Napa Vacation. Part 3.

This was the highlight of our trip... On our last full day in Napa, we hired a driver for the day. What a GREAT choice! I highly recommend doing that at least one day while you are in Napa! My dad and I did a lot of research into which company we wanted to hire. We wanted one with a great reputation, but we didn't want one of the bigger, more commercial limo companies. He and I agreed we wanted to go with a smaller company so we could get a more boutique and personal experience. TripAdvisor helped us out A LOT! (not only in finding a driver but for many other aspects of our trip) We found a name that kept popping up and had amazing reviews: Napa Valley Wine Excursions.  Paul Bailey, a Napa native, started his own company to give people 5-star service and share his first-hand knowledge of the Napa Valley. He has many strong relationships with some of the most exclusive wineries in Napa, which we were lucky to experience a few because of those relationships! He was kind, funny, extremely helpful, and we enjoyed having him as company the entire day. Bonus: He's also a photographer and took pictures of us the entire day. A couple of weeks later, he emailed us beautiful, edited pictures of our fun day. No other car/limo service offered that! Call Paul Bailey at Napa Valley Wine Excursions first when you're planning your Napa vacation!

See his TripAdvisor reviews here.
Website here. Facebook here.

Paul and I worked closely to plan the perfect day in Napa. We wanted to visit a couple places we had heard great things about, but Paul really wanted to plan a few stops himself. He told me we wouldn't want us to miss these hidden gems he knew about but weren't on the typical tourist's wine route. SOLD! I am so glad we listened to him, as his picks were among our favorites of the trip! Paul picked us up from our hotel (Which I HIGHLY recommend and will write about more later) and we began our day at Cakebread...

Dolores Cakebread has beautiful gardens on the grounds! We decided it was a photo-op. Naturally.

We were there during bottling, and these are all the empty boxes waiting to be filled with wine.

In one of the tasting rooms, the entire ceiling was covered with Cakebread corks...except for 2 loners. Our guide said there were around 20,000 corks up there!

Next, was our favorite stop of the trip. Not only for the wine, but because of the incredible experience we had tasting and learning about it. Caspar Estate is a perfect example of what Napa wineries should be about: intimate knowledge of wines, one-on-one tasting experience, and take-your-breath-away views. Caspar had all of these in spades! Take a look....

We got out of the car and walked up to this... Every one of us gasped at the view! 

It was a panoramic view of the entire Napa Valley from the top of a mountain!

Here's the setup that we had all to ourselves for a private tasting!

Caspar isn't "open" to the public, so you can only do private tastings upon appointment. Thanks to our driver, Paul Bailey, we got to experience a wine tasting like never before!

Our incredible setup: 2008 and 2009 Caspar Cabernet, cheese from the local area (including Cowgirl Creamery that we LOVED), and olives, honey, and olive oil that are made right there on the Caspar grounds! Talk about impressed...we wanted to buy everything right then and there! 

That honey was to die for! Well...everything was. The three of us (parents, brother, and me) joined the wine/food club. Can't wait until October when the shipment comes! 

Getting the VIP treatment was such an unforgettable experience... especially with THAT view!

An informal history of Caspar Estate & great info about the grounds and wine from one of the owners.

Photo courtesy of our driver, Paul Bailey. 

Definitely our favorite stop of the whole trip!

Glad Paul worked with us and knew we wanted small, boutique wineries and experiences or otherwise we would have never found this hidden (wine) oasis! 

Next stop was Frank Family Vineyards. My bff, Ashley, raved about this place and made sure it was on my list of wineries to visit. She and her husband loved the red wines from there, and since we're a red loving family, I knew this was a place we must visit. (Thanks Ash!) We were all SO glad we did! We absolutely loved the wines, and the guy who gave us our tasting was so funny and interacted with us the whole time! 

If you go, ask for Dennis (who I hear is incredible and hilarious) or Vince (the guy we had). 

Having an absolute BLAST at Frank Family Vineyards!

Y'all....how CUTE is my "little" brother?

Another recommendation from our driver was Salvestrin Winery. We had a private outdoor tasting with Joy, who was quite literally a joy to be around! She had the most outgoing, kind personality!

Their Estate Cab and Estate Petite Sirah were our favorites! 

Request Joy if you go! She will make your day :)

We still weren't tipsy had some steam left, so Paul asked us if we wanted to try and squeeze one more tasting in at another off-the-beaten path, appointment-only winery. Let's be honest... we all said YES!

He called a friend who worked at The Terraces at Quarry Vineyards. The friend told him to bring it on, so we left for our last winery - once again - feeling impressed at how well Paul reads his clients and knows his stuff. Little did we know that we would end our trip on such a fun note....

We walked in to see this....the tasting room....

Eclectic artwork and furniture from local artists in Napa & San Francisco....

The room was decorated around this red wine barrel with lucite, done by an artist in SF.

   We knew this tasting would be fun! The owner had just walked in after being on the tractor, about to give an interview with a PBR in hand. (that says it all, right?!) We were tasting, joking, and laughing so loud, the owner stopped the interview and came over to meet us - and of course, drink some wine with us! We ended up listening to music, dancing a little, and learning a lot about the down-to-earth vineyard owner. These were the most affordable wines we came across the whole trip, too. Not only were they affordable, they were amazing wines made by great people. Who doesn't want those qualities - and memories - attached to the wine they drink? We certainly did!

None of us are white wine lovers, but we all ended up loving their Chenin Blanc! Another fave was their Zin & Cab Franc! Check them out here. 

Enjoying ourselves immensely. Obviously.

They also make balsamic vinegar (the real way) on the property!

Ask for Tim, the owner, when you go. You'll leave there dancing - and not because of the wine ;)

Our last night, we had dinner at Mustards Grill, another one of Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurants. We loved it so much! The pork chop came highly recommended by - literally - everyone so naturally I got that. So so good!!! Definitely put this on your Napa restaurants list!

That concludes our Napa trip! (Here is Part 1 and Part 2) 

Hope you enjoyed reading about it and the commentary I had on the places we visited. Please comment and let me know your favorite wineries and restaurants. I plan on taking my little honey back there soon so he can experience it like I did! Below is a guide I made when we were planning our Napa trip. I put several hours into this, so I wanted to share it with you guys. It breaks up Napa into small towns/areas and what's in each place, i.e. wineries, shops, and restaurants. That way, I felt I could know my options in each area and plan accordingly. I didn't want to drive to one end of Napa, only to have a tasting appointment at the other end right after. These are places that I went or came highly recommended to me by friends and/or locals. (**denotes places we loved!)

Napa/Downtown Napa:

-Winery Tasting Rooms

-Oxbow Public Market (go here to try Ritual Coffee Roasters!)

-Domaine Carneros (Boon Fly Cafe is near here)**

-Also near Domaine Carneros: Scribe Winery** and Ram's Gate Winery** and Artesa

-Darioush

-Del Dotto**

-Signarello

-Fontanella

In south Napa, there's a great produce stand called "D&S Produce." on the corner of Stanley Lane and Hwy 121/12. 

Napa Thrift stores: Community Projects (downtown Napa) and Goodwill on Imola

Yountville:

-Stags Leap

-Robert Sinskey

*Ma(i)sonary Art Gallery & Winery

-Goosecross

-Paraduxx (Duckhorn's sister winery)

-Pine Ridge

Yountville deli (lunch option)

-Girard Winery

-Jessup Cellars

-James Cole

Restaurants:

Hurley's

Bottega**

Bouchon

Redd*** heard great things about!

Big Ranch Road: 

-Benevolo

-Biale (Great Zin; known for their "Black Chicken" wine)

Oakville:

-Silver Oak

-Plumpjack

-Miner** amazing; ask for Scott and do cave tour & tasting

-Paradigm

Mustards Grille is near here. 

Lunch option: Oakville Grocery

Rutherford:

-Cakebread

-Conn Creek

-Sullivan

-Rutherford Hills

-Elizabeth Spencer

-St. Suprey

-Sequoia Grove

-Alpha Omega

***The Terraces (we LOVED this!)

**Caspar Estates (located on the Mayacama Mtns) AMAZING experience with great views, great cheeses, and they make their own honey and olive oil

Rutherford Grill (restaurant)

St. Helena:

-Elyse

-Heitz Cellars

-Joseph Phelps

-Beringer

-Duckhorn**

-Freemark Abbey

-Orin Swift

-Rombauer

-Failla

-Salvestrin

Gott's Roadside & La Condesa near here for lunch/dinner.

*St. Helena Olive Oil & another olive oil store is "Olivier" which we loved!

Goose and Gander

-Market Burger

-Cook (great chocolate cake here)

Diamond Mtn/Calistoga:

-Frank Family** great wines & ask for Vince or Dennis

-Sterling

-Twomey

-Chateau Montelena

-Failla

-Cafe Sarafornia is here, for breakfast!

Howell Mtn:

-Cade

-Burgess

Napa Vacation. Part 2.

Here is part 2 of our fabulous Napa vaca! Enjoy!

Sunday: My dad really wanted to go on the Napa Valley Wine Train, so that's what we did on Sunday morning! It was such a lovely experience, and it was great to drive up and down the whole Napa Valley to see the beautiful scenery.

Picture of our dining car, that had window all up and down so you could see the views whizzing by.

We had a 4 course dinner and enjoy these views...

Monday: We went into Sonoma to shop for a bit, then went to a winery that a local shop owner recommended called Scribe Winery. What a CHARMING winery it was! We all loved the laid back environment, views of the Carneros Valley, and the fact that their wines, bottles and labels made with such purpose. After Scribe, we went right down the road to a place that multiple people recommended to us: Domaine Carneros. We really loved this place! We sat on the patio, enjoyed a couple of cheese plates, and of course - some fabulous sparking wines and pinot noirs. Our last stop of the day was at Miner Winery where we did a tasting and cave tour. Their wines were mostly red, and we ADORED them...esp the Oracle wine! (Put all of these wineries on your Napa list!) For dinner, we ate at the famous Bottega! YUM!

Views from Scribe....

The picnic table where we sat to have our wine tasting!

They even had a rope swing for the adventurous type...my brother :) 

DOMAINE CARNEROS!!

Patio where we sat and had our tasting.

View from Domaine Carneros.

Such great sparkling wines!

Our table :)

The fam (minus my little honey) in the caves at Miner.

Our fave! The 2006 and 2007 was the best!

One of the private rooms you can rent at Miner...so gorgeous!

Miner.

Chef Michael Chiarello's Bottega. 

Copper water glasses at Bottega, which my mom and I fell in love with and promptly ordered! 

The grounds right outside of Bottega.

Everyone told us to get their truffle fries as an appetizer. Let's just say this entire plate was demolished in under 10 mins! SO SO GOOD! Behind the fries was our other to-die-for app: the heirloom tomato plate. It had fresh mozzarella and balsamic caviar on top, which was something I had never had/seen before. Little "beads" of balsamic vinegar that popped in your mouth...so tasty!

We all got something different, but I think mine was the best....hehe. I got the special, which was blue cheese risotto, grilled peaches, and melt in your mouth short ribs. Drool. 

We went light with dessert since the meal was so filling and decadent. 3 sorbets: raspberry, nectarine, and mint. Perfect ending to an incredible meal! 

I know I said I'd do our trip in two parts, but I lied. Our last day in Napa was the highlight of our trip!!! We hired a driver, and he took us to some AMAZING places we would have never found on our own! Plus we ate at one of Napa's most talked about restaurants (besides Bottega), so I wanted that to be a post all on its own. This one was getting too long anyways :) PLEASE check back soon... you won't be sorry! It has some insider places that you will want to check out when you go yourself!

Plus, I am adding a helpful guide at the end of the next post with all my picks/suggestions by region. That will help you plan your trip so much better than randomly driving all over the valley, wasting time in traffic or on the road between places. If you missed part one of my Napa trip, click here!

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Napa Vacation. Part 1.

The long awaited Napa post!! I've been so excited to write about Napa for two reasons: 1) to re-live the INCREDIBLE experience all over again, and 2) to share this amazing vacation with you guys! Let me just say that going to Napa has been the #1 thing on my list of places to travel for a while. My husband had All-Star break for 3 days at the beginning of July, and I figured this would be the perfect time to go since we were so close to Napa anyways. I talked my parents and brother into going, as well, to make it a family trip! Long story short, my husband got traded to another baseball team one day into our vacation, and he had to leave early. I was bummed about that, but I know it comes with the job....plus he promised me that we would come back together! I am holding him to that.....

Here are my recommendations and pictures from our trip of a lifetime! Please let me know if there are any places in/around Napa that I need to add to my list. Enjoy! xx

Wednesday: Chris and I met my parents in San Francisco for the day, before heading to Napa. We shopped and had dinner at one of my fave SF places, Balboa Cafe.  For a review of Balboa Cafe and a list of my San Fran picks, click here.

Thursday: We headed to Napa via The Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito. On our way to Napa, we got word Chris was traded to another team, all the way across the country! I knew he would be leaving the next day, so we made sure to get in at Duckhorn Vineyards, which has our favorite wine ever! (Their 2005 and 2006 Cab) Then we had dinner at the amazing Brassica, which is one of Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurants. I highly recommend going to eat here and having the bacon wrapped figs & eggplant fries for appetizer!

At Duckhorn Vineyards...

Such beautiful grounds! Wine tasting on a wrap-around outdoor porch was heaven!

How tasting was set up. As you finished one wine, they came around to pour and tell about the next.

With my parents in the vineyards of Duckhorn.

The things you MUST try at Brassica: Bacon wrapped figs & eggplant fries...with this amazing sauce!

Friday: We had breakfast at the adorable Boon Fly Cafe before starting the day off with great wine tastings. The Boon Fly Cafe serves Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner so be sure and check it out while you're in the Napa area. It's at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley, in the Carneros region, so we took advantage of being down that way to go visit a winery that a local recommended, off the beaten path. (I love that kind of thing, and so does my fam!) It was called Ram's Gate. (pictures below) Then we went to Del Dotto, which was one of our top 3 wineries/wines on the whole trip! 

Some of the views from Ram's Gate... their outdoor tasting patio overlooked the Carneros Valley.

The beautiful inside!

One of the smaller rooms. We loved the decor and architecture! 

One last family pic before Chris leaves for the East Coast!

How cute is my little mama???

Entrance to Del Dotto

Del Dotto is one of the few wineries with a cave tour, which was so cool! If I am not mistaken, it's the only one where you can taste their wines straight out of the barrel. Very fun and unique experience!

The caves were dug by hand in 1885.

Mom, dad, and I inside the caves.

Here is our FABULOUS guide, Tim, pouring wines from the barrel into our glasses. We got to do a couple of side-by-side comparisons of wine aged in American oak barrels vs French oak barrels, which was a great learning experience! This was one of our favorite tours! You also got a great cheese & meat plate afterwards, with a little chocolate and port tasting as well. (if you go, Ask for Tim or Adam to give your tour)

Wines aging in barrels line every inch of the caves at Del Dotto.

Saturday: My brother finally arrives to San Fran, so we head back into the city to pick him up and take the Alcatraz tour! I tried to take the tour last time I was in town, but it was sold out. If you want to do this, which I highly recommend, definitely book as soon as you know you'll be in town. It sells out quickly! For dinner that night, we all met up with some SF friends at Garibaldi's - which was SO fun! They brought a couple bottles of great wine, and we enjoyed amazing food & conversation. If you go, get the lamb entrée!! We had dessert at American Cupcake, which is my version of heaven...

Cupcakes AND wine pairings?!? SOLD!

My happy place. You must go here!

I am doing our whole vacation in 2 posts, so stay tuned for the other half...I will tell you guys about our FAVORITE winery with an incredible view of the whole Napa valley! I also plan to give you guys a great guide to Napa, divided up into region. It helped me a lot, so I wanted to share it with you guys!