The Best Napa Valley Vacation
Earlier this summer I visited Napa Valley, California. It was my biggest trip of the year, and coming off of limited travel and a global pandemic, I was THRILLED for it. For any wine lover like me, visiting Napa is more than a vacation – it’s another experience to learn and compare my favorite wines across the world, and I just happened to do it with some of my favorite people! Napa was actually the fourth wine region I’ve visited following the North Fork in Long Island, Tuscany in Italy, and the Douro Valley in Portugal. All are beautiful, and different.
But there are a few reasons why this may have been my favorite yet.
Napa’s beauty surprised me, and I fell in love with its magical vistas. I explored a variety of unique vineyards, with completely different aesthetics and tastings. And don’t even get me started on the restaurants and delicious gastronomy. We ate and drank very very well for five days straight. My point is that though Napa Valley offers amazing wine, there is a lot more to it, and one visit just didn’t seem like enough! It’s a perfect vacation, and by day two I was already planning ideas for my next trip back.
Napa History & Family History
People travel from all over the world to Napa, the United States most recognizable wine region, located in Northern California. The climate, the soil, and the mountainous terrain are perfect for growing grapes. Those Mayacama Mountains create some great conditions for making wine. Our country was actually never considered to have great wine until the Judgement of Paris in 1973 when a blind taste test resulted in California wine’s beating out the French and Italian competitors. My Uncle John taught me that! He’s taught me quite a bit actually, and shared his passion for wine with me over the past several years.
In time, my love for wine has grown beyond a drink to have fun and relax, to a true appreciation for both the taste and creation of it. From my grandfather harvesting wine at his vineyard in Portugal, to my Nonno ending each long day of his landscaping business by drinking a glass of vinho with dinner… this passion for wine is in our family roots. It’s a passion for food, gardening, and cultivating our culture really. Growing, nurturing, harvesting, tasting - it’s always been a way my family has lived and celebrated life. I hope it will continue to be something I enjoy, learn and understand better, and pass down to my kids too one day.
Why Napa?
For a long time my three best friends and I dreamed about going to Napa. I think it may have started as an idea when we were 21 and still buying the cheapest $8 Chardonnay from a store. For a while I really only enjoyed white wine. It took a few years of going to great dinners with Melanie, Tonia, and Meredith to open my eyes to the amazing tastes of red wine that I formerly didn’t have an appreciation of. I went from enjoying a glass of Montepulciano every once in a while, to craving the flavors of Barolo and Primitivo.
For our 25th’s we vacationed in Miami. That’s when we decided that the big Napa trip needed to happen, and we would do it for our 30th birthdays.
We picked dates in June around Tonia’s birthday, and started planning out our dream vacation. We knew it would be expensive, and we had saved accordingly. We figured if we’re going to do Napa, we’re going to do it right! After all, it was a milestone celebration for all of us.
We waited years to visit, and I had such high hopes, but it was even better than I expected. Nothing tops a girls trip!
Planning your Trip
We decided to do five days in Napa flying in and out of San Francisco. First, I should preface that after a very unfortunate experience in SF I’d suggest planning flights in and out of Sacramento. You need to drive to Napa, and car robberies apparently happen 100 times a day there, so my friends and I started our trip off a little rough with some larceny in hour 3. But that’s a story for another day! If you’re brave, fly into SF and maybe even explore on foot. Then take an Uber up to Napa!
I felt that five days was a perfect length. It gives you a chance to see a lot of Napa and visit enough vineyards without feeling too exhausted.
For a 5 day trip you can follow a similar itinerary as we did. Sharing our day by day schedule below:
Day One: Arrive early in California. Explore area around Napa (SF, Redwood Forest, Sonoma) before checking into hotel.
Dinner at Restoration Hardware in Yountville.
Day Two: Breakfast at Bouchon Bakery, then vineyard tours!
Driver picks up at 9am beginning at Cakebread Cellars, lunch at the Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, Duckhorn Vineyards, and Hall Vineyards.
Dinner at Celadon in Napa.
Day Three: Tour of Frog’s Leap Winery.
Lunch at Ad Hoc. Explore Yountville a d enjoy the pool and spa.
Dinner at Botega!
Day Four: Vineyard Tours! Driver picks up at 9am beginning at Caymus Cellars.
Lunch at Rutherford Grill, walking around St Helena.
Tours of Castello di Amorosa followed by Odette Vineyards.
Dinner at Goose & Gander.
Day Five: Bike ride, pool time, and travel home
Tips For A Great Visit
Before you plan that trip to Napa, you could use a little intel. Here are my biggest tips:
Hire a driver to navigate Napa for you
Don’t feel you need to finish every glass of wine at the tasting
Stay in Yountville: it’s centrally located to vineyards and restaurants, beautiful, and less commercial than Napa.
Stick to a maximum of 3 vineyards in one day
Check the forecast before you go – and if you’re visiting in the summer, wear EXTRA light clothing – it’s HOT
Get to know people! Your bartenders, drivers, tour group and guides! People are so friendly and happy here.
Make reservations for all the wineries you want to visit 60 days in advance, they book up!
Make reservations for all the restaurants you want to visit in advance too – it’s a dining scene!
Don’t get robbed in San Francisco
If you do get robbed, proceed to tell everyone you meet that you only have the clothes on your back… and enjoy all the friendships, kindness, and complimentary booze that comes your way!
Where To Stay
There are many amazing hotels in Napa Valley, but after comparing a few options we decided to stay at the Napa Valley Lodge in Yountville.
The hotel was beautiful, immaculately cleaned, and quaint. It’s a two story building so given its small size the service was extra wonderful. I loved that it was across from a market and café, several restaurants like Restoration Hardware, and another popular hotel called North Block. It’s a also a quick ten minute walk to the center of town.
Napa Valley Lodge also had some great amenities such as a gorgeous pool, spa, free bicycles, and a really delicious complimentary breakfast each morning.
I loved that every afternoon you could find the other guests hanging out by the pool, sipping drinks, and having fun. It was also a great location to take a nap in the sun after the vineyard tours.
We selected a double room on the second floor with a private balcony and a view, which was big enough for four girls. The room super cute and comfortable.
We found a cheaper deal on Expedia but definitely compare sites for the best price.
Overall I would highly recommend a stay at the Napa Valley Lodge!
Getting Around Napa
If you plan on visiting several vineyards, then my suggestion is to hire a driver. Some adults may prefer to drive and that’s fine, but with our big itinerary we did not want to be behind the wheel. We wanted to enjoy the wine and let someone else navigate for us.
We rented a car on the first day to drive up to Napa comfortably and swing by a store to stock up on some snacks and drinks for the room. Plus, why not ball out and take a scenic drive in a red convertible, and feel the wind in our hair. Some guys helped us bring that vision to reality by smashing in our car windows in San Fran so the effect was extra windy ;)
Friends of ours who had been to Napa recommended that we use Nathaniel at DBL Limousine, and he was truly fantastic. We planned two days of vineyard tours with Nate and as soon as we contacted him he helped provide us recommendations from experience, work with us to create an efficient schedule, and even made the reservations. We had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to go, and some of those wineries we were excited about were already booked; however he worked with us to reserve similar experiences.
What made this experience worth the investment is that Nathaniel knew A LOT about Napa, he was born and raised there. And he knew a lot about wine (his favorite is Scarecrow, hello big prices!) He was so knowledgeable on the vineyards we were visiting, the grapes in the region, the restaurants we should be dining in and he shared all his intel while transporting us tipsy gals in a comfortable ride. Day one our vehicle was a luxury suburban and day two we rode in a spacious luxe sprinter van. He stocks up on plenty of waters, blasts the AC and will put whatever music on. Then he literally helps you out of the car and walks you to your host for the tasting. Such a gentleman!
If you’d like to hire Nathaniel you can contact him through his website (currently down) www.dblimousine.com or via his email address nathanielbeckum@gmail.com
There are also taxi’s and Uber’s in Napa, and we used them several times. But prepare to wait a bit for a ride since the demand is high and the drivers in the area are limited. If you’re lucky, you may score a karaoke car like we did. No joke I’ve never had so much fun in a car ride in my life.
The Vineyard’s
Enough chatting logistics, let’s dive into the fun part - the wineries!
The best part about visiting seven wineries in Napa is that no two feel the same. It doesn’t get boring to me. In fact, it made it really fun to compare tastes, tour guides, and even our favorite properties. Every winery has a different tasting experience and set up, as well as its own distinct wines.
Let’s get into it!
Cakebread Cellars
Sauvignon Blanc for Breakfast | When you’re beginning a tasting at 9:30am you may think “huh, this is going to go down hill eventually.” But Cakebread Cellars was our first tour of Napa, and the energy and excitement of the day ahead was high. I can’t tell you how good it felt to cleanse our palate with some crisp as hell sauvignon blanc. This wine may have changed me into a snob and I’ll never be the same again. It was perfection – and so refreshing.
We embarked on our classic walking & tasting tour, the only vineyard we explored its large property this way. Our amazing guide Tom gave us a very educational yet fun tour, carrying a cooler of wines for us to taste. He taught us about the time and attention that goes into all aspects of the wine making process at Cakebread, and said the same is true for all food made on the property. He introduced us to the lead gardener who has a massively impressive fruit and vegetable farm that we got to learn about.
In the tasting my friends and I were paired with another group of four women, and it turned out they were also from New York! Friends who had stayed close since childhood – just like us. We instantly bonded with them, and our shared hatred of robberies in San Francisco. They really helped us turn around our frustration from the day prior, and through all our laughter we let the stress melt off of us in the California sun, and washed it down with a pinot noir.
We left the spectacular tour at Cakebread with bottles of wine to go, confidently knowing this trip would only continue getting better. We didn’t stop laughing for three days straight.
Duckhorn Vineyards
Pouring on the Porch | The location of this tasting in St. Helena was essentially my dream home. The Duckhorn Vineyards Estate House has a large wrap around porch overlooking both a beautiful garden and the vineyards growing their grapes. Duckhorn has a large portfolio of wines across multiple brands including Decoy, Goldeneye and Paraduxx. We experienced their Portfolio Tasting which offers a variety from those vineyards, not just Duckhorn.
The setting was beautiful and sophisticated, and our lovely sommelier poured us a flight of five current release wines. Unfortunately the 101 degree heat didn’t care that we were living our best lives. Even under a shady porch it was HOT and difficult to choke back one or two of those tawny reds while I was sweating. But they generously moved us inside to their bar area when a spot became available, and even poured us a few extra tastings while we cooled down!
Hall Wines
The Unexpected Treat | I didn’t know what Hall Wines would be like, I had never tried the wine or heard the name. However, this modern vineyard surprised me in the best way. Driving into the property in St. Helena you turn into a trail flanked by vines, and somewhere in the distance is a large metal sculpture of a rabbit.. holding an American flag.
It’s a family owned and operated, state of the art winery. You feel as if you’re in a museum from the second you walk through the doors of the two story glass facility. The tasting room is located on the second floor, and as you make your way up the stairs there is beautiful art and color lining the walls. But upon entering the bar area it’s clear what the most attention grabbing feature is at Hall – the view. The glass enclosed room leads out to a large deck overlooking the vineyards. Tastings can be held indoors or outside. The grounds below are stunning and you can walk and explore them at your leisure.
We were offered a spot at the bar, and a very skilled sommelier walked us through our Art of Cabernet tasting. A flight of five delicious wines, working our way up in price until we sipped the famous Kathryn.
As a fun fact, HALL’s 2008 ‘Kathryn Hall’ Cabernet earned the #2 spot in Wine Spectator’s “Top 100.” Two other bottles, the ‘Exzellenz’ and ‘Rainin Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignons have garnered five 100-point ratings to date. I had to “try it twice” to know whether it was worth the investment!
Though I was trying to be cautious not to order too much wine home and rack up a big bill, I splurged here on a bottle of the Ellie and I cannot wait to crack into it one day!
Caymus
The Wagner Family Winery | We started our second day of vineyard tours at Caymus in Rutherford for a 9:00am tasting. Originally we were meant to visit another winery since Caymus was booked, and when they called to say a slot opened up we jumped at the opportunity. Nothing wrong with a little breakfast wine!
From the moment we met ‘E’ our captivating sommelier Ezekiel, we knew this guy was going to dazzle us with info. He poured the wines while delivering a very digestible explanation of the history of Caymus, the wine making process of the vineyard, and the impressive network of wines from the Wagner Family. Essentially, each child of Caymus founder Charles Wagner now oversees a part of the business and has helped expand it to what it is today – they are responsible for also creating Emmolo and Meiomi, two of my favorites.
The tasting took place outside in a lush garden patio, and E was generous.
Let’s just say we were all a little drunk by 11:30am.
Castelo di Amorosa
The Euro Experience | When researching vineyards during the planning process of this trip I received recommendations from multiple people that we should visit Castelo di Amorosa. I hadn’t heard of the wine from this vineyard, but I googled it and saw the gorgeous photos and views from this ancient looking castle towering over vineyards. I was intrigued! We added it to our list and looked forward to touring the property.
Now I have to admit this was our second winery of the day, and following Caymus where the bar was set very high! We had just eaten lunch and were feeling a little sleepy in the almost 30 minute ride from Rutherford to Calistoga. We were losing some steam, but I was excited to get there and check it out!
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I just couldn’t wrap my head around this place. The Castle was beautiful, as well as the grounds, but upon learning it was recently constructed I couldn’t understand why people would go here to sample “Italian style wines” when there are real castles in Tuscany where you can drink real Italian wine. I’ve visited them myself and there is totally no comparison, Italy has it beat.
However, I understand not everyone is able to make that trip so for some this may be the closest they ever get to a 13th century castle like in Europe. And for them I think it would be pretty cool.
Because we had some spectacular wine for two days, the wine here was unfortunately nowhere as good in comparison. Even the more expensive bottles didn’t really wow us, because we had already become wine snobs! It was the only tasting where we all left some wine in our glasses.
But we made the best of the experience and really did find the property very cool and beautiful. Obviously other people like it because this was the most crowded winery we visited, there were hundreds of people there. The gentleman pouring our tasting was knowledgeable of the wines and as attentive as possible, but the number of other patrons definitely created a different experience than we received at the other vineyards. Overall I think this was a one time visit for us.
Odette Estate Winery
The Cool One | Our final wine tasting of the trip was at Odette. Tonia had been before and recommended it, so we knew it would be good. On a hot Saturday afternoon we felt relieved walking into this contemporary, air-conditioned, and sun-lit tasting room. It was exactly what we needed. We took our (very comfortable, blue velvet) seats for the Current Release Tasting, and were so pleased by the quality of the wine. We were served some snacks, and chatted with our friendly sommelier about the differences between each.
Before we left, we took pictures on the patio overlooking the vineyards of the Stag’s Leap District. The property is within a narrow sliver of Canyon off the Silverado Wine Trail. Many vineyards are located along this trail, including Stag Leap! But I’m not sure if the surrounding vineyards offer quite the same swag and vibe. We all enjoyed the experience at Odette, and I’d definitely recommend a visit.
Frog’s Leap Winery
Last But Not Least, The Favorite | We almost cancelled our visit to Frog’s Leap as we were all feeling hungover from the vineyard tours of the previous day. But we decided to pull ourselves together after breakfast and head to our 11am tasting. Thank Goodness we went.
Pulling into the property in Rutherford there is a large red barn in the distance, which is where the wine is made and barrels are stored. To the right is the estate house where the tastings take place. This tasting experience was by far my favorite of the trip. From the table seated on the covered porch overlooking the beautiful gardens and vineyards, to the magnetizing Grand Somm Jody who told us she treats Sauvignon Blanc like a little bit of mouth wash every morning. She was a hoot!
We were completely entertained by the story of how they are one of the only dry farmed vineyards in Napa, which means the vines aren’t watered manually – ever. Between rain and to battle draught the vines were forced to search for water themselves, stretching themselves down to the forty foot deep water table below the soil. They now survive on their own, and are more indestructible because of it – California wildfires aside. Call me a nerd but that is some COOL shit.
It was such a great tasting experience and ended up being our favorite of the weekend! Though the tasting was only an hour long they let us hang out at the table for almost another hour, and walk around the property. We enjoyed the extremely refreshing rose and the tasty treats served with our flight of wines. Not to mention they continued to refill our favorite wines.
We loved the Frog’s Leap winery, and I definitely plan to come back!
Restaurants in Napa Valley
Napa Valley has such a great food scene, so be sure not to miss out on it. Here are some of the restaurants we enjoyed on our trip.
Dinner at Bottega
Originally we wanted to try and dine at Bouchon, because we missed our reservation the night we arrived, and we had been told it was one of the best restaurants in Napa. We had a 9pm reservation at Bottega on Friday and after having a big lunch we could barely stomach more food. But our driver Nathaniel said this was his favorite restaurant, and we knew it had to be good. It was just a short walk into Yountville, so we decided at the last minute to go.
I wish we had the appetite to try more dishes on the menu, but I loved the delicious appetizers and pastas we shared. Another friendly waiter pitied us after getting robbed, and brought us some shots, so that was great.
The restaurant was totally packed and buzzing even at 11:00pm when we were leaving. I think that’s a good sign this restaurant is special.
Ad Hoc
Ad Hoc was another restaurant that so many people recommended before our trip. But because it’s a Thomas Keller restaurant that’s not quite as pricey as his others, we knew it would be tough to get a table.
Luckily we were able to squeeze in a reservation for lunch, but hadn’t looked at the menu prior. We trusted it was going to be great!
The restaurants approach is to set a daily menu offering which for us included a big chopped salad, a Greek style pork chop with sides, and a dessert. We loved the flavors of every dish, even the broccoli rabe and cannelloni beans.
For an additional fee you could add a few items to the menu, like fried chicken, so of course we did that. Overall the meal was pretty wonderful!
Restoration Hardware
Our first night in Napa Valley we grabbed a late dinner at Restoration Hardware across the street. We knew that RH wouldn’t disappoint, as it has always had a reputation for attracting foodies, celebrities, and wine lovers. But as someone who loves architecture and interior design, this place is like dining in a museum.
Every piece of furniture and décor in the building is perfect. From the towering chandelier and trickling fountain in the courtyard of the restaurant, to the dishes on the table. The olive trees covered in lights created a gorgeous ambiance.
It is just as striking on the outside. There are beautiful dining set ups across various courtyards and patios.
We were one of the last tables of the evening to be sat, so the restaurant wasn’t as buzzing and busy as it normally is. But we were seated at a nice and private table, and indulged in some delicious dishes like the pesto pasta and burrata. For dessert they served us some warm chocolate chip cookies.
Though we weren’t there long, it was a lovely dining experience, and I would recommend making a reservation here for dinner or brunch! Next time I’d love to visit the wine vault at RH which is said to specialize in rare, limited production wines from Norther California’s top small producers.
Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch
The Farmstead was one of my favorite restaurants of the vacation. Located at the Long Meadow Ranch vineyards, this spot was on my list because some of my favorite bloggers loved it. We squeezed in lunch between wineries, and I don’t know if it was the excitement of the day ahead but our crew was ready to go! It was Tonia’s 30th birthday, and we brought party hats and decorations to embarrass her.
The lunch menu featured really good barbeque, and you could smell the pulled pork coming from the smoker. We shared some plates like deviled eggs and jalapeno cheddar biscuits. The food was fantastic, and the sweet staff brought over sparkling wine for us to enjoy with the birthday girl. Highly recommend a trip to Farmstead when you’re in Napa.
Celadon
Even though we stayed in Napa Valley for five days, we only spent a few hours in Napa itself. One night we dined at a renowned restaurant, Celadon, located on the Napa waterfront. We sat inside because there was a wedding taking place in the courtyard, but we enjoyed the delicious food and wine.
On my next visit I would love to swing by Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa. It must be a great collection of food and shops since many people recommended we try it!
Goose & Gander
On our last night of the trip we dined out at a well known restaurant in St. Helena, called Goose & Gander. We sat outdoors under a canopy of string lights and flowering trees. The setting was wonderful!
We ordered plates to share for the table, and enjoyed some delicious wine. This spot like some others in Napa Valley is BYOB with a corking fee.
At the end of the night you can head to the bar downstairs for some live music.
Rutherford Grill
After our vineyard tour at Caymus we grabbed a quick but satisfying lunch at Rutherford Grill, in Rutherford of course. This is the same restaurant group as Hillstone so my friends and I knew the favorites to try - the ribs, the burger, the artichokes.
You can’t go wrong here!
Exploring Yountville
The town of Yountville was the perfect place for us to stay in Napa. In town there aren’t too many shops but there are a number of amazing restaurants including the famous French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro by Thomas Keller. We also were walking distance to Restoration Hardware, Botega, as well as Ad Hoc & Addendum.
Wineries are close by, and there is an extensive number of trails for biking and running. The town is immaculately landscaped with beautiful flowers lining the sidewalks. It felt very safe, quaint, and welcoming. It’s no wonder there are so many hotels in the area, so you have multiple options to choose from!
Try One of Thomas Keller’s Restaurants in Yountville
I didn’t know too much about Yountville, but before going to Napa I had heard of Thomas Keller’s French Laundry. However, I didn’t know it was down the street from our hotel, The Napa Valley Lodge. After waking up on our first morning in Yountville, pretty jet lagged and rising with the sun, I went for a jog towards the businesses. I kept going until I had ran through the length of the small town. I saw Bouchon Bistro (another Thomas Keller restaurant) along the way.
I realized as I was jogging past a small farm and several people harvesting that it must belong to a restaurant. I looked across the street and there was French Laundry. It was sort of unassuming from the outside, I wasn’t expecting to see it in a more residential part of the town. But I knew it must be special to watch the locally grown fruits and vegetables going farm to table in front of me.
The restaurant is expensive, the cheapest is a $450 tasting menu. But apparently the quality ingredients, flavors and preparation justify the price. There were no reservations available when we were there but I’d love to try it on a future visit! There is always Bouchon Bakery if you want to grab a delicious and much more affordable chocolate or almond croissant.
I would’ve also loved to visit La Calenda in Yountville, another great Thomas Keller spot. You can never go wrong with Mexican food in my opinion, but the pictures and vibes look so good.
I’m so happy we were able to make it to one Thomas Keller spot in our time there by dining at Ad Hoc & Addendum!
St. Helena
Another really cute town in Napa Valley is St. Helena. I highly recommend spending some time here walking around, shopping at the cute boutiques, and grabbing a bite to eat.
We spent some time in an adorable store called Bespoke Fashion Styling. They do all the printing of their fun t-shirts right there at the location.
Trip of a Lifetime
Truly this vacation was the trip of a lifetime, and it felt good checking off a big destination on my bucket list.
But even more importantly, getting the chance to travel with my best friends was so fun, easy, and comfortable. This stage of life can get really busy, and it’s difficult to be together as much as we want. But I’m proud of us for making this trip happen like we always said we would, and I’ll be forever grateful for these memories.
I feel so lucky to have these friendships that have spanned decades. Hopefully like the fun group of ladies we met at Cakebread, we’ll get together for many girls trips like this in the future. And we definitely have a story or two to tell our kids one day, still laughing about our San Francisco robbery 30 years from now.
Xx Gab
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