Nate and I snuck out of town for 4 days in November. to one of our favorite spots, Napa Valley wine country. First time on a plane since January 2020, first time away from home for more than a night since January 2020. WOW. The feels.
I had gotten a quick tip from a friend who had been there a month before us that every winery was requiring reservations to visit. Some of them do anyways, even in precedented times, but in unprecedented times, they all did. So we called the hotel concierge and honestly, they did all the work for us. Booked wineries, booked restaurant reservations…. and yes, it was a little stifling for me knowing that there was no room for spontaneity, but I kept a clear head and it all worked out.
We arrived Thursday evening, got settled in our room, and then set out for Shadowbox. It was on a side road of downtown Napa, with couches on the sidewalk set up in a nice way. It was loud because of the nearby Main Street, but not annoying. Each wine was paired with gourmet savory chips – Hawaiian sea salt, Gouda, ribeye flavors – which are made in super small batches and hand-picked by the winemaker (who was the one serving us). We took home a chardonnay that was light and bright.
Our first stop on Friday was Model bakery in downtown Napa for an egg sandwich, after which we headed off to Inglenook. It was a lovely spot with pretty terraces and a large fountain in front of the huge stone building. We sat inside cellar-type room with a gorgeous glass/mosaic wall mural (still not sure what it was made if, but cool nonetheless). We had a bit of an awkward/over talkative host, but other than that, it was a good experience. They even checked our vax cards (the only place to do it). We bought a Cabernet, which was our 2nd favorite… our very favorite one was too expensive haha.
Then we hit up Heitz, which had unexpected farm vibes, and sheep welcoming us in. Our host brought us a glass of chardonnay upon parking, and then led us up to the tasting room on the second floor of the main barrel room. The space had nice tables, a big barn door and cool arched window. Our host was friendly, and even gave us an extra pour of the expensive cab. We brought home the 2015 cabernet.
Last on Friday was AlphaOmega, which we first visited in 2019. It was busier than last time, but still a relaxing experience in their large outdoor space near the fountains. We also saw the best sunset of the trip here. We brought a bottle home last time, so we didn’t get anything this time.
Started Saturday super strong with another egg sandwich from Model, and then a pretty drive to Tres Sabores. The garden/backyard vibes were immaculate, and it was overall just super gorgeous. We sat with the vineyards right in front of us and enjoyed the sunshine. It’s a woman-owned operation and all the staff are women as well. It was fun because the sheep and dogs were just hanging around, so we walked around in between pours and enjoyed the ambiance. Annnnndddd, we became club members 🙂 Our first club!!
Then we visited Bell. We had a tour and walked through the barrel room to learn a bit about their process. For the tasting we sat on patio, with the vineyard nearby. Honestly, it was kind of generic, and whenever I try to remember it, I have to really think about it. But we had a very friendly host who told us all about his origami hobby 🙂 And we bought a Merlot to take home.
Sunday began with a delicious brunch at Petit Soleil, UGH SO GOOD. And then went to Robert Sinsky winery. It was fancy, a little dressed up, but still felt laid back. We were sitting in a fig grove, and could see lemon trees and a ton of different flowers around us. It had a decent view, too. The wine was paired with a plate of fancy finger food made in-house by their chef. Got a bottle of Orgia and Pinot to take home.
After that, we had a reservation at Cade, which was wayyyy up the mountain, a twisty drive! It felt exclusive, but still comfortable. The main building had clean lines & cool design, like mid-century with a minimal nature look. Great view of valley and personable host who answered a lot of general wine country questions for us.
Our last winery visit was Peju. They outside was cool and had French castle vibes, but the tasting was inside and ended up being my least fave vibe. We sat on uncomfy stools and there were lots of fruit flies. But the host upgraded us to reserve wines because it was the end of the day, so that was cool. We got a unique red/white blend for home. We ended up having the hotel ship our 10 bottles home to us which was super easy and convenient to do!
Overall we had a great trip, much-needed for sure. It was weird to have to schedule everything, but we ended up doing most of what we wanted to do. And on top of the great wine, we ate a LOT of great food (shout out to Gott’s Roadside for the fish tacos thank you amen).
- S