We are flying into Oakland on a Friday night and staying in the Fairfield area (I believe 45 minutes from the airport). We have a wedding at 6:00 p.m. in St. Helana on Saturday. I%26#39;m looking for suggestions of things to do during the morning/afternoon hours on Saturday and on Sunday before we head out (in the evening). Are there ';must see/do'; things we should plan for? Our time is limited and I understand there is quite a bit of driving (we will have a car). Any recommended itineraries are GREATLY appreciated!
I know there is a lot of information in ';trip report'; strings (thank to InnKeeper), but since our time/destinations are so specific, I%26#39;m hoping I can get more specific info - I have no idea where anything is in the area ...
Thanks in advance
Napa in a Day/two - very specific time frame - please help!
lucytadeu-
Depending on where the wedding is in St Helena, your hotel may be as much as an hour away.
Were you planning on going back to change, or?
It%26#39;s hard to give recommendations without knowing a bit more.
Some general info:
-Most Napa wineries open at 10 am.
-Saturday is the busiest day of the entire week. There will be a traffic jam on Hwy 29 from Zinfandel Lane all the way into St Helena, starting at about noon and going until past 5 pm.
-The reason the trip reports are recommended is that instead of getting just one person%26#39;s POV or recommendations, you can get *dozens* just by using the search function. The idea is, not everyone has the same tastes (or styles). One trip report may cover 8 or 10 wineries in a day (';power tasting'; ;). Another may talk about hitting just 2 or 3. It really depends on the type of person doing the touring.
So that being said, give us an idea of who you all are. Do you want to do lots of tastings, fast? Or would you prefer doing a tour, or sitting and chatting with the tasting room staff, and driving to less places?
Are you looking for name dropping wineries to impress your friends?
Are you looking to stop at wineries you can get in the grocery store, to see/hear/learn about them? (Mondavi, or Beringer, for instance).
Or would you rather taste wines at a few small boutique wineries, that have such low output that the only place you%26#39;ll ever be able to buy a bottle is at the winery itself?
Favorite styles/types of wines? Reds? Whites? Dry? Sweet? Rhone varietals, or French clones? Fruit forward or more earthy/herbaceous? (and if you don%26#39;t know, that%26#39;s OK too-- but we need to know what you like/know to make a recommendation!)
Or perhaps wine tasting is not that important for you, and you;d rather tour the Jelly Belly factory?
Lots and lots of things to do, as you say. Exactly what you want to do, depends on what you like. :)
-The Innkeepers
Napa Old World Inn
PS Whatever you do, mapquest the route from your hotel to the wedding. At the very least, you%26#39;ll see if it%26#39;s longer (or shorter) than expected. And-- if it%26#39;s near any wineries or other fun things to do! :)
Napa in a Day/two - very specific time frame - please help!
Some wine tasting at Domaine Carneros would be fun. You may also enjoy visiting Copia in Napa, even if you don%26#39;t take the classes it is a very interesting place to browse through and the gift shop has many cookbooks if that interests you. Julia%26#39;s Kitchen looks like a nice place for a meal, also. Happy travels! :)
Dear Innkeepers - thank you for the reply. We will probably skip going back to Fairfield to change before the wedding - and just change at the venue in St. Helena a little before 6:00 p.m. We are def. interested in less tastings - perhaps 3-4 wineries. Maybe one boutique and 1-2 well-known. Wineries that are generally loved - not sure if that%26#39;s too vague. And we enjoy reds and whites equally - less dry, more fruit forward - although, honestly, we don%26#39;t know enough about wine to have a huge preference. In addition to wine tasting, we want to check-out the ';towns'; - quaint areas where we can walk around the shops, have a great lunch (I heard Oakville Grocery is great for lunch) ... the wineries are not the most important thing, although we def. want to see a few while we%26#39;re in the area (have heard they are breathtaking).
I would love to get itineraries that keep us on path for Saturday - heading up to St. Helena from Fairfield and then in that area perhaps (so that we%26#39;re not having to factor in a lot of driving right before the wedding), but all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Sunday we%26#39;ll have a little more flexibility - we catch a flight out of Oakland in the evening. Is there an amazing breakfast place we should check out?
Thank you again!
lucytdeu-
Here are our suggestions for a single day itinerary, based on your input:
8:50/9:00 am start for Napa Valley from Fairfield
9:45 am arrive at Robert Mondavi winery. Call them TODAY to see if you can book the 10 am tour.
10 am - 11:15 am Robert Mondavi To Kalon tour
11:30 Drive to Oakville Grocery for lunch. Pick up picnic fixin%26#39;s.
12:00 Start your drive up to Frank Family Vineyards for a tasting and picnic lunch. Tell them the Old World Inn sent you. :)
( frankfamilyvineyards.com/html/visiting_napa.鈥?/a> ).
12:30 arrive Frank Family Vineyards. Enjoy tasting and picnic.
2:00 Depart Frank Family for Vincent Arroyo winery.
2:30 Arrive Arroyo for wine tasting and playing with doggies.
3:00-3:15 You can either:
1. Drive to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). Great gift shop.
OR (our suggestion)
2. Visit the first winery castle in America built using 800-year old techniques ( http://www.castellodiamorosa.com ). You MUST MUST MUST call them first, to see if you can get a tour. They may be completely booked. Tell them the Old World Inn highly recommended you take the tour, and you were hoping that they could ';squeeze you in';. :)
Please bear in mind that the castle opened 2 weeks ago, and is getting lots of media attention, so they may very well be booked. Going there for just a tasting is fun, but the tour---- W.O.W.
You would be done with the tour by 4:30/4:45 or so, which would give you 20 min to drive back to St Helena (no traffic the way we%26#39;re taking you), and 60 min to get ready for the wedding. If that%26#39;s cutting it too tight, skip the castle and just hang out in St Helena from 3:45 on.
Hoping you have a wonderful time!
-The Innkeepers
Napa Old World Inn
PS Before you leave, be sure to get a good winery map to see where all of these places are! Normally, we%26#39;d just suggest you get one from your innkeeper-- but you%26#39;re not staying in Napa, printing one out onlineis your best bet. Google ';Napa Winery Map';. There are several good ones.
This is AMAZING!!! Thank you so much! Is everyone in Napa as lovely as you are?
Thanks again!
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