Sonoma or Napa? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Sonoma or Napa?

Lived in both places for a year and both are great. As others have mentioned Napa is a little more prententious but the northern end of the valley is as charming as it gets. Calistoga is a must see. The hidden gem of Napa County is Casa Nuestra, an Elvis Presley themed winery in St Helena. A modest place with a fun story, fantastic wines and great prices compared to most other surrounding spots. Also Chateau Montelena in Calistoga is the place that put California wines on the map. The movie bottle shock was based off of it. For the “wow” factor, visit Castello d’amaroso in St. Helena. Place is a spectacle… wines are ok. Sterling has a cool tasting room that you have to take gondola up to get to. Nice views of the valley from up there.

You’ll have a good time wherever you end up though. Great food and drink everywhere you go, and people are super friendly
 
Apollo said:
Also Chateau Montelena in Calistoga is the place that put California wines on the map. The movie bottle shock was based off of it.
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the winemaker who actually produced the award winning chardonnay left to found Grgich Hills
 
I'd say Sonoma. If you do Sonoma, some recs would include Peay Vineyards and Carlisle. If you do Napa and like cabernet, Neal Vineyards on Howell Mountain is worth the trip.
 
Stop by sausalito for lunch on your way in or out.

Joinery
Bar bocce
Le garage

Great water views...

If in a hurry stop by Davey Jones at the bait shop for a sandwich.
 
HooperScooper said:
We stayed in Healdsburg, which is in Sonoma. There must be 50 wineries within a few miles of the town. Lots of good wine and plenty of each of what you and your wife like. My brother lives in San Francisco and he said to stay away from Napa because it was too snooty with rich people from all over. It's much bigger with more to do, but Healdsburg was a nice small town with good restaurants. If you decide to go there let me know and I can give you more information on places to stay, wineries to visit and restaurants in Healdsburg.
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I second Healdsburg - great little town.
 
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HooperScooper said:
Wow, that much? We went to mostly medium to high premium places around Healdsburg and they were all $15 or $20 per person for 3-4 pours of different wines. They waived 1 fee for each bottle you bought. So for the 2 of us if we bought 2 bottles the tasting room fee was waived for both of us. Most of the places were very casual and you could talk to them about their wines. One place said forget the tasting fee and just kept pouring us wines as we talked. We went in mid-August and I don't think there were more than 10 people in any of the tasting rooms at a time. Maybe it's less crowded there than Napa?
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Well you can book Promenade for $200 a person but I wouldn’t. Yes, Napa has wineries that are less expensive like trefethen, trouchard (they supply most of the Chard grapes in the valley), and bouchaine, usually wineries where they don’t pair with food - but the big cab houses can be very expensive - they’ll pour library wines for that amount and serve great tasting pairings. I’m not a big fan of the expensive names - Opus, Caymus, Quintessa, Alpha Omega or the soulless wineries like Prisoner or Hall - I think you can do as well at the Nickel&Nickel/Far Niente/Davis/Odette wineries. I am a big fan of Ridge in Lytton Springs in Dry Creek AVA but have come to love the Napa hill wineries - as I said - Mayacamas will add a library vertical and it’s wine is so good I’ve joined the club. The ride to the winery and then an ATV ride to the top of Mt. Veeder is worth the tasting room fee. Just tried Lang & Reed in St. Helena last week, reasonably priced and the owners do the pouring - they specialize in Cab Franc and Chenin Blanc and were not expensive. Stony Hill is about the best whites I’ve had and I joined the club to get out of the $95 tasting fee.

I did have some great less expensive wines in Sonoma - Lioco in Healdsberg, and Cobb pinot, Stony Edge, but the wineries can have some expensive bottles as well.

Some of the wineries I mentioned have incredible wine servers - at Mayacamas I had the former Somm at 1125 Madison and at Stony Hill the former Somm at Alinea. Also, I think you should ALWAYS tip the servers at least $20-$30/person and buy a few bottles to ship back, they get some credit for sales and I use Stagecoach in Napa to ship - drop the bottles off and go for a standard $75/case.

Sorry to sound like a know it all, I just spend so much time there now I’ve gotten to know the Valleys well.
 
HooperScooper said:
Wow, that much? We went to mostly medium to high premium places around Healdsburg and they were all $15 or $20 per person for 3-4 pours of different wines. They waived 1 fee for each bottle you bought. So for the 2 of us if we bought 2 bottles the tasting room fee was waived for both of us. Most of the places were very casual and you could talk to them about their wines. One place said forget the tasting fee and just kept pouring us wines as we talked. We went in mid-August and I don't think there were more than 10 people in any of the tasting rooms at a time. Maybe it's less crowded there than Napa?
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Was lucky enough to do Sonoma and Napa with my family back when I was 21. Didn't really like wine much back then and like it less now but getting buzzed several days in a row with my brothers and dad was pretty awesome. It was made more awesome that my brother is friend's with the son of the guy who owns Michel-Schlumberger in Healdsburg so we got a private tour and all the wine we wanted. Went to a bunch of places in Sonoma and Napa, the only other names I remember are Coppola and Williams Selyem. Calistoga is a really cool town and Sausalito and Tiburon are really nice.
 
Drumguy said:
As stated above make reservations now. I can get you into Domaine Carneros but many of the wine rooms fill up even though they can cost $100 - $200 per person. Most are $50 - $100 and they wave the fee if you buy enough wine.
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Holy cow I must be old. The last time I went to Napa/Sonoma, tasting was free - they wanted you to buy their wines. We even tasted at Caymus and they included a Special Select Cab for free along with 5 other selections - just needed to book in advance.

Times have changed for sure.
 
Apollo said:
Lived in both places for a year and both are great. As others have mentioned Napa is a little more prententious but the northern end of the valley is as charming as it gets. Calistoga is a must see. The hidden gem of Napa County is Casa Nuestra, an Elvis Presley themed winery in St Helena. A modest place with a fun story, fantastic wines and great prices compared to most other surrounding spots. Also Chateau Montelena in Calistoga is the place that put California wines on the map. The movie bottle shock was based off of it. For the “wow” factor, visit Castello d’amaroso in St. Helena. Place is a spectacle… wines are ok. Sterling has a cool tasting room that you have to take gondola up to get to. Nice views of the valley from up there.

You’ll have a good time wherever you end up though. Great food and drink everywhere you go, and people are super friendly
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I’ll second Castillo de Amarosa - amazing place. Not far from Sterling if I recall.
 
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BPT2Storrs said:
I’ll second Castillo de Amarosa - amazing place. Not far from Sterling if I recall.
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It was heavily damaged in the 2020 fire, I haven’t been there - I’d check to make sure it’s fully open.
 
BPT2Storrs said:
I’ll second Castillo de Amarosa - amazing place. Not far from Sterling if I recall.
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Yes

Sterling just due North in Calistoga.
The tram at Sterling is pretty cool and you get a great view of the valley from the winery
 
IMO.. Depends on the vibe you're looking for and the budget you have to experience both regions. Paso Robles has excellent dining and is an up and coming wine region. More laid back and economical than either Napa or Sonoma if a consideration. Definitely worth a road trip from either Napa or Sonoma for a night or two.

Edit-- BTW.. Whichever region you choose and if you're into wine-pairing with food. I would suggest investing the time/money into a wine-pairing class offered by one of the wineries you're visiting. Has the potential to be transformational re: your perspective on food and wine as food groups.
 
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Umami Zen said:
IMO.. Depends on the vibe you're looking for and the budget you have to experience both regions. Paso Robles has excellent dining and is an up and coming wine region. More laid back and economical than either Napa or Sonoma if a consideration. Definitely worth a road trip from either Napa or Sonoma for a night or two.
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It's definitely worth considering the Paso Robles and Santa Maria Valley regions as an alternate destination given how much else there is to do in the area, but imo it would be nuts to make that trip from Napa or Sonoma if they only have three days. Between the trip there and back, one entire day would be spent in the car.
 
8893 said:
It's definitely worth considering the Paso Robles and Santa Maria Valley regions as an alternate destination given how much else there is to do in the area, but imo it would be nuts to make that trip from Napa or Sonoma if they only have three days. Between the trip there and back, one entire day would be spent in the car.
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I must have missed the three-day parameter criteria--in which case-- I totally agree with you. My bad on that
 
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8893 said:
It's definitely worth considering the Paso Robles and Santa Maria Valley regions as an alternate destination given how much else there is to do in the area, but imo it would be nuts to make that trip from Napa or Sonoma if they only have three days. Between the trip there and back, one entire day would be spent in the car.
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Was going to say the same thing. We drive up to Big Sur once a year or so and our stop in Paso Robles generally means we've got about 2 and a half hours left, and you're talking several more hours from Big Sur to Napa. Big state.
 
Umami Zen said:
I must have missed the three-day parameter criteria--in which case-- I totally agree with you. My bad on that
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But I appreciate the info, I just made a reservation in Paso Robles.
 
Waquoit said:
But I appreciate the info, I just made a reservation in Paso Robles.
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If interested in a restaurant selection in downtown Paso.. Might want to check out BL Brasserie (formerly Bistro Laurent).. Great chef and excellent selection of local and French wines(wine list and food has been recognized frequently by Wine Spectator).. One of the top restaurants in town and frequented by local vintners as one of their "go-to" places.
 
superjohn said:
Was lucky enough to do Sonoma and Napa with my family back when I was 21. Didn't really like wine much back then and like it less now but getting buzzed several days in a row with my brothers and dad was pretty awesome. It was made more awesome that my brother is friend's with the son of the guy who owns Michel-Schlumberger in Healdsburg so we got a private tour and all the wine we wanted. Went to a bunch of places in Sonoma and Napa, the only other names I remember are Coppola and Williams Selyem. Calistoga is a really cool town and Sausalito and Tiburon are really nice.
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Calistoga is not as cool now. The 2017 and 2020 fires resulted in a lot of businesses leaving town, so a fair amount of empty storefronts. Love the wine from the AVAs, Chateau Montelena and technically wineries from Brasswood on up are Calistoga, maybe even Serling. but Larkmead, Frank Family, Davis estates, AXR and Brasswood are all terrific wineries.
 
Umami Zen said:
Might want to check out BL Brasserie (formerly Bistro Laurent).. Great chef and excellent selection of local and French wines(wine list and food has been recognized frequently by Wine Spectator)
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My buddy is good friends with Laurent. Laurent is the nicest guy and one heck of a chef
 
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Waquoit said:
But I appreciate the info, I just made a reservation in Paso Robles.
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BTW.. Would recommend hitting the wine tasting bars early in your trip before choosing the vineyards you're going to visit.. Obviously the folks pouring the wines at those bars are excellent resources for where you should go.For a great time and a fun vibe.. Check out Tobin James..
 
If it’s paso then town square is great, tin city is fun too.
So many amazing wineries in the west side. Tobin James is the party spot on the east side
 
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