No, he meant The Fig Cafe. $0 corkage as well!
Wow! Thank you everyone for taking the time to provide input.
A couple of responses:-
Thank you for pointing this out - thus far I’ve only been looking at the relative distances between destinations on the map without taking into account the actual travel time - will certainly have a look at this and your other recommendations.
Thanks Dave - I totally agree. Last time I looked there wasn’t a great deal of affordable accommodation left in Healdsburg at my price point (budget). I might try again next week to see if anything has dropped in price.
Thanks again for your comments - the order of the list was by no means intended to represent the order I’ll visit them - will try to work that out once I have a better idea where I’m going!
Appreciate everyone’s effort - will try to take the excellent information on board!
Randy - yeah, I think the cafe is at the original, smaller G&F space in Glen Ellen. Both are standouts, but I like the lighter, more focused menu at the cafe for lunch.
Had no idea about the corkage!
This is spot on. Our last trip to Sonoma was wonderful (and complete with hired driver). We did two days of tasting (3 wineries per day) along with lunch and dinner and it still didn’t leave a ton of time. Our visit at Littorai was excellent and you have to budget 2 hours for it. My favorite visit was with Ross Halleck at Halleck Vineyards.
Guilliams? Does it still exist without John and Shawn?
Hate to add a winery suggestion as you are trying to narrow down, but we had a wonderful time a couple of years ago at Stony Hill.
Do I read correct that you are doing 4 different hotels? That seems like overkill and a lot of time wasted packing,unpacking, waiting for checkin, etc. Locals would know better but I’d thinking traffic shouldn’t be bad in November. One hotel on either side of the valleys might make more sense.
Arghhhh! Spoiled for choice! Am working on a revised schedule and will post it up tomorrow some time. Please keep the great suggestions coming!
I agree with Ethan… stay in one place in Napa, and one in Sonoma.
Personally I’d say 4 tastings in a day is too much.
Avoid Phelps at all costs.
If you’re visiting Siduri, let me put in a plug for scheduling a visit with Zepaltas while you’re there. Ryan is an awesome guy who makes some really excellent AFWE-style pinots, and he’s co-located in the same warehouse as Siduri. Then have lunch at the Russian River Brewing Company.
I think number of tastings a day varies depending on your “in” with the winery. If you have connections (through retailers, this board, etc) and end up with a huge 10+ tasting, 2 a day is probably enough. if you are just guy off the street and taste 4 or so wines…4 a day is no problem at all.
Hi Liam,
I would recommend staying in Calistoga the whole time. Everything you’re looking to see is within about an hour from town, and you’ll be going against the typical tourist traffic in the mornings coming from the North, while almost everyone else is headed up valley from the South and vise versa in the afternoons. Mark West Springs leads right in to the Russian River Valley (~30 minutes to Fulton), Calistoga Road puts you at the north end of Sonoma Valley (~35 minutes to Kenwood) and HWY 128 leads right into Alexander Valley/Healdsburg (~35 minutes to Healdsburg). All of these roads are gorgeous drives…
As far as number of places to visit in a day, it really depends on the experience at the winery. If its standing up at the bar, I think you’re fine expecting to do 5 or 6 in a day. If its more structured with someone taking you around or a sit down tasting, I think 3 or 4 for the day is a better balance.
Hope you have a great trip,
Brian Maloney
DeLoach Vineyards
Sterling, Castello, Coppola are about the setting, not the wine, but the Castello is definitely memorable. Go all the way and take a guided tour.
When I have visitors Iron Horse is always on the list. If they don’t like bubbly they can’t stay with me anyway. lol
Liam, agree with the idea of basing yourself in Calistoga. Good for the mud baths too. Suggest you think of the Washington Street Lodging–www.washingtonstreetlodging.com. Decent cost, and very comfortable, with access to all sorts of places you might want to visit.
I’m curious why you say that, Paul? My dad and I - both experienced wine guys - had a great visit there two summers ago. Our host was very friendly, informative, and generous with the pours. We tasted a large number of wines, all very good…including two vintages of Insignia. I would definitely go back.
I’m curious about this as well. My wife and I have been back & forth about checking out Phelps on our upcoming visit.
Liam- quick question, when you say reasonable value do you mean wines for purchase or the cost of the tasting ? Is the primary purpose of the tasting visits is to find new wines/wineries you might want to purchase from or just general tasting and having a good time ? When is the trip scheduled for ?
Also reasonable value can vary greatly amongst folks and there are some great threads around value in Napa which is really in the eye of the beholder. Generally Sonoma will be a better spot for value. Understanding above would help with some additional suggestions
Hi Fred, thanks for the reply. I’ll be travelling from Australia, so realistically I’m just here for the general tasting and as a wine tourist. As for ‘reasonable value’, I’m used to paying $0-$5 for a cellar door tasting here at home, so I guess everything seems steep in comparison. That being said, I’m comfortable with tastings around the $20-$30 mark, plus say one splurge ‘reserve’ tasting per day.
In terms of timing, I’ll be in Napa in about 2 weeks time.