<p>H and I are celebrating our silver wedding in November. Last time we visited the area we had a 4 year old and I was pregnant. We made a promise to each other we would come back and celebrate our silver wedding sans children! Yikes we are now at that point!</p>
<p>Turning to my virtual friends for advice. We plan spending 4 nights in the area. I would prefer a smaller hotel rather than the big chains. Obviously we want to visit some vineyards where we don’t drive. Any tour recommendations? Any must visit places/ restaurants?</p>
<p>I think we toured the Beringer winery last time and visited a Petrified Forest in the area.</p>
<p>I will have to go back and research. My cousin’s son was married in a small, perfect inn. Barbara Streisand’s son was married there the week before. </p>
<p>Of the vineyards we saw, Beringer’s was not the favorite. </p>
<p>This was a great wedding, with closest relatives and everyone in good mood, thanks to the wine tasting.</p>
<p>One of my favorite memories ever of a trip was the geyser in Calistoga. You paid a dollar to get in and there was a round water-filled hole in the ground. A few people stood around. After a while, the water bubbled and spouted up a few inches and then a few feet. It hung there and that caused laughter: this is all. Then it spouted up some feet higher and made a perfect column of water. Really cool and silly. So you should see the geyser.</p>
<p>The Villagio in Yountville is a nice place to stay. It is within walking distance of several wonderful restaurants and tasting rooms. We had delicious meals at Bouchon and Etoile.</p>
<p>Domaine Chandon has beautiful grounds and several different tours (or you can go directly to the tasting room).</p>
<p>We really enjoyed the Cabernets at Whitehall Lane and Sequoia Grove.</p>
<p>Lergnom- We saw the geyser! i think that is where the petrified forest was. My 4 year old loved the water spouting. We stood for ages watching it over and over!</p>
<p>Sonoma is just next door to Napa. We like to stay at the Lodge at Sonoma (a lovely Marriott property) in one of their cottages with a fireplace. Surprisingly, it can be less expensive than staying in Napa. I will post some winery tour ideas as soon as I get home. Typing on my iPhone gets the better of me. :)</p>
<p>We had one of the best meals I have ever eaten at a place called Brixx (not sure if I spelled that correctly). We went to the Sunday brunch…fabulous.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort in St. Helena. St. Helena is much more in the heart of the wine country than Yountville but I would definitely make a reservation at Redd or, the infamous and outrageously expensive, French Laundry-- both located steps from each other in Yountville. The Meadowood also has a wonderful dining room. The mud baths in Calistoga is also a fun thing to do as a couple. Happy anniversary!</p>
<p>I have to second LVKris and suzy100’s posts. We stayed at the Villagio and walked to Redd, which was a much better value than some of the other high-end restaurants in the area, although it has no views to speak of. The prix fixe dinner with wine pairings was fantastic! And you don’t want to drive after that. The spa at Villagio is nice, too. The funny part is that when we tell friends where we stayed, we have to keep saying “the VILL-agio, not the BELL-agio.” They thought we went to Vegas!</p>
<p>A third vote for Villagio. We were very happy with our stay there. Like others have said, it is within walking distance of several restaurants and a few very interesting shops.
We have also stayed at Meadowood which is absolutely beautiful. We visited friends who were staying at the Auberge resort and it was quite luxurious with a wonderful restaurant.
Our favorite vineyard was Silver Oak, but then it is one our favorite wines. We attended a reception at Far Niente, but I am not sure if it is open to the public on a regular basis. I second the recommendation for Domaine Chandon - if you can get a reservation for lunch it is divine!</p>
<p>You need to make reservations in advance for Far Niente. My son’s roommate’s dad is the owner. We haven’t been yet but good friends of ours, who are wine aficionados, have and said it was wonderful.</p>
<p>We were just in the area last fall. We tried a new area for us called Dry Creek, closer to Sonoma. We stopped at the Dry Creek General Store for a gourmet picnic lunch and then drove 5 minutes to Lambert Bridge Winery. Beautiful scenery with second growth California Redwoods and the grounds of the winery were so beautiful to sit and eat lunch with a great bottle of wine. Google Lambert Bridge Winery and you will see some awesome photos.</p>
<p>You’ll be about an hour from Healdsburg…a good friend of mine works at Selby Winery there and runs the tasting room (I think). I’d be happy to pass on some info :)</p>
<p>You also won’t be far from Santa Rosa, where Guy Fieri’s restaurant Johnny Garlic’s is. PHENOMENAL food. A little pricey. We ate there after I graduated from Sonoma State last Spring. Absolutely incredible. </p>
<p>Sebastapol is also a neat little town; lots of mom and pop stores and the home of Screaming Mimi’s (AMAZING homemade ice cream.)</p>
<p>Warning - our tour guide at Far Niente was pretentious, but the wines and the car collection were nice. If you like Far Niente, you should try touring Opus One. :)</p>
<p>Of the wineries we liked, here are some, listed here in random order:</p>
<ol>
<li>Mumm - another great bubbly place which has a nice patio where you can sip your drinks and relax. There is a small art or photo exibition in the barn-like building next to the patio. </li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, when it comes to buying wine, everyone loves Raymond’s. :)</p>
and a very pretty, relaxing garden. <a href=“