Napa trip itinerary......Please advise/comment

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Will be going to Napa at the end of June. Will be staying in St Helena.
Here is our itinerary. If there is anything you would do/wouldn’t do, please comment. I know that most of the wineries that are recommended on the boards here (chappellet, Larkmead, envy, myriad…) we are not going to, but would like if we had more time.
We are going mainly to try big napa cabs. Hoping for better QPRs, but have thrown in a couple of more expensive ones too. I am lucky that a friend of mine has some serious friends in the valley who have helped me out with private tastings. Anyway, here goes…

Day 1:
Hourglass
Fantesca
750 Wines

Dinner at Terra

Day 2:
Private Melka tasting (probably CJ and Matisse)
Midsummer Cellars
The Terraces

Dinner at ???

Day 3:
Elyse
Keever (with Olga)
Harbison (with Pat and Joe)

Dinner at Cindy’s backyard

I’ve never been to Napa, so I am going by what people said on here about not booking more that 3 per day. Are there any others, near these wineries that you think I could fit in? Since these are private tastings I don’t know how much time we’ll have between visits so they are spead out throughout the day.
Also, we plan on buying sandwiches in the morning to take with us and eat on the road. Hoping to get in a Gott’s burger at some point too.

Thanks,
John

Gott’s is eminently missable. However, Oxbow is a nice visit, and Fatted Calf is a great place to get provisions. Smart not to schedule too many visits…2 or 3 should be the max. Make sure to allow plenty of travel time, as traffic in the area can be nutso in the summer.

I’m not going to steer you clear of any of your choices. You know your budget and palate. If you go to Gott’s get there before 11am and there are no lines.
Day 2 dinner right on Main St smack dab in the middle of St Helena is Cook. Great food, intimate yet comfortable. Reasonable prices will not make you grimace when the check comes. There are a lot of nice places to eat in the Valley, if you have enough cash, and not everyone can live the Meadowood or Solbar lifestyle.

I’ve never understood those that say only hit 3 per day.

If there a full day, I always aim for 5… never go to less than 4 wineries (again, full day). And I’m not power tasting. 3 tastings seems like a LONG time at each spot and quite frankly, I’m not looking to know every little thing about each and every spot I hit, full tour, story of their life, etc.

That’s just me… good luck, have fun!

Brian, made a reservation at Cook. Thanks. Also, if you think there are any wineries that I have set, that you think i should cancel, please give me some suggestions. I would love to hear anything you have to say. I don’t think I’m as knowledgable as you and can take criticism well.

Joel, I only have 3 privates made per day, but am hoping to get more wineries in than that. Do you know of any in these areas that we could hit and not have the 1.5 hour tour/tasting?
Thanks

John D, welcome to WineBerserkers.

Our favorite in St Helena is http://frenchbluenapa.com/ My second favorite, where lunch is always a good bet is Cindy’s, as mentioned above.

Don’t sell yourself short John or for that matter don’t pump me up. I’m just another opinionated Berserker.

Go to Myriad, if he has any wine to pour. Mike is as easy going as they get and the wines just blow up. His tastings are up in Calistoga.

I’ll agree with the recommendation of limiting to a max of 3 wineries per day. I know lots of people do more than that, but I do think it becomes hectic to do more than that number. I’d prefer to spend more time with the wines and the people making them.

Just my $.02,
Andy

Where does Mike Smith do the tastings for Myriad? Is it at Envy?

yes

I’m very curious to hear about Harbison. I believe Russell Bevan is making the wine, and that vineyard has an outstanding location right next to screagle. I have never really even seen the wine offered for sale, but it should have incredible potential.

Just got back. I don’t think we went to the same state. Never heard of these paces.

Three per day on private tours is enough. I do two to three. Then again I do aim to learn everything I can at each visit.
Second oxbow and the fat calf.
If you find yourself with extra time because any appt is shorter than expected, swing by Alpha Omega. Jean has a bad memory but he makes kickass wines and they keep their tasting room open later than most. Otherwise my suggestion is that this being your first time let er rip and see where your comfort zone is. I presume those are all wineries whose wines you enjoy. Youll pick up ideas and thoughts just by being there. Swing by the Bowman’s store if you run out of ideas. I Like to go interrupt their work day and they have a thing or two worth drinking as well as their finger on the pulse of the valley

Having done 25 and 28 wineries our prior visits to Napa, doing from 5-8 per day… I can say I’m done with that crazy schedule. We are going to Napa in July and will spend time with some awesome winemakers. I plan on 3 visits per day. If we have lots of free time we will go to the Culinary Inst. of America, shop in St. Helena, stuff we missed before. We have dinners planned with some old friends and new. Even an offline with some new and old friends. If we really have some time on our hands, we can stop into an unplanned place, something we never had time to do.

Can I do 25-30 visits in 4-5 days, yes… but I’m taking it easier, quality over quantity and stopping to smell the grapes…

I’ve been to Keever and enjoyed the experience. I toured and tasted with the owners, who were quite passionate and engaging, and also enjoyed the wines.

I also think 750 Wines is a good stop. I’ve been buying wines from David for years. He has great wines and visiting his shop should give you the opportunity to taste a variety.

Water. Lots of water. Minimum one 10-12 ounce bottle per winery stop. Stay hydrated to further enjoy the experience, reduce palate fatigue and keep your wits about you. If you find yourself with extra time, there are 250 other wineries you can drop in on, depending upon your location and direction of travel. I would have lunch after Elyse in Yountville. It’s a smorgasboard of stellar retaurants there and you might consider Bottega. The original or bacon cheese $6.00 burger at Carls Jr. is on a par with Gott’s, but you’ll need to try Gott’s and form your own opinion.

Never heard of Hourglass?
(they’re dead to me incidentally)
If you taste Myriad at Envy you can probably also taste Carter. The Envy wines are decent as well.
Press in St Helena is also a good place to eat because you can get a proper steak.
Goose and Gander (formerly Martini House) is a good place for a late night beverage.

DON’T go to Larkmead unless you really enjoy attending timeshare presentations

Wow. Thanks everyone for your input and help. Will remember to drink lots of water.
I’ll be sure to write back about my experience.

Yes, Harbison is next to screaming eagle. They donate most of their wine for charity auctions. Beven is the wine maker and barbour is the vineyard manager. I plan on buying and storing that for a while. I feel very lucky to be getting to visit them.

As for the others, I haven’t had too many of them, but someone set up most of these for me. Said they are good places and good people.

Fantesca is Heidi’s new venture. I don’t see many people talk about it though. At $125 a bottle, maybe a little high right?

Midsummer and Terraces seem to have good tasting/visit reviews. And their cabs are more in the $50 level.

We are in walking distance from Hall and Heitz. So hoping to pop in those places too.

Lots of you are suggesting oxbow and fatted calf, but is that far from St Helena or the wineries we are visiting? I’ve heard going all the way to downtown Napa could take a while and may not be worth it.

I’ve read on here lots about the love for AO. I’m hoping to get there late on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Humberto, when you say Bowman’s, are you talking about Napa Wine and Cigar? I’ve seen them post on here and seem very nice.

Scott, what’s wrong with Hourglass? Something I should consider skipping? A friend set this up for me and knows someone there.

I also hear a ton on here about Anderson’s Conn Valley.

Sorry, one more question, how long do you think it would take to drive from St Helena to Envy winery? And, which wineries would you cut out to make room for Envy/Myriad?

Thanks again for all your time, help and information. Can’t wait to get to the valley. I feel like 3 days isn’t enough.

My beef with Hourglass is personal because of a bungled order of 07s which they never resolved. I like the wines and like Jeff and MB but there are plenty of other people from whom I can buy wine.
I don’t like the Blueline stuff as much as the original Hourglass vineyard.

We also like to visit Behrens Family on top of Spring Mtn. The wines are good and Robin is a hoot!

15 minutes or so from St Helena to Envy depending on south or north part of St Helena and traffic conditions. The geyser is cool too–you can see it from Envy I think

Seem very nice? An understatement to be sure. More like your brother/sister or aunt/uncle, depending on your age.

If The Todd is in at ACV, an enjoyable time. I’ve been there twice and missed him both times. The tasting takes place in the cave. A couple of years ago, the cost was $50. Call for an appointment.