Insiders Tips on planning a Day Trip to Napa Valley
Blog Post By Meg Barkley
Visiting Wine Country is a little different these days, but we’re sharing some insider tips on making it your best day ever when visiting Napa Valley for the Harvest season.
Make Reservations
Now more than ever, it’s important to make reservations when visiting Napa Valley. With the uptick in visitors and limited reservations available, we suggest booking in advance. To make for an exciting yet relaxing day, we recommend booking three tasting experiences. And to save on time, we suggest your mid-day appointment is with a winery that offers heavy appetizers or a lunch experience alongside your tasting. At Clif Family, our Bruschetteria Food Truck has a full menu available for you to enjoy during or after your tasting. We offer scrumptious bruschetta, seasonal salads, sides, and our highly sought-after rotisserie chicken.
Build your Itinerary around a Town
Instead of spending most of your day driving from appointment to appointment, you might think about building your itinerary around a Town or Appellation/Region. Downtown St. Helena makes for a nice landing spot. We’ve got a number boutique wineries and small tasting rooms nearby and several historic properties dating back to as early as 1882 that are must sees. We suggest checking out Charles Krug, V. Satuii and Heitz Cellar to immerse yourself in some local history. For smaller family-owned wineries and tasting experiences we suggest Lang & Reed, Salverstrin Winery and Crocker & Starr in St. Helena.
Fuel up with a Nutritious Breakfast
As you land in Napa Valley, there are many amazing grab and go options for breakfast that you don’t want to miss. Some of our favorites include the biscuits from Contimo Provisions, the Gluten-Free delights from Monday Bakery and the breakfast burritos from Oakville Grocery.
Hire a Driver
Uber and Lyft drivers are available throughout Napa Valley. While it’s usually easy to catch a ride into the valley from Napa early in the day, remote pick-ups from up valley locations and evening rides are hard to come by with these services. We suggest hiring a driver for the day. My Napa Valley Driver is a great service where your driver will drive your car for you. Ask for Janette, she’s our favorite! And a fun way to explore the area is booking with our friends at West Wine Tours. Their vintage VW bus makes for a fun way to roam the valley. Or explore Napa on two wheels! Our Tour de St. Helena package provides you with a rental bike, a map of downtown St. Helena, a coffee a CLIF bar and you finish your day with a tasting of our favorite new wine releases paired with a Bruschetta from our Food Truck!
Skip the Traffic and stay for dinner
Did you know most Napa restaurants offer reduced corkage fees should you bring in a Napa bottle to enjoy with your dinner? Our friends at Fleetwood waive their corkage fees on Monday for all Napa wines. And the very popular R&D Kitchen charges only $15 for corkage. Bring your favorite bottle of Clif Family Cabernet Sauvignon, pop the cork and linger over dinner.