Napa and Sonoma feel lost in time, something of an adult playground where (as long as you're 21) you can indulge in all of the culinary and oenophilic delights you can handle. And while wine and food are the region's main draws, events like BottleRock, an annual music and food festival (at which Snoop Dogg rolled sushi with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto a few years back) and the Napa Valley Film Festival prove the region continues to define itself as a must-visit destination. From Carneros and Napa to Healdsburg and Calistoga, these laid-back towns offer not only scenic beauty, but also the restorative ability to make the real world feel ages away. Here, a glass of red wine made from grapes grown just outside the restaurant can be the ultimate cure-all.
Where to Stay
Meadowood
Opened in 1979, Meadowood is Napa Valley's original luxury resort. Its Michelin three-star Restaurant helmed by Chef Christopher Kostow, is one of the best places for fine dining in Napa Valley. Diners not feeling hungry (or flush) enough for the Osetra caviar with cauliflower custard and smoked Japanese Wagyu beef on the $285 tasting menu can still indulge in Kostow's cooking with a three-course, $125 menu at the restaurant's bar. (For an even more casual experience, visit the Charter Oak, which Kostow and the Restaurant's director, Nathaniel Dorn, opened in 2017. The dessert cart is not to be missed). Whether you visit for Auction Napa Valley, the annual charity wine auction, or just for a getaway, opt for one of the luxurious estate suites, with exposed wooden beams, soaking tubs, wood-burning fireplaces, and private terraces. And the 14,000-square-foot, all-suite spa is an ideal location to gather steam for a night filled with more delicious food and wine.
Book Now
900 Meadowood Lane, St. Helena; 877-963-3646
Las Alcobas
When it debuted in St. Helena in April 2017, the Yabu Pushelberg-designed Las Alcobas became the first luxury property to open in Napa Valley in seven years (next up: a Four Seasons resort with residences is scheduled to open in Calistoga sometime in 2019). With a border on Beringer Vineyards and multiple wineries within walking distance, staying on the three-and-a-half-acre property affords guests the opportunity to literally wake up among the vines. (For a truly unique experience, book a room with a fireplace-equipped terrace overlooking the vineyard.) Chef Chris Cosentino helms the Acacia House restaurant, which is located in and named for the centerpiece of the property, a renovated 1905 Georgian residence that also includes six guest rooms. The 68-room Luxury Collection resort is the second property from Las Alcobas (the first is considered the top boutique hotel in Mexico City), and it also features a 3,500-square-foot spa with five treatment rooms.
Book Now
1915 Main Street, St. Helena; 707-963-7000
Carneros Resort and Spa
The former Carneros Inn sits on 28 acres an hour north of San Francisco. Its FARM and Boon Fly Cafe restaurants are draws for the local community, and its proximity to San Francisco may account for the long waits for tables on weekends. A recent $3.5 million spa renovation added a new entrance and reception space, expanded the relaxation area, and redesigned the treatment rooms and suites. The adults-only pool and spa are open only to guests staying at one of the resort's 100 cottages, suites, and private homes, adding to the property's ultra-private feel.
Book Now
4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa; 707-299-4900
SingleThread
Yes, to stay in one of the five guest rooms starts at $1,000 per night and the 11-course tasting menu is $295 per person, but the much-hyped, Japanese-inspired inn and restaurant is definitely the most exciting place to stay and dine in Sonoma County today. Chef Kyle Connaughton, who led the experimental kitchen at the Fat Duck and worked in Japan for a number of years, teamed up with his wife, Katina (who's responsible for the restaurant's farm), to launch the bold concept in 2016, and the rooms have been full ever since (San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer gave the restaurant a rare four-star review after it opened, calling it "flawless."). The best place to start a meal is in the beautiful rooftop garden, and the service is pristine but not pretentious; "Omotenashi," the Japanese word describing the way hosts go above and beyond to anticipate their guests' needs, is just one reason the restaurant received the World's 50 Best Restaurants "One to Watch" award in 2018. Retiring upstairs is the ideal way to end the meal, and the room rate includes an epic room-service breakfast and freebies like Harry's razors, Marvis toothpaste, and Pliny the Elder IPA from the local Russian River Brewing Co. It's hospitality taken to another level.
Book Now
131 North St, Healdsburg; 707-723-4646
Where to Eat and Drink
Auberge du Soleil
Set into a hillside overlooking a 33-acre olive grove, the bar terrace at this 35-year-old Relais & Châteaux resort is one of the most pleasant places around to imbibe. The wine list is deep, and the service is attentive and knowledgable. The 7,000-square-foot spa here is also one of the best in the region, with services like a body exfoliation using crushed grape seeds. Aim to catch the sunset with a happy hour cocktail in hand.
180 Rutherford Hill Road, Rutherford; 800-348-5406
Press
Leslie Rudd owned Dean & Deluca for nearly a decade, so it's fitting that the market's Napa Valley location is next door to his stellar steakhouse, Press, situated among wineries on St. Helena Highway. Designed by renowned local architect Howard Backen (he also did the Napa Valley Reserve, Bill Harlan's members-only wine club, as well as Harlan's own wineries), the 75-seat main dining room inspired by L'Ami Louis in Paris retains an intimate feel—perfect for special occasions (the outdoor patio has an additional 40 seats). Order the rib eye, New York strip, or the leaner Wagyu flat iron—no matter which cut, the charred crust will have your mouth watering before a sip of high-tannin California Cabernet even hits your lips. The iPad wine list is long, and Rudd's own wines are a good place to start. For an even more elevated experience, indulge in one of the list's many vintages of Araujo, Colgin, Joseph Phelps, or Shafer Hillside Select.
587 St. Helena Highway, St. Helena; 707-967-0550
Archetype
Perhaps the most pleasant indoor/outdoor restaurant in St. Helena, Archetype's dining room makes munching on oak-fired-oven pizza and yellowfin tuna salad like dining in a greenhouse. The brunch menu is available throughout lunch hours Wednesday to Sunday, so thankfully you don't need to wait for a Sunday to order a cinnamon roll and duck a buttermilk waffle served with fried chicken, spicy honey, and greens.
1429 Main Street, St. Helena; 707-968-9200
Campo Fina
Sonoma's own slice of Italy features a bocce court in its backyard—which, by the way, is also where you should request to be seated. After a pizza from the brick oven (the Margherita is a highlight) take your cortado over to the sand for a game or two.
330 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg; 707-395-4640
Barn Diva
"Eat the View" is the motto at this Sonoma institution known as much for creative cocktails as it is for farm-to-table food served in a modern barn. Roast chicken may be a simple dish, but one version I tried here, served with Hobbs' bacon, roasted mushroom ragout, and egg yolk ravioli, was unlike any other bird I'd ever eaten. Local ingredients are the centerpiece of any meal.
231 Center Street, Healdsburg; 707-431-0100
Shed
Far more than a restaurant, Shed also offers a retail home goods store and market full of local bounty (like the flowers above). The large space features indoor and outdoor seating, a sunny spot to feast on the grub sourced from within a 10-mile radius. Come just for coffee from the bar or stay for a full meal of highlights like butternut squash soup and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.
25 North Street, Healdsburg; 707-431-7433
Goose & Gander
If you have a hankering for cocktails, Goose & Gander's are among the best in Napa Valley. The Coastal Pimm's Cup, made with Pimm’s No.1, St. George Terroir Gin, lemon juice, bitters, ginger beer, and bay laurel, is worth the trip alone.
1245 Spring Street, St. Helena; 707-967-8779
Redd Wood
Chef Richard Reddington established a presence in the valley in 2005 with his namesake restaurant, Redd, before opening this buzzy outpost focused on wood-fired pizza seven years later. Note: While 10 tables are saved for walk-ins, the weekend wait times can be up to an hour and a half.
6755 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-299-5030
Ad Hoc
Chef Thomas Keller has three restaurants in Yountville (five if you count Bouchon Bakery and Addendum), so it's no surprise the town has been nicknamed "Kellerville." While Bouchon is great for bistro food and the French Laundry is an institution unto itself (with reservations booked almost solid a month in advance), Ad Hoc is unique for its prix-fixe, four-course menu that's served family-style. The selections change daily, and picky diners can check the menu online in advance of their evening visit, but insiders know they can always request the restaurant's famous buttermilk fried chicken or a vegetarian option. Addendum, the takeout-focused option in the garden behind the restaurant, serves box lunches ($17.50) with a choice of fried chicken, barbecue pork ribs, or pulled pork sandwich accompanied by two side dishes.
6476 Washington Street, Yountville; 707-944-2487
Wineries to Visit
Silver Oak
Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer began producing exclusively cabernet sauvignon in 1972, the first winery in the valley to focus specifically on one grape variety. Since then, the business, now run by Ray's son David, has expanded to two Silver Oak wineries (one in Oakville and a new facility on 113 acres in Healdsburg that the Chronicle dubbed California's "most eco-friendly winery") and two Twomey sister facilities that produce pinot noir, merlot, and sauvignon blanc.
Napa Valley: 915 Oakville Crossroad, Oakville; 707-942-7022; Alexander Valley: 7300 Highway 128, Healdsburg; 707-942-7082
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
Stag's Leap is famous for creating the winning red wine at the 1976 Judgment of Paris (a bottle of 1973 cabernet sauvignon), and now the winery is focusing on food and wine pairing with the Cellarius Kitchen Experience by Chef Travis Westrope, a $175-per-person four-course meal that's offered every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at noon. A recent offering combined the winery's 2015 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon with Cattaneo Brothers linguica sausage, baby leeks, marble potatoes, pickled mustard seed, garlic aioli, egg yolk, and togarashi.
5766 Silverado Trail, Napa; 707-261-6410
Grgich Hills
Miljenko ("Mike") Grgich was the winemaker who created the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the Judgment of Paris. Grgich's bottle and beret are now in the Smithsonian, and this year, visitors at the winery can sample a 40th-anniversary offering crafted to resemble the vintage that put Napa Valley wines on the world stage. Also, during harvest season visitors can stomp grapes in a barrel at the winery, which Grgich himself did starting at age three when he was growing up in Croatia. Don't worry—the juice and stomped grapes are used as compost in the vineyard afterward, not for wine.
1829 St. Helena Highway, Rutherford; 707-963-2784
Opus One
Founded in 1979 by two of the most famous names in wine at the time—Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton-Rothschild—Opus One is a Bordeaux blend that has always been among the highest-priced wines in Napa. In 1993, in the tradition of Bordeaux estates, it began bottling a second wine called Overture. Tastings ($50 per person) and tours (from $85 per person, with tastings included) are available by appointment only.
7900 St. Helena Highway, Oakville; 707-944-9442
Trinchero Napa Valley
The Trinchero family made its name in Napa after Italian immigrant Mario Trinchero moved west from New York City with his wife and three young children in 1948 and bought an abandoned Prohibition-era winery in St. Helena. Its commercial success, Sutter Home, drove the business in the 1970s (if you've heard of white zinfandel, it's because of this brand, which now has dozens of wine labels to its name). The namesake brand, Trinchero Napa Valley, recently opened a new tasting room by local designer Erin Martin, the final phase of a $36 million investment in the property.
3070 North St. Helena Highway, St. Helena, 707-963-1160
Schramsberg
Ask any winemaker in Napa or Sonoma for their favorite local sparkling wine, and chances are he or she will respond with Schramsberg. The Calistoga-based winery, founded in 1862, produces only sparkling wine, both whites and rosé. After Robert Louis Stevenson tasted them in 1880, he wrote of founder Robert Schram, "his serious gusto warmed my heart." Tours and tastings, starting at $70 per person, are available by appointment only.
1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga; 800-877-3623
How to Get Around
T3 Tesla Tours and Transportation
While driving yourself around while wine tasting is certainly an option, it's not one we'd recommend. Save yourself the worry and book a driver with extensive knowledge of the region, like T3, whose personable drivers operate a fleet of four Tesla Model S sedans. You'll thank yourself when you get home safely after a day of drinking.
707-724-0247
Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men's style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene.
