Wine Tasting in Napa Valley

Wine tasting in Napa Valley has been a bucket list item for me since before I could legally drink. However, I’m pretty glad I waited until now to visit the area as I’ve really grown to appreciate wine the past few years.

For our tasting day we hired a private wine driver from Wine Tour Drivers and it was THE BEST. Our driver, Aaron, met us at our accommodation in Santa Rosa (they’ll also pick up from Napa, San Francisco, and other surrounding areas). In the weeks leading up to our trip I worked with Deanna, the owner of Wine Tour Drivers, to plan an itinerary for the day. She was super knowledgable about the area and made great recommendations that we really enjoyed. There are SO many vineyards in the area, I wouldn’t have even known where to start if I was planning it on my own - she took into consideration our wine preferences and gave us multiple options to choose from.

In addition to driving us around, Aaron made sure we got breakfast and lunch. We stopped at Sonoma Bagel & Deli for breakfast and then he picked up lunch from Oakville Grocery for us while we were at one of our tastings. I wish I had photos of our sandwiches from Oakville Grocery because they were soooo good but honestly, I was drunk & hungry and ate it before taking a picture. Highly recommend the Mt. Tam & Sky Hill Chevre Panini with bacon jam!

Sonoma Bagel & Deli

This was the perfect carb filled breakfast before wine tasting - egg & cheese on an everything bagel!

Mumm Napa

We started the day with some bubbly here! The property is gorgeous and we loved all the sparkling wines - make sure to sit out on the patio if the weather is nice.

Honig

Our second stop of the day had my favorite wines that we tried and I ended up joining the wine club. They focus on just two varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon & Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is my white wine of choice and theirs is pretty unique - I’d definitely recommend trying any of their wines if you see them on a wine list! The service here was also great, the staff was super friendly and you could tell they were passionate about the wine.

The Terraces

Our experience at The Terraces was definitely our favorite of the day. Before you do the tasting they drive you around in a golf cart, show you the property, and tell you all about the history . Only 22% of the property is planted with grapes, the rest is covered with fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, and woodlands. During the tour we had the chance to taste balsamic vinegar that is in the process of being aged 25 years - sooooo good! After the tour of the grounds we sat down on the patio for a tasting and I really enjoyed the wines here; they have some more unique offerings such as a Tempranillo & Falanghina.

Elizabeth Spencer

Unfortunately we didn’t have as much time to spend here as I would have liked but their tasting patio is a great stop. A nice, relaxed atmosphere and the wines were awesome - we did the Charter Tasting and I looooooved the Pinot Noir!

It was an amazing day and we had so much fun. I can’t wait to go back to Napa and explore more of the area!