On our trip to California this summer I knew that I had to hit up Napa Valley because why wouldn’t you with delicious wine and stunning views. Being a wine newbie, even though I am a French teacher and a I love my wine, this was new territory for me. We only really had a day and a half there and we didn’t want to break the bank. In Napa each winery tour or tasting is about $35-$45 which can add up very quickly. In our time there we decided to only do 3 wineries.
The beautiful grounds at CakeBread Cellars!
This cellar was the top of our list because my boyfriends family went here way back when and asked us to go and get them a bottle of wine, but this tour was amazing. The winery is beautiful and they are having a new tasting center opening up next year but the tour took us all over the grounds and we got to sip the wine and hear the history as we went. The tour-guide was very personable and gave so many great details, highly recommend!
Stunning views and wine at the grounds of V. Sautti!
For this winery I think our other tour conflicted with it so we opted in to do the Member for a Day tasting. I thought this would be similar to a tour to get some information about the winery and get great tasting wine, but unfortunately we only got one of those things. The wine was very good and the cellar was super cool, but I didn’t get that intricate and in depth feeling that I got at Cakebread which obviously I have to compare to. BUT, the grounds of this place are beautiful, make you really feel like you are in the Italian countryside. They have a deli/food shop where you can buy food and enjoy the grounds, it is quite expensive but quite delicious!
Beautiful wine and delicious appetizer at the Robert Mondavi winery tasting
We decided to do this tour super last minute (aka the day before) but I am so glad we did. We were the first tour in the morning but the grounds were beautiful, the history is rich and the wine tasting is a one of a kind experience. Their art of wine is so passionate they really teach you how to appreciate wine and bring out the best flavors in any wine you taste. Make sure you try the fume blanc and their moscato (ask your tour guide for a sip at the very end) because they are to die for! We even decided to buy a bottle of each to bring home.
Accommodation: We stayed at this great airbnb in downtown Napa. So the city of Napa is about 20-25 minutes from the wineries which is totally a-okay as long as you plan for it. It had the most comfortable bed, great shower upstairs and very reasonably prices
-> click here.
We were only in Napa for a total of 1 full day and we were super tired from our leg in Yosemite so we didn’t do much but the wineries. The only restaurant we ate at was Rutherford Grille. It was a great lunch spot and not too terribly expensive and a delicious cheeseburger. In downtown Napa there is a Trader Joes and lots of other great affordable places you can swing by as well.
