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My wife are heading to Napa valley for a long weekend next year and since we've never been there before, I was wondering if anyone could offer up any suggestions on favorite wineries to visit. We're there from a Wednesday to Sunday in March for her birthday so we should have 3 full days to explore the area.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

Lots of great options but here are some of my favorites (including strong recommendations from friends re places I haven't visited or yet considered):

Nickel and Nickel, Silver Oak, Chateau Montelana, Jarvis, Quintessa, Goosecross, Frank Family, Girard, Del Detto, and Aonair (no particular order). I have more if you need.

Have fun! We're going next year.

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Happines is Good Health and a Bad Memory.
"Ingrid Bergman"

I have been there. Very nice. I would recommend Inglenook Winery, formerly known as Rubicon which is owned by, Francis Ford Coppola. It is a beautiful and historic place. Build in the 1800's. Coppola bought it in the 1970's. A nearby popular winery and friend of his, Robert Mondavi (I also visited and recommend) talked him into making use of the unique environment and wonderful grapes to make great wine instead of selling his to some commercial producers. So he did and named it Rubicon. He later changed the name back to its original name I believe to Inglenook for history sake.

During our tour it was explained that he used to keep the famous desk from The Godfather movie there. But that drew too big of a crowd for that alone and people were not interested in the winery. So he removed it. There are old personal items of his there on display, but not the desk. The building or Chateau is gorgeous with wonderful hand carved wood stair case and ornate glass. I love the Godfather but did not miss the desk at all.

Coppola did buy a second winery some place else in Cali and I guess the desk is there now but I don't remember the name of location. But Inglenook and Mondavi are in Napa.

Was your vacation a success?

Yeah, in the 3 full days we were there we ended up going to 9 total wineries. We arranged the tour at Frog's Leap and also a tasting at Mumm. The tour at Frog's Leap was really cool and the set up there is very laid back.

The other 2 full days we were there we had a booked a local tour guide to drive us around. He set up all the tastings which was a huge relief. He works with about 60 boutique wineries there and guaranteed access to either the owners or the winemakers. The first day we ended up going to Reid Family, John Anthony, Frisinger, and Vinoce. All of them were amazing but Reid Family really stood out to me. it was a small family run winery that only produces like 1,000 cases a year. We met with Bay, the owner's son, and he was really fun to talk and drink wine with.

The second day started a little late so we only ended up going to 3 wineries, Midsummers, V12, and Covert. Midsummers was another small winery run by a family that has been in the wine business for years. V12 is owned by Jimmy Vasser, the former indy car driver and now team owner. Th views from their terrace were amazing. We got to eat lunch overlooking their vineyards with Jimmy's sister. We also got to see the owner's trophy for winning the Indy 500 which was pretty cool. The house at Covert was amazing but they were just furnishing their caves for future tastings.

For not being a wine drinker at all, I still had a great time. I learned more than I ever need to know about wine and the wine making process but the coolest thing is just the atmosphere out there. We stayed right downtown and there are so many cool shops and restaurants in the area that were all within walking distance. The Oxbow market is a cool place to visit as well. One of the other highlights of our trip was the tasting that I did at the Napa Valley Distillery. I ended up joining their bar club and am looking forward to their quarterly shipments.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

Glad you had a good time. You went to a lot more wineries out that way than we did. But we have family to visit also when we go to Cali. I'm not a huge wine drinker either. But I like wine now. I started drinking wine when I'd go out to dinner with my wife and her work people. Coworkers and bosses. A big boss would be generous and order a few bottles and just pass them around the table. I felt out of place just asking the waiter for a beer so I decided to start sampling so that I would be better prepared when offered a selection of wine. At least now I know what I like and what I don't.

On our first year anniversary we rode the motorcycle to a winery/chateau in Michigan. We stayed there, I think the Grand Traverse Chateau or someplace. We rode to a bunch of different wine tastings then stopped in Traverse City to check out the city. There are a lot of wineries there on the Old Mission peninsula and the Leelanau Peninsula. We ordered a couple cases and bottles from each place. Had to ship home since we see in the bike. We live in the metro Detroit area so people didn't understand at first why we didn't just take the wine with us.

So if you are ever in Michigan and want to expand on your wine tasting experience, head that way. Even if you don't drink a lot of wine, the scenery is wonderful too. Very nice atmosphere. Or if you are a beer guy, there are tons of micro breweries popping up everywhere.

I personally experience some of the Napa's finest wines all within walking distance. Boutique and highly acclaimed wines await you in wine tasting events Napa rooms, each with its own vibe. Enjoy the fruits of Napa's, labor of love right in the heart in the city.

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Napa Valley film festival events

Hello all,

Going to Napa the first week of January for my honeymoon. Although I can visit more than five, I am asking for five to keep it simple. If I could only visit 5 wineries on my trip, which would you recommend?
Right now

Bell Vineyards

Duckhorn

Caymus

Louis Martini

Turnbell

Thoughts?

Also, do you have any restaurant suggestions?