Two Perfect Days in Napa

Howdy!

If you follow me on Instagram or any social media outlet, you probably know that I was in Napa this past weekend with my husband. Our anniversary is coming up on October 10, so we decided to do an early 2-year wedding anniversary in Napa. We did get married there after all 🙂

Luckily, I work out in the Bay Area once a month, so it is easy for me to tack on weekend trips like this! I was in the area for work all of last week and my husband, Alex, flew into SFO on Thursday afternoon to pick me up and head to Napa!

It was a beautiful drive to Napa – as always. I wish I had taken pictures of our drive, but I was busy catching up with Alex!

Thursday evening, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Napa – Azzurro. It’s a casual pizza/pasta place, but it is so cute! I think it is nice to do something more casual sometimes instead of a super fancy restaurant. You really can’t go wrong with any restaurants in Napa – it is foodie paradise! Definitely check this place out if you are ever in downtown Napa.

 After dinner, we checked in at our hotel a mile down the road from Downtown Napa! We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Napa. It is about a 15-20 minute drive to most wineries.

This a newer Hilton property, and I was impressed with how clean and nice it was. Staying in a Bed and Breakfast this time of the year in Napa is crazy expensive, so we decided to go with a chain to save us some money (plus – we always want more Hilton points!).

Now for the good stuff….the recap of our two days of wine tasting! I have broken down for you each day, the wineries we went to, where we ate lunch and dinner, and the order of everything!

If you are looking to do a Napa trip soon, check it out! Also, if you want a point of reference of where the wineries are located, check out this map – we have used this several time for our Napa trips.

Day 1:

*Reservation Highly Recommended

• Trefethen*
  • One of my favorites from this trip! Their property was gorgeous and our host was fantastic. We learned a lot about the history of the winery. They have over 500 acres and are known for their Chardonnay. This was an amazing experience!

We were able to walk around their property and they still had some Cabernet grapes on the vines – my favorite!

• Lunch – Gott’s Roadside
  • Amazing burgers and garlic fries! The perfect lunch to have when you are drinking all day. Also, you can get your burger wrapped in lettuce instead of bread! We always try to get here before noon to avoid the lunch rush.

• Mumm
  • Known for their sparkling wines! This was a fun one and something we have never done before. We thought it would be good to take a break from all of the Cabernet we were drinking. Mumm has amazing views and some tasty bubbles! Check it out. It’s a fun one.

Um…this view though?!

• Frogs Leap
  • This winery was a spur of the moment visit. We tried to get into Caymus, but it was too full, so we went over to Frog’s Leap instead! They had a fun little garden tasting for walk-ins. Their property was gorgeous and it had a farm-like feel. They had everything from pumpkins to corn to chickens, etc. It was definitely unique and I liked it!

• Alpha Omega*
  • Alpha Omega was one of the wineries we knew we had to visit because of the wine we love there: Alpha Omega II. This place is unbelievable. It is located right off the main highway in Napa and they have a beautiful outdoor patio overlooking the vineyards and the hills. Also, they have a fun fountain that makes everything even more picturesque. This was the perfect way to end day 1 in Napa.
  • Also, fun fact: Alpha Omega is open till 6 PM! It is rare to find wineries open till 6 in Napa, so take advantage of this when scheduling.

• Dinner – Morimoto Sushi in Downtown Napa
  • If you have a bigger party, make a reservation! This place gets crowded on the weekend. Alex and I have gone here several times and we keep coming back. The sushi is so fresh and we love the atmosphere of this restaurant. We sat at the sushi bar this time and watched the chefs make all of the sushi rolls – it was a blast!

Day 2:

• Caymus*
  • We tried to go to Caymus on Friday, but could not get in due to the crowds. I would recommend calling ahead! However, we were very fortunate to get a free tasting pass for the next day! This. Place. Was. Gorgeous. I will definitely be visiting this one again. The tasting was super relaxing and the wine was amazing.

• V. Sattui – Tasting and Lunch
  • We went into the cellar room for our tasting. As wine club members, you can go down into the cellar and do your tasting with less crowds! Take advantage if you have a club membership. If not, you can try the same wines upstairs in the tasting room. It is a great experience either way. I am bias because we had our wedding here, but this place is phenomenal.  This is a great place to stop for a picnic as well. V. Sattui as several sandwiches, cheeses, pasta, etc. It is the cutest little deli! Also, most times of the year they have a BBQ on Saturday.

 

• Hall
  • This winery is known for their Cabernet and is in the heart of St. Helena. I was a little disappointed with this winery. Not with the wine, but with our host. We got little to no information about the wines or the winery. To be fair, we walked in without an appointment, so there may be a nicer tasting option if you made a reservation! I doubt we will go back, but check out these views!!

Aren’t these dog bowls so cute!? It makes me want a little puppy!

• Frank Family*
  • This winery was awesome. Their Cabernet selection was to die for and their staff was so hospitable. We had to wait a few minutes before our tasting (because we were early) and we got free champagne! Like what? So nice. We met a lot of really nice people while we were tasting here too – definitely check this one out if you like Cabernet and dry red wines!

Don’t mind me while I walk through the vines all day……

Frank Family was our last stop of the day!

Before we headed to dinner, we decided to walk around Downtown St. Helena for a bit. We love this area and they have several cute boutiques and shops. If you have a few minutes to spare on your Napa trip, check it out!

• Dinner – Press*
  • Okay. This place is fancy. But, we knew we wanted to do one fancy dinner to celebrate our anniversary! Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this place. The cocktails were amazing – I got a drink with gin and basil. It may have been my favorite cocktail ever! (And I don’t even like gin…) Their wine list is extensive, so come prepared to sit down for a while and look through the list. We ordered steaks and they were cooked to perfection. It was truly the perfect way to end our trip to Napa! Let’s not talk about my headache the next day 🙂

That pretty much sums up our 10th trip to Napa! A lot of wine, perfect weather and fun!

This post is not inclusive of all my Napa tips, tricks and recommendations, so let me know if you have specific questions about the area. I am always happy to help! Comment down below or send me an e-mail! I would love to hear from you!

Until next time Napa….

-Catheryn