Adventure Awaits Your Family

Napa is one of my favorite places to visit. Not only do I love exploring new wines from different regions, but it is beautiful, and the food is spectacular with restaurants from top chefs. We have visited there five times so far and I see many more in the future. It can be a long weekend trip (we usually go Thursday – Sunday). The travel is longer from Chicago, but we never feel rushed while there and it always feels longer than just a few days as time slows down. If you love a good glass of Cabernet or Chardonnay, I suggest a trip to Napa to learn more about the varietals and the region. Below are some of our top wineries.

Top Wineries: 

Robert Mondavi: this was actually the first winery we visited on our very first trip. We landed that morning, arrived to our hotel that afternoon and headed to a sunset tasting at the vineyard. It was the perfect introduction to Napa and the grounds are very pretty. 

Wines We Love Here: Cabernet Sauvignon and red blends are some of their top selling wines, but we enjoyed the Fume Blanc as well. 

Cakebread Cellars: We love Cakebread wine and have enjoyed it at restaurants so were eager to visit the vineyard. We did a guided tour and tasting here and loved learning about the history and heritage. They remodeled and did an addition to the property since we first visited and the tour lasts only about 45 minutes so easy to squeeze into your itinerary. On our last visit, we became Wine Members to receive their quarterly shipments and have enjoyed trying new varieties and vintages throughout the year that cannot be found at a local wine shop.

Wines We Love Here:  Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. 

Domaine Caneros: We usually start our day at this winery in the morning or at Chandon. We prefer this location as the property is stunning and they have an amazing outdoor tasting area. We felt like we were somewhere in Italy or Europe. We LOVE their sparkling here. They also have a nice charcuterie board pairing you can add on to your tasting. 

Wines We Love Here: Brut Rose, Tattinger Ultra Brut, Blanc de Blanc.

Del Dotto: we jokingly call this winery ‘Del Drunko’ as they had heavy pours here 😊 However, they have a cave tour which is always fun and interesting to see and learn about. You also get a tasting direct from one of the barrels. They do provide food at the end of your tour to help balance out the heavier pour here. 

Wine We Love Here: None

Sequoia Grove: set among you guessed it, large Sequoia Trees, this winery has a private feel and different than other wineries we visited. The tasting room is pretty small, but they have outdoor seating which is quiet and peaceful. If you haven’t guessed it, we typically lean more heavily toward red wine and specifically Cabernet. Sequoia has an excellent cabernet to try! 

Wines we Love Here: Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Cambium.

Chimney Rock: admittedly, this was our last stop of the day so our palettes were pretty broken in by the time we visited 😊. However, the red wine here was memorable and as such, has become a staple in our wine fridge at home. The building is set back from the road, and the building is reminiscent of the California Missions. I do not remember there being an outdoor seating area, but that may have changed since we last visited. It is worth a stop on your tours. 

Wine We Loved Here: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. 

Freemark Abbey: this winery is up north in the Calistoga region so it may be a bit further of a drive if you are staying closer to Yountville. I am adding it to the list specifically because of the tour guide we had. He was so good that we remember his name to this day – Gary and his wife was Amy! He was very knowledgeable and entertaining as well. We did the Cabernet tasting here (surprise, surprise). 

Wines We Loved Here: Cabernet Sauvignon! 

Gundlach Bundschu: referred to as GunBun by our tour guide, this winery is located in Sonoma and has a gorgeous lakeside setting. We have had two tastings here – one was out by the lake at a picnic table and then the other was in a cute little cottage on the backside of the property. You cannot go wrong with either and surprisingly, we all preferred the white wines here. 

Wines We Loved Here: Rhinefarm Rose, Gewurztraminer and their Sauvignon Blanc. 

Kunde: this winery is also located in Napa and is family owned and operated. This was a winery that had a different feel to everyone in our group. Being family owned really gave guests like we were a member of the Kunde Family. There were yellow labs lying around, our tour guide was amazing and the wine was delicious – and get this, affordable! Several in our group became wine members here.  

Wines We Loved Here: Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Sinegal: this property is secluded, with beautiful ground and a lake (you can take a row boat out if you like!). You can only visit the winery by making a reservation ahead of time. Our group did the pizza and wine tasting and it was some of the best wood fired pizza we have tasted! The wine is spectacular, but also carries an equally spectacular price tag. We bought two bottles as special occasion wine. 

Wine We Loved Here: Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.