<p>Wow!</p>
<p>You guys are getting me so excited. Think I am going to have to lose 10 pounds before I go. All the restaurant suggestions look so yummy. H is out of town, when he gets back we will look at all the ideas and start booking our accommodations and maybe getting reservations at one of the top restaurants that have been recommended.</p>
<p>So…xiggi…do you recommend Brix? I really thought it was fabulous!</p>
<p>It looks fabulous, but I have not tried it yet.</p>
<p>I would agree about Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley. Less pretentious than Napa but still upscale enough. Great wineries where you don’t have to go broke to taste them. </p>
<p>We are going to Santa Rosa area next week and I want to try Zasu, the restaurant owned by Duskie, from next iron chef. Food looks incredible.</p>
<p>I loved Brix BOTH times. My favorite Napa meal was at the now closed Martini House.</p>
<p>My favorite winery is Larkmead.</p>
<p>Chappallet and Keenan give good tours.
Interesting architecture at Quixote.</p>
<p>If you want a casual meal in Napa, Gott’s Roadside is quite good and it is right next to the Oxbow Public Market which is fun to walk around in (get the Three Twins Ice Cream if you go there!)</p>
<p>Also Mustards Grill in Yountville and Tra Vigne in St. Helena are both excellent.</p>
<p>If you want to drive a bit out of the Napa area (maybe 30-40 min) both Annadel and Sugarloaf are great places to hike/walk around. There’s also the Jack London state park in Glen Ellen and that area around Bennett Valley and Kenwood has a lot of wineries as well.</p>
<p>Went on wine trip last year with a group of foodies and wine lovers. H and I didn’t plan it; we just tagged along with the rest of the group (two couples). My favorite wineries were:
Dumol–not a fancy tasting room–in fact, it seems to be a place for wine geeks; that being said–the wine was excellent, especially the Pinot.
Del Dotto–there are two sites for touring. One site is where they have wine dinners and tasting events. Other site–you can go through the caves.<br>
Vintner’s Collective–this wasn’t a winery–but a tasting room. It’s a place where small wineries that don’t have tours can showcase their wines. As a result, you get to taste a number of very good wines from different wineries. </p>
<p>Restaurants we went to that were standouts: French Laundry (it is worth the money–beautiful setting, unpretentious, and amazing food and wine.), Bouchon–also Thomas Keller. Plan ahead for both–it’s hard to get reservations at French Laundry. We lucked out because the organizer put his name on a waiting list and we got in at the last minute. The other memorable meal we had was at Marimoto Napa. We had the tasting menu. Thomas Keller was eating here with his staff the evening we were there. (Our server pointed him out.)</p>
<p>We are now booking places. Any updates/ suggestions from summer trips?</p>
<p>We couldn’t afford a trip to Napa, so we drove 70 miles up the road to a really nice North Carolina Vineyard and stayed at the Hampton Inn next door. It was great, and a memorable way to celebrate our 30th anniversary (2 years ago).</p>
<p>My cousin is getting married in Calistoga next summer; we’ll head out the week before to vacation. Keep these suggestions coming!</p>
<p>One of my favorite memories ever of a trip was nappa valley wine tour.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions. One month to go. Here are our plans/reservations:</p>
<p>Staying at Villago Inn.</p>
<p>Day 1 arr late afternoon
Domaine Chandon tour
dinner at Redd</p>
<p>Day 2
Napa valley bike tour( tastings at 3-4 smaller wineries)
Dinner at Bottega</p>
<p>Day 3
Tour and cooking class at CIA
lunch at Greystone restaurant
walk around St Helena/ visit local winery?</p>
<p>Day 4
Balloon ride at sunrise
Schlamsberg tour
Visit Frank family winery?</p>
<p>Will this work??</p>