Hi Eve,
We had a fantastic time in the Napa area this past week.
We started out driving north of Santa Rosa to Healdsburg and spent 2 nights there. Wonderful wineries very close by, and small cozy ones, not as many of the large commercial types that are in Napa Valley.
We went to several new wineries, Limerick Lane to satisfy the Irish in me, Armida simply because his ad was so comical. And the wines were great, especially Poizon, which can be purchased in a wooden coffin, style box, and then of course they have a small bottle to go with it called Antidote. We also bought a fancy etched bottle of Poizon.
We also went to Longboard, La Crema, Korbel (for some wonderful dark pink Champagne) and Benziger for their great Pinot Noir, and their wonderful gift shop, St. Francis, Gary Farrell, C. Donatiello. Then we drove 15 miles to Armstrong Woods and saw 600 year-old redwoods, a fantastic voyage.
We headed to Napa on Friday morning, stopping at Truett Hurst, Ferrari-Carano (fantastic place, a real castle and bought a 5 L bottle of Merlot), Chateau Montelena (from Bottle Shock) Folie a Dieu, V. Sattui (bought futures), Mondavi, Peju, and St. Supery.
Our final full day was Valentines Day which we started out at Del Dotto Caves (the newer one) for the tour which was $50 (barrel tasting) the gentleman you gave me the name of was leaving for out of the country on Saturday, so we had a guide named Ed, very nice lad.
Then we tasted at Martini, Beringer, the Culinary Institute, Franciscan, Alpha & Omega, and Black Stallion. We tried Silver Oak but they were not open. (They are NEVER open when I try to go there and I love their cab.)
As far as meals we found a good eatery: Healdsburg Bar and Grill in Healdsburg of course, Murphy’s in Sonoma and Trancas Steakhouse in Napa.
We have now added several cases of wines to our inventory – now almost at 450 bottles, but this time stayed with the more reasonably priced ones.
The trip was really great and we saw some fantastic new wineries and visited many of our old favorites.
Didn’t get a chance to get to Sterling or to stop by Opus One this trip, oh well, next year here we come!
That’s it for my Napa update, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something.
Susie Q
Thank's for your iternary, I would like to take the same trip as you as my husband and I have never been to Napa/Sonoma and also see Sterling I hear the tram ride is fun getting to their place. Send me more information and where you stayed and how long you were there. I want to fly into Santa Rosa and rent a car.
Thanks,
Beverly A
Beverly, I will send your message to Susie Q.
We stayed the first 2 nights in Healdsburg at the Best Western on Dry Creek.
It was a very nice place, we had 2 queen beds plus a desk and a table and chairs; so you can see the room was a nice size.
Using the AAA discount, it came to $89 per night, which included breakfast at the Adel's restaurant across the parking lot from the hotel. If you wanted to 'upgrade' your breakfast from the choices available on the hotel provided menu, you got a $6 per person credit toward another breakfast. It was a conveniently located hotel, and from what we saw in the
book regarding prices for other hotels in the immediate area, some downtown were over $300 a night, which we did not wish to spend just for a night to sleep. We were not in the room at all during the day, walked around downtown in the
evening hours, and this hotel was about 1 mile from the downtown Healdsburg city square.
In Napa, this year we stayed at the Embassy Suites in Napa. It was a lovely hotel, and again a hot, cooked to order breakfast was included, as well as cocktail hour in the evenings and there was a piano player. We usually stay at Silverado Resort which is on the back road, the Silverado Trail, and once we stayed up in Calistoga at the Garnett Creek Inn, all are
very nice places.
Any other questions, feel free to let me know
Susie Q