For Billy’s 30th birthday, we went out to California to celebrate! We decided on California because of the quality of public golf courses (more blogs to come!) and wine. We started our week south of San Fransisco and traveled to Napa for the last few nights.
Hotel: The Beazley House
Hotels in Napa can be pricey, but we were happy to find the Beazley House. I’ve never been a big Bed and Breakfast person, but after staying here I would absolutely do it again. They have wonderful fresh cookies made daily and served a yummy breakfast every morning. The location was within walking distance to downtown Napa and had a table set up with tasting room coupons for you to take.
Night 1: Downtown Napa
We arrived later in the evening, checked in, and started walking downtown. We didn’t have specific plans, which we enjoyed. Our first stop was in JaM cellars. You’ve probably had their Butter Chardonnay or at least seen it in the store. The atmosphere was very cool and reminiscent of a 1970’s recording studio. We probably stayed there longer than we should have!
Our next stop was John Anthony Cellars, which was a beautiful tasting room, and is the same owner of JaM Cellars. We had a coupon for both of these tasting rooms, and we found out the Beazley House was also owned by them. The wine was very good, and we even saw John Anthony himself having his own tasting with friends!
We only made it another block to Eiko’s Sushi where we lounged on couches and ordered…sushi! Everything was closing by the time we were done so we walked back to our hotel.
Day 1: Napa Tasting
The best decision we made for our trip was to hire a driver for our time in Napa. We used My Napa Valley Driver and had Laura who was so knowledgeable about the region and vineyards. For $45/hour they will drive your rental car for up to 6 people. If you fill your car up, it really is reasonable and not much more than hiring multiple Ubers and waiting around for them. Before we arrived we had made a few of our own tasting reservations and Laura was able to fill in the rest of the time for us!
Our first stop was Mumm Napa. This is my favorite way to start a trip in Napa with some bubble and love the view and art gallery on property. Any of the tastings is a good option, but when I return I will be doing the upgraded Oak Terrace Tasting.
Our next stop was Goosecross Cellars which we LOVED. You sit right next to the grapes and the wine was very delicious.
We then stopped at Addendum, Thomas Keller’s fried chicken stand. You MUST go here if visiting. Thomas Keller is known for his fried chicken, and this is a great way to taste the Michelin star rated chef without paying a ton of money or working hard to get a French Laundry reservation.
We made a quick stop in Stag’s Leap for a tasting before heading to Stag’s Leap for a tour and tasting. Yes, there are two and they can be confusing, but both are a great stop.
We ended our day in Yountville, where we stopped in a few places for some quick tastings before our dinner reservation at Bistro Jeanty. If you want to taste a lot of wine, downtown Yountville is the place for you! We visited Hope and Grace, Priest Ranch, and Girard.
Day 2: More Napa Tastings
Our first stop of the day was Cakebread Cellars. We were most excited for this tasting, and it did NOT disappoint. We are still members of their wine club and look forward to each shipment we get.
For Lunch we went to Oakville Grocery, which was a beautiful spot with great sandwiches, wine (of course) and picnic tables. Laura actually had a menu waiting for us and made sure everything went smoothly.
Our next reservation was next door at Opus One. This was one of those tastings we wanted to try, even though expensive, because this is not a bottle of wine we would ever buy on our own ($600+!). The tasting was expensive, and honestly, we didn’t love the wine that much, but the vineyard and tasting environment was very chic.
We then went to Saddleback Cellars where you can enjoy a more rustic wine tasting at a picnic table. This wasn’t our favorite, and I would probably skip this if I went back.
We ended our tastings at William Hill Estate sipping wine overlooking the vineyards while sitting in adirondack chairs. It was honestly a really wonderful way to end our two days of wine tastings.
For dinner we headed back to Yountville and enjoyed our final evening at Redd Wood.
I hope this helps you plan your next trip to Napa! If you ever need any assistance planning a vacation, contact me here for free travel agency planning services.
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