Adventure in Napa Valley?

My boyfriend and I are taking a weeklong trip to California. We’ll be visiting his parents and heading out to Yosemite for a camping trip for a few days. We wanted to spend a day in Napa. Any suggestions as to what wineries we shouldn’t miss and where to have lunch and/or dinner? Nicer, expensive restaurants are ok too, but not required. Preferably I’d like good food for a decent (not necessarily cheap) price. Last time we were in Napa we went to one winery and had dinner at Tra Vigne. Great restaurant… but this time, I want to spend a whole day there! Any activities and other ideas on what to do are most certainly welcome!

I personally would not do the wine train. i think it is a waste of money for what you get. You only get to taste the wine they have, which is usually only OK. But if you want a nice scenic ride it is OK.

couple restaurant spots for you:

Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena. Kind of california/french cuisine. Owned by same lady who does Mustards Grill. Excellent steak and champagne cocktails.

Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa. Italian, tuscan fare. Great grilled meats and wonderful patio dining.

Uva’s Trattoria in Napa. Rustic Italian cooking, great prices and have live music most nights, usually jazz.

Wineries Sterling Vineyards has a great tram ride up in Calistoga with a view south of the entire valley.

Niebaum Coppola (maybe Rubicon Estate now), owned by Francis Ford Coppola. Kind of pricey for tour and tasting. But they have a lot of his movie memorabilia.

Mumm and Domaine Carneros do excellent tours for sparkling wine producers.

Schramsberg in Calistoga, who in my opinion does the best sparkling, does a fantastic cave tour, however, it is expensive and requires reservation.

If you just want wine tasting, and don’t care about a tour or anything in Napa try Luna Vineyards or Silverado.
I don’t care for the wines at Robert Mondavi or Beringer, but their tours are awesome.

I would recommend doing two, to three wineries tops. Most people really start feeling the effects of the wine at that point. Unless you don’t swallow and spit the wine out. Which is perfectly OK.

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