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I currently live in the Bay Area and make regular trips to the wine country. Napa is beautiful, but I always recommend Sonoma Valley over Napa. It's adjacent to Napa but is more rural and not nearly as crowded as Napa. Napa is mainly a straight highway with wineries lining the road or just off the main road, whereas in Sonoma you have country roads winding through the hills, taking you to the various wineries. Just more quaint and not so commercialized. Also, most of the wineries in Sonoma don't charge for tasting so you can save a TON of money. A great website to help plan your trip, whether it's Napa or Sonoma or any other N California wine region is www.winecountrygetaways.com. Wine trail maps, dining and lodging recommendations for all the different regions. When we come to NC we'll look to you for some NC wine country recommendations! Have fun!!
Napa is beautiful, but I always recommend Sonoma Valley over Napa.
I too prefer Sonoma over Napa. My husband and I visit Sonoma every year or two. We stay in Healdsburg (story book beautiful area) usually at one of the historic bed and breakfast inns. I've never stayed anywhere I didn't enjoy in Alexander Valley.
I have to weigh in on this one. I'm a N. California native, having only left in 2005, and my grandparents used to live in Yountville, in the southernmost tip of the Napa Valley.
I agree with those who advocated for the Sonoma Valley over the Napa Valley for precisely the same reasons...less like an adult version of Disneyland, with crowds, chaos and tour buses abounding. The Buena Vista Winery, close to the historic Sonoma Square and Mission, is peaceful and perfect for picnics. Most locals and frequent visitors prefer smaller wineries for tasting. However, they have all probably already been to the big flagship wineries in the Napa Valley.
The Napa Valley is beautiful and some of the wineries are breathtaking. You ride a gondola to get up to Sterling Vineyards http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/en-row/home/, and then have a gorgeous view of the Napa Valley. Rubicon Winery, owned by Francis Ford Coppola, is beautiful and has some fun movie paraphernalia in its museum. http://www.niebaum-coppola.com/. Also, if you have some favorite wineries that you want to taste at, because of familiarity at home, it would be a shame to pass them by on your one trip to the area.
Well now I'm getting homesick. I hope you have a great time!
NRG, Something else you might want to do while you're up in wine country. My husband just reminded me of an amazing drive we took up there. We started in Occidental, CA and took Coleman Valley Rd all the way to HWY 1.
It seems you like to photograph, and there are some amazing opportunities along this drive:
the fog rolling in:
and where it meets HWY 1:
To map the area I'm talking about, use "CA-1 and Coleman Valley Rd Bodega Bay, CA 94923"
My wife and I spent 10 days in Napa for our Honeymoon... it was outstanding.
Our favorite winery tour was Frog's Leap (http://www.frogsleap.com)
They only do scheduled tours and limit the size so you get a personal tour with a chance to ask great questions. This winery is big on organic practices and provides something other than your typical stainless steel tanks and oak barrel rooms.
We really liked the Reserve tasting in the Beringer Rhine House (after 10 different tastings they suckered us into the club). Great deal consdering the quality of wines that you get to taste.
You have to stop at Prager Port Works in Napa (www.pragerport.com) (broken link). Its an awesome little place and the port was great. Very different from the majority of the places in Napa Valley.
We also liked Sonoma better than Napa, but we liked Dry Creek and Alexander Valley over both of them, to be honest. Ferrari-Carano (www.ferrari-carano.com) has a beautiful estate and another that we joined the wine club for. F-C was probably our favorite winery overall.
One of the most stunning spots was Domaine Carneros (http://www.domaine.com) (broken link). We probably sat on the terrace for a good 3 hours sipping on Pinot and bubbles while munching on a cheese plate. An incredible view of the vines on the hills all around.
Last edited by FallsForks; 04-11-2007 at 02:29 PM..
Reason: link
I also agree the wine train would be the way to go, but I do have another
suggestion. One afternoon you should do a tour of the champagne caves.
We toured Schramsburg (in Napa, down the road from Sterling vineyards).
After touring several wineries, it was a nice change, and the champagne was
wonderful! Just be aware that you must make reservations in advance for the
tours and they do fill up, so I would recommend calling at least a week in advance to make your reservations. (I think it was around $35/per person which included a tour and tasting)
Thank you all for your recommendations and taking the time to post pictures of your trips. My wife and I are excited as our trip from Raleigh to CA is rapidly approaching, we leave next weekend!! Based on may of your recommendations and additional research we have done we will indeed be going to Sonoma. If anybody has any last minute suggestions of vinyrads to check out there please feel free to chime in!
Hey, you could also take a trip to see the whales that are stranded in Rio Vista. They are trying to make their way back to the ocean, but they are having a hard time. They are only about 15 miles from us.
The wine train a great! If you can, check out Sonoma downtown..It is quaint.
Oh my I came back to post on this topic after you originally posted it (as I said I would) and I could not find it. Even after a search. I could not remember who has posted it either to PM you! I figured maybe it had been removed as off topic. It looks like you have all the info you could use and more! I don't know what I could really add to it. I hope you have a great time! I know you will. It is beautiful country. Just bring warm clothes for those foggy days! Taste some wine for me too! I DO miss my CA wine
Give Neil Aldoroty of 55 Degrees (a wine storage and concierge service in St Helena) a call (707) 963-5513. He knows all of the back doors to the Napa Valley.
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