It’s been seven long years since our last Napa trip, but that drought is only a few weeks away from ending (!). I am a notorious over-planner, though for this trip I made two changes:
- kept a few unscheduled times for opportunistic experiences, and
- limited winery visits to two per day.
The first change is largely to appease my wife (“it’s OK to have down-time on vacation”). The second change is simply that three (or more) tastings in a day is a lot to absorb, especially over a week.
All this background to set up an ask for suggestions to fill those “opportunistic” schedule openings (the good news is that my wife doesn’t read these boards). Perhaps an off-the-radar winery visit? A surprisingly excellent dining experience? A memorable half-day excursion beyond Napa & Sonoma?
As for our trip we have visits scheduled with Bella Oaks, Bevan, Black Sears, Del Dotto, Dunn, Heitz, Kinsman, Mending Wall, Theorem, Vice Versa, and William & Mary. We also have two “let’s connect when you arrive” potential visits with vintners that will be amazing, but I don’t want to name them yet.
Our dinners are Charter Oak, Farmhouse, Hazel Hill, Long Meadow Ranch, and Singethread. I am also squeezing in a golf round with a buddy at Napa Valley CC, and looking for 1-2 other rounds, ideally at Mayacama or Santa Rosa, but also open to other suggestions (and happy to meet up if you’re looking for a round on 10/7 or 10/8).
Anyway, as my kids would say TMI, but I genuinely welcome ideas to add to this eclectic list. And I will endeavor to report out on the wine tastings.