Visiting San Francisco and Napa August, any tips?

[strath44]

Hi Folks, we are visiting San Francisco in August on our honeymoon and would like to take in Napa valley and any other relatively close by areas.
We will have approx ten days and a car.
Looking for some good places to stay and any local or insider knowledge, also interested in which wineries to head for?
Any suggestions appreciated!

[gprsh924]

I've been to SF four times in the last 18 months but it's always about partying with friends. I can say that Don Pistos in North Beach as great Mexican street food. It's a staple for us.

If you really want to take in Napa, you should plan on a hotel for a night or two up there. You'll probably want to spend at least 1.5-2 hrs at each winery.

Enjoy, San Francisco is an incredible city.

[Rick Lee]

Don't go on a weekend. I was there on my honeymoon too and I think it was unbearably crowded even on a Thurs. There were waits to get into parking lots. My favorite wineries are the ones that are not national brands, whose wine you can only buy at the winery - V. Sattui, Viansa, Hanna, etc. Unfortunately, you can't carry cases of wine onto airplanes anymore, so you have to pay more for a break-proof package and then the checked luggage fee. Be sure to check out Calistoga and St. Helena. I've been to Napa about 5-6x and have really had enough of it. It sure is pretty, but it used to be a well-kept secret. Now it's trendy and the crowds have found out about it.

[gprsh924]

Rick, most of the wineries will ship right to your house. It wasnt too much more expensive.

I was in napa and SF last weekend, we did a day trip to Napa on a 26 person bus, it was a blast.

Sorry I can't help more on the wineries, although I can say downtown Sonoma is a really cool area.

[70SATMan]

Take the Wine Train!

[KevinTodd]

I suggest any of the Kimpton properties in and around SF for your stay while there. They are a great group, the rooms are usually awesome, and the boutique nature of each dictates that none are cookie-cutter. The Prescott on Union Square is older but still very cool. The Palomar is ultra modern and really nice....and the Argonaut near Fisherman's Wharf is cool, quirky and comfortable.

As far as wineries go you can easily hit Napa and Sonoma if you have ten days, just don't push it. Try to visit 3 or maybe 4 a day and that's it. Along the 101 if you go out that way I recommend anything near Dry Creek, Healdsburg and the Russian River Valley....a few are Lambert Bridge, Rafanelli, Benziger (Certified Biodynamic), Cline, Jordan and Fisher.

If you hit hiway 29 into Napa there are so many as well, but a few that stand out are

Stag's Leap Winery, Grgich Hills, Hall, Lewis Cellars, Cakebread, Caymus, Frog's Leap and Honig.

Restaurants to hit in Napa---specifically in Yountville: Bottega, Redd, Bouchon, Ad Hoc and Etoile.

If you can stop by Taylor's Refresher (Now called Gott's Roadside Tray Gourmet) in St Helena for a truly California experience in old-school drive-in dining. A real treat.

Have fun and cheers!

[onlycafe]

eat an it's it.

[Jim Bremner]

Corvette Featured Marque at 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

[bmcuscgr94]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

Take the Wine Train!

If you want to go 1st class do the vista dome dining car. Hwy 29 lots of smaller wineries. Did a hot air balloon last time we went, loved it.

[ckissick]

Check out North Bay Brewery Tours, founded by me nephew, Robert Watkins. For a Porsche connection, his father was until last year chief mechanic for Flying Lizard. The wine tours are great, but don't miss the breweries.

[Joe Bob]

Coldest time of the year....

[Aggie93]

Someone I work with goes yearly and I asked her for suggestions for a tip my parents took two years ago. This is what she gave me.

Napa Valley 2011
Getting Around
September is a great time of year to visit Napa. Crush can make traffic a little heavier on Highway 29 – the main drag through the Valley. The Silverado Trail parallels 29 and there are numerous cross roads that will take you back to 29. I have found this road to be a great alternative. I would recommend this map:

Napa and Sonoma Wine Country Map and Guide (California Wine Region Maps): Global Graphics: 0085464112025: Amazon.com: Books


Favorite Restaurants
Rutherford Grill – great for lunch - Yountville/Rutherford area
Mustard’s - Yountville/Rutherford area
Cindy’s Backstreet Grill – great for lunch and dinner – St. Helena
Tra Vigne – great for dinner – St. Helena – they also have a pizza shop in the same complex – very good for lunch outdoors.
Cook – small Italian restaurant in St. Helena
**Would recommend making dinner reservations in advance – we used Open Table last year a couple of weeks before our visit.


Wineries
St. Supery – recommend the second floor tasting room – try to have your tasting with Joe Meck – great guy – will be a lot of fun.
Mumm Napa – beautiful patio with a great view – perfect spot to sip champagne, err, I mean Sparkling Wine – champagne only comes from France 
Schramsberg – speaking of bubbly – I have never visited this historic property, but I have friends who have done the tour and tasting and really enjoyed it. They require an appointment
Beringer – another historic property – would recommend tasting in the Rhine House only – would also recommend the reserve tasting.
Frank Family - very good wines – can be a very lively place – we have had some fun tastings there
Pride Mountain – This is a great place for a tour. It is located on Spring Mountain – and the drive can be a little adventurous – but worth it. Tours and tastings are by appointment.
Conn Creek - We visited this winery for the first time last year – they have some very good red wines.
Robert Sinsky – this winery was also new for us last year. The tasting room is very nice and this is the only place that I have ever visited that offered fresh baked appetizers to enjoy with the wine.

General
Tasting Coupons – check winery websites for deals and also the place where you are staying may have coupons as well.
If you plan to visit several wineries in a day have a supply of bottled water and crackers in your car. We typically start at the furthest from our hotel and work our way back.
St. Helena is at the northern end of the valley – very nice area with shopping and restaurants – worth a visit.

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

Take the Wine Train!

Oh god no. Mucho Touristico.

As Tommy Smothers said, "Napa is for auto parts, Sonoma is for wine." But as a Sonoma Coast vintner, I'm biased.

[vash]

scratch NAPA altogether.

visit sonoma. alot more fun for me, and i still find small establishments that really make you feel special..

i had one place pull out an unmarked bottle..and open it. we got the tour..and i thought we were gonna get a dinner invite for sure. my siblings bought so much from them..we spend so much time there. i was the bummed DD.

[trekkor]

We drove up to the Marin Headlands today.

Nice view. Lots of history.





Artessa winery in Napa is nice.


KT

[tevake]

Agree with Trekkor. A good day trip can be had just over the G G bridge! Marin offers great small towns, nice coast line drives, visits to Redwood forests. Refreshing break from the city.
You might want to drive down to Monterey, beautiful area and some Porsche interest in the area. Great dealer (can't remember his name right now). Surely someone will chime in with details. Has quite the showroom with lots of competition cars and rare Porsches. Monterey Aquarium is worth a visit too.

Also check out the bay front to see if the Americas cup boats are out sailing.

Have fun and congratulations,
Richard

[strath44]

thanks so much, thats a lot to go on!

will need to write all this down and filter it into a route!

[Don Plumley]

With my caveat about Sonoma v Napa; we have lots of friends that visit and am routinely asked for information. Aggie93 did a nice job above, there will be some repeat. Here's a summary of SF and Wine Country:


SF:
Here's some ideas for a couple of days in San Francisco. The key is to avoid the super touristy stuff while still taking in the quintessential San Francisco. First, don't call it "Frisco" or "San Fran." Only tourists do that. SF or San Francisco.

California Academy of Sciences - very worthwhile, plus it's in Golden Gate Park which is beautiful.

Golden Gate bridge. Everyone and their uncle wants to see if and walk across from the visitor center on the Northeast side. Big lines to park, etc. Two ways to see it - drive to the Marin headlands exit (photos above);(one more north, or approach from the north side headed south), and drive west to the Marin Headlands - beautiful view. You can also see it from the SF side down at Crissy Field. Consider taking a city bus to the Golden Gate stop on the South side and walk across.

Fun idea: Rent bikes in SF, go across the Golden Gate, down to Sausalito, take the ferry back (puts you in the Ferry Building).

See a show: Beach Blanket Babylon. Changes constantly for current events, even our son thought it was fun.

Twin Peaks: On a clear day, nice view of SF

Alcatraz: On a nice day, it's pretty interesting, on a cold day it is beyond misery. Given your limited time, maybe next trip.

Cable Cars - pricy but a very unique thing to do. The trick is not to board at the main stops (Union Square, 1st/Market, Fisherman's Wharf); Top of Lombard Street is where lots of people get off, good spot to get on.

Union Square - visit in the evening, will be very pretty; plus nice shopping if you need that too.

Pier 39 - really touristy. I'd avoid. I'm not too keen on the Fisherman's Wharf area either, other than for crab from the stalls. Avoid most of the restaurants around there.

Coit Tower - probably not worth the walk/wait

SF Food:

Ferry Building (Market @ Embarcadero). Food Mecca. Sweets (gelato, artisan chocolates), Cheese (Cowgirl creamery), Bread (Acme Bread), Meats (Prather Ranch "Praise the Lard"; Bocallone "Tasty Salted Pig Parts"), Seafood (Hog Island Oyster Company); plus great Vietnamese food (Slanted door - probably too busy to get in, but great take out adjacent "Out the Door"). Get your burger at Prather Ranch instead of Gotts roadside

Cotagna - Amazing wood fired foods. Good lunch, Pacific Ave near downtown

Perbacco - Northern Italian food. Might be a nice last dinner, or a nice lunch.

Other restaurants worth a visit: A16 (Marina District); Farallon (union square, seafood); Zuni Cafe (Mission, amazing roast chicken); Anchor and Hope; Salt House; Town Hall; Range; Rich Table; Spruce; Quince; La Folie; State Bird Provisions


Wine Country:


First, there are the two big regions: Napa and Sonoma. They are roughly similar to Bordeaux and Burgundy in France as far as general philosophy, vibe, etc. To be fair, I live in Sonoma County, I'm a burgundy guy, I make Pinot Noir, so I'm not the best qualified person to give substantive Napa advice. But I'll do my best. However, I do have the food thing nailed, so no problem there. And there's lots of good food in Napa...

Oh - we talk about Napa and Sonoma interchangeably when they both refer to a City and to the larger County. So caveat emptor

Most wineries have tasting rooms (though you should always double check on the website), but only some have tours, and of those, some of the more fancy pants one require an appointment. Later on I can get into "how to get the most from your tasting room experience." (short answer: pay for the reserve room)

From my perspective, there's definitely a limit of how many tours you can go on, because frankly, once you've seen one winery, they are all highly similar - some are prettier, some are more detailed, etc. But definitely do a few.

I think four wineries a day is a reasonable goal depending upon how far apart they are - most tasting rooms are open only from 10 to 5, so you have to plan the logistics/distance well. After all, it's a vacation so your goal is to relax! Some wineries have picnic grounds - consider getting a lunch from one of the many gourmet grocery stores and having lunch at a winery.

Napa (city) is about 30 mins from Sonoma (city) and 1 hour from Santa Rosa. If you drove way out into the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, you are about 1.5 or so hours from Napa. But it's worth the drive, as are the passes between the north parts of the valleys. Many good driving roads (but be careful with the drinking).

Here are a few ideas:

Napa:
Domaine Carneros - close to Napa, nice way to start your first day with a Sparkling toast - nice views (or they stay open late too)
Robert Mondavi - while the wines today are pedestrian, they have a great tour and anyone in the wine biz owes thanks to Bob Mondavi; but they are a tourist mecca, so be forewarned
Grgich Hills / Heitz / Peju
Robert Sinskey
Chateau Montelena - Famous place (the 1973 tasting)
ZD - Tour/Tasting (might need reservation)
Clos du Val - apparently they have a nice tour and picnic grounds
Rubicon Estate
Hall - I don't think their new Frank Gehry designed winery is open yet however.
Frank Family Vineyards
[Sterling: now way overpriced, don't fall for it]



Sonoma:
Lynmar Estate - Our favorite spot to visit; well crafted wines, setting; has it all
Chalk Hill - Amazing Place (not a fan of Lancaster Estate nearby, however)
Gary Farrell - The prettiest setting for a tasting room in the world - heart of the Russian River Valley
Gundlach Bundschu - Eclectic, cave tour, more bohemian and casual than Napa (true of much of Sonoma)
Marimar Estate - Nice
Copain
Chateau St. Jean - go the reserve room (used to recommend Arrowood nearby, but last experience was sub-par)
Benziger (not beringer) Family winery - great biodynamic program
BR Cohn - the former manager of the Doobie Brothers, they have a great concert every year
Rochioli
Silver Oak - well known Cab
Valley of the Moon
J Vineyards & Winery - the bubble room...

Places to Eat:
Napa:
Bouchon - my favorite. In Yountville, French Bistro (owned by Thomas Keller). If you like bistro food, please go here.
Redd - Also in Yountville (their casual place, Reddwood is great for wood fired pizza)
Bottega - Napa
La Toque - in the West in Napa, close to you.
Ubuntu - Napa
Morimoto - Napa (very special)
Gott's Roadside (formerly Taylor's Automatic Refresher) - in Healdsburg and Calistoga, sometimes you need a burger and fries

Sonoma:
Dry Creek Kitchen - Healdsburg, part of the Charlie Palmer Group
Bistro Ralph - Healdsburg
K&L Bistro - Sebastopol
Central Market - Petaluma (where we live). Tell Tony you know Don.
El Dorado Kitchen - Sonoma (the city)
The Girl and the Fig - Sonoma
Cafe La Haye - Sonoma
[Don't fall for the General's Daughter]


Happy to provide any suggestions, trade-off choices, etc.

[strath44]

thanks, greatly appreciate you taking the time to write all those comments.

once we have some other dates confirmed I will update.

We also hope to take in Carmel / Monterey, my fiance is very keen on beaches are there any good ones in that area? We though of maybe staying somewhere waterside for a few nights.

Finally is Yosemite driveable, I've heard accomodation is a bit overpriced and not that great?

[Mahler9th]

You are coming to one of the top tourist destinations in the world at a peak time... right around when kids here go back to school and Europeans come over for holiday. Still lots of opportunities.

As for wine country, one of my longtime friends/fellow Porsche club members just started a private livery service up in the Napa area. He lives there and has thorough familiarity with the area. I believe he can provide wine touring experiences that are outstanding and off the beaten path. He is also a 944 family car lover, having a factory 944 turbo race car (ex-Rothman's) and an S2 cabriolet that is fully converted to 944 Turbo S specifications.

As for Carmel/Monterey areas, lots of opportunities. But again, lots of tourists. So depending on what you want to do and see, we can perhaps connect you with some Porsche loving insiders down there. Certainly a trip to Laguna can be a highlight... just depends on the experiences you want to have, and the available time and budget. feel free to ping me via pm.

- Mike