My daughter and I want to go to Napa Valley next spring. We are looking for reasonably priced B&Bs; the best town to stay in; the best month to go (April or May?); the best vineyard tours and any other helpful information you may have.
Thank you for any help.
Linda
Everyone one is going to have a different idea as to what is reasonable....so for another idea not too far. El Dorado County where the families still run the wineries, and you are not going to have to pay at each stop you make. B&B are "reasonable" and some are close enough to walk to historic Main Street in Placerville.
I would suggest the Glen Morey Country House to stay, and visit Boeger, Rucksack, Madrona, Wofford Acres, and Grace Patriot. If you wanted to go a bit farther into the county, you could also go to Somerset and taste. Farther south will find you in Amador county with more vineyards.
Good morning Linda,
It will be hard to find much in the way of budget priced B&Bs in Napa Valley. We live in SoCal and have made many road trips to the Napa area wine country. Sonoma county, right next to Napa county has fantastic wineries and is less pricy and less snooty than Napa. You might try checking Booking.com to find lodging in Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino countries. They are all great wine counties, and it is easy to drive among them for wine-tasting. (One place we enjoyed staying was in Glen Ellen, near the Jack London State Historic Park and the Sonoma Botanical Garden. We stayed at the Jack London Lodge there.)
As for wineries, we always stop at Cline Cellars in Sonoma county. Nice wines, reasonable tasting price, and lovely setting. A good place to bring a simple picnic lunch. They have a collection of models of all 21 California missions, which is excellent! I have been to each mission in California and the models are really worth seeing. Also in Sonoma county is the Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville. There is a free tour and a free tasting of 5 wines/champagnes. The setting is very nice, the drive is beautiful to get there. (You may need to make a reservation.)
To be honest, there are so many wineries in the area you will have no trouble going to tastings. We never do more than three throughout the day, and take turns tasting because we don't want to drive impaired. There is the Napa Wine train also, but I feel it is overpriced. Many people love it though, and (I believe) have a meal on board. You can find places for olive oil tastings too.
There is a beautiful drive to the ocean on highway 128, through redwood groves and past wineries as well, just in case you have time to see the absolutely beautiful Mendocino county coast. There are lots of neat B&Bs in the town of Mendocino, and the drive up and down the coast is very scenic. I don't know how much time you have, but the area is so nice to visit that we go almost every year and can easily spend a week or more in this compact tri-county area. There are hundreds of wineries in the area.
You could go in April or May, but May will be somewhat warmer. Almost any month will be nice, but to me summer is too hot.
Have a wonderful trip!
Linda,
My daughter lives in the Placerville area and we have been to several of the wineries on our visits there. Prices in El Dorado county are cheaper, the wineries very nice, and often have entertainment. Lots of apple orchards there, with cider tastings. Placerville is a typical gold country town, and we spent our honeymoon over fifty years ago following the Highway 49 Gold Rush trail which includes Placerville. Lots to see, but a different vibe than the classic Calif. wine counties. I do think that April or May there will be quiet (e.g. no music at the wine tastings).
Amador county does have some really good wineries too. (Our favorite closed a couple of years ago.)
You are in the foothills of the Sierra here (3000-4000 ft. elevation). Weather is warmer, but April and May are very nice and not too hot. You could drive to South Lake Tahoe in under 1 1/2 hour from Placerville.
To be honest, you could go almost anywhere in California and find wineries to visit, but for a first visit, I would still go to the classic Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino tri-county area. It is iconic.
Many years ago, I used to stay at The Grape Leaf Inn in Healdsburg, in (corrected) Sonoma. It's long since changed hands and been renovated. A quick check shows rooms in the $200s, which isn't outrageous for Napa. But it will only get you one bed per most (all?) rooms. When I wanted a more affordable hotel type room, I stayed at the nearby Best Western Dry Creek Inn.
I enjoyed the tour at Castello di Amorosa, in Napa.
https://castellodiamorosa.com/
As others have said, for a more family feel and less expensive wines and lodging, I've been going to El Dorado. My favorite time is in April for their Passport Weekend. You buy a ticket to enjoy food and wine pairings at participating wineries. A favorite is the winery that hosts the chocolate fountain.
https://eldoradowines.org/passport/
I don't see the 2025 dates posted, but it's usually the 2nd half of April.
A favorite Napa Winery was always V. Sattui, not only for tasting, but also for their deli and picnic grounds. You can buy a bottle, pick out something for lunch and spend a few lovely hours.
I see that their indoor marketplace is under renovation until the spring. You'd have to watch to see if it reopens before your visit. I bet it will be even more fabulous!
Linda,
I have often found discounts for the Best Western Dry Creek Inn on Groupon. They also often have a deal on a One Priority Wine Pass which can give you two for one tastings, or discounts. The winery options don't include every winery, and none of the big names, but offer a pretty large selection, depending on the wine region. It covers just about all the wine areas in California (and some Oregon, Washington also). You might check it out. We have used this kind of pass often. It can save you money depending on your choices.
Just a thought.
I am going to throw out another suggestion for you to look into. The Big Crush Harvest Wine Festival in the Shenandoah Valley in CA (not far from Sacramento) occurs in early October over 3 days. We have been a few times. It is so fun. You buy a commemorative glass and go from winery to winery in the area sampling the wines for the price of the commemorative glass. Various small food bites are included at each winery. There is live music at some of the wineries. I recall there was a chance to stomp grapes in a vat if you are so inclined but whether or not they still do that I cannot say. Although the offered food bites are smallish by the end of the day you will be turning down the food because you are too full to eat anymore. The weather is usually gorgeous and the wines are really good. I much prefer this area and festival to the more famous Napa Valley wineries.
I lived in Napa for 7 years, right off Silverado Trail. It used to be that was the road the locals used to go up and down the valley. I left and only go back to visit friends because I couldn't afford to buy there. For "reasonable" you're going to have to expand your definition, or accept $300+/night. April might be okay, but May is prime tourist season. I like the spring, because even though the vines still haven't leafed out the yellow mustard planted in between the rows is beautiful.
I recommend looking for a place either around Healdsburg of up the Alexander Valley.
Places I used to really enjoy were Silverado, Stags Leap, Caymus, and Clos Pegase. Sunday mornings was the best time to visit Mumm for champagne on the terrace and a light breakfast. I still know folks who have some of the vineyards, and sitting with them after hours in the valley is something I miss.
One thing you can do that is a local thing is to go to the statue of the the crusher (near the airport) and take a picnic and a bottle or two and watch the sun go down, and all the tourists come into the valley, from the small park up there.
Mary, I believe the OP mentioned April or May for their visit. Does anyone know of special events or activities around Napa in those months?
Just to clarify a previous post, Healdsburg is in Sonoma, not Napa. Having said that, there are a number of less expensive housing options in Windsor and Santa Rosa, both in Sonoma County. You may have not started to research flights yet but when you do, you'll find that the closest airport for both Sonoma and Napa is in Santa Rosa. That would make touring in Sonoma much easier as it can be quite a lengthy drive from Santa Rosa to Napa.
Edit to add: Three of our favorite Sonoma wineries are Unti Vineyards, https://www.untivineyards.com/, Porter Creek, https://portercreekvineyards.com/# and Bacigalupi, https://bacigalupivineyards.com/our-story/history-and-vineyards/. One of the things we like to do is ask the wineries where they suggest to go. So we'll usually plan one or two per day and ask each one if they have a recommendation. Then head to the "new to us" wineries to explore something else.
Healdsburg is in Sonoma, not Napa
Oh, you're right, thanks!
Napa Valley is beautiful- especially in spring and fall (and summer but it can get hot). I like staying near the town of Napa if it’s in walking distance from the town where there are so many restaurants and tasting rooms. Calistoga is also a fun town situated on the northern side of Napa Valley. We got the priority wine pass via Groupon and got good deals on tastings. We especially liked Hill Family Estate in Yountville and it’s right down the street from Bouchon Bakery. We did Airbnb. Affordable? Not especially but it was a magical trip.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and travel to Napa about 4-5 times per year. Spring in Napa Valley is lovely.
Date Considerations:
A couple of things to consider as you plan you trip. The overall event calendar for Napa is not updated yet, but here are a few of the bigger events.
Places to Stay:
Things to Do:
Where to Eat--So Many Option and Not All of them are Expensive. Happy to provide recommendations if you let me know types of food you are interested in and price points.
I hope this helps.
Linda,
Re places to stay. When I once stayed in American Canyon (using hotel points for a very nice room, I found the daily drive from there to the wineries and things I wanted to see and do an annoyance at first, and a pain after one day. In my opinion it took some of the shine off the trip. It wasn't onerous, just a big nuisance. You might consider that in your planning.
Linda,
I just checked Booking.com for three nights at the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen (midweek, two persons) and it was about $250 a night before taxes. You will really need a car to get the best out of the wine country, and will need one if you don't stay in central Napa or Sonoma (such as at the Jack London Lodge). With a car you won't need to pay for a wine tour, which I find to be very expensive, and limit you to their choices of wineries. Definitely do a Booking.com search to get an idea of lodging prices for B and B's. I found them in Napa or Calistoga for about $300 a night before taxes. (Midweek in April) Keep searching and remember that the cost of car rental will be offset by savings made by not taking wine tours. Whatever you decide, it is definitely a great choice for a laid-back vacation. I hope you can take a week and make it to the coast for a day or two as well.
Bonne chance!
We prefer the Sonoma area to Napa, as it is more laid back. Our preference for places would be closer to Healdsburg. Our favorite winery is Mauritson, which has been in the business since 1868. Clay and Carrie have terrific wines (especially their zinfandels) and outstanding hospitality. A fun, casual experience is at Porter Creek Vineyards. Salvestrin Winery is another excellent, smaller, family owned establishment. It is located in St. Helena. Our rule of thumb for visiting wine country is...."If you see a tour bus in the parking lot, then keep driving!" Have a wonderful mother/daughter trip!
Our rule of thumb for visiting wine country is...."If you see a tour bus in the parking lot, then keep driving!"
So true. I will add to that, "if you see a bachelorette party in the parking lot, keep driving!"
TravelBug and Trotter, oh so true! Great advice!
hey hey Linda
napa/sonoma is in marin county, one of the most expensive places to live and stay. plus it is so well known that many want to go there and it will be so crowded. totally agree with Trotter and TravelBug79 about "tour buses/bachelorette parties/ and anything else" keep on moving. offering another place for wine tasting and more affordable accommodations
pressdemocrat.com/vintage wine estates
article about laying off almost 400 employees due to bankruptcy, affecting wineries in sonoma, napa and mendocino. many wanting to get involved with "premium wine estates, millions in credit lines that can't pay back and a whole lot of GREED!!"
there are other places for wine tasting, more budget friendly accommodations nearby. check out lodi and it's many wineries
visit the wine and visitor center for lots of info. visit downtown with many restaurants, shops, tasting rooms and the history of this old laid back town. a friend and i did the walk thru downtown, tasting and eating since we live close by. it was really fun
check booking.com/lodi for rooms around town, cost of room for 3 nights will be about what you pay for 1 night in napa.
gotravelcalifornia.com/11 great things to do in lodi
prioritywinepass.com
different passes to investigate and some are 2 for 1 tasting in lodi
visitlodi.com
themudmill.com
spend couple hours painting ceramics you choose from, bring in your food and liquids and enjoy the fun
just another option for you and daughter to check out.
aloha
Linda,
There are indeed many, many areas in Calif. to visit wineries and do tastings. Lodi is one of them. Princess Pupule is usually right on point with her advice, but I must point out that Napa and Sonoma are not in Marin County. They are two separate counties in the same general part of California (North of San Freancisco). Marin County is closer to the coast. Napa and Sonoma Counties are inland and a bit further north than Marin. Mendocino is on the coast and north of Marin. All are beautiful places to visit and worth a stay, although Marin County has fewer wineries. And yes, Lodi will be far less pricy than Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino (three premier wine regions).
As I mentioned before, you will find winery "neighborhoods" all over the state, but some have more choices or lovelier scenery or better weather or better prices. It is a pleasant problem to have!
I would like to thank all who responded to my questions regarding Napa Valley. My daughter & I will consider all suggestions. We have decided to go next fall instead of the spring, so there is a lot of time to explore options. We pretty much decided to stay in Sonoma or thereabouts. I also want to go to the coast (I love the Northern California, Oregon and Washington coastlines.), so will take some time to do that.
Thanks again for your help.
Linda
If you go in the fall, try to go during "the crush" when the whole valley smells like grapes. This is harvest time, and can vary due to the weather.
One of my favorite Sunday drives used to be to leave Napa, drive up the valley to Geyserville, then take Skaggs Springs Rd towards Stewarts Point. This runs along the ridge, and it's an old logging road, lot's of twists and turns but beautiful country. Best done in a convertible with the top down. (Be advised it's also fairly empty and if something happens it's a long walk to help.) But it comes out on the coast just south of Sea Ranch, and the drive from there up to Fort Bragg is spectacular. From Ft Bragg you can backtrack to 128 and take that back to Geyserville, or take 20 over to 101 and go back that way.
the above post from gradeboston has been reported.
Having lived near this area, I think Fall is the best time to visit.
Yountville is a place to consider staying. It’s kind of centrally located along the main highway.
There are many great restaurants in the area, as well as wineries. We always liked the lesser known places.
For us locals, as the crowds grew, tastings got expensive, hwy 29 became more congested, we found other places away from the crowds. I saw El Dorado, Lodi, Amador mentioned. Our favorite winery is in Livermore. However, these are not the destinations for someone coming out of town. Napa and Sonoma have the cache, and rightfully so. It’s beautiful country with cute shops, interesting restaurants, and driving around seeing the scenery is always nice.
Here is a link to the visitors center. This may help you find the places you would be interested in.
