Hospitality and Healthy Pours- a Perfect 3 Day Weekend Itinerary for Visiting the Napa Valley

Two weeks ago, I visited Napa, California for the first time. Suffice it to say, I was blown away by the beauty of the rolling green vineyards, and the quaint details like unassuming blue and white street signs directing visitors to the different wineries. I was also amazed that 5 girlfriends who hadn’t seen each other in 2 years could converge in a new place, and enjoy every. Single. Minute. We laughed, we drank, we danced in Ubers, we took photos in the vines and most importantly, we had an experience that ran as smoothly as a sip of balanced Cabernet Sauvignon. I don’t often have the smoothest travel experiences, so I feel obligated to share our itinerary in case someone else is looking for a similar introductory tour to The Valley. Here’s one Seattle food blogger’s itinerary for a perfect first 3 days in Napa...

Day 1. Check in at The Silverado Resort and Spa, Tasting at Honig, Dinner at Basalt.

My first day in Napa began with an early flight out of Seattle, and touched down in San Francisco in under two hours. My friends and I converged in SF and took an uber north to The Valley. The ride was about an hour and a half from the city center with moderate traffic (midday on Friday). This was a super easy way of getting there. Even though we originally were recommended to take the ferry, my advice- stick to Uber or Lyft!

Pulling up to the Silverado Resort and Spa

We arrived around 2 pm at the Silverado Resort and Spa. I wish you could hear our “oohs” and “aahs!” as we pulled up to this resort, whose entrance is nothing short of stunning. You check in at “The Mansion,” after arriving via a grand driveway. Check-in wasn’t until 4 pm, and our room wasn’t ready, so we opted for a late lunch at “the market” they had at the resort. “The Market” is a cross between a cafe, coffee shop, gift shop, and small market to buy artisanal cheeses and charcuterie. I opted for the roast beef sandwich - delicious and filling. The perfect choice for “pre- wine tasting.”

At 3 pm our room still wasn’t ready, so we decided to take ourselves to the back patio of the Mansion and share a bottle of sparkling pink Rose. Ahhhh… our trip was officially underway! We were in the sunshine, sitting on stylish black and white striped sofas, overlooking the Silverado’s picturesque golf course. In that moment, we weren’t bothered that we hadn’t showered or changed post-travel… but we were starting to think about it. Time was running out for us to get into our room and changed before meeting our 4:30 pm tasting at Honig Winery.

At 4 pm our room still wasn’t ready, and reception was chaotic due to multiple check-ins for a wedding party. Normally this type of thing would have made me upset or caused some friction at reception, but the Silverado was more than hospitable, storing our bags for us while we jetted off to Honig, and promising some compensation for the delay. That, my friends, is hospitality at its finest. No games, no sarcasm, no brush-off. Just a willingness to make the situation better. Thank you Silverado, for helping me believe in hotel hospitality once again!

By 4:30 we were at Honig Winery - what we were calling our “first stop on our Napa Wine Train.” I’m a girl who loves an itinerary. I think of it as the menu of travel, and it gets me excited for the days ahead. Another reason for the schedule was that my research suggested we would definitely need some reservations for our 3 days in Napa - not every winery is walk-ins welcome and some experiences are only available at certain times of the day. I decided to pre-book 3 tasting experiences ahead of time (based on feedback from my friends of where they really wanted to go), and then we could play the rest by ear, leaving flexibility in our schedule. Honig was a “pre-book” and, we took advantage of their last tasting of the day. While a stream of cars flooded down-valley at 4, we were headed up valley to try Honig’s famous Sauvignon Blanc.

We arrived to a custom sign at our table, and were able to enjoy this tasting on Honig’s shaded patio. After getting a bit sunburned on the deck at the Silverado, the shade was splendid. Notable tastes from this winery included a Sauvignon Blanc that tasted like Chardonnay. I’d never had anything like it! My friends cooed about how much their enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignons as well. Overall, Honig was hospitable and comfortable, and didn’t seem to mind that we were looking a bit greasy. It was a great first stop for the group.

Beautiful and delicious Burrata at Basalt

That said, even if Honig didn’t mind our appearances, we were starting to get sick of ourselves. I personally knew I needed a shower before I could enjoy dinner. We hopped in ubers back to the Silverado, where we checked in and speed showered before zipping off to Basalt for dinner in downtown Napa. Basalt was super accommodating to us being 15 minutes late (we did call ahead to let them know) and even found us a great table on their patio overlooking the river. This was just what we were looking for in an upscale dinner. We took our time, enjoying a cheese board and their burrata for appetizers, and then once we were settled ordered dinner. I had the short rib, and it was one of those plates where not even a drop of sauce remains. The scallops were another notable dish, my friend was raving about them for days! Highly recommend stopping at Basalt for one dinner while in Napa.

After dinner, and after our long day of travel, we were all pretty tired, so we headed back to the Silverado to our 2 bedroom Oak Creek suite. We loved the room. The finishes were modern and of neutral sand colors. We had a lovely patio out back, and 2 bathrooms (necessary for 5 women) in addition to the 2 bedrooms. Adding a rollaway bed made it the perfect choice for sleeping 5. On top of that, we had a fully-functional kitchen, and I fell asleep that first night thinking we should definitely take advantage of that space and cook a few meals at a home.

Day 2. Pool Time, Grocery Shopping, Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Tastings at Pine Ridge, Cakebread, and Mumm. Dinner downtown.

Day 2 began unhurriedly. We strolled into the grill at the Silverado and indulged in their breakfast buffet and omelette station, which we were delighted to know was included in our package room. We reviewed our plan for the day, and decided to spend an hour or so at the pool, then go to the room for lunch and to get beautiful before jetting off to our first scheduled tasting.

“Does everyone like chicken salad?” I asked. Nods ensued. I decided that would be an easy, flavorful option for a homemade lunch. My long-distance friends had not tasted my food before, and I knew this would be a hit. While at the pool I wrote my grocery list (necessary for ensuring you get just what you need and nothing more for a short trip). My friend and I jetted off to a Trader Joes and Whole Foods (were right next to each other) and got 3 meals worth of food for 5 people for $134. This was a GREAT decision. It balanced out the cost of tastings and other splurges on the trip, and allowed us to have some meals together in the comfort of our suite and in our bare feet.

Snapshots from Pine Ridge Vineyards Cave Tasting

Time was running out when we returned to the suite, so we showered quickly and I made my curry chicken salad for everyone (with the help of friends cutting the rotisserie chicken and chopping the celery) in between doing my makeup and brushing my hair. We pulled up to our 1:30 cave tasting at Pine Ridge Vineyards a few minutes late and missed the welcome Chardonnay, but Terry, our guide, got us up to speed quickly. After walking a few minutes back into the climate controlled caves adorned with twinkly lights, we found ourselves in comfy chairs and couches.

I loved the wines at Pine Ridge. This is where I demonstrated to my wine novice friend what I meant when I said, “this is a smooth wine.” I also loved the structure of our cave tasting, which allowed us to exclusively taste Cabernet Sauvignons from different districts in the Napa Valley. We learned about the Howell Mountain district, and that we LOVED it! I also thought it was a nice touch that each wine we tasted had a custom coaster that gave you a bit of history on each district.

Playful pours in the vines at Cakebread.

After Pine Ridge, we jetted off to Cakebread Cellars to make our Classic Tasting (reservation and pre-pay required). Cakebread, which I had learned of before our trip as being known for Chardonnay, had the ambiance to match one of their signature restaurant wines. Golden yellow light flooded into the tasting room, where we were greeted by our host Michaela, who took us from the vineyard to the cellar to the grove out back with giggles and a smile. I loved that she was informative, but that we didn’t have to take ourselves too seriously there either. Notable tastes for me from this visit were the Reserve Chardonnay, which I thought of as the perfect introduction to oak, the Pinot Noir which had a beautiful smokiness to it (according to my palate), and the Merlot. To me, Cakebread is Classic California, and should be a stop for everyone visiting the Napa Valley for the first time. They exceeded my expectations.

We finished off Day 2 with some bubbly at Mumm Napa - which is devoted to sparkling wine. We were drawn to Mumm for the views overlooking the valley, but unfortunately, there was a fire up north that flooded the valley in smoke in about an hour. While the smoke diminished the view, it made the golden hour sunlight even more beautiful for some sparkling, twilight photography. 3 tastings were enough for us, and we wrapped up our day at Ca’ Momi, a casual Italian restaurant in Downtown Napa.

Day 3. Tastings Chappellet and Luna. Cheeseboards, Caesar salad, and Mushroom Sliders in the suite.

We left Day 3 intentionally open in our itinerary. Did we want more tastings? Did we want to spend the day at the pool? Was there something else we were interested in? These were some of the things we discussed during breakfast that morning, and it was decided that we would try to get a last minute tasting scheduled at Chappellet, which was highly recommended to us by one of our Uber drivers, and then come back to the suite for lunch before heading to Luna Vineyards, where one of my friend’s dads was a member.

Walking through the greenery to the doors of Chappellet.

Adding Chappellet to the itinerary at the last minute was one of the best decisions we made. A perfect reminder to take advantage of advice from locals! To get to Chappellet you drive North up the Valley, then vear off and climb up one of the mountains to the East that overlooks Lake Hennessey. A windy road through overhanging vines brings you to the winery, which has unusually clean, modern, and earthy architecture. Walking through green gravel trails you find the front door to the tasting, which includes a tour of the Chappellet bottling process. I had never seen a label-making machine before, so I thought this was very cool. From there we went to a back table where we toured through several red blends, as well as a Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. I love to pair food and wine, and each dish evoked a different food calling to me. It was here that I really got in the zone of the tasting, picturing every potential pairing, and noting my thoughts dutifully. I was so grateful to Chappellet for sneaking us in last minute, and I loved hearing my friends delight in their experience as we rolled down the hill back to our suite.

Now it was time for lunch! Don’t underestimate the power of a good cheese board and salad for lunch. I whipped up a batch of my Classic Caesar Salad and arranged a charcuterie board complete with goat cheese and cucumber “crackers,” along with some of my favorite cheeses from Trader Joe’s: their smoked Dutch cheese and truffled brie. My friends were obsessed. Just the refuel (plus a cup of coffee!) we needed before heading to our last stop on our Wine Train.

Our afternoon tasting at Luna Vineyards was relaxed and delightful. We tried a mix of white, rose and reds, and I think it’s safe to say that each pour was better than the next (and the first pours were pretty darn good!). I watched my friends have a hard time choosing which bottles to take home, and I had no shortage of ideas for food and wine pairings at this location either. I love that. Wine that gives your direction in the kitchen. Favorite pours from Luna include the Rose of Sangiovese, Sangiovese Classico, Super Tuscan, and Howell Mountain Cabernet.

Our day came to a close with some photos out front of the Silverado, and then we returned to our suite to make some mushroom and caramelized onion beef sliders. After a couple days of zipping around, it was so nice to finally pause, slice, dice, and cook low and slow like the onions on the stove. Even my friend, who doesn’t love mushrooms, gave some applause to the sauteed morsels.

We shut off the lights and went to sleep, relaxed and ready to depart, but I must admit, I was also ready to return. Our weekend in Napa was like a tasting at a favorite winery. So good, you know you’re going to sign up for the wine club. I now consider myself a member, and look forward to returning to the hospitality, hopefully very soon.