first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

Going with some friends to napa on sunday of labor day weekend. we only have 1 day so we need to squeeze it all in! would like to do 1 tour and a couple of tastings. i can%26#39;t tell the difference between expensive or cheap wine so just want to go places that are pretty or good views and pick 4 wineries with different feels. suggestions for itenirary?? thanks!!!

first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

krzyviv-

This is a very common question, and lots has been written about it over the past few weeks/months.

If you use the ';search'; function, you%26#39;ll find over 30 threads on this topic just in the past 3 months alone!

Here are a few, some with comments specifically pertaining to Labor Day weekend, You will need to cut and paste them, eliminating the space after ';tripadvisor.com'; (I had to do this, since this program does not allow strings of more than 140 characters):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k248523-_Napa_Trip_Report_Warning_very_very_lengthy-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k223984-_Suggestions_for_small_wineries-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k213720-_First_time_Napa_trip_Please_provide_a_sanity_check_and_or_recs-Napa_California.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ ShowTopic-g32766-i258-k198982-_Which_span_class_hterm_Winery_span_Husband_and_I_have_1_day_in_Napa-Napa_California.html

Hope this helps. :)

-Russ Herschelmann

Innkeeper

Napa Old World Inn

first timer - want to do one tour and couple of tastings...

hi russ,

i%26#39;ve read all the posts and i%26#39;m hoping for a little more insight.

so i had really wanted to go to domaine chandon for the bubbly wine. but then i read that schramsberg is a favorite for many people. which would you pick?

for the 1 tour that i want to do: do you recommend sterling or mondavi? i%26#39;ve read that mondavi is very ';technical.'; is it interesting? or does sterling give a more entertaining tour?

for an art/winery - i%26#39;ve read that the hess winery and clos pegase are both good...do you recommend either one and which is better?

and then which winery do you think has the most spectacular grounds? there were votes for stag%26#39;s leap, niebaum-coppola...does either have a picnic area? if not - which winery has a great picnic area? also, some people say niebaum-coppola is a must see for first timers and others say it%26#39;s a waste of time. the website looks really nice. what%26#39;s your take?

there%26#39;s just so many and so little time!! since i can probably only squeeze in 4 or 5 in a day...which of the above ones do you recommend. (i%26#39;m not even sure if the ones i%26#39;ve mentioned are even to close to each other.)

thank you!!!

so i had really wanted to go to domaine chandon for the bubbly wine. but then i read that schramsberg is a favorite for many people. which would you pick?

for the 1 tour that i want to do: do you recommend sterling or mondavi? i%26#39;ve read that mondavi is very ';technical.'; is it interesting? or does sterling give a more entertaining tour?

for an art/winery - i%26#39;ve read that the hess winery and clos pegase are both good...do you recommend either one and which is better?

and then which winery do you think has the most spectacular grounds? there were votes for stag%26#39;s leap, niebaum-coppola...does either have a picnic area? if not - which winery has a great picnic area? also, some people say niebaum-coppola is a must see for first timers and others say it%26#39;s a waste of time. the website looks really nice. what%26#39;s your take?

there%26#39;s just so many and so little time!! since i can probably only squeeze in 4 or 5 in a day...which of the above ones do you recommend. (i%26#39;m not even sure if the ones i%26#39;ve mentioned are even to close to each other.)

Wow.

OK, here goes:

-Most beautiful grounds: Hard to say. Domaine Chandon is a personal fave (love the gardens).

-Best bubbly: Love the Schramsberg cave tour. But our house bubbly is Chandon (we had a blind tasting over 3 days last holiday season, and Domaine Chandon won 5-1 and 7-1 over the closest competitor. I was shocked).

-Best tour: Mondavi, if you want to learn how wine is made. I%26#39;ve never been on a better tour (and I%26#39;ve been on more than 40 winery tours, all over the world).

Del Dotto%26#39;s tour is spectacular, if you want something unique, and will talk about for probably the rest of your life. Bring lots of food to eat in the car afterwards, and DO NOT plan to drive anywhere within 20 min of getting out of the tasting. You will be smashed.

-Coppola is fun, if you like movies/hollywood (I do). Their grounds are beautiful, but I thought their tour was a snore (and the guide was snotty).

-Art tours/wineries: Hess is amazing, but only if you love modern art. Otherwise, I%26#39;d go to the DeRosa Preserve or Carlo Marchiori%26#39;s house (which may not be open-- you need to check).

My best advice?

Here it is: The real hidden secret of the wine country is its ability to just seep into your bones and *relax* you-- to let you stop looking at your watch, and start to enjoy life without so much dependance on the clock.

That%26#39;s pretty remarkable, considering what time-stressed lives we live.

So when it comes to visiting the wine country, my greatest suggestion is to: NOT plan too much. Let some magic happen.

This is next to impossible for most folks in only 1 day (it takes vets 2 days, and most other folks 3-4 days). But boy, is it an amazing, wonderful feeling.

Try it. It just may change how you look at wine.

-Russ Herschelmann

Innkeeper

Napa Old World Inn