Napa Things to Do Tips by GracesTrips Top 5 Page for this destination

I hear this is the Best Wine Tour in the Country

Benziger Family Winery provides a very thorough wine tour that explains the process of making wine from growing the different varietals of grapes, the enhancements from planting other plants around the vineyards (such as roses or eucalyptus trees), to the soils in the region, the aging process, etc. It is very interesting and enlightening. Cost is $10 and tours are generally about an hour long which include a couple of tastings per person. Located in the Sonoma Region only half an hour away from Napa. See website for more details.

Address: 1883 London Ranch Rd., Glen Ellen, CA 95442

Other Contact: greatwine@benziger.com

Phone: 888-490-2739

Website: http://www.benziger.com

Opus One

$25 for one tasting of their current offering. Wow! That's expensive! You certainly can't do this all day long. But the vineyard is an awesome place to visit.

Address: 7900 St. Helena Hwy (Hwy 29)

Phone: (707) 944-9442

Website: http://www.opusonewinery.com/

Right on Highway 29, Can't Miss It

I don't want to say I'm a wine snob but this stop was not worth the time. The wine was mediocre. But if you wanted to shop for cheese, bread and other munchies then not a bad place to shop. Get your wine somewhere else. The grounds were very nice and this particular day, they were having a barbecue. No appointment for wine tasting daily 9am - 5pm winter, 9am - 6pm summer.

Address: 1111 White Lane, St. Helena, CA 94574

Directions: Right off Highway 29, you can't miss it.

Phone: (707) 963-7774

Website: http://vsattui.com/

Rodney Strong

Okay, so this is also not in Napa but all the more reason to put it here! This is right next door to J Vineyards so you might as well go to both. Located in Healdsburg (Sonoma), Rodney Strong offered some complimentary (free) wine tasting. They also offered wine tastings that you would pay for on some of there more expensive wines. Rodney Strong consistently makes very good wines. No appointment for wine tasting daily 10am - 5pm. Need appointment for tour.

Address: 11455 Old Redwood Hwy, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Directions: Off the 101 Fwy.

Phone: (707) 431-1533

Website: http://www.rodneystrong.com

Milat Vineyards Milat Vineyards Review

Visiting this vineyard came by a recommendation and it was a good one in deed! The hours are from 10am - 6pm daily (exceptions during winter) which makes it ideal for an early start or a place you want to end the day with. We purchased two bottles of the 2003 Merlot which was one of the best purchases we made on the trip. The wine exude several flavors, one in particular was a hint of mint which we were told was due to the eucalyptus trees that grew near the grapes. This was an excellent wine which is not distributed, can only be purchased at this vineyard. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. No appointment for wine tasting daily 10am - 6pm

Address: 1091 St. Helena Hwy South, St. Helena, CA 94574

Other Contact: 707-963-0758

Phone: 800-546-4528

Website: http://www.milat.com

My favorite wine - Stags Leap!

Stags Leap wine is not cheap but it's not all over priced either for what you get. I can't say much for the white wines since I mostly drink red wines. A close second most favorite wine and a much better value is from Steltzner which is practically right next door to Stags Leap. Both are worth the stop and located with very beautiful settings. You don't need an appointment for wine tasting 10am - 4:30pm. You do need an appointment for a wine tasting tour.

Address: 6150 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558

Phone: (707) 944-1303

Website: http://www.stagsleap.com/

Wine Pairing at Merryvale in St. Helena

On the fourth weekend every month, Merryvale will host a 2 hour wine pairing for $20 a person. I was slightly disappointed because I thought we would be presented with small portions of various foods and pairing them up with various wines. Well, it was more a lesson on winemaking and a biology lesson as to what tastes good with wine. So, you had a tiny paper plate holding 3 cheeses (brie - habanero pepper - gorgonzola), a pile of salt, a lemon wedge and a couple of pieces of Dove dark chocolate. Three wines, a white wine, a red wine and a desert wine are presented. You basically taste each wine with each food sample and rate whether or not you like the combination. We were in a group of about 20-24 people. What made the experience worthwhile was our host was entertaining along with the guests.
Call to make reservations. Oh, I do have to say that the room we had our wine tasting in was awesome! Wine tasting daily 10am - 6:30pm, Food pairing by appointment only 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Address: 1000 Main Street, St. Helena, CA 94574

Directions: From downtown Napa, go up Highway 29. This will change into Main Street once you have arrived in the St. Helena area.

Phone: 707-963-7777

Website: http://www.merryvale.com

You have to visit the beautiful J Vineyards!

My experience in Oct. 2005...What a snazzy, classy winery this was! Most wine tastings are basic, you use the same glass to try your various wines. Some may provide water or bread/crackers to cleanse your palate. But at J Vineyards, the wine tasting per person was $12 (two of us shared), we were provided four different varietals along with tiny food samplings to pair up with the wines (enough for the both of us). It was an absolutely wonderful experience. My experience in May 2007, I enjoyed J Vineyards so much that I wanted to go back. This time we did a $35 per person food and wine tasting. This was well worth it as the wine did not stop flowing. Sampled 5 wines and the food sampling was superb! Right next door is Rodney Strong Vineyard. Wine tasting daily 11am - 5pm. Tours by Appointment.

Address: 11447 Old Redwood Hwy, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Directions: Not in Napa! I list it here in the Napa section because it is worth visiting, about 1/2 hour away. It's north of Sonoma, in Healdsburg. Off Highway 101.

Other Contact: winefolk@jwine.com

Phone: 1-888-JWINECO

Website: http://www.jwine.com

Steltzner Vineyards

This vineyard is easy to miss from the road. Keep your eye out for it. The wine is absolutely wonderful! Unlike the Stags Leap, the Steltzner wine is harder to find. I've purchased it at Bristol Farms before but only the Merlot and Cabs. We bought a Reserve Cab and a Cab Franc while we were there. No appointment necessary for wine tasting 10:30am - 4:30pm daily.

Address: 5998 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558

Phone: (707) 252-7272

Website: http://www.steltzner.com/

Events Calendar

I'm planning for my second trip to Napa next month. So, I want to see what is going on that particular weekend that I will be there. This is a very cool website with lots of info.

Website: http://napavalley.winecountry.com/events.html