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You are here: Home / Archives for Yountville

Navigating the Napa Valley Wine Route

February 9, 2014 by Joe Becerra

First-time visitors to the Napa Valley are often bewildered or overwhelmed. When should we go, where should we stay and dine, and most often which wineries are the best ones to visit? Let’s tackle these dilemmas one at a time.

Napa Valley Wine Route Planning

Navigating the Napa Valley Wine Route

Navigating the Napa Valley Wine Route

When should you visit the Napa Valley?

In my book, anytime is a good time to visit the Napa Valley. No matter what time of the year, the Napa Valley has something special to offer the wine country traveler. In winter it is the mustard, the cover crops, and the bare rows of vines that delight. Spring brings bud break and wildflowers. Summer brings the warm weather and full growth to the vines. Fall means harvest of the grapes followed by the fantastic autumn colors in the vineyards. Yes indeed, any time of the year in the Napa Valley is a good time to visit.

image of calistoga

Lincoln Avenue in Calistoga

Where should you stay and dine?

The main towns for lodging are Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga. We like each town; they all offer something different in lodging and dining. We recommend you lodge within walking distance of dining. When you can walk to restaurants there are no worries about drinking and driving. In Calistoga, there is a free shuttle that runs most of the year. It will bring visitors to restaurants, wineries, and shopping and then pick you up when you are done. There are three cab companies in the Napa Valley, so taking a cab is a great option if you cannot walk to a restaurant. Yountville has the most-noted restaurant scene with five Michelin star restaurants, all within a few blocks of one another. Check our list of recommended restaurants for Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga.

image of bottega

One of Yountville’s many fine restaurants

Which are the best wineries to visit?

We recommend that visitors to the Napa Valley Wine Trails visit between 3 to 5 wineries in one full day. More than that and you will miss something and mostly likely imbibe too much of the good life. There are over 400 wineries to visit in the Napa Valley and, if you are visiting the max of ten wineries in a two-day excursion, how does one seriously decide on which of these 400 wineries are the most enjoyable to visit?

image of clos pegase

Clos Pegase

You can visit the best wineries in two different ways. One way is to follow one of our ready-made wine trails. Or you can mix-or-match the wineries within our Napa Valley wine trails. A second way is to head over to our Winery Finder and search for tasting rooms and wineries according to your likes and dislikes. The winery finder will enable you to select the best wineries to visit by various criteria. If you want boutique wineries that are family owned and have a picnic area, the winery finder narrows down the choices for you. It is a very handy tool for the first-time visitor or ones who visit the Napa Valley every few years.

Lastly we encourage you to watch this informative short video on Napa Valley Travel Tips.

Filed Under: Activities, Calistoga, Restaurants, Tasting Rooms, Yountville Tagged With: dining in restaurants, lodging restaurants, Napa Valley wine route

Inside Yountville

July 21, 2012 by Joe Becerra

The main wine towns of the Napa Valley are Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Inside Yountville is the first of a series of short videos designed to give the tourist a quick view of the major attractions of these localities: where to stay, dine, shop, and enjoy other very fun wine country activities. In this video, you will quickly see why tourists love Yountville.

Inside Yountville

Follow these links to view our recommendations for lodging, restaurants, wineries, and other attractions in the Napa Valley.

Yountville is very popular on weekends and during the week in the Summer and Fall months. Be sure to plan ahead to book your lodging and reserve a restaurant table.

Don’t miss:

A tour and tasting at Domaine Chandon
A pastry and coffee at Bouchon Bakery
A walk or jog along the vineyard-lined Yount Mill Road
A visit to Michael Chiarello’s Napa Style boutique shop at V Marketplace
An early morning walk to watch the launch of colorful balloons taking off
A quiet stroll through the Veterans’ Cemetery

Domain Chandon tasting and tour

Domain Chandon Tasting Room

Filed Under: Activities, Yountville Tagged With: accommodations, and Calistoga. “Inside Yountville” is the first of a series of short videos designed to give the tourist a quick view of the major attractions of these localities: where to stay, and enjoy other very fun wine country activities. In this video, dine, dining, shop, St. Helena, The main wine towns of the Napa Valley are Napa, things to do Yountville, where to eat in Yountville, you will quickly see why tourists love Yountville., Yountville, Yountville lodging, Yountville places to stay, Yountville restaurants, Yountville shopping

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