If you go through Healdsburg, I'd recommend a stop at the Davis Family tasting room as well. They've got a nice place that overlooks the river as soon as you get into town.

Thanks for the suggestion. We will be spending 2 nights in Healdsburg.

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Thanks for the suggestion. We will be spending 2 nights in Healdsburg.

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don't miss Flying Goat Coffee and I'd definitely recommend getting lunch at Ralph's. cocktails at Spoonbar are worthwhile, too.

If near Alexander Valley I'm a huge fan of doing a tasting at Medlock Aimes. It is right near Jims Store. After 5pm they open a bar attached to the tasting room. nice place to sit on the patio.

Yep, understand about FSITO. We're members of WCV, Perrisos and Lewis. We have land in Johnson City and get out there as often as we can. I just love it out there. Def my happy place. Will be fun to see which wineries are still around in 3-5 years.

I'll give him a pass since he's French.

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don't miss Flying Goat Coffee

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My favorite espresso.

I know we've discusses the Austin Food and Wine Festival on here, so figured I'd post that it was just cancelled.

Seems interesting to me, granted I'm in Houston so don't know how much rain they've gotten or the situation there. But that's a lot of planning and a lot of chef commitments.....

Has anyone had 04 Grange lately? Opening one up for a lunch on Friday and don't know how long/if to decant. WS says best from 2012-2025.

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I know we've discusses the Austin Food and Wine Festival on here, so figured I'd post that it was just cancelled.

Seems interesting to me, granted I'm in Houston so don't know how much rain they've gotten or the situation there. But that's a lot of planning and a lot of chef commitments.....

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It's going to cost them a ton of money. Auditorium Shores was a muddy mess yesterday, and that was before it rained this morning. With more rain forecast for tomorrow and Sunday, they really didn't have a choice.

We're currently in Lake Oswego, OR. Any suggestions before we head out in the morning. I have no plan, just a rental and a full tank of gas. Going to see where the day takes us.

Is gratuity expected at tastings in Napa?

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We're currently in Lake Oswego, OR. Any suggestions before we head out in the morning. I have no plan, just a rental and a full tank of gas. Going to see where the day takes us.

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Enjoy! I'm jealous. Are you hitting Horse Brass Pub?

I've never seen anyone tip in a tasting room, but I'm certainly not an expert. I think buying bottles is gratuity enough especially at a private tasting.

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Is gratuity expected at tastings in Napa?

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Nope. But purchases are appreciated!

Perhaps Friday. My wife wants to check out the Pearl District, but I hear there's Pliny on tap across the river.

I kind of get that. Especially since their target audience isn't exactly the type of people that like tromping around in mud.

I guess I'm more surprised that with this much $$$ on the line no contingencies were in place. Move it to a paved area, an auditorium, etc.

Oh yea! There will be plenty of purchasing over the next 5 days! Less tipping means more wine!

I took a couple of bottles of Inwood to Napa with me last summer.

They really appreciate being offered some wine!

I just put my order in for a 2013 DRC La Tache! Now I hope I can make it 20 more years to drink it on the anniversary of the diagnosis of this dang heart problem!

Through the search function, I found your discussions on the Napa Valley. It appears BSD, cecil77 and others have plenty of experience there. We have a trip planned to that area, arriving on July 8th and departing July 12th. It will be two couples with our 21 year old daughters for a total of 6. This will be our first trip to Napa and want to try and visit the "must-see" wineries, sights, etc. None of us are experienced in wine other than visiting the wineries around Fredericksburg. Any other TexAgs posts on Napa you can point me to, or some bullet list items? Planning to stay in a VRBO or Airbnb rental house in Napa or St. Helena area. Thanks in advance for any advice...

I don't have the most expertise so I'll step aside for some others. But IMO "must see" depends on the person. Do you want in depth tours, the famous places whose wine you get from HEB, boutique wineries off the beaten path, views, type of wine, etc.

I will say you probably need to get on booking a place. In my experience, the good places get booked pretty quickly.

And.... How much money do you want to spend?

I'm probably in the minority, but I've come to dislike Napa. I'd suggest Sonoma or RRV instead. My main thing I don't like is that every tasting I've had in Napa except for a handful turned into a ****ing sales pitch.

You're doing it wrong!

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You're doing it wrong!

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Thanks for the replies so far. Just returned from Muster in Austin County. We are novices so as far as how much we want to spend is probably not over $500 per day. I assume they will ship any purchases we make. Do we need to make appointments or just hit one of the tours guides for a day or two?

The wineries will ship for you, for a price unless you buy enough for them to throw in free shipping. As far as making reservations, you only need to if the place requires reservations or you're in a group of 8 or more. The type of wine you like and the experience you're looking for will help determine some of the places to visit as mentioned previously.

We did the production places where you just show up the first time. OK, but not what we like. We prefer reservations for private tastings as small or boutique wineries. More expensive, but for us MUCH more fun.

They will ship for you, but most require a case or so for free shipping. Plus, you've probably missed the window for shipping to Texas, so it'll have to wait until the fall or pay for refrigerated shipping.

So do you live in Austin county? I live near downtown Houston and have a wine carrying bag you can definitely borrow for your trip. It's a cardboard box with the Styrofoam inserts that holds a case of wine, and has a canvas cover that goes around it with straps and wheels. You just check it on the plane.

and if you fly SWA and take your spouse, you can carry two of those and two suitcases at no extra cost. (or as I did on beer runs, 4 of those case shippers and two backpacks with clothes!)

Just collect all the bottles you buy throughout your vist and bring them to a shipping place and ship them back yourself, it's typically much cheaper than paying for shipping from each individual winery. We use buffship.com

Here are my thoughts on initial Napa trips...don't feel pressured/obliged to buy anything if you don't want to. For starters, you are usually paying a tasting fee. I would imagine that covers their cost of pouring the wine, although I've never specifically asked anyone the economics of that. My second reason to not feel pressured to buy anything is that there is a lot of wine to taste. Take notes on what you like and then ask for their card so you can call at the end of your trip to place an order. I'd hate to go deep on a good wine and then later discover a great wine when my budget is already shot. Of course this is all subjective but it gives you an out should you need one. I've walked out of MANY wineries without purchasing bottles because the wine didn't match my tastes. I never once felt bad and gladly paid them tasting fees for their time and product. Most recently was at Mondavi (more on them later) when I tried their "Sauternes" style wine and their To Kalon cab. It wasn't worth the price they were charging compared to other producers in the vineyard block next door.

So first things first, where to stay. I like Yountville if you are going the hotel route. There are several great restaurants there and the place has a certain charm to it. You mentioned you want to go the VRBO route. That may be tough, as Napa County (and some neighborhoods) have restrictions on renting out for less than a month. We've gotten around that before but you'll need to start early. There will be more VRBO options ins St Helena. But I do like both Yountville and St Helena, as they are smaller towns and more in the middle of the wine country. The city of Napa is ok and has some good restaurants, but it's a city. I get enough of that at home so I want the charm.

As far as tastings, there are literally hundreds if not thousand of options. I suggest doing a tour to start things off. I thought the tour at Mondavi I took in 2000 was awesome. Lots of history of the man and winery that put Napa on the map and a good look at the winemaking process. I've heard it is still a good tour 16 years later. After you've done one tour, you've pretty much done them all. I wouldn't do another tour at a larger winery, just stick with tastings after that. The smaller wineries (appointment only type places) may still take you on a tour, but they are more in depth and personal.

My tastings are pretty few and far between these days so I'll let others chime in on their favorites. l will throw out up front and that is Alpha Omega...call and ask for Jean to host you in a private setting.

I've got to work a bit but will try to add more later...

You're on the short list of people I'd go to for Napa advice.

One thing I'll add unrelated to wine, but that's important. Drink lots of water. Drink more than you think you need to drink. The Napa Valley can get warm with low humidity, and you can be sweating without realizing it. The weather and drinking wine all day can leave you dehydrated and feeing miserable at the end of the day. My general rule is to drink water during the tasting, and consume at least 12 ounces between stops. Just go buy a case of water, and keep it in the trunk of your car.

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One thing I'll add unrelated to wine, but that's important. Drink lots of water. Drink more than you think you need to drink. The Napa Valley can get warm with low humidity, and you can be sweating without realizing it. The weather and drinking wine all day can leave you dehydrated and feeing miserable at the end of the day. My general rule is to drink water during the tasting, and consume at least 12 ounces between stops. Just go buy a case of water, and keep it in the trunk of your car.

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