This past month Iāve been visiting Napa Valley California for a Girls Trip that we have been planning for about a year now! My friend Kelly and I have seen most of European countries together but we havenāt seen much of America and Iām not sure Vegas counts. HA! So when she moved to California and suggested āNapa Valley for a Girlās Tripā I said, āHeck yea!ā Both lovers of European wine what a great suggestion. Spring in California, how wonderful!
So we grabbed Vicky and Peni. Vicky my fellow Travel Advisor friend (Travel by Vicky) and her bestie, Peni we were set for a great week in the Napa Valley.
Kelly organized this one and found a bunch of unique and different tours as well as tastings that might give us a good variety. Todayās blog I will share how we got to Napa, where we stayed, our tastings and tours, fun and shopping around Napa, great eats and MORE!
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How do you get to the Napa Valley
Of course you can drive to the Napa Valley but gas was pretty expensive almost $6 a gallon and the locals told us that it went down. EEK! Military spouses coming from all over America, Ohio, California, and Alabama it was just planes and automobiles but there is a trick to it. But we decided to grab a Uberās from the San Francisco airport and it was about $120 one way and an hour an a half.
However, we discovered Wine Country Airporter and it was much more affordable and easier to get to and from Napa. Itās half the price too. Definitely the way to go if you want to be car-less. My driver Brian McDonald was amazing and I look forward to more travel with him in the future.
Where we stayed in Napa
Kelly found a fantastic apartment/condo for us within walking distance of downtown Napa. The Villa Murialdo Napa definitely is a keeper. Our apartment was a 2-bedroom/2-bath unit and we also had a little porch balcony and plenty of amenities and space. Full kitchen with an eat-in area, large living room, washer and dryer and more.
Our bedrooms were spacious with plenty of storage, dressers and closet space. Shower pressure was spot on and they had shampoos, conditioners and body wash available.
The apartment was very secure and covered parking was available too. We had wonderful weather and enjoyed our time on the patio. Definitely a keeper.
PODCAST: Napa Valley Girls’ Trip
Tastings & Tours
Of course we were not going to be tasting and driving so Kelly found some tastings that provided transportation with your tour that made it easy to enjoy the day responsibly. Here was our first tour, Platypus Tours. Their website is user friendly and they offer several tours to choose from. Would you like to visit the Sonoma Valley? Would you like to visit Napa Valley? They are happy to accommodate.
We chose the Sonoma Valley Wine Tour that include three wineries, our lunch and transportation. These are small-group focused and we only had 8 travelers and tasters with us on our day of exploration. These are the three wineries we visited on our tour. Our tour guide Dave was awesome however, he was camera-shy so no photos of him unfortunately but gratefully he took many photos of us. They also nicely upload your āpics of the dayā to an app that you can easily add to your library. What a great service!
TRAVEL TIP: Schedule a mid-week tour or tasting, less crowds and more availability.
Napa Valley and the Sonoma Valley are actually considered two different wine regions so our tour with Platypus was for Sonoma Valley. Next time, we will venture out the the Napa Valley region to test those out.
Loxton Winery
This boutique winery is located in the Heart of Sonoma Valley. Smaller producers are able to create such great wines and this was definitely one of our favorite visits. The tour was personal and succinct and very interesting. Mary our tour guide was really fantastic. We enjoyed our tasting at the picnic table under the trees surrounded by vineyards with explanations of the grapes, the growing process and the history of the winery.
Chris Loxton is the 5th generation of wine growers equally as passionate about his wine as his family. This winery also had Foudre Barrels these were so cool. These oval barrels were a sight to see. Foudre barrels are made from French Oak and help with the wine fermentation that is different than traditional wine round barrels. Learning this process was super cool too. For more info youāll just have to go a tasting. HA!
TRAVEL TIP: One fatal flaw we made on our touring day was not grabbing a bit of breakfast before we took off. Do eat something before you head out. We were so excited we just completely forgot. Donāt do that! HA
Ty Caton Vineyards
Our next winery was Ty Caton Vineyards. Our sommelier and tour guide, Paul is hysterical. Full of stories and legends he will have your sides aching. We enjoyed our picnic lunch here just adjacent from one the vineyards. A family winery with Tyās mom who helps with catering large events, itās all hands on deck during harvest to production and promotion.
Deerfield Creek Winery
One of the prettiest wine cave cellars Iāve been to is here at Deerfield Creek Winery. Our tour of this winery was also our last for the day, so I definitely felt heartbeats for Bill our tour guide. Poor thing. He was amazing and gave me a personal challenge of ānaming that grape.ā Of course I failed miserably because I know nothing of California grapes. It turns out it was a Cabernet Franc and I loved it. I am not a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignon (Cab Sav) I know most people like it… but, I like the grapes that are a bit challenging and difficult to find, grow and are persnickity.
My favorite is the Barbera grape of Piemonte, Italy. And honestly I just havenāt found a grape similar in the states. It might have to do with the sun, soil and harvest. Who knows? HA! But I did really enjoy the Cabernet Franc. Oh, and I do like certain Pinot Noirās, another finicky grape. Thereās a pattern here.
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Other Tastings
We also toured the town of Napa that has a plethora of tastings along First Street so one day we decided to visit 3!! I know ambitious ladies. So first up was Quilt & Company located on Main Street in Napa this elegant and refined bar and tasting room is one-of-a-kind with incredible views of the valley and river on itās rooftop, Iāll never forget this tasting.
Cassidy our server/sommelier was very knowledgable about Joseph Wagner, fifth generation wine maker and local boy who grew up right here in Napa Valley.
They also have a wine wax dipping room, if you are interested check it out before you book! That whole process was pretty cool, of course I thought it was a vat of cheese fondue, the staff thought that was pretty funny since we hadn’t started tasting yet!
More walkable wine tastings in Napa
Next, we made our way to John Anthony Vineyards on First Street in Napa. Very elegant tasting room and a bit different in style and feature from Quilt & Co. we really enjoyed our tasting with Alison here too.
We learned so much about the different varietals and the history of the family, the church property and their vintages, a lot. The personal attention to our tasting from Alison was really cool and she was up for all the thousands of questions my little group had. She mighta wished for a different group, ha!
One of the best features of having a tasting experience here is it can be customed. The middle of the day and our relaxing moment, we each tasted a different personal favorite grape and Alison spent time explaining the differences and the hard work and effort that goes in to making their beautiful liquid gold. My favorite was the Sauvignon Blanc.
Our last call of the day was a Mayacamas Tasting Room. This open air tasting room is fun and casual. Our sommelier and new friend Sean was courteous and helpful. We decided to get four different flight tastings and share so that we would have a nice variety to choose from.
We also ordered a large charcuterie board which was a gorgeous blend of cheeses and meats that were perfect with the wine pairings.
TRAVEL TIP: Hereās a Napa Valley travel tip, most of the tasting rooms will require a credit card on file to reserve your tasting reservation but you wonāt be charged until you arrive. Be sure to check websites for information and make a note before you travel.
One last tasting day!
Kelly also discovered the Del Dotto Winery & Caves. Driving up to Del Dotto Vineyards is like being back in Italy. Surrounded by vineyards and greeted by the palatial estate this wine tasting tour is definitely a unique experience. Our tasting and tour included the wine cave and the property dates back to 1885.
We enjoyed the Cave Experience and Barrel Tasting this tour was super cool because it was a āwine thiefā tasting. If you are unfamiliar with this kind of a tasting it is quite surprising. This is where the guide sneaks a little wine out of the barrel to allow you to taste the wine before it is quite ready. Why would you do this, you say?
This process is part of evaluating the wine for color, aroma, and taste. It was really cool and this #corkdork was geeking out. We bought futures of some of the varieties and I am thrilled to share this was the only Sangiovese grape that I tasted during our tour. This Tuscan girl at heart was super thrilled. Our tour also included a light lunch that consisted of fresh pizza and some tater tots. With ties to Naples, Italy, you can definitely taste the difference.
How do I get it home?
TRAVEL TIP: I LOVE all this wine, BUTā¦ how do I get it home? Well thanks to Dave our Platypus guide for sharing this tip with us. We ended up being able to ship back to our home states for a price using Buffalo Shipping Post.
My state is a bit more difficult because well, itās Alabama. Enough said. And of course, there’s only two states the vintners can’t ship to and I’ll let you guess the other one. Anyway, my shipment has to go to through an ABC Store instead of being shipped directly to my home. I can then pick it up. Also, I do have to pay a separate individual tax when it comes in. The cost of shipping it from California was about $100 for 8 bottles. But I feel like dividing that up wasn’t too bad.
Napa Valley GOOD EATS!
This town is definitely not in short supply of really good restaurants and we found a few. Here are some Good Eats for our Napa Valley Girls Trip.
Napkins
One of our favorite lunch and dinner spots was Napkins Bar & Grill located on Main Street. We like it so much I visited twice in our four-day visit! The staff and service, food impeccable and the bartender completely gifted. We also found out this is what a native from Napa is considered, a Napkin. I really like it Nap-kin (like Kin folk) that is super cool.
They offer a variety of fun drinks from Blood Orange Margaritas to a Lychee Martini and a two-page wine list. Our group enjoyed a seafood platter, Habanero Chicken, the Halibut and oh my goodness the honey-drizzled brie with truffle appetizer. Holy yum!
Everyone raved about our dinner choices and to cap it off the ladies enjoyed an espresso martini!
When I returned I enjoyed a fried chicken sandwich with french fries and a Tom Collins. How fun was that for lunch! It was totally fancy schmancy too.
Oenotri
Another favorite dinner spot was Oenotri, an Italian restaurant with artisanal flair. Also located just off of First Street, you can smell this restaurant before you even arrive. Molto bene! Specializing in pizzas, house-made pastas and southern Italian specialties everyone is bound to find something for themselves. After a full day of charcuterie and small plates we decided to share a few plates of salads and pastas.
We enjoyed their āLittle Gemsā salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette and Meyer Lemon as well as the Fidei allāArrabiata with Calabrian Chiliās and Lumache Pasta with pork ragu, onions, tomatoes and Parm-Reggiano.
Andaz Farmers Table
Located inside the Andaz Napa Hyatt Hotel we made our way here one morning for full breakfasts and sandwiches. I had the avocado toast and it was super flavorful. The coffee was incredible and our server was sweet enough to pack one to go for us too. We might have needed the caffeine to get us back on track.
This was one of our favorite breakfast places and very close to our apartment. For this Napa Valley Girls Trip we needed breakfast, so Sweetie Pies definitely fit the bill. Breakfast sandwiches, wholesome breakfast choices, smoothies and oatmeal bowls and more. Plus there were these little cakes and pastries that looked amazing.
Adorable decor and quick fast friendly service. Definitely keep this one up front.
FUN TIMES in Napa!!
Napa Valley is a lot of fun for all adult ages!! Super fun for a girls’ trip. We had a lot of belly laughs at Downtown Joeās for some drinks and Karaoke with George. Considered the locals bar too it George Barich of Karaoke with Class can be found there on Tuesday nights til 10:00 p.m. We might have had some fun with āDonāt stop believinā by Journey and my friend Kelly knocked it out of the park with 9 to 5 from the one and only Dolly! Youāll be able to hear our awful attempt pretty soon from his recordings. Lawd help us!
We also followed George to the Ox and the Fox on Thursday night. Napa is actually a pretty small town. We made some new friends and tried our hand at a Miley song, turns out the āParty in the U.S.ā rendition just made the millennials bust a gut. Hahaha, loads of fun though. Was happy to hear some H&O and some Starship! This 80ās girl was rocking it.
So much more to discover
I wish I could say Iām surprised at what we accomplished but these girls are my #travel girls and they āget er done. With happy hearts and unforgettable memories my heart is already longing for our next girls trip. Where should we go next?
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“Love this guide for a girlsā trip to Napa Valley! The wineries, food, and beautiful views are just what we need for a fun getaway. Canāt wait to plan our next adventure!”
I love that you mixed in some educational winery tours with relaxing tastings and delicious meals. The honey-drizzled brie with truffle appetizer at Napkins sounds amazing, and I can see why you went back twice.
Hi Wendy, long time no see!! I enjoy keeping up with your travels, you are having so much fun!!
I loved your article about Napa, we love it there:) We are members of a wine club there and the rules have changed about shipping wine to Alabama. While the regular post office will not ship it, you can have it sent by fedex or ups directly to your house. Yay!
Hey Candy, thanks so much for following and reading along. Actually, that’s not what the ABC store in Alabama said when we picked up the wine. They said it depends on which winery wants to participate in the Alabama tax laws and shipping. Someone has to pay the tax. So some wineries, just don’t. So they told us it was on a case-by-case, HA! basis. Some wineries do participate but actually most don’t. The wine clubs are different because they only use suppliers who participate and are bigger suppliers for the most part.