California Wine Country suggestions please

[sammy]

We have some Hilton Hotel points to spend and were thinking of taking 3-4 days to visit north of San Francisco for a wine country tour of sorts. I have just started doing some research and find there are several major areas, each with its own wines and special characteristics and the books I found didn't really show the major hotels.

1. Are there any experts here with advise on what is a good central location hotel (Hilton family preferably) that will give good and relatively quick access to several interesting things to do?

2. Also, what is the best time of year to go? I have read the fall is the best time as it is picking season, but that it also brings the biggest crowds. We are not terribly fond of crowds, so are there other good times of year when weather is good and touring is still very good.

3. Are there any things in particular you would suggest? I saw a train tour, certain wineries with special tours/tastings, ? BTW, we are primarily red wine drinkers.

Cheers ,

 

[winos2]

web site to check out

I can recommend you check out 2 guys from Napa website. Lots of information and recommendations.
Weekends are usually crowded so go tuesday thru thursday.
Have fun.

 

[Luanne]

I could be wrong, but I think the only place you might find something in the Hilton family would be in Napa itself. Most of the places in the small towns in the Napa Valley are all either B&Bs or non affiliated hotels.

Sonoma also might have something in the Hilton line.

Did you check the Hilton website?

I just went in and checked the Hilton website myself. It looks like there are two Hilton properties in Napa (I think an Embassy Suites and a Hilton Garden Hotel) and one in the Sonoma Valley.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

There are many outstanding wine areas in that area of California that are all a short drive from San Francisco, all of which will have more wineries than you can possibly visit. In addition to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, which others have already mentioned, there's Paso Robles, the Hollister area, the Santa Lucia area on the west flanks of the Salinas Valley, Lake County, the Russian River area, Anderson Valley, Amador and Calaveras Counties.

If you really, truly like red wines, I would suggest you very strongly consider Paso Robles and Amador/Calveras County. Both areas are producing stellar reds, and aren't nearly as heavily tourist-populated as the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Amador County, in particular, produces some stunningly good Sangiovese, Barbera, Grenache, and Tempranillo - almost any of the common hot climate Mediterranean reds. Paso Robles does very well with cabs, syrahs, merlots, and similar.

Since those areas are less traveled your Hilton points might get you further.

Or use your Hilton points to stay in Monterey. Enjoy the sights of Monterey, and it's an easy day trip from there to Santa Lucia Highlands, Paso Robles, and Hollister.

 

[linmcginn]

Wine country

I suggest you go to Healdsburg! Great Sonoma county wine destination! There is a Hilton about 13 miles away in Santa Rosa.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I suggest you go to Healdsburg! Great Sonoma county wine destination! There is a Hilton about 13 miles away in Santa Rosa.

Yes - Santa Rosa would be a fine option for a place to stay. From there you can easily access the entire Russian River Valley (which includes Healdsburg, as well other equally outstanding locales), the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, Anderson Valley, and Carneros.

Actually any Hilton property in Napa or Sonoma Counties would probably work fine.

 

[DAman]

The Hilton in Santa Rosa is nice. I have stayed there several times. If I remember correctly you can taste Russian River wineries and Dry Creek wineries easily from there. It's about a 45 minute drive to Napa down Highway 12. Healdsburg is a short drive up 101 as well.

There is an Embassy Suites in Napa and a Doubletree in American Canyon(between Napa and Vallejo). The Doubletree is not a bad place but it is a little drive to Napa(15 minutes or so). It is the old Gaia Hotel and I like it there but it is a drive into Napa. These are both Hilton family hotels. There is a Hilton Garden Inn in Napa too if I remember correctly but I have never stayed there.

I prefer Sonoma County to Napa for tasting room visits.

In the fall during the week you should be fine. By November, if you wait that long, it will be a lot less busy than September. But if you avoid the weekends you should be fine.

 

[abbekit]

My brother lives in Healdsburg and it is a charming town. Santa Rosa is a bigger town but would be a good base if you need to stay on points. There are also some other interesting things to do, hiking trails nearby, the Charles Schultz (creator of the Peanuts cartoon) Museum. Healdsburg is also known for it's Jazz Festival and outside of the festival dates there are also jazz performances year round. And of course, some great wineries!

If you go, be sure and drive down Dry Creek Road (very good wineries), at the corner of Dry Creek and Lambert Bridge Roads stop at the red barn and say "hi" to the goats (actually a sculpture of goats drinking wine). That's my brother's house! They get lots of tourists who stop to take photos. They just pulled out their tiny vineyard and planted fava beans. Last week he gave me one of his last bottles of Cabernet that they produced.

 

[Luanne]

Love Healdsburg. My best friend and her husband lived there for awhile and we'd go up to visit them. Some wonderful, off the beaten track, wineries. Personally I wouldn't stay in Santa Rosa, I'd prefer to stay in one of the smaller towns.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Personally I wouldn't stay in Santa Rosa, I'd prefer to stay in one of the smaller towns.

Bearing in mind that he's using Hilton Points, do you have a suggestion for one of those smaller towns where there is also a Hilton? I see a Hamton Inn in Windsor. But Windsor ain't Healdsburg!

 

[Luanne]

Bearing in mind that he's using Hilton Points, do you have a suggestion for one of those smaller towns where there is also a Hilton? I see a Hamton Inn in Windsor. But Windsor ain't Healdsburg!

I already provided suggestions, but for Napa. In my first post I said I wasn't sure there were any Hilton properties in the smaller cites of Napa and Sonoma.

And Santa Rosa ain't Healdsburg either.

 

[loosefeet]

Avoid American Canyon. The Embassey Suites in Napa is very central and nice. You need to pick your valley-Napa or Sonoma, then look for a place to stay. It's about an hour from Napa to Santa Rosa. Not quite an hour Santa Rosa to Healdsberg.

 

[ottawasquaw]

We did a day trip to the Russian River area April '12 and enjoyed lunch in Healdsburg. It was a wonderful day. We saved a bit of $$ on tasting fees between my brother's VISA (sorry, I can't recall but I think it was a Capital One that offered personal services instead of a cash reward) and checking in on Foursquare on my Iphone.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Armada]

For a first time visitor, I would suggest staying in the Napa area. You might want to consider spending one of your days in Sonoma. It's not that far of a drive.

Your choices in Napa would be the Embassy Suites or the Hilton Garden Inn. I've stayed at the ES in the past and it is fine. I have another stay planned there for this fall. If you are Gold or higher with Hilton, you will get a full cooked breakfast each day at the HGI. Breakfast at the ES is a bit more basic. Both should have refrigerators and free internet.

Some tips: If you are planning on visiting San Francisco on the same trip, I'd suggest going to SF on the weekend and Napa during the week. On the weekends, Napa traffic can be somewhat heavy (especially Rte 29 - the Silverado trail is your friend). Also, the tasting rooms and restaurants can be quite busy on the weekends.

A GPS is a help, especially if you are going to Sonoma. I've rented from Hertz in the past and used their GPS systems. It was nice to just type in the name of winery and have the GPS direct you there.

If you have any questions or need suggestions about the wineries or restaurants, let me know.

 

[redslp]

Favorite Napa Wineries

My husband is a wine lover, and travels to Napa frequently for wine tastings:

Open to the Public wineries

1. V. Sattui - Has a deli, picnic grounds, gift shop and a large wine tasting selection. No reservations needed. Tastings range from $5 to $25, so it fits a wide range of budgets.

Reservation Required/Upper End

1. Larkmead- beautiful setting, you will sit out on the wrap around porch with your private wine tasting host who will entertain you with stories of the area as well as educate you about the wines you are tasting. (707) 942-0167 Wine tasting approximately $40 a person.

Tour/History- First timers must- Reservations Recommended (888) 766-6328

1. Robert Mondavi- historical tour, beautiful artwork, great wines

Restaurants- Cole's Chop House, Redd (Yountville), Celadon, Fume Bistro

Enjoy!

 

[sammy]

Drivers

Wow, thank you everyone for the input.

To make full use of flying across the country, I've decided to try and luck into a week at one of the timeshares anywhere near San Francisco/Monterey and then add a few days before or after at one of the many places you suggest.

Not sure I'll get anything, but I'll give it several months of patience . If that doesn't work, I'll resort to the half week wine trip or hope for a business trip to tag on to!

Thanks so much for the tips!!

 

[sammy]

Wine Trolley & Wine Limousine Tours

I am so busy these days that I do not frequent my timeshare planning like I used to. So, with a few months of neglect, I mean patience lol, I lucked into a trade for late March right in Napa. So we now have a full week to explore Napa/Sonoma and we're adding a few days to visit our son in San Francisco.

Months later, I am finally getting into reading up on the sights and wineries .

After seeing rave reviews for the Wine Train all over the web, I've decided it is too constricting for us, to be on a train just looking out the window for several hours. I did find an alternative: the Sonoma and Napa wine trollies. They are 6 hour trolley tours that include 4-6 winery stops and tastings. My thought is they might be a good intro to one of the 2 areas and we'd plan a limo tour to the other. Has anyone tried these trolley tours? And if so, how did you like them?

Regarding limo tours, are there any tour companies that freely customize where they go based on your interests and wishes? The ones I've seen tend to have a prescribed agenda.

Thank you!

 

[IngridN]

DH and I and another couple from back East, just got back from 4 days in Napa/Sonoma. We lucked out with some great weather. We stayed at the Vino Bello in Napa and visited both Sonoma and Napa wineries. Our favorites were the Castle (we did the tour), St. Francis, Miner, and Clos du Val wrt to the wines produced and bought way too much at each .. We're also red wine drinkers. At St. Francis, we did the 2pm food/wine pairing and it was excellent. At $50pp, it was among the more reasonable, price-wise.

Vincent Arroyo was an interesting very small, family owned winery, however, we didn't care for their wines. It was one of the ones by appt. only. We discovered that didn't mean a thing as they and other by appt. only wineries never turned us away! Opus One was another interesting winery as they produce only 2 wines with the cheaper one being $235/bottle . And at $50 tasting fee, we passed. Domaine Chandon was a huge disappointment.

After 3 days of tasting, we decided we had out fill and on the way home, spent time in Muir Woods and had a late lunch/early dinner at the Cliff House in SF.

Overall, we had a wonderful time and I'm sure you will too.

Ingrid

 

[eal]

Another vote for Santa Rosa.

Also Platypus Tours will take your suggestions for wineries when you book. When I mentioned that I had toured with them before they asked where we went so that they could avoid duplication.

 

[melissy123]

Not any specific suggestions, but if you have a Visa Signature card, you get 2 free wine tastings per cardholder at 60 different wineries in Sonoma and nearby. There's also specific Visa Signature winery events in Spring/Fall

 

[flexible]

if you have a Visa Signature card, you get 2 free wine tastings per cardholder at 60 different wineries in Sonoma and nearby. There's also specific Visa Signature winery events in Spring/Fall

http://www.sonomawine.com/visa-signature-perks/vs-winery-guide
http://www.sonomawine.com/visit-our-wineries/suggested-tasting-routes

We live in the wine country and enjoy many annual events on holiday weekends.
http://winecountry.com/events.html
http://calendar.napavalley.com

Father's Day weekend:
http://www.atasteofredwoodvalley.com

4th of July weekend:

Labor Day weekend:
http://www.sonomawinecountryweekend.com
http://www.sonomawinecountryweekend.com/about.asphttp://www.sonomawinecountryweekend.com/about.asp
https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com is on one of the event lists about Labor Day weekend.

 

[Watchwait]

Paso Robles. Voted most emerging wine area in the USA last year. We moved here just to be in this wine country!