Wine Country – Comprehensive guide to Napa Valley
Written: Aug 01 '01 (Updated Aug 02 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Ride on Wine Train, Still some small wineries left.
Cons: The well-known wineries turn it into a tourist trap.
The Bottom Line: Chose a B&B neither on 29 nor on Silverado Trail. Visit the smaller wineries on Silverado e.g. "Dutch Henry". Relax, laugh, and love life.
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| ptiemann's Full Review: The Wine Country |
Content:
1. Bed & Breakfast Places
2. Wineries
3. Restaurants
4. The Wine Train
5. Other Activities
Other web resources
1. Bed & Breakfast Places
I found some B&B phone numbers on the web and it seemed that every place required a two night minimum stay and was booked. Finally I had luck. Someone had done a last-minute cancellation and so we spent the first night in the “Oliver House B&B” and the second night in “The Ambrose Bierce House”. Both are in St. Helena.
1a) “Oliver House B&B”
Phone: 707.963.4089
This place is located on Silverado Trail. For those unfamiliar with the area, there are two main roads going through the valley. Highway 29 goes from Napa through Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena to Calistoga. Silverado Trail goes parallel to 29, approximately 5 miles east of 29. While 29 goes through all the towns, Silverado Trail doesn’t hit any villages.
Therefore at daytime, all the tourist traffic is on 29. Most of the commercial big wineries are along 29 as well. Silverado Trail is fairly quiet. The few B&B places on Silverado Trail tend to be larger than the ones downtown St. Helena. We had a full floor in the Oliver House. If you are a light sleeper, you might have problems because apparently there were semi-trucks passing by at night.
The innkeepers, Bob and Fred are really cool people. Bob is an excellent cook and I’d bet that he has been to the local Culinary Institute. He’s around 40 and “retired” with his partner from Silicon Valley. He will give you advice about wineries and restaurants.
1b) ”The Ambrose Bierce House B&B”
Phone: 707.963.3003
This place is located in downtown St. Helena on “Main Street” (which is 29). We checked in there in the afternoon after some wine tasting. The street is very busy during the weekend days – stop and go traffic both directions. Luckily our room pointed away from the street. The rooms have more girlish decoration (flowery hats, umbrellas and such stuff hanging on walls; a bottle of Sherry on the nightstand). No trucks at night.
Most B&B’s will advertise that they are in walking distance to wineries. E.g. the “Oliver House” claimed to be in walking distance to - gasp - 8 wineries. Well, if you drive northwards on Silverado Trail, you’ll reach the first of those 8 after approximately 5 miles. Not all 8 wineries are in the same direction, of course, so be prepared to hike ~ 25 miles to those 8 wineries.
I think that the best place to stay would be on one of those very quiet roads that connect 29 and Silverado Trail. “Shady Oaks Country Inn” is such a place on Zinfandel Lane. Their phone number is 707.963.1190
2. Wineries
We wanted to go to Beringer and Silver Oak. We both had been to Napa 10 years ago and I had been there a second time 3 years ago.
When we came to Beringer, we were appalled by the degree of commerce. A large souvenir shop selling all kinds of merchandise: the obligatory baseball caps, shirts, pipes, towels, you name it they have it – everything except carburetors.
Beringer offers a tour for $5 or tasting wine for $3 a glass. Umm. My partner was so upset that she ran away. 10 years ago no winery charged for tasting or a tour she explained, except for some of the more expensive wines.
We skipped Silver Oak and drove over to Silverado Trail to see the smaller, more family-owned-style wineries. We visited Rombauer Vineyards, the Dutch Henry Winery and Cuvaison as our innkeeper had advised. Of all, I liked the Zinfandel at Dutch Henry the best. Rombauer and Dutch Henry did not charge to taste. Rombauer is a little more geared at the tourist but they don’t pressure you. Dutch Henry is a fairly young winery – only 10 years old. When you visit them, there’s no touristy sales room, you’re in a room where they actually work. Well, stored barrels. An older man welcomed us and invited us to taste their wines. We started a conversation with him about French Oak barrels versus American Oak barrels. The guy was really good at understatement. “I don’t know much about winery business..” he started, “but I’ve carved wood for a while..” and went then on about the different texture of American Oak versus French Oak and their effect on the wine.
Compare that to the 20-year-old baseball-cap-wearing sales people at Cuvaison who asked us again and again to buy their special deal lunch packet. At Dutch Henry’s they did not even wear a uniform! Those commercial wineries also have “member clubs” that allow you to participate in “memorable events”. Cuvaison didn’t tell me how much $ the membership is but it required a credit card to become a member so I guess there is a fee. Yeah, I was not too thrilled by Cuvaison. $5 to taste wine that I didn’t even like but you get to keep their ugly glasses. (Thanks, we left them there.)
3. Restaurants
There are some fancy popular restaurants that require a reservation 45 days ahead. Right, that was forty-five days. As said in the introduction, we went with no notice, so no reservations for us. We ate Saturday night in the “Tra Vigne”. That was the place that was booked for 45 days. Well, the food was definitely among the freshest that I’ve had in a restaurant e.g. they make their Mozzarella themselves. But that’s all good I can say about the place. I didn’t like their decoration much, the food was of mixed quality and the service was poor. Oh, another good thing: Even with dessert and wine we didn’t pay over $100.
Ask your innkeeper for restaurant advice because they sometimes have reservations in their name that they can “broker” to you.
4. The Wine Train
The Wine Train goes from Napa to St. Helena and returns back to Napa. This is not about transportation. The train doesn’t stop anywhere to let people get on or off nor does it try to go fast. It actually travels at 15 mph. The idea is to see how people traveled in the past, to enjoy the sight, have some wine and a good time. I had been on that train 10 years ago (back then for $35, now it was $70, talk about inflation!) and enjoyed it both times very much.
You will want to reserve tickets for this. We went last minute, got on a stand-by list and luckily did get someone’s seats, who did not show up. Umm, as I signed the credit card slip, the other party did finally show up - but too late. Conclusion: Even with a reservation, you better be on time since they keep stand-by lists and you can lose your seats. For the train schedule see www.winetrain.com
A tip: you can buy a trip with food included (“Gourmet Lunch”) for $70 or just the trip for $30 and then order a la carte. If you’re not particularly hungry, get the fare for $30.
Beverages are not included in either rate.
5. Other Activities
In Calistoga, there is the “Faithful Geyser”. We didn’t go there this time but I had been there on my two previous visits. Or go for a walk through the “Petrified Forest” – that’s not too far from the Geyser, also at the Northern end of the valley.
Renting bikes seems a good idea also since it is fairly flat there but they do not have much of bike trails and I wouldn’t care to ride on 29 (too many cars) or Silverado Trail (too fast cars).
If you are into shopping (phew), then check out the antique stores in St Helena. Innkeeper Bob warned us of inflated prices in this tourist trap.
Moneywise: Be prepared to spend something between $700 and $1000 on a weekend or more if you purchase wine.
Other web resources
www.geysers.com
www.winecountryguide.com
www.winetrain.com
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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ptiemann
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Member: Peter Tiemann
Location: Capitola, CA
Reviews written: 260
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