Napa Valley Travel Guide!

Are you excited for the full Napa Valley travel guide recap?! This was our first true vacation during COVID-19 was all in all a SUCCESS! I’m going to cover everything that we did, as well as the safety level at each winery, activities, etc. If there’s anything I don’t cover, feel free to add questions in the comments. Let’s grape right into it! See what I did there..?! LOL

Napa Valley Travel Guide Day 1: LA to Napa Valley

• Lunch of the Day: Gott’s Roadside
• Winery of the Day: Sterling Vineyards
• Dinner of the Day: Bistro Jeanty

We left LA Thursday morning and flew up to San Francisco on Delta. I was super impressed with Delta’s COVID procedures personally. They had seats between everyone, and Nick and I were the only ones in the row. The plane was at about 1/2 capacity. Masks were required throughout the flight and you were given sanitizer and wipes for extra protection on your seat. Unfortunately our flight was delayed, otherwise lunch would’ve been enjoyed at Napa General Store.

We did however have lunch at Gott’s Roadside which was SO GOOD! I got an Impossible Burger on a lettuce wrap and Nick and I shared the sweet potato fries and the brussel sprouts and it was all TO DIE!

Following lunch, we went straight to Sterling Vineyards which was a blast. Honestly my favorite part was riding the aerial tram up to the vineyard. The wine was good (nothing insane), and the views were beautiful.

After Sterling, we stopped at Gary’s, a market in Napa, and picked up some cheeses, wines for our hotel and snacks. It was reasonably priced and they can ship wine for you to any family members (or to yourself, lol!)

Finally, we did dinner at Bistro Jeanty, which is a French spot and it was great! I tried escargot for the first time (it was good!) and got the scallops with double veggies which were on special. PRO TIP: you can bring your first bottle of wine to ANY Napa restaurant with no corkage fee!

We ended up staying at the Westin Versa Napa Valley, which was a great hotel and phenomenal location. We booked the whole thing on points, which was also a huge plus! Our friends stayed at the Embassy Suites in Napa which was also a great location too! Finally, my DREAM hotel (like goals in 5-10 years lol) is Carneros Resort & Spa.

• PurelyTip: For sterling, try to go to an earlier tasting time. We were the last tasting of the day and it felt a bit rushed. For Gott’s, the St. Helena is the cutest in my opinion, but the one in Napa is cute too! 
• Nick’s Photo Tip: Get an amazing photo at Sterling on the aerial tram ride up to the winery once you’re close to the top!
• Total $$ Spent: $35pp (tasting), ~$20pp (lunch)

PurelyExtra: There are typically shuttles from SFO to Napa, but they’re not running currently due to COVID. That being said, you can easily rent a car from SFO. That’s what Nick and I did (& booked all on points) and it worked out great!

Day 2: Full Winery Day

• • Breakfast of the Day: Southside Napa
  • Wineries of the Day: Chateau Montelena, Castello di Amorosa & Alpha Omega
  • Lunch of the Day: Giugni’s Deli

We met our friends at Southside around 9:45am and planned to head out to our first winery of the day following. In terms of a car, I suggest grabbing an uber big enough for your group and seeing if they will drive you for the day (trust me!) More on that below.

We went to Southside in Yountville (cutest town), and we walked around a bit too and saw the French Laundry Farm/Garden – it’s insane! Southside was grab and go but they had a cute patio behind the restaurant where you could sit. I got the poached eggs and greens, as well as a Café au lait (lol) and it was great.

Our first winery was Chateau Montelena at 12pm, and I recommend getting there a few minutes early (really to all tastings.) It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! You did the tasting in one location, so you really don’t need more than an hour there. But, you’ll want time for pictures after (it’s stunning), and you could always bring some food and grab a bottle of wine and do a little picnic by their lake. They did their tastings behind a glass partition and you could only take your mask off while you were drinking wine or secluded in your space.

Next up was Castello di Amorosa and you HAVE to ask for Vincenzo when you go there! It’s legitimately a classic castle that you would see in Europe. We didn’t get to see the inside because of COVID, but we did get a mini tour of the outside and got to do our tastings outside in the courtyard which is amazing. Let’s just leave it at, Vincenzo is our bestie and we’re now members as Castello di Amorosa! LOL. We gave ourselves about 2 hours here but we would’ve loved more time.

Finally, we went to Alpha Omega winery. Our driver was nice enough to grab us lunch from Giugni’s while we were at the castle. We ate on our way to Alpha Omega and it was delish. I ordered a veggie sandy on sourdough and added all the VEG and it was sooo good. As for Alpha Omega, we weren’t that impressed. IMO, it wasn’t worth the hype. It was pretty, but the staff were rude unfortunately. What we learned is that it’s so much about the staff at the winery!

• PurelyTip: Book all of your wineries in advance. Everything is reservation only with COVID. Give yourself a bit of time in between wineries, everything we did was at least 20 mins from each other. 
• Nick’s Photo Tip: Find the big green wall at Chateau Montelena and everywhere in the castle of love is a great shot!
• Total $$ Spent: $43pp (Chateau tasting), $60pp (Castello tasting), Alpha Omega we shared 1 bottle wine, $20pp (lunch), $38pp (driver for the day.)

PurelyExtra: Finally, HIRE A DRIVER. But not in the typical way. We got an Uber driver we loved, and we asked if he could drive us for the day. He charged us $30/hour and it was amazing and MUCH more budget friendly than any of the other options.

Day 3: Wheels Round Napa

• Breakfast of the Day: Southside Napa
• Activity of the Day: Napa Valley Bike Tours
• Lunch of the Day: Bouchon

This was honestly one of my favorite days in Napa! Of course you guys know that I love to be active, and it felt good to wakeup a MOVE! We met our friends in Yountville again (where the bike tour left from), and grabbed breakfast at Southside (again, lol.)

The bike tour felt super safe – whenever you were not biking, masks had to be on. The bikes also were hybrid – so they could be electric or you could motor them yourself. We chose to do the winery/picnic wine tour option, which I linked above. It was from 9:30am – 3:30pm, and it was so fun! Any activity level (beginner to advanced) could do this. We biked for about an hour, then did a tasting at 1 winery, biked more and did a second tasting, and then finally had some Bouchon lunch (same owner as French Laundry) and then went back.

• PurelyTip: Next time, we will simply rent bikes and do our own thing, because we would’ve wanted more biking time AND we thought the tastings should’ve been included in the price, which they were not. It was still insanely fun though!
• Nick’s Photo Tip: Be safe! Don’t try to get tons of photos on the bikes, lol!
• Total $$ Spent: ~$235pp (bike tour, tastings & lunch.)

Day 4: Napa to LA!

• Brunch of the Day: FARM at Carneros
• Activity of the Day: Napa Valley Wine Sgn

We did a chill morning and scheduled brunch for 12pm at FARM at Carneros which was absolutely AMAZING. The hotel alone is insanely dreamy – think Cali Ranch Farm to Table vibes, lol! The brunch was a splurge, but it was worth it! They do it family style and you choose 4 options for your table to share. We did the wild salmon lox, avocado toast, berries & beets and the boys did chicken & waffles!

Afterwards, we headed to the Napa Valley Wine Sign, which was fun! It’s off of the main highway through Napa so you will def know where it is by the time you get to Napa. It’s totally touristy, but makes for a fun photo ;)! Finally, we went back to the hotel and headed home!

• PurelyTip: You can easily add on a tasting after FARM at Domaine at Carneros for a little sparkling tasting!
• Nick’s Photo Tip: Get a photo overlooking the lawn in front of the restaurant!
• Total $$ Spent: ~$45pp (brunch at FARM)

NAPA VALLEY TRAVEL GUIDE OVERVIEW

• PurelyTip: There are TONS of wineries to see – go with recommendations first and then see what you want to add next time. Also, everything closes EARLY in Napa (like lunch spots, wineries, restaurants), so plan accordingly.
• Nick’s Photo Tip: Grab my favorite photo toy – DJI Osmo (a handheld, high res video camera + camera with stabilizer) & if you’re feeling confident grab my drone too for the best shots! 
• Total Time Spent: We did 3 nights and 4 days – I personally feel like you probably only need a Friday – Sunday, it felt a bit like Vegas in that sense, lol!

If you loved this Napa Valley Travel Guide, be sure to check out my CA Coastal Road Trip too! Bon Voyage! xoxox

Alysia (Purely)Pope

PS: We wore masks EVERYWHERE! You were allowed to remove them for pictures (when away from others), for tastings, at your table at restaurants, and while on the bikes during our tour. Overall, Napa had it dialed in and we felt super safe.