When: March 6 // Weather: 50s and cloudy // Real life: exploring Napa Valley
Sweater (on sale) // Jeans // Shoes // similar Scarf // similar Bag
Here’s a key wine tasting tip for you: remember to eat! Otherwise, a classy, adult vacation quickly turns into sophomore year spring break. Don’t worry, I’m not speaking from experience. I planned our meals strategically and even carried protein bars with me just in case. Our second day in wine country started with a hearty breakfast at Oxbow Public Market; if you stay in Napa proper, you’ll want to get familiar with this place because it’s great for grabbing good, quick, reasonably priced food.
I planned out our days so that each one more or less focused on one town in the Valley. Day 2 was St. Helena. Our first winery stop was Del Dotto where we opted to pay for the cave tour and tasting. You get to taste wines right out of the barrel, which was cool even though I’m fully aware it’s just a gimmick. They also served a charcuterie plate and a fresh pizza (remember what I said about food? yeah).
After that, we walked around St. Helena’s downtown area and stopped by Model Bakery, which I’d heard a lot about. I was kind of surprised at how high-end the boutiques were such a quaint little town. But judging by the prices of the real estate I saw advertised, I really shouldn’t be shocked! Luckily, pastries were still in our price range.
After that, we went to Robert Mondavi, which is one of the more well-known wineries in the Napa Valley. They have some in-depth tours, but we opted for single glasses so I really can’t tell you that much about the place. The weather during our week in California was – I’ll just say it – crappy. It was chilly and cloudy/drizzly pretty much the whole time. But crappy weather in California is still better than what they were having back in Indiana (10 degrees or something horrible like that). On the bright side, the “crappy” weather seemed to keep everyone else away, so everywhere we went was practically empty. I think we waited in one line the whole time! Still, the gloom kind of got to me on Tuesday and by the time we got to Robert Mondavi, I just wasn’t feeling it.
I got kind of down on myself when my perfectionist tendencies took over and I was annoyed that I didn’t want to keep exploring and tasting. But luckily, my better half reminded me we were on freaking vacation and we could do whatever we wanted. So we went back to the Airbnb, made guacamole, and watched Crazy Rich Asians.
The next day was much better. We started by driving to Guerneville to the Armstrong Redwoods reserve. If you can find an opportunity to see redwoods in person, I insist that you take it. I’m kind of obsessed with them. They’re incredible.
Then we headed back over the mountains to Calistoga and hit up two wineries: Sterling Vineyards and Castella di Amorosa. The main draw at Sterling was the air tram that takes you over the hill to the tasting area. Oh, and the views (like the one in these photos). And where do I even begin with Castella di Amorosa? It’s absolutely ridiculous. There were actual peacocks. Peacocks.
I saved the best for last. Calistoga is famous for its hot springs and mud baths, so we ended the day at Moon Acre Spa. On Wednesdays they have a happy hour special where you can get 2 short treatments, plus a glass of bubbly, plus hang out in the hot tub, for $85. There are tons of spas in Calistoga, but the retro vibe of this place was so fun and unique. I would definitely go back…like, tomorrow preferably.
