Red Door Inn

Visiting wineries

by sarahandgareth

Wine is, of course, at the heart of the Wine Country, and some visitors seem to think that they're in some kind of competitive exercise to visit as many as humanly possible each day.

We - and many of the winery people we spoke to - found that a little silly. After a few wineries, the palate, and the head, are dulled, and you just start drinking the wine without any appreciation. You're also in a beautiful part of the US, so it seems a shame not to see more of it than the interior of many a winery!

We limited ourselves to a maximum of four wineries in a day, and even that seemed like a lot. The day we visited just two was ideal, in many ways!

If you can't follow our advice, then at least drink plenty of water between visits, and eat a good lunch too. Otherwise, you'll likely find yourself feeling less than perfect come evening-time. The wineries, too, don't really appreciate people turning up tipsy: they tend to be louder and more difficult to control, which spoils everyone else's experience.

A Lunch Stop on Our Second Day in Wine Country

by riorich55

"The Wine Train Passes Through Here"

Again, another one of those towns in Wine Country that we did not get time to visit. Home of more then a few wineries of which we stopped at a couple to take some quick pictures and then move on.

The two pictures I have here are from the Wine Train which probably everybody who has ever studied this part of the country has heard of. We didn't seriously consider taking the train as I would rather blaze my own trails on my own agenda when I'm on vacation.

The Heart of Napa Valley

by sarahandgareth

St Helena is right in the middle of the Napa Valley action, with dozens of wineries just a ten or fifteen minute drive away. It also has some of the best shopping in the valley - at least if you have money to spend, since this is shopping mostly at the tonier end of the scale! It's fun to browse, but watch the credit card bills mount once you start to buy.

There are many excellent restaurants right in St Helena, too, including one or two places famous well beyond Napa Valley, such as Tra Vigne.

We have decided to group all of our winery tips together on this page, even though some of them aren't in St Helena itself; otherwise, we'll have a list of small communities with just one or two tips each!