Napa: Weekend Getaway

Living in the bay area we are lucky to have so many wonderful places within a hop, skip, and a jump from home.  One of our favorite weekend getaways is Napa Valley.  Seriously, it’s Napa.  People fly from all over to visit wine country, and we essentially have it right here in our backyard.  We are very lucky and a little spoiled.

We both were in a need a of break, and decided to head up to Napa Valley for a quick overnight to relax, recharge, and have some much needed girl time.  

Napa Valley is great anytime of the year. One of the more popular times to visit is in the fall during the “crush.”  The crush is a winemakers term for harvesting and crushing the juice out of the grapes. We had an “I Love Lucy” moment when we were able to try grape stomping at Grgich Hills Winery, one of our favorite wineries in the region.

Grgich is a family owned winery that gained international recognition at the 1976 Paris wine tasting, where a Chardonnay crafted by owner, Mike Grgich was named the finest white wine in the world.

 Mike was born into a winemaking family.  While growing up in the town of Desne, located on Croatia’s coast in the region of Dalmatia, he dreamed of moving to California’s wine country and one day made his dream come true.

Even today at 95 years old, Mike sits in the tasting room talking with visitors and signing bottles.  

Another one of our favorite and most beautiful wineries to visit is Inglenook.

 

Inglenook is a stunning winery with a history that dates back to 1879. Today it is owned by acclaimed filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola.  It’s a wonderful place to relax and take in the natural beauty of the area. It’s also fun to check out Coppola’s movie memorabilia, which is all around the winery.   It is pretty cool and just an added plus to check out while exploring. Another plus is the coffee cafe.  It’s a great spot to take some time to relax and enjoy the beauty of the winery. 

We ended up stayed at one of our favorite places in the region, the beautiful Meritage Resort and Spa.

  It’s a wonderful resort nestled among the vineyards. They recently opened the new “Village” just across the street, which offers 9 tasting rooms all in one convenient location.  They also have a little grocery store on site which is great if you want to grab some appetizers while you enjoy a glass of wine.  It’s a great addition for anyone wanting to taste some great wines and also be able to walk home. 

We were really hoping to fit in a spa treatment, but as busy moms we forgot to book ahead and were not able to get in.  Oh well, just all the more reason to return to this beautiful area.  Fall is a fabulous time to visit, but seriously when isn’t a good time to visit Napa?!