Napa Valley in California is one of the most popular wine growing regions in the
world with hundreds of wineries nestled together, most of which are open for
visitors. No amount of time is enough for exploring this countryside with world
class restaurants, spas and a romantic lifestyle along with world's best and
famous wineries. As compared to Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley is more
commercialized with a larger number of Wineries and population hence, attracting
more tourists. It is just 35 miles long and is relatively more condensed.
Wineries of Napa Valley offer some of the most interesting and edifying wine
tours in North America if not in the world making Napa the ideal place for a
ultimate Wine Country experience. Most of the large wineries, popular
restaurants, hotels and shops are located along a single road, CA 29.
Silverado Trail is another popular road for wineries and runs parallel to CA
29, this road is less crowded and therefore sometimes it is preferred over CA 29
since the traffic moves faster on this road.
Any time of the year is a good time to visit Napa Valley but September to
October is the best time when the grapes are being pressed.
It
is best to got to the "Napa Conference & Visitors Bureau" first in order get
complete information on the Napa Valley and its Vineyards and then plan your
trip accordingly. You could also call in advance and order a $10 package that
includes a Napa Valley guide and several Brochures or simply log on to
www.napavalley .com and get all the information for free. Wine tasting is
the most popular attraction of these wineries and the best way to do that is by
randomly stopping at any of the wineries and enjoying the country wine. Most of
these wineries offer FREE wine tasting up to four selections and further premium
wine tasting costs apx. $2 to $5 each. Getting to Napa Valley:
Starting from San Francisco, head north on U.S. 101 and then turn east on CA-37 towards Vallejo and then north on CA-29 on to the main road of Napa Valley. Another option is to take the scenic route of CA-37 to highway 121/12 and then CA-29 following the signs towards Napa.
Napa Valley has over 250 wineries and each one of them is unique in itself offering distinct wines and ambience. Since it is not possible to visit all the wineries in one trip, it is best to talk to the locals and go to wineries that suite your interest. It is better to cover not more than 5 to 6 wineries in a day in order to enjoy the real essence of each one of them and have a more intimate experience. Most of the wineries operate daily between 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. However, some wineries do require a reservation whereas most of them entertain walk ins without any reservation. If you have a particular winery in mind that you would like to visit, it is best to call first. Even though each winery is special in its own way, some popular wineries of Napa Valley are -
Popular wineries in Napa:
Artesa Vineyards & Winery
(707)224-1668
(707)255-1144
Trefethen Vineyards
(707)255-7700
Clos Du Val
(707)261-5200
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
(707)944-2020
Popular Wineries in Yountville:
Domain Chandon
(707)944-2280
Popular Wineries of Oakville:
Plumpjack Winery
(707)945-1220
Robert Mondavi Winery
(707)226-1395
Opus One
(707)944-9442
Popular Wineries in RutherFord:
Swanson Vineyards
(707)967-3500
Sawyer Cellars
(707)963-1980
St. Supery Winery
(707)963-4507
Niebaum-Coppola
(707)968-1100
Popular Wineries of St. Helena
V. Sattui Winery
(707)963-7774
Prager Winery
(707)963-7678
Charles Krug Winery
(707)963-5057
Popular Wineries of Calistoga:
Frank Family Vineyards
(707)942-0859
Schramsberg
(707)942-2424
Clos Pegase
(707)942-4981
