

Image from travelpod.com

Yes, this is supposed to be a Sonoma blog, but Napa is just over the hill and sometimes I like to visit foreign lands. So here are some of my favorite destinations.  So far I've been lucky to not be stopped by the local cops patrolling the "border" as you'd think they could tell I'm from Sonoma, not Napa, by my t-shirt, $17 haircut, and driving an old Ford.

Note that I'm somewhat of a cheap bastard so maybe you rich folks won't want to hobnob with the same people I do.

From north to south in Napa Valley

 Calistoga area:

This is the area closest to me so it's where I like to slip in over the border most often. 

My favorite winery in Napa Vly is Schramsberg.  They make some of the best bubbly and have a great tour / sit-down tasting--reservations required.   Lots of history in their old lichen-covered caves.  Chateau Montelena is in a beautiful setting and also has lots of history (plus a $20 tasting fee and expensive wine).   You can see "The Bottle" from the 1976 Paris tasting that put Napa on the map.

For eats you'll find me at Buster's BBQ (with a real wood-fired grill).  Check out the photo of Buster on their web page and tell me your mouth isn't watering!   Yes, it's Napa, so you can have a glass of wine with your ribs, but I don't know why you'd choose that over a cold beer or lemonade.

St. Helena:

You don't hear about much about St. Clement winery, but they put out some nice cabs at reasonable prices, have a $10 tasting fee (cheap by Napa standards), and a nice view from their porch and picnic area.  Benessere makes a great Sangiovese and some other interesting wines you aren't likely to find elsewhere.  Heitz is well past being trendy so is usually overlooked--a mistake (and they have free tasting)!  Raymond Vineyards is probably on nobody's list of places to stop for Cabernet -- except mine. I've been buying reasonably priced Cabs from them for a long time.  Don't miss Prager Port Works as it's easy to drive right by without seeing their sign.

At the Silverado Brewing Company you can sit outside with a cold one and watch the traffic go by on Highway 29. Be sure to get the sweet potato fries.  Taylors Refresher or Gott's or whatever they call it now is a local institution.  Many can't understand the reason to stand in line for a $10 burger (it ain't the ambiance), but it's something you must try at least once.  Tra Vigne was over being trendy many years ago, but is still a favorite of mine. They have a wood-fired oven.  Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen is, um, on a back street in St. Helena so many don't know to look for this gem.

My only word of warning is avoid driving through the downtown area of St. Helena on weekends as you can have a 20 minute wait in traffic--welcome to Napa!

Rutherford:

Mumm has a great setting for enjoying a couple glasses of bubbly.  St. Supery is known for their Sauvignon Blanc and their Rutherford Cabernet, but also makes Semillon and a bunch of other Cabs plus have a nice setting.

The Rutherford Grill makes the best rotisserie chicken!  And has a damn fine wine list.  And a damn fine bar.

Yountville:

This town is just a bit too touristy for me although I've had some good meals at Mustards and Brix, but I can't afford to eat here very often as "cuteness" has its price.

Town of Napa:

Artesa Winery is a favorite stop for cool architecture and wines.

I don't get to the town of Napa often, but when I did I was most often at the Red Hen Cantina (I told you I was cheap).  Hey, they have their own tequila list!  You get tired of wine lists after awhile.   Napa is full of new restaurants that I've never visited--the place is booming!  Check out the downtown and the riverfront area.


Now that I've offered ideas of things to do in Napa Valley I realize it's all about eating or drinking (duh).   Are there other things to do?   I dunno.   I used to work over there, but even that involved drinking.