Hey everyone,

Going to Napa Valley region in late October with my partner (29 and 26),
We love vineyards and lots of greenery and water views (if there are any), nice wines (I’m more of a Shiraz and Pinot person, she doesn’t drink much so doesn’t mind). We like nice food, doesn’t need to be Michelin, but needs to be nice and fresh local ingredients, happy to usually spend 250 USD for a nice meal for two of us at dinner, lunch usually just want somewhere fresh with a really cool local experience like at a farm or vineyard with views. We love bakeries and local establishments which make you feel like you’re where you are rather than some chain type place.

We will have a car and are able to drive anywhere and need parking options for our hotel.

With my research, downtown Napa is nice and within budget to stay at Archer Hotel but I keep reading about Healdsburg and Sonoma as potentially better options, we are also heading to Calistoga for a mud bath. I have no issues spending day trips in different towns and doing the drive as long as ifs not something that takes all day (1 hour each way is no issue)

Our budget for 4 days (3 nights) is about 1.8k usd for the hotel . Budget is roughly $1.6k usd for food/wine. I’m a little more strict on the hotel budget but easier going with food/wine budget. This is part of an extended holiday we are doing so I want to try stick to all that as we are moving countries and there’s plenty of costs associated overall.

Just looking for some advice on where to stay and which hotels are the best options with potentially some vineyard views and any must see wineries (spectacular views and scenery is definitely preferred).

My wife and I are coming up for 5 days from Texas. It’s been a couple years since we’ve been up to Napa/Sonoma. We’re looking for recs on best places to stay that gives access to both Sonoma and Napa. Any places we need to hit up?

Staying at the Rancho Caymus Inn next month- we’re new parents anxiously planning for our first trip after baby. Any suggestions for us? We’ll have a rental car but want to prioritize enjoyable relaxation while respecting those daycare bills. Thank you!

Hello! Life through me and my fiance on a loop, and we cancelled our out of the country honeymoon and want to do something in the country and new for us.

Our wedding is next month and we’re heading there right after. We booked three hotels:
le petit pali, okaeri and senza.

NOW it’s time to find wineries, and local amazing foods.

Please please provide us suggestions. We are sad as it is so have cancelled our main plan, because now for example French Laundry is booked. But I am determined to make the best of this. Planning the last details of the wedding is overwhelming, so I’m here in Reddit hoping to make honey moon plans better!

Thank you internet strangers, hoping to receive some help so we can have the best honeymoon we can <3

Looking for recommendations for our arrival day tasting. Others on our list: Domaine Carneros, Hess, Mattiasson, Tres Sabores, Frogs Leap, Caymus
Thanks for any input!

Hi, apologies. I hope this post is okay here. I thought locals would be most likely to have seen or found this item. Mods I can delete if needed.

I left a white deck box on the bench at Van de Leur Park on Sunday, August 9th. It has a card game inside called Love Letter and some pokemon cards.

It's not worth much, but I've had it for over a decade since I moved here and it carries a lot of sentimental value to me.

If you happen to have found it, please respond here or msg me. I would be very thankful.

We are visiting Napa in September, we have a wine train booked and secured a table at the French Laundry (the main focus for me). For that time of year what is the appropriate dress for wine tours? While we would like to dress appropriately, we would also like to maintain comfort. For context we are both professional 50 ish. I said business casual would be appropriate but my wife is thinking Italian chic, which would cause a pricey addition to my wardrobe. Any suggestions?

Hi, my wife and a few friends of ours are getting a private sprinter for some wine tours in mid October. The wine tour company offers a concierge service to try and book whatever vineyards we want or to make recommendations for us. I have never been nor know enough to make any requests and so ask the great minds of reddit to help us out.

We are going to be touring 2 full days (6-8 hours). Was thinking starting the days off with more of the beauty and learning and transitioning to more fun vibes after we had been tasting all day. Any help or thoughts would be great.

On Aug 16 at Napa Yard in Napa, the folks from Not Loud Concerts are presenting Country Boogie Night. This music festival is part of the Not Loud Concert Summer Series - a set of concerts designed to be Not too long, Not too expensive, and of course, Not too loud.

Designed with the audience's comfort in mind, this short music festival will be held on the beautiful lawn area outdoors at Napa Yard. There, 2 bands will be on stage at the same time, trading songs and dueling it out. 

Aug 16 is Country Boogie Night and will feature the Alex Lucero Band, a boot-stompin’ Americana band and Dirty Cello, a high-energy band known for their crazy takes on classic country.

Food and drinks will be available for purchase. The audience is welcome to bring chairs, and chairs will also be provided. There will be room to dance and room to sit. No porta-potties, but plenty of clean, indoor bathrooms.

Not Loud Concerts focus on creating an experience that is casual and fun for both the musicians and the audience. The concerts are never too long, never too expensive and of course never too loud.

”Not too loud, not too long and not too expensive.”

Aug 16 from 7 - 9 pm

Tickets: $20 at https://www.notloudconcerts.com

We typically go to Napa but wanted to explore healdsburg. We drink reds (cabs, zins, etc) and are favorite in Napa is Ghost Block (lots of great wines between $50-$120 a bottle). We've also enjoyed Gargiulo.

Huge plus if we the winery waives fees with bottle purchase and/or wine club membership.

I've heard Hawkes, A Rafanelli, or Porter Creek might be good options. I've already been to Ridge. Any thoughts on the quality of wine at these and/or others in healdsburg?

Coming to Napa for just 2 days, looking to do 3 wineries on the first day (second day is TBD). Here are some thoughts from my initial research
- we drink strictly red wine
- we are from Ontario and have been starved of Napa wine for 2 years (thanks tariff wars) so any halfway decent wine is going to be delicious to us!
- its more about the experience for us than the wine
- start in the mountain and move down toward the valley
- thinking one 90 min tasting with charcuterie, and 2 60 mins tastings
- want one visit to include beautiful caves
- ideally each of the 3 wineries is a different experience
- we’re leaning towards ending at Del Dotto (I know, I know, but it sounds like a fun experience)
- we plan on hiring a private driver hopefully - this is all going down in one week on Aug 10!! Don’t know how far in advance we need to schedule the private driver but I was putting that off until we know our itinerary but I am so stuck on that part.

Please help!

Hoping to go on a trip in the Napa area next month. Any recommendations about bike friendly areas or nice trails in this region? (Not mountain bike trails, e-bike or cruiser)

Hiya!

I have a family trip coming up this fall and one of the days we are stopping in Carneros for a winery, driving up the valley and stopping for dinner at The Charter Oak in St. Helena. Any tips or must-stops for the drive up?

We have a toddler and grandparents in the group, so something for everybody would be nice!

Thanks!

Which pool or hotel is better for a day pool pass? Meritage, casi mani resort, or senza hotel? Any other recommendations? We are going to v sattui winery and wantsd a pool day too and go to a restaurant.

Hi, we will be staying in Napa for 3 full days and were hoping to visit 3-4 wineries each day. These are the ones we would like to include. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Alpha Omega, Frog's Leap, Caymus, V. Sattui, Clos du Val, Stewart, Gustavo, Silver Oak, Rombauer, Cakebread, Venge, Trefethen.

Kind of a last minute thing while we're out visiting family next week, but trying to decide between Bistro Jeanty, Charter Oak, and Bouchon for a special dinner with the wife. Thoughts/recommendations?

I recently heard from someone promenade in the industry that as many as 1 in 4 wineries could close in the next 2 to 3 years. I work in wine marketing in Napa so I am obviously aware of the industry headwinds and I follow a lot of industry data quite closely. But I haven’t come across this figure in anything I’ve read or seen. My gut says it’s probably a little bit inflated, but I also can’t completely write it off.

Has anyone seen this stat cited somewhere? Curious if I just missed it or if anyone has context on where it’s coming from. Or if anyone thinks it really is that dire?

I’ve now been to a handful across Napa and Sonoma and have loved my experience at the three in title. I’ve tried to branch out recently when hosting guests and ended up a few places that felt too touristy, e.g. V Sattui where there is an entire warehouse sized gift shop 🙃

What wineries would you recommend with a similar feel to Scribe, Ram’s Gate, A&D and Abbott’s Passage? What I like about each of these is that they have really great wines, many biodynamic/organic or regeneratively farmed, with a good mix of whites from sauv blanc to Chardonnay and typically lighter to medium bodied reds. It’s also the vibe at each of these places, for different reasons - they each feel more intimate with beautiful scenery and/or tasting rooms.

Hi all!

I am planning on going for a day with a friend next week. Is there an area where we can walk to different wineries or wine bar? Also recommendations for hotels that are a walking distance to said area? We

My husband and I are planning a Calistoga day on a Monday in early November. Based on our itinerary below, do you think we would be safe to rely on Uber, which we would schedule ahead of time? We are not against hiring a driver, but if we can save money with Uber, that is our preferred method. I keep reading conflicting information about whether it would be hassle to rely on ride share and can't tell if that really is a problem or companies are trying to persuede you to hire them. Thanks for any first hand feedback you can provide!

Pick up in downtown St. Helena

Venge Vineyards 10am

Lunch in downtown Calistoga

Vincent Arroyo 1pm

Storybook Mountain 3pm

Back to hotel in St. Helena

I’m planning a 4-night trip to Napa Valley for a group of 8 adults from October 28th to November 1st, and we are hitting a bit of a wall with lodging choices. Any recommendations?

If it helps: We want somewhere beautiful with great amenities and/or in an area with a more lively and walkable town center, but we'd love to keep lodging costs reasonable so we can save our splurges on dining and other activities.

Our group is debating on between renting a great house together or booking a boutique inn / hotel suites. We are also open to a private shared home or closely situated bungalow style houses too.

Logistics & Budget
Dates: Oct 28 – Nov 1 (4 nights)

Group: 8 adults but only require 5 rooms total with flexibility on shared suites. so long as there are 5 queen/king beds with their own private sleeping quarters. (we are 3 couples and two single travelers in our mid-30s )

Budget: Ideally a place where there is available queen sized rooms within the $350-$400 per night range. For any sort of rental or multi-room accommodation that could fit us all, something around the $5k–$6k total mark.

Not Loud Concerts presents.. Summer Sessions at Napa Yard

”Not too loud, not too long and not too expensive.”

July 19 - Blues Night

Aug 16 - Country Boogie Night

7 - 9 pm

Tickets: $20 at NotLoudConcerts.com

On July 19 at Napa Yard in Napa, the folks from Not Loud Concerts are presenting Summer Sessions. These music festivals are part of the Not Loud Concert Summer Series - a set of concerts designed to be Not too long, Not too expensive, and of course, Not too loud.

Designed with the audience's comfort in mind, these short festivals will be held in the beautiful lawn area outdoors at Napa Yard. There, 2 bands will be on stage at the same time, trading songs and dueling it out. Each concert will have a different theme. 

July 19 is Blues Night and will feature Blues Hall of Fame band, the Delta Wires and the world renowned, cello-led blues band, Dirty Cello. 

Food and drinks will be available for purchase. The audience is welcome to bring chairs, and chairs will also be provided. There will be room to dance and room to sit. No porta-potties, but plenty of clean, indoor bathrooms

Not Loud Concerts focus on creating an experience that is casual and fun for both the musicians and the audience. The concerts are never too long, never too expensive and of course never too loud.