Napa Valley: What to Do When You Can’t Get Into The French Laundry

The French Laundry books out three months in advance and costs around $400 per person before wine. That’s fine. Napa has enough excellent eating and drinking that you don’t need Thomas Keller’s tasting menu to have a seriously good trip.

The Wineries

Napa has around 400 wineries and the quality gap between them is enormous. The big names on Highway 29, Mondavi, Beringer, Sterling, are heavily marketed and tend to feel like they’re processing visitors rather than hosting them. The Silverado Trail on the eastern side of the valley has smaller operations that are usually better.

Darioush near Napa town is architecturally Persian and the Shiraz is excellent. Tastings run about $50 per person. Storybook Mountain in Calistoga produces single-vineyard Zinfandel that you won’t find in stores; they’re appointment-only and the caves tour is one of the better winery experiences in the valley. Domaine Carneros down in the Carneros district makes good sparkling wine in a chateau that looks over its own vineyards, and the views from the terrace justify the price.

For Cabernet from smaller producers, stop at Hourglass in St. Helena, which keeps production deliberately limited and takes visitors seriously rather than treating tastings as a production line.

Eating Well Without a $400 Bill

Gott’s Roadside on Highway 29 at St. Helena is the best roadside food in the valley: the ahi tuna burger and the root beer shake are worth the queue. Expect to pay $15-20 per person.

Press in St. Helena is the serious steakhouse that Napa residents actually go to, with a wine list that’s one of the best in California. Budget $120-150 per person. Mustards Grill is a Napa institution (been here since 1983), louder and less formal than Press, with excellent duck.

The Oxbow Public Market in Napa town is useful for assembly-style meals: cheeses, charcuterie, oysters, and good coffee in one building. Prices are reasonable by Napa standards.

Getting Around

Napa valley runs roughly 35 miles north-south. You need a car or you need to commit to one cluster of wineries per day. Uber and Lyft exist, but surge pricing on weekends can be painful. The Napa Valley Vine bus connects the towns along Highway 29, but it’s slow.

Several companies offer driver services for wine tours; hiring one for a day (roughly $150-250 including tip) makes far more sense than attempting to stay under the limit yourself.

Staying

Hotel prices in Napa are high. Carneros Resort and Spa is exceptional but expensive (from $500/night in season). Milliken Creek Inn is smaller, quieter, and costs somewhat less. The town of Napa itself has more affordable options than St. Helena or Yountville; staying there and driving north to the better wineries is a sensible compromise.

When to Go

Harvest (late August through October) is the most interesting time: crushers running, the smell of fermenting grapes on the roads, and an energy in the wineries that isn’t present in quieter months. It’s also when everyone else comes. March through May has better availability, lower prices, and mustard flowers blooming between the vines.