I've visited Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino in the last six months and loved the all for different reasons.
Firstly, Mendocino (the Anderson Valley) is far more like an Australian winery touring experience than either Napa or Sonoma i.e. no tasting fees. They specialise is Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the Alsatian varietals. We found some lovely Pinot, a few good chardonnays and nothing that even remotely resembled the style of reisling we love at home
If you do go to the Anderson Valley don't miss
Esterlina Vineyards. Seriously don't. Amazing views from one of the highest points in the valley. Great pinots. Take sandwiches and spend an hour or so enjoying life. Another good spot to visit is
Lazy Creek Vineyards. Right at the end of a very lazy creek, you'll find the remnants of an Italian farm. The wines are well worth the visit.
Mendocino is a beautiful little village on a wonderful coastline. It is around 3-4 hours north of San Francisco though depending on which road you take.
We've only spent a short time in Sonoma, but it is a gorgeous historic town. Well worth a visit, although we did not really leave the town to visit nearby wineries as it was Easter and they were shut.
Even though it is completely different to Australian wine touring, I love Napa. The key here is to just accept that you will have to pay a tasting fee. Once you have done that you should make sure you organise appointments at wineries that you really want to go to or are highly recommended. Expect to pay between $20-70 per person. A lot of the time you will receive barrel tastings, tours through the caves, a private guide etc etc. Some will wave the tasting fee if you buy, but that can be pricey in Napa
I would not go to Napa without arranging a tasting at one of the Spring Mountain wineries. Something Australians may find strange is that Napa no longer allows planting on the hills on each side of the valley. As such, you find the entire valley floor is covered in vines, but there are only a few pockets of hillside vineyards. Spring Mountain is a lot higher than the valley floor and as such is far more inclined to produce cabernets that Australians are used to.
I have not yet been to
Pride or
Smith-Madrone, but they are highly recommended by friends. We had a wonderful day at
Barnett Family Vineyards yesterday. Brilliant wines, especially their Spring Mountain Cabs, and views from the top of the mountain back down into the valley surrounding St Helena. The tasting fee was $35 (waived with our purchase), but we spent over an hour there and tasted many wines.
Of the Napa wineries, a real diamond i the rough is
Fleury Winery. It is bang smack in the middle of the flats, but they have a really cool little tasting area in their main shed. The fee is $25, but you'll likely get to taste around 6-8 wines (all over US$50 per bottle) and likely have a barrel sample too. Grab sandwiches from Oakville Grocers and sit outside the winery for lunch.
For a special tour, we loved
Quintessa. This is a very private tour. Upon arrival we (two of us) we greeted by our host for the day. She walked us around the property to see the vineyards from a special viewing point. Then through the winery and caves. Finally we stop to taste two vintages of the Quintessa along with specially prepared nibbles. The tour costs $65 each which was refunded upon purchase of a bottle of their $135 red. It was quite expensive, but they did make us feel special.
I would certainly go to
Rubicon. The original estate is amazing, and they will let you taste their flagship red (Rubicon US$145) with the $20 tasting fee. The red carpet may be a little kitsch, but it is a wonderful property.
Jarvis is another I have heard is very good things about. I love their cabernets and will be visiting soon. Here is the blurb from their website:
Unique tasting visits are scheduled daily by appointment. Tasting tours at JARVIS are an intimate experience consisting of small groups of approximately 10 guests. We suggest contacting the winery as early as possible to schedule your visit as during the height of the season weekend tours can sometimes be booked weeks in advance.
The Vintage Tasting Tour: A tour of our unique underground winery facility followed by a sit-down tasting. On the Vintage Tasting Tour we taste 6 JARVIS wines including a Reserve wine. Cheese and crackers accompany the tasting. Fee: $40 per person; Wine Club and Inner Circle Members are guests of Leticia and William Jarvis, and do not pay a fee. Duration: approximately 1.5 hours for the complete experience.
Foodwise, we loved
Tra Vigne,
Bistro Jeanty and the amazing
Auberge du Soleil on the Silverado trail. I would not miss having a lunch at Auberge. Oakville grocery is fantastic. The
Bounty Hunter in Napa is a great spot for an evening meal. Order the beer can chicken.
As with my early point about being prepared to pay for tastings, the majority of places that we have not enjoyed were the ones where you paid less and were treated like cattle. I really think it is worthwhile being selective in Napa and just taking the hit on cost. You will taste better wine and have real service. If you have come this far, the extra $100-200 on tastings will make a world of difference.
Enjoy!