En route to Taiwan, my mom and I planned a short 2-day "layover" in the San Francisco area to visit some relatives. We made a last minute decision to spend a day in Napa Valley as neither of us had ever been. Since we already had a rental car I decided to drive instead of opting for the tour bus route (most tours I found are $80-$110/pp for 3-4 winery visits, not include tasting fees). I spent quite some time researching which wineries to visit but in the end decided to go with recommendations from friends, and they were spot on.
Life doesn't get much better than this. :o)
The result, in short:
9:45am | Arrive at the northern end of Napa Valley in St. Helena to start off our day :-)
10am-12pm | Tour and Tasting at Castello di Amorosa ($35 for 5 flights/pp)
12:30-1:30pm | Tasting at V. Sattui (normally $15 for 5 flights/pp, but I found a 2-for-1 coupon online)
1:45-3:00pm | Lunch at Bottega in Yountvill
3:30-4:30pm | Champagne Tasting at Domaine Carneros ($30 for 4 flights/pp)
4:30pm | Depart from Wine Country :-(
*Tip: Look online for tasting coupons as tasting fees can start to add up. The Winery Finder app has dozens of coupons. This is where I found the coupon for V. Sattui (hard to beat 10 tastings for $15!) They also have a $5 discount for Castello de Amorosa.
If you want more details of the places we visited, read on!
Castello di Amorosa (St. Helena)
Built as an authentically-styled, 13th century Tuscan Castle. Tour the replicated castle rooms and the massive wine cellar, ending at a barrel tasting before you proceed to the actual tasting. The scenery of the castle is epic, you'll fall in love as soon as you drive up through the vineyards towards the castle itself. This winery is most known for their reds, especially Cabernets.
With a beautiful outdoor courtyard, this winery is the perfect place to fit a tasting in and grab a quick picnic lunch (they have a deli inside with some good-lookin cheeses, nomssss). Since we already had lunch reservations we skipped the picnic, downed our 10 flight tasting and grabbed some scrumptulicious port wine to-go.
Lunch @ Bottega (Yountville)
We couldn't have asked for a better lunch experience. Amazing food and friendly service on their outdoor covered patio, with our bums nestled on some comfy cushions. The chargrilled octopus appetizer was our favorite and the Parmesan-garlic-butter spread was addictive!
A short ways off the main drag, you'll feel like you've been transported to the Italian countryside here, where they specialize in Champagne. My favorite part was that we were served our 4 flight tasting at our table on the balcony patio, allowing us to soak up the sun and the view.
A successful self-guided day trip to Napa! For my next visit, I'm hiring a DD :-).
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