Self-Guided Wine Tour in Napa Valley

My husband and I are NOT wine connoisseurs – we certainly like wine, but are perfectly happy with a $10 store-bought bottle (we’ve also been known to appreciate box wine…). With that being said, Napa Valley has always been on our bucket list so we decided to visit for a long weekend to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary. We skipped the guided tour and were so glad that we did – doing Napa ourselves meant that we had the freedom to hand-pick the wineries that looked most interesting to us, and could also roam, stop, and take as many pictures of sweeping vineyards as we pleased. You can follow our self-guided wine tour in Napa Valley below!

Related Post: The Perfect Wine Weekend in Stellenbosch

Before you visit Napa Valley:

The best time to visit Napa is in September, which kicks-off harvest crush. We visited during this time and found the weather to be perfect (85 degrees and sunny). A word of warning though – expect crowds!
Napa is home to 400-500 wineries, across 16 different ‘wine regions’. When in doubt, make reservations for tastings and tours.
Napa is expensive – the lodging and dining options are all exceptional, but the prices are exceptional as well.
Activities outside of wine-tasting/eating include: hot air balloon rides, spa retreats, bicycling, hiking, and horse-back riding.

TIP: If you’re flying into California from out-of-state, the 2 best airport options are Sacramento (SMF) or San Francisco International (SFO). Both are roughly a 45-60 minute drive into Napa Valley. I would recommend flying into Sacramento (that’s what we did) because there’s less risk that you’ll hit terrible bay-area traffic!

Day 1: Downtown + Yountville + Oakville

If you’re looking for a great place to stay, look no further than the Best Western Plus Elm House Inn in downtown Napa. It’s a short 10-15 minute walk from the heart of downtown, offers free parking, and was one of the best value options available in the area. The hotel didn’t feel like a typical Best Western – it felt more like a quaint bed-and-breakfast. The entire staff was friendly and welcoming, and the complimentary breakfast in the morning was delicious (get the sweet potato waffles)!

The display of Italian desserts that made me drool

Oxbow Market

Kick off the first day of your self-guided wine tour through Napa Valley by having an early lunch at Oxbow Market. Oxbow Market is a wonderfully eclectic (and some would say hipster) collection of shops and restaurants (think organic grocery items, olive oils, bitters, spices, cheese and charcuterie). Grab a few items to share (that’s always the best way to do it!) so that you can sample all the goods. Best things to eat include: 1) Venezuelan street food/tacos at C Casa, 2) Neapolitan-style pizza at Ca’Momi, 3) oysters at Hog Island Oyster Bar, and 4) cupcakes at Kara’s Cupcakes.

Pizza from Ca'Momi and Tacos from C Casa

Domaine Chandon

After lunch, drive 20-30 minutes towards the Yountville region and share a $20 classic tasting at the famous Domaine Chandon. Domaine Chandon is best known for producing sparkling wine, and was founded in 1973 by champagne makers Moet & Chandon. We were glad we went but it was by far the MOST crowded stop of the trip (it seemed to be a popular location with bachelorette parties.). If you’re not a big ‘bubbly’ drinker, or if you are more interested in a relaxing and intimate tasting experience, skip this stop.

Next, head to the classic Napa pit-stop, Oakville Grocery. Oakville Grocery is a small grocery shop located right off Route 29 and is the perfect place to pick up souvenirs and local, gourmet snacks.

Robert Mondavi Winery

Right around the corner from Oakville Grocery is the famed Robert Mondavi Winery (To Kalon Vineyard). We reserved the Signature Tour and Tasting in advance ($35/person) which included a lovely walk through the vineyard grounds, the cellars, and concluded with a tasting of 4 different wines. The winery used to be considered the jewel of Napa, but now gets a bad rep for being too mainstream and touristy (you can buy Robert Mondavi ANYWHERE, including Costco). I’ll admit, the tour felt cheesy and rehearsed, and the venue was packed with visitors, BUT, I would still recommend going. The winery is a quintessential Napa destination and a must-do. If anything, it’s a great way to learn some history about the Mondavi family and the evolution of wine production in Napa Valley.

TIP: Robert Mondavi is a major tourist destination so make sure to make reservations in advance. We booked the last tour of the day (4:00-5:15pm) which was nice because the crowds started clearing-up towards the latter half of the tour, which made for some better photo ops.

Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc

You might have heard of Thomas Keller’s restaurant called the French Laundry (3 Michelin Stars for 6 years in a row, deemed the ‘best restaurant in the world’ by Anthony Bourdain, the list of honors goes on and on). It’s always been on my bucket list to have dinner at the French Laundry and I was so excited to make reservations until I saw the actual price point and almost had a heart attack at how expensive it was!

Unfortunately, my husband and I can’t afford to drop $300/person on a single meal. So, we settled for another Thomas Keller restaurant called Ad Hoc, which offers a daily-changing, family-style set menu in a casual setting. Because it’s a set menu with few alternatives available, I would NOT recommend Ad Hoc to picky-eaters. Fortunately, my husband and I will eat anything that is put in front of us so we were excited for the surprise-and-delight aspect of the restaurant.

Our Ad Hoc menu for the day happened to include: kale caesar salad with anchovies, rib-eye steak, cheesy grits, eggplant ragout, cheese with grilled brioche and honey, and carrot cake for dessert. Surprisingly, the kale caesar salad was the highlight of our meal with the crispy, buttery croutons and tart buttermilk-based dressing (and I’m not typically a fan of caesar salad OR anchovies). We also opted-into the lobster mac-and-cheese add-on which we did not regret! Sure, it wasn’t a twelve-course French Laundry dinner….but it was a delicious and unforgettable meal nonetheless.

Day 2: St. Helena + Calistoga

V. Sattui Winery

Start day 2 by having a casual lunch on the grounds of V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. V. Sattui is also an artisan deli marketplace featuring a variety of cheeses, charcuterie, paninis, salads, and pastas that are perfect for a picnic. The grounds are beautiful and there are plenty of tables and shaded areas to enjoy your lunch. We skipped the wine tasting because we wanted to EASE into the alcohol consumption and pace ourselves through the trip.

TIP: V. Sattui Winery also hosts BBQ lunches (think wood-fired pizzas, brisket sandwiches, etc.) on weekends if you want something more substantial than cheese and salami.

Pride Mountain Vineyards

Our next stop was a tasting tour with Pride Mountain Vineyards, which is located in the outermost area of the St. Helena region (the vineyards literally sit on the border between Napa and Sonoma). It took us roughly 20 minutes to drive to Pride Mountain from the main St. Helena area….we loved the winding mountain roads and getting away from the hustle-and-bustle spots of Napa.

If you can only go to one winery while you’re in the area….PLEASE make it this one! It was the highlight of our trip. The folks at Pride Mountain were extremely welcoming, the grounds were breathtaking, we loved visiting the caves and barrel room, and learned so much about wine production. Our tour guide happened to be a sommelier and a chef, and taught us a new appreciation for drinking wine without making it feel ‘stuffy’ or ‘snobby’. The tour also ended up being the best bang-for-our-buck – the tour was roughly 1.5 hours, but the the tasting fees were $20/person (compare this to the standard $40/person fee you’ll find in most prestigious Napa wineries) and because we ended up buying a bottle of Merlot, they graciously waived the tour fees for us.

TIP: After the tour, drive past the parking lot along the middle dirt road. You’ll come across a gently sloping hill with a few scattered picnic tables, overlooking the Pride Mountain grounds. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the scenery and capture some amazing photos.

Views from the picnic area at Pride Mountain

Castello di Amorosa

Next, head to Castello di Amorosa, an Italian Tuscan-inspired medieval castle and winery that was built in the 13th-century. It was worth going to check out the views (they also have loose chickens running around everywhere, which I thought was hilarious!) but we ended up skipping the wine tour. I thought that the castle itself felt ‘out-of-place’ and sort-of gimmicky nestled in the hills of Napa….it was also full of tourists to the point that it seemed like everywhere we turned, we were bumping into people!

After taking a few photos of Castello di Amorosa (and playing with a few chickens of course), we headed to downtown Calistoga, which was only a 5-10 minute drive from the castle. Calistoga is best known for hot springs (specifically mud baths), but we ended up skipping the spa experience because we felt like the mud baths were a bit pricey. We walked around downtown and were able to spend some time exploring the cute shops in the area.

Huge Bear Wines

While in Calistoga, make sure to visit the Huge Bear Wines tasting room. Huge Bear wasn’t part of our original itinerary….the only reason we stumbled into the place was because we were intrigued by the bear pictures on the labels…we’re so glad we did! It’s a relatively new venture (est. 2006) and it’s located on the main street in downtown Calistoga in a historical bank building. We loved the intimate setting of the tasting – talking with the staff felt like we were hanging out with friends and we ended up buying a few bottles of chardonnay.

TIP: Some of our favorite memories from vacations are the ones that came from spontaneous decisions (like this Huge Bear visit). Don’t worry about following your planned itinerary to a tee. If you happen upon something that seems interesting, go for it….you never know what you’ll discover and experience!

Napa Riverfront

Head back to downtown Napa and spend some time walking along the Napa Riverfront. Several shops and restaurants (including a wonderful gelato place called Frati Cafe) line the river and it’s a wonderful place to roam. Then, end the day with an adventurous meal at Morimoto (a restaurant owned by Masaharu Morimoto, best known for being an Iron Chef in Japan). We weren’t hungry enough to do the omakase (next time?) but shared a few plates. My favorite was the white fish carpaccio (it’s flash-seared in hot chili oil!). Kevin’s favorite was the ahi tuna tacos (because you can never go wrong with tacos).

Day 3: Rutherford

Auberge du Soleil

Celebrate your last day in Napa by going to the restaurant at the luxurious resort, Auberge du Soleil, for lunch. The restaurant was the first fine-dining option in Napa and has received Michelin Stars for 10 consecutive years. Instead of booking a table in the restaurant (which can be very expensive), we waited for a balcony table in the bar area and shared a light appetizer (a delicious white peach salad!). This was perfect for us because we got a taste of the food while enjoying famous balcony views of the valley, without spending a fortune.

Stunning peach salad at Auberge du Soleil

Elizabeth Spencer Winery

Another great spot for wine-tasting is Elizabeth Spencer in Rutherford. Elizabeth Spencer is a small, family-run winery – they feature wine tastings in their private courtyard (way better than a crowded room!) and offer complimentary bread sticks. Fans of white wine will LOVE their chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. Note: This was probably our most expensive tasting ($40/person). They also didn’t waive the tasting fee when we bought a bottle of wine which we found quite surprising. It could’ve been that it was a popular weekend (Labor Day).

Frog’s Leap

Head to Frog’s Leap, your last winery destination of the trip. Frog’s Leap was the winery we were looking forward to visiting the most – we had read rave reviews about the place online and also had several friends recommend it to us. It definitely lived up to expectations – the grounds are gorgeous and there are several places to enjoy a glass of wine (pick from the backyard balcony, to rocking chairs on the lawn, to patio tables in the garden). We loved that the garden was filled with different herb, fruit, and vegetable patches (corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, squash, parsley, etc.). They only do tastings by appointment, so make sure to book early or call in advance.

TIP: Looking for a dog-friendly winery? Frog’s Leap is a great choice. There were several adorable pups roaming the gardens while we were there.

Enjoying the rocking chairs at Frog's Leap

Gott’s Roadside

It’s easy to feel palate overload when in Napa. By the end of the trip, we were tired of fine-dining options and wanted something quick and basic. Gott’s Roadside, a staple burger joint in Napa, satisfied our needs. There are 2 Gott’s locations in Napa Valley: St. Helena and downtown Napa. If you don’t want to wait in a crazy long line, go to the downtown location. Sure, it wasn’t the lightest meal….but the calories were worth it!

Thank you Gott's Roadside for the perfect end to our Napa trip