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For many Americans, Napa Valley is synonymous with wine, and it’s easy to see why. The roughly 30-mile-long valley, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, is home to more than 400 wineries, some with histories that date back to the mid-19th-century, when immigrants from Italy, Germany, and elsewhere planted vineyards and built the first iteration of America’s wine industry.
Prohibition largely deralied the that industry in the 1920s, but 50 years ago this month Napa stepped back out on the world stage, when a blind tasting in Paris pitted a few California wines against some of France’s finest. A panel of French judges chose two Napa wines as the best, and the event, known as the Judgment of Paris, shined a global spotlight on the region — and kickstarted its transition from sleepy agricultural community to the luxury travel destination it is today.
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An Appetite For Adventure
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With so much history and so many wineries spread throughout the valley—not to mention Michelin-starred restaurants that populate the Main Streets of towns like Yountville and St. Helena—it can be a bit daunting to plan a trip to Wine Country. That’s especially true given that most bucket-list wineries and restaurants require reservations well in advance. How do you choose when you’re so spoiled for choice?
One good way: Read on, to see how we’d approach 72 hours of enjoying the best of Napa Valley. There are lots of ways to tackle it, but we like starting at the north end, in sunny Calistoga and St. Helena, working down through the world-famous estates on the floor of the midvalley, and wrapping up at the southern end, in the fog-cooled Carneros appellation and laid-back downtown Napa. And with Wine Country’s biggest annual party, BottleRock Napa Valley, taking place May 22-24, now’s not just a great time to have fun in the valley — it’s also when some advance prep is all but necessary. (One pro tip for that prep: Hire a car service if you’re planning to taste wine.)
Day 2: Heart of the Valley
Robert Mondavi Winery Oakville
See a Legend Reborn
The first major winery opening in the Napa Valley after Prohibition came in 1966, when Robert Mondavi founded his eponymous winery following a family split that led him to leave Charles Krug. Everything about this place—from the Mission-style architecture perfected by midcentury architect Cliff May to the To Kalon Vineyard—is iconic, but it lost some shine over the years. That has changed, though, thanks to a spectacular, just-completed three-year renovation, in time for its 60th anniversary.
Other historic midvalley options? There’s Beaulieu Vineyard (nearing completion of its own renovation), where legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff worked, and Grgich Hills Estate, still owned by the family of Mike Grgich, who made the chardonnay for Chateau Montelena that won the Judgment tasting.
Ad Hoc Yountville
Lunch With Thomas Keller’s Casual Side
Thomas Keller is Wine Country’s most famous chef, thanks to a little place called The French Laundry, but you don’t need to drop $500 to try his cooking. Among the options in Keller’s Yountville kingdom is Ad Hoc, which serves a set menu of simple yet exceedingly well-executed family-style dishes, such Bibb lettuce salad, buttermilk fried chicken (another of the valley’s favorite plates) and baby-back ribs. It’s open for lunch Friday through Sunday, and in the summer you can head out back to order the fried chicken from the counter at Addendum.
If you want something as counterpoint to the glitz of Napa — although it’s a valley landmark — pop into La Luna Market and Taqueria in Rutherforrd for down-home Mexican food, including menudo on the weekends.
Inglenook Rutherford
Get Rutherford Dusted
Picking a destination in the heart of the valley can make any wine lover’s head spin. We’re partial to Inglenook, the 19th-century estate that’s owned by Francis Ford Coppola, with a director of winemaking, Philippe Bascaules, from Bordeaux first growth Chateau Margaux.
A Mid-Valley Bounty: There’s also Silver Oak for American oak-aged wines that are more or less mandatory on any steakhouse curriculum; Far Niente for its gingko-lined drive that blazes yellow in the fall, Round Pond for its olive oil and wine tastings, Duckhorn for its decades of great Merlot, Saddleback for its relaxed tastings, Alpha Omega for its sheer opulence, and Hoopes for its family-friendly “oasis” full of rescued farm animals. And of course The Prisoner, which leveraged the widespread fondness for its Goya-labeled bottlings with a dramatic brick-and-mortar destination right on Highway 29,
Clos du Val Silverado Trail
Jump Over to Stags Leap District
Silverado Trail, on the valley’s east side, runs through the Stags Leap District, another haven for historically important cabernet. (It was the origin of the top cabernet in the Judgment tasting, among other things). One of the area’s signature houses is Clos du Val, itself a Judgment of Paris participant founded by an influential Bordelais family, that offers tastings of current winemaker Carmel Greenberg’s excellent Bordeaux blends and varietal wines in its glass-walled Hirondelle House.
An architectural counterpoint? Stop next door at the Mission-style Chimney Rock Winery to taste “non-interventionist” cab. Or, head up the road to Stags’ Leap Winery, known both for its wines and the placement of its apostrophe (the result of a legal battle with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars).
Ciccio Napa Valley Yountville
Italian(ate) Renaissance
Frank and Karen Altamura opened Yountville’s Ciccio in a humble old Italian grocery in 2012, but the kitchen got a glow-up in 2023, when Christopher and Martina Kostow oversaw a revamp. The menu is Cal-Ital, with an emphasis on the Ital: stracciatella with trout roe, agnolotti with soppressata and piscachio, wood-fired pizzas, pork chop Milanese—all of it executed impeccably.
If you’re not feeling quite so humble, you can always go Round 2 with Keller, at the Parisian-style Bouchon Bistro or The French Laundry. (If you want to dive really deep, you can even book a tour of The French Laundry Culinary Garden.)
