Wow time flies! How is it possibly almost October? Well, this post is a little way overdue! My husband and I went on our first trip to Napa in November 2017 and it definitely met my (high) expectations! The weather was absolutely beautiful and each winery was such a unique and fun experience. You could probably visit Napa every weekend for the next year and not see the same thing twice!
How to Get There/Transportation
We were a little confused on exactly how to get from the airport to the hotel – do you take a bus, rent a car, Uber? We flew into the Oakland airport and ended up renting a car (it was insanely cheap around $15/day) and driving the 1.5hrs to get to Rutherford. While I’m a huge fan of Uber, it was nice to actually have the car to explore a little once we were in the valley.
We planned out our days based on location so that we could use Uber to get where we needed to go once we were there. You could also use a car service that plans your itinerary and chauffeurs you around. This is on the more expensive side, but could definitely be worth it if you are traveling in a group or would rather spend the money to have a cultivated experience. I think next time we go we will use this option, but I liked exploring on our own for our first time there.
Where to Stay
We ended up staying at Rancho Caymus in Rutherford. Each room had its own cozy fireplace and had recently been renovated. It was walking distance to a few wineries/tasting rooms and had a delicious complimentary breakfast every morning. They even left me a birthday card and celebratory bottle of champagne on our arrival! I liked staying in Rutherford, but I would also recommend Yountville or St. Helena as well. I’ve also had friends that stayed in Napa and loved it too! We opted for a more cozy, bed and breakfast type feel over a more commercial hotel, but you really don’t end up spending too much time in your room because there is so much to do.
Wineries
Each winery is a very unique and different experience. I don’t think I fully appreciated that each venue we visited was going to be completely different from the last until we actually got there. Choosing your wineries/itinerary (see our day-by-day below) ultimately depends on if you would rather sip wine while exploring the grounds, get a tour of the vineyard, have a food/wine pairing, or really learn about the wine making process. I would recommend a mix of everything and scheduling your days based on locations. If you don’t check the locations ahead of time, you can spend 20-30 minutes driving between events vs a quick 10 minute jaunt to somewhere closer.
Our itinerary is below, and I really recommend each place we went. The only thing I would change is to not start with the red wine tasting early in the morning. It was much more pleasant sampling sparkling wines at 10:00am than a bold red. I would also recommend making reservations in advance (you can do a lot of this online) for all of the wineries that you would like to visit, especially the large well-known ones. We had some extra time and tried to stop by Caymus, but they were totally booked. I would also recommend not trying to cram too much into the day. We scheduled 3-4 event/day and that was plenty. If you have extra time, you can always explore the winery (or have an extra glass!) and don’t have to worry about rushing to the next venue.
What to Wear
The atmosphere was surprisingly more casual than I had imagined. Not sure if I was picturing ball gowns for stomping around the vineyards, but the attire was mostly jeans, sweaters and booties during the day. People were put together and stylish but kept is comfy and practical. You could wear a nice dress/flat boots or jeans/booties and feel comfortable. I would recommend flat shoes (or comfy booties) if you are planning to take tours of the grounds or stand for long periods of time. Some of the tastings are seated and some are standing. Some tours are in the vineyards, caves or inside, so just be aware of the activities you have planned. The weather was really nice when we went and I ended up not needing a heavy coat, but I took my favorite light weight Burberry go-to jacket to wear at night. We dressed up more for dinners, but it was still on the more casual side.
Time of Year
I really enjoyed going at this time of year (fall/November) and got lucky with the beautiful weather. It got a little chilly at night, but was otherwise perfect during the day. The leaves were bright and colorful and the scenery was very vivid. Coming from Houston, we really don’t get “seasons” – it mainly goes from unbearably hot –> hot –> less hot –> maybe cold-ish –> hot – so it was fun to see all of the fall colors.
Itinerary
Thursday
- Landed at Oakland airport and rented a car
- Lunch as Mustards on our way to hotel
- Checked into our Hotel
- Wine tasting at Cakebread Cellers
- We did the Select Tasting of Current Release Wines.
- Dinner at Rutherford grill (walking distance from our hotel!)
Cakebread Cellars!
Vest | Leggings | Boots | Shirt
Friday
- Cave tour at Del Dotto
- We did the Historic cave tour. You learn a lot about the aging of the wines and get to taste some delicious cabs. They also had snacks/food at the end of the tour. They have another location and their Estate tour looks great as well.
- Lunch at Auberge du Sol
- Beautiful patio overlooking the valley. Ask to be seated on the patio
- Wine tasting at Frog’s Leap
- We did the garden/cellar tasting, but their other 2 tastings look great as well. This was a very casual atmosphere but the grounds were really beautiful. If you are wanting to sit and relax with friends this is a good option.
- Dinner at Ciccio’s
We didn’t end up making it out to dinner that night, but this was where we were planning to go and it is highly recommended
Frog’s Leap!
Dress | Boots | Scarf (similar)
Auberge du Sol
Saturday
- Cave tour/wine pairing at Schramsburg‘s vinyards
- This was one of my favorite experiences. You learn about sparkling wine/how it’s aged and can have a seated wine/food pairing.
- Walked around the town at St. Helena and stopped into Model Bakery for some coffee
- Lunch at Farmstead at Farmeadow Ranch– loved this place! Casual atmosphere and you can walk around the grounds
- Wine tasting on the patio at Elizabeth Spencer winery (right next to our hotel)
- Went to bed fairly early to be able to drive/catch our Sunday flight
Farmstead at Farmeadow Ranch
Top | Jeans
I know there are so many more fun things to do in Napa, and would love more recommendations for next time we go! What were your favorite things to do in Napa?!
xo,
Kinsey
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