Napa Valley

Napa Valley is California's best-known wine region, a narrow valley of vineyards in Napa County about 50 miles (80 km) north of San Francisco. By car the trip takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic, using I-80 and Highway 29 or Highway 37. Without a car, visitors can take the San Francisco Bay Ferry from the Ferry Building to Vallejo and connect to the VINE bus to Napa, a journey of about 2.5 to 3 hours that costs around 20 dollars each way. Rental cars run about 60 to 120 dollars per day, and organized wine-country tours cost roughly 150 to 300 dollars per person, removing the need to drive after tastings.

The town of Napa, near 1100 Soscol Avenue, is the southern gateway, with the Oxbow Public Market, riverfront restaurants and tasting rooms in walking distance. Highway 29 then runs north through Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga, each with its own character. Yountville is known for fine dining, Oakville and Rutherford for Cabernet Sauvignon estates, St. Helena for its historic main street and Calistoga for hot springs and mud baths. The parallel Silverado Trail offers quieter driving and many smaller wineries. Tasting fees typically range from about 40 to 100 dollars per person, and most estates require reservations.

A workable one-day arc leaves San Francisco around 8 a.m. to reach the valley before the first appointments at 10 or 11. Visitors usually schedule two or three tastings before lunch at a restaurant or market in Yountville or St. Helena, then one or two more in the afternoon, and start back by late afternoon to miss the evening traffic on the highways. Picnic lunches from delis in the valley are a lower-cost alternative to sit-down dining.

Harvest runs from August to October, bringing the most activity and the richest atmosphere, while spring offers green hills and mustard flowers. Summer afternoons can be hot, and weekends book out far ahead.