Napa Valley Travel Guide

A guide to Napa Valley

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There’s more to Napa Valley than just the best wine tasting in the world.

October 27, 2014 by Kyle Goleno Leave a Comment

There are four main Napa Valley activities (or destinations) that many tourists don’t want to go home without visiting. In completely random order… they are, a hot air balloon ride, Wine Train meal, visit to the Culinary Institute of America, and a tour of the Castello di Amorosa. Technically the Castello is a winery with wine tasting at the end of the tour, but that part is optional, and the tour is something that is certainly worthy of doing on its own.

But after wine, the number 2 reason to visit the Napa Valley is for the food. Napa Valley now has several Michelin star rated restaurants, with both legendary famous chefs as well as rising stars. Planning restaurant reservations weeks in advance is a must if you want to eat at the restaurants of Michael Chiarello, Cindy Pawlcin, Morimoto, etc. Check out Eat Napa Valley for restaurant information.

When my wife and I are on vacation, we usually end up browsing stores and do a little shopping, and it is one of our favorite Napa Valley activities. Each town in Napa Valley offers an easy walkable area of local stores perfect for vacation browsing and shopping. St Helena offers a pretty short straight street, while Calistoga boasts a much longer spread out street. Yountville has two shopping plazas at its ends of the main street, but Many people walk the entire length as well visiting the gardens of The French Laundry on their way to the other end. The downtown to Napa has expanded in recent years with destinations including the Oxbow Public Market, The Riverfront, and shops along Main Street, and First and Second Streets. If your looking for brand name clothes, then you won’t want to miss the Napa Premium Outlets with stores including Coach, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, etc.

The list of activities offered in the Napa Valley is growing, and you can learn more about those activities on this site.

Filed Under: Activities, Featured

Napa Valley Harvest

October 27, 2014 by Kyle Goleno Leave a Comment

Grapes are harvested once a year, and so that means grape growers only have one shot at yielding the perfect juice for that year vintage.

The Napa Valley harvest year begins in the winter when the vines are pruned back to basically just the main branches, leaving the vineyards looking brown and baron.

In late winter the pathways between vines start filling in with green grasses and some areas yellow mustard flowers. While much of the mustard in the Napa Valley is wild, some vineyard managers will intentionally plant mustard.

The vines start to come alive in early spring with bud break. The first signs of bud break are shared on social media by excited vintners.

Then the foliage really starts coming in. The rows of vines turn into very green lush plants.

Soon you can see the very beginnings of baby grape clusters. It’s during bud break and initial fruit set that frost can threaten the crop. Frost alerts keep vineyard managers aware of potential dangerous weather throughout the night and into the early morning, allowing them to employee their frost combative techniques of choice. During this time of year you may hear what sounds like hundreds of helicopters as fans circulate the air over the vineyards. Some smaller vineyards still use heaters, which are lit to warm the air.

In mid summer the extra shoots and leaves of the vines become so overgrown that they must be cut back so that the vine can focus its energy on developing the fruit.

Just a few months or so before the Napa Valley harvest, you may see what looks like a horrible act of vandalism. Almost half of the grapes that were developing are cut from the vine and are left on the ground below. This crop thinning is done as a quality control step, sacrificing overall grape harvest tonnage for the ultra premium Napa Valley grape harvest.

Slowly over time during the middle of summer the red wine grapes start turning from small green clusters to dark purple bunches. The half way point of this process called veraison makes for some head scratching moments for untrained visitors looking at clusters of grapes that have both green and purple grapes in one bunch.

In the fall, sugar measurements (the brix) are taken as the main initial factor to decide when is the perfect time to harvest the grapes. Avoiding a point past the perfect time, grape puckers work tirelessly through the night harvesting entire crops in a very short time period.

Once harvested, the grapes must be de-stemmed and pressed to yield juice.

The juice is then fermented, utilizing yeast to transform the sugar to alcohol.

Finally, the wine is aged.
The only thing affecting the flavor of the wine from outside influences is the type of oak wine barrel and how that barrel is prepared via a process called toasting.

The last step before you can buy the wine is packaging. Most wine is packaged in bottles, but some wineries are experimenting with stepping outside of tradition.

Come explore and see a Napa Valley Harvest in action by visiting the Napa Valley during this time of year. The wineries will give you an inside look at how it all happens.

Filed Under: Events, Featured

The best time of year to visit the Napa Valley and what you’ll miss if you come during the wrong season.

October 27, 2014 by Kyle Goleno Leave a Comment

The Napa Valley is flooded with visitors during crush, which is typically between August and October, however “high season” is categorized as March through November. So is that the best time to visit the Napa Valley? I’m not sure it is.

Wineries, restaurants, shopping, even the hot air balloons all operate year-round (with a few exceptions). Nothing really shuts down, so what makes the summer months different and optimal for most tourists? It’s the state of the grapes and the weather.

Grapes are harvested once a year in late summer or early fall. Champagne grapes are picked first, then followed by the whites, and finally the bold reds. This means the vines have green leaves, with clusters of grapes hanging in plain view. You get classic Napa Valley views.

Almost every summer day in Napa has perfect weather. Rain is pretty much absent through much of October. Some days can get pretty hot in the afternoon, but a little heat is easily cured with a strategically planned winery cave tour and a chilled wine.

But the heat doesn’t last very long, many days will have a forty degree temperature change from evening to afternoon. This temp change is thought to be one of the factors that makes Napa Valley so exceptional at growing grapes for wine.

Sometimes vines are thinned leaving clusters of grapes beneath the vines.

Late fall can be a wonderful time to visit the Napa Valley. The vineyard leaves change colors providing beautiful traditional fall landscapes.

This can be a fairly narrow time frame for some varietals, so as you drive through Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville and Napa, you’ll seem some areas of multicolored vines, some vineyards with completely solid yellolw leaves, and other vineyards that have lost all their leaves with brown branches waiting to be trimmed over the winter.

Early winter is probably the least desirable time to visit the Napa Valley. But that means that room rates are a bit cheaper, and wineries are less crowded and better able to give you more attention. Plus this is my favorite time to drink big bold Cabernets, the type of wine areas like Oakville are most famous for producing.

Winter months of January and February are when the first signs of mustard starts popping up between the rows of vines. Late February and early March typically are at the height of the mustard season, and the views are spectacular. You may experience a rainy day, or a cloudy day, but the pros outweigh the cons. There is no bad day when you’re drinking wine in the Napa Valley.

Filed Under: Featured

3 tips for a Napa Valley Wine Train Experience to Remember

October 27, 2014 by Kyle Goleno Leave a Comment

If you’ve decided to take the Wine train, either for lunch or a dinner run, here are some tips to make your wine train experience fun and memorable.

Napa Wine Train Tip #1
While a dinner trip might be your inclination, we suggest the lunch tour instead. This is a must if you are coming in the winter, because it will be dark and you won’t be able to see much out of the windows. During the summer, we still suggest the lunch run, so that you can enjoy your afternoon wine tasting and eating in one of Napa’s Restaurants.

Napa Wine Train Tip #2
Get a spot at the back, this will allow you to easily take pictures off the caboose, or ask for a car with windows that open. When the train heads back you’ll be at the front though. The wine train never turns around, it just goes up and down the Napa Valley. The engine moves from one end of the train to the other.

Napa Wine Train Tip #3
Many people think wine is included with their package, it’s not. Like any restaurant you have to at least consider bringing your own bottle, or half bottle(s), especially if there are more than two people in your party. The Wine Train charges a $15 corkage fee.

Of course remember to relax and have a good time. Pretty soon you’ll be off the train, out to explore Napa Valley on your own.

Filed Under: Activities, Featured

Napa Valley is a beautiful place to visit

October 27, 2014 by Kyle Goleno Leave a Comment

The “valley” of course, is created from two long sets of mountain ranges. These hills are located on the East and West, creating a north-south valley. The hills are mostly covered with trees and vegetation, leaving them appear mostly green, as opposed to the golden hills found in much of Northern California. (Read more about how the views of Napa Valley change with the seasons, you might change your travel dates based on this article)

(Pallisades and Mayacamas) – names of all the surrounding hills/topography.

With hills on either side of a relatively narrow valley, many wineries and tourism establishments are perched on the edges of these hills offering sweeping views of the valley floor along with the opposite mountain range as a backdrop.

I’ve mentioned before in a post about which wineries have the best views, that when I take in a breathtaking view, I feel as if my blood pressure drops, and every stress in my busy day leaves for that moment. And that, is certainly what you want, when you are on vacation in the Napa Valley.

Some wineries offer unprecedented views, but there are also a fair number of hotels that have amazing views as well. Taking a break in the day, enjoying the evening, or waking up to a fabulous Napa Valley view can be just the experience that you’ll remember and cherish as you look back on your trip.

Take a look at some of these places to stay in the Napa Valley that offer amazing views.

Filed Under: Featured


Kyle Goleno is the founder of Napa Valley Travel Guide and WineCountryResources.com L.L.C.. He is a Napa native and has a passion for Napa Valley tourism.

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The Napa Valley Travel Guide is produced by Kyle Goleno, a Napa local who has grown up living the Napa Valley lifestyle. "I have a passion for Napa Valley tourism. Nothing is more rewarding than exploring the people and places of the valley and then reporting back my findings to the travelers of wine country. I hope you're able to find information on this site that helps you have a truly enjoyable trip." - Kyle Goleno

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