Napa Hotel Guide

The most famous winemaking region in the United States is a narrow swath of expensive real estate stretching from the top of San Francisco Bay nearly 20 miles north to the foothills of Mount St. Helena. You can reach the southern end of the valley from San Francisco in just over an hour.

Flanked by forested hills, cooled by bay winds in the southern part of the valley and planted extensively in cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and other popular grape varietals, this scenic valley attracts some six million visitors a year, which makes it the state’s second-most-popular tourist attraction (after Disneyland).

Lodging choices range from restored Victorians in the city of Napa to grand resorts on the outskirts of St. Helena to simple motel-spa combinations in the northern town of Calistoga.

You could spend months simply sampling wines, available daily at the major wineries or by appointment at the smaller concerns. The hours are generally 11 to 4, sometimes longer. Most Napa wineries charge a tasting fee, which is sometimes applied to any purchases. Here are some tips to make your visits to tasting rooms more enjoyable.

With more than 200 wineries in the valley, you should pare down your list to your absolute favorites.

Plan to visit no more than three or maybe four wineries in a day, broken up by lunch. Most tasting rooms allow only four samples, although they will be pouring as many as 12 on a given day. Select your choices before you begin. Swirl the wine in the glass to allow it to aerate. Take a couple of deep sniffs and then take a small sip - but don’t swallow until you’ve rolled the wine around in your mouth and really tasted it.

Use the spit bucket, both to spit wine out of your mouth and to pour out any unwanted wine. Take notes on what you liked, what it costs and why you liked it.

You can enjoy a visit to Napa Valley, however, without drinking a single drop. Take a hot air balloon ride at the crack of dawn, when tendrils of fog are often seen drifting among the hillside oaks. Go horseback riding in Bothe-Napa State Park. Play tennis or golf at one of many public (or private) facilities. Fish in the Napa River. Visit museums - there are ones for the valley itself, for firefighters and, now a new American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in downtown Napa.

Napa’s moderate climate does change with the seasons, from average lows of just above freezing on many winter nights, and occasional summertime heat spikes that poke up past 100 degrees. Springtime, when the vineyards are carpeted with golden mustard blossoms, is lovely with nighttime lows in the 50s and most days in the 70s to 80s.

Summer nights warm up to 60, with average highs around 85 to 90. Fall is the best time to visit because the grape harvest runs from late August through October and the weather is perfect - usually dry and still quite warm. (It’s also the busiest time of year and you need to make lodging and dining reservations far in advance.) Winter is quiet, especially January through mid-March, and you won’t have to fight crowds on the roads or at the wineries. This is the rainy season, with highs around 50 to 55. It is the time when many hotels discount their rates by 20 percent or more.

In summer and early fall, the main artery, Highway 29, is bumper-to-bumper on the weekends. Most of the time, the parallel road on the east side of the valley, the Silverado Trail, is less congested. Many fine wineries are located on the cross roads, and you should put them on your list. Another way to minimize crowding is to make appointments in advance with smaller wineries that limit the number of visitors they allow.

Top