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Napa Valley Suggestions

Hit the mountain ridge road between Sonoma and Napa counties. Some great vinyards up there Really friendly and authentic, with good wine. If you must do Napa, hit Frog's Leap, it's off the main drag and a little more authentic and friendly. The main drag in Napa is a major tourist trap.
 
North Napa:

Sterling - wines are ehh, but the whole trolley ride and drinking on the top of a mountain is quite cool, worth it if you have extra time

Twomey - if you even think about drinking Merlot, that is all they make here - fantastic.

Frank Family - Awesome, awesome wines - great under the radar wines

Joseph Phelps - nothing special in terms of the winery, but their wines are really good (a little over priced for me, but really good).

Cakebread - a staple, you taste in their backroom, you normally have to wait to go with a group. Wines are good - mostly priced by reputation, but they are still good and for $10 bucks for a glass and good wines? Worth it.

Nickel & Nickel - yes, please.

South Napa:

Silver Oak - more central, but, only have 1 wine, and it is $10 for a glass and 1 glass of wine - I think it is fantastic and well worth it, others on the board have disagreed. You won't spend a ton of time here.

Domaine Carneros - my favorite Cali sparkler - beautiful chateau, very upscale, great sparkling wine (and their pinot isn't half bad either).

Acacia - call ahead to book a time, great carneros pinots

Darioush - really cool turkish style winery, wines are good, and tough to find

My (way too long) 2 cents.
 
Deac2010 said:
we paid $35/hour. I think. It's really expensive. But its still cheaper than a DUI
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And would you have him for a half day/full day or does he just bill for driving time? In other words, if we spend 2-3 hours at a Winery, are we paying him to sit there and wait on us? If so, is it easy to get taxis or do most people just use a driver?
 
OriginalAdmiral said:
And would you have him for a half day/full day or does he just bill for driving time? In other words, if we spend 2-3 hours at a Winery, are we paying him to sit there and wait on us? If so, is it easy to get taxis or do most people just use a driver?
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no, he bills you for the whole time. He has a 6 hour minimum and he drives your own car. his rates for the week are cheaper. also, depending on how many people you have, you can try to get one of the custom tours.
 
Go to Shafer

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DaDeacs said:
North Napa:

Sterling - wines are ehh, but the whole trolley ride and drinking on the top of a mountain is quite cool, worth it if you have extra time

Twomey - if you even think about drinking Merlot, that is all they make here - fantastic.

Frank Family - Awesome, awesome wines - great under the radar wines

Joseph Phelps - nothing special in terms of the winery, but their wines are really good (a little over priced for me, but really good).

Cakebread - a staple, you taste in their backroom, you normally have to wait to go with a group. Wines are good - mostly priced by reputation, but they are still good and for $10 bucks for a glass and good wines? Worth it.

Nickel & Nickel - yes, please.

South Napa:

Silver Oak - more central, but, only have 1 wine, and it is $10 for a glass and 1 glass of wine - I think it is fantastic and well worth it, others on the board have disagreed. You won't spend a ton of time here.

Domaine Carneros - my favorite Cali sparkler - beautiful chateau, very upscale, great sparkling wine (and their pinot isn't half bad either).

Acacia - call ahead to book a time, great carneros pinots

Darioush - really cool turkish style winery, wines are good, and tough to find

My (way too long) 2 cents.
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Our hotel provides bikes for its guests. Does anyone bike to the wineries? That could be hilarious.
 
WakeBDer said:
There were a good number of bikers on the road when we were there. Didn't seem like the brightest idea to me.
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Biking on the road's totally fine if you know what you're doing, aren't getting sloshed.

I hope anyone who tastes without spitting then rides bikes around the silverado trail gets hit by a semi (which happens sadly enough actually), but that's what happens when you act like an idiot.
 
61raddeac said:
Going with 2 other Deacs and wives in oct. So pumped
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Have you gone on your trip yet? How was it? Any advice? We leave 2 weeks from today and are going to be out there during the Napa Valley Film Festival which is supposed to bring in a bunch of celebrities which will be pretty cool. We have most of our meals/winery tours lined up but was interested to hear feedback from your trip.
 
OriginalAdmiral said:
Our hotel provides bikes for its guests. Does anyone bike to the wineries? That could be hilarious.
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We did this as a corporate team building event in the heat of the summer. The VP and I pulled up after 2 wineries and he called the bus to come get us. We then powered down a bottle and a half of excellent chardonnay while we waited.
 
DaDeacs said:
Sterling - wines are ehh, but the whole trolley ride and drinking on the top of a mountain is quite cool, worth it if you have extra time

Cakebread - a staple, you taste in their backroom, you normally have to wait to go with a group. Wines are good - mostly priced by reputation, but they are still good and for $10 bucks for a glass and good wines? Worth it.

Domaine Carneros - my favorite Cali sparkler - beautiful chateau, very upscale, great sparkling wine (and their pinot isn't half bad either).
Click to expand...

Anderson Valley>>Sonoma>>>>Napa

In addition to the above, I'd add Domaine Chandon, Ravenswood, Beaulieu, Freemark Abbey, Stag's Leap, and Heitz.

Boonfly Cafe is close to Domiane Carneros and is great for breakfast (pretty good for lunch and dinner). Auburge de Soleil, Bistro Don Giovani, and Bouchon are all great for lunch or dinner. French Laundry only accepts reservations 2 months to the day, but it's unbelievably good.
 
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OriginalAdmiral said:
Have you gone on your trip yet? How was it? Any advice? We leave 2 weeks from today and are going to be out there during the Napa Valley Film Festival which is supposed to bring in a bunch of celebrities which will be pretty cool. We have most of our meals/winery tours lined up but was interested to hear feedback from your trip.
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Went last Sunday and got back Friday.

Killer house on a mountain west side of Sonoma. We were high enough up we could see both Sonoma and Napa valleys. Pool, hot tub, just a great property.

Sunday ate in the house, wine, cheese, meats.

Monday: Toured Schramsberg in Calastoga. Cool tour. It's mostly sparkling wines with a great Cab blend named J. Davies. Neat vineyard with a great cave system. Ate lunch at Mustards Grill in YOuntville then toured Opus One (Arrogant but got to see winemaking as they were harvesting) Currently they are tasting the 2008. Not anywhere near as good as most of the wine we had. Personal chef for dinner at the house.

Tuesday: Limo driver went to Benziger , a small place called Eric Ross, and Kundee. Can't remember what we had for dinner. Wife was not particularly pleased.

Wednesday: Guys chilled at the house by the pool. Girls went shopping. Took a small break from drinking. Ate at French Laundry. Very good. Probably wouldn't do it again. Obviously very pricey. Helped finance it with Super Bowl winnings that the three guys had gone in on together when I was in Charlotte during SB weekend.

Thursday: Went to San Fran. Guys went to a bar. Girls went shopping. Ate at casual place called Perry's. I was mostly focused on game two of the World Series.

So advice. Don't go to Opus One. Do go to Schramsberg. Kundee has a mountain top tasting which is worth it. Also worth a limo driver at least one day. French Laundry if you want to pay. It is an experience I'm glad I've had but wouldn't go back.

Wines I bought. Schramsberg Querencia and J. Davies. Benziger Onapais and Tribute.
 
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