Good Taste Guide to Napa Valley
The wineries, restaurants, and experiences worth your time
Here’s the thing about a Napa Valley Vacation: it’s not just about the wine.
It is ultimately about the wine, of course – but it’s about the agriculture, the thought, the process, the creative details, and the people that make the wine.
And the wine-friendly food.
We’ve tasted wine and explored Napa and Sonoma many times over the years and it’s absolutely our favorite vacation.
Napa Valley Field Notes
YOUR NAPA TO DO LIST
we’ve been to Napa many times over the years. here’s what we recommend.
PACK YOUR BAGS FOR WINE TASTINGS.
You’ll want layers and a water bottle and a baguette.
- Bring a water bottle to refill out wine tastings (stay hydrated!)
- Wear layers because the temps vary throughout the day
- Carry a baguette in the car because you never know when you’ll need carbs
MAKE WINE TASTING RESERVATIONS.
you don’t want to drop in, you’ll want a plan.
- Book no more than 2 per day
- Start one morning at Mumm Napa with bubbles
- For Napa Cab tastings, book at Trefethen Winery, Chimney Rock, Alpha Omega Winery, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
- Schedule a tasting at Trinchero Napa Valley, one of the prettiest tasting rooms in Napa, with gorgeous gardens and a tasting room overlooking miles of vineyards with Mount Helena as your backdrop
- For movie fans, you will want to visit Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook Winery that has a cool museum
- For one of the bougiest experiences in all of Wine Country, book the wine tasting in a church experience with JaM Cellars, where you’ll be transported by an Escalade to a remote church and taste through JaM’s higher end wines. It’s cool, y’all.
MAKE DINNER RESERVATIONS.
- Order the pork chop at Mustards – just trust this will forever change your pork chop relationship because it is the best pork chop you’ll every try
- Eat the artichokes at Farmstead
- You never know what you’re going to get at Thomas Keller’s restaurant, Ad Hoc
- Get the lemon ravioli + share a pizza at Bistro Don Giovanni
STOP AT GOTT’S ROADSIDE.
Under no circumstances should you drive by Gott’s without stopping. It’s better than fine dining.
STOCK UP ON CARBS AT BOUCHON.
Start your day with pastries and caffeine.
Add a baguette to your order for a post-wine-tasting snack.
START YOUR DAY AT MUMM NAPA.
Starting your day with bubbles is NEVER (ever ever ever) a terrible idea 🥂
- This heavenly porch overlooks vineyards while you sip Mumm Napa sparkling wines and nibble on wine snacks.
- And there’s an art gallery.
- You’ll sip the best sparkling wines.
- Bliss.
SIP THE CABERNET THAT BEAT FRANCE.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is an iconic Napa brand with a gorgeous winery and wine cave to learn about the history of Napa, the winery, and the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
TOUR INGLENOOK.
Francis Ford Coppola’s winery is as cinematic as you’d expect.
Inglenook is one of the most unique experiences in Napa — a stunning historic estate where the wine is world-class, the cave tasting rooms are intimate, and the on-site movie museum is genuinely cool. Coppola lives on the property, so keep your eyes open. The gift shop alone is worth the stop.
And you might run into Francis Ford Coppola. He has a favorite bistro table outside of the bistro.
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Photography notes / read about our favorite travel cameras
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