Tasting Napa & Sonoma

Hi, we're Erin and Mary. As friends and coworkers at Costco Travel for 17 years, we’ve taken more than a few trips together. One journey we’ve always wanted to take was to Northern California's wine country, so we planned a trip to Napa and Sonoma for late summer 2020. Well, we all know how that went… but as the year drug on we decided to just give it a go anyway. Last October, we set off from Seattle with a flight on Alaska Airlines, picked up a rental car from Enterprise, and hit the road. About an hour and 15 minutes later we were in the heart of the Napa Valley. Here’s a bit about our trip.

Take a picture of the "Welcome to Napa" sign, it's (almost) mandatory. There are actually two signs along Route 29, one in Oakville and another in Calistoga.

Napa Valley
Napa is home to over 500 wineries, so we were really going to have to pace ourselves! All wineries require reservations in advance which means visiting two or three wineries per day, which was more realistic. When booking our visits, we also pre-picked our tasting experiences by selecting from a list of flights (a selection of wines). You can choose a different flight from your traveling companion to broaden the experience or pick the same one and compare notes. Most wineries had our tasting set up and waiting for us on arrival which was great and made for beautiful table displays.

Sinegal Estate Winery in St. Helena produces four wines and is certified organic.

In two days, we visited five wineries in the Napa Valley including Sinegal Estates, owned by David Sinegal and Jim Sinegal, co-founder and former CEO of Costco Wholesale Corporation. This beautifully-restored estate farms on just over 9-acres of land and within a sip or two of their wines it is easy to conclude that bigger is not always better. The setting for this winery is exceptionally beautiful and idyllic. We were given a brief tour of the organic farm just near the tasting room as well as a walk up to a private, two-acre lake that is just behind the estate.

When we arrived at St. Supéry, our table was so beautiful!

Our other visits included Miner Family Winery – at this point in the story we’d like to give a shout-out to Pablo, (aka The Wine Maverick) "Hey Pablo!". Miner offers something for everyone. This innovative winery feature wine styles from Bordeaux to Rhône, Burgundy and more.

St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery, which gave us the most beautifully presented tasting in their villa-style courtyard, is situated at the end of a tree-lined drive in Rutherford. Here, all wines are produced from 100% estate-grown fruit and are Napa Green, which is an environmental certification.

Pine Ridge Vineyards on Silverado Trail is known for elegant Cabernet Sauvignon wines and we found some of the friendliest staff in the valley here.

Stop at Gott's for a burger, a salad or an ice cream cone.

In between wine tastings, you'll not want for anything in the valley. Dining ranges from taco trucks to Michelin-rated restaurants. For something in between (and definitely casual), we loved Gott’s. This roadside drive-in serves burgers, salads, deep-fried brussels sprouts, ice cream cones, and more… including draft beer. Yes, they have beer in Napa, too. Sip a Pliny the Elder and chill in the spacious backyard at a giant red picnic table.

Oakville Grocery in St. Helena is the spot to get picnic-ready. Pack up some gourmet cheese and foods to pair with a nice bottle of wine and you’ll be all set. This is also a great place to get your day started with a caffeinated beverage and slice of quiche, or come by at lunch time for a wood-fired pizza.

Pine Ridge Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. In addition to the amazing wines, the staff here were so welcoming.

If you’re wondering about safety, masks are required everywhere but once seated at a table, for either food or wine service, you take off your mask. Servers are always masked and following the sanitation guidelines. We also found the other guests very cooperative and following the rules to keep everyone as safe as possible.

View of Dry Creek area from Cast Wines.

On to Sonoma County
Our next adventures awaited us in Sonoma County. Getting there was certainly enjoyable as we drove up north on Highways 29 and 128 through Napa Valley, passing through Oakville (of course we stopped at the famous Oakville Grocery to get a coffee and breakfast bite), Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga. As we rounded the top of the Mayacamas Mountains, we couldn’t help but notice how the lushness and closer feel of Napa changed to a more broad and open landscape.

Vineyards and farmland surrounded us while making our way to an area we both fell in love with, Dry Creek Valley. This little slice of Heaven has a 140-year grape-growing history. Family-owned wineries, robust Zinfandels and beautiful scenery is what you will find here.
This was one of our favorite stops, Cast Wines. We had the best time here. The views from their grounds are fantastic and the staff friendly and welcoming. Our hostess took time to chat with us and tell us more about the area and history of the area and winery. She even let Erin saber her first bottle of sparkling wine! Turkey vultures soared the wind above us as we stared out to the valley from the winery’s terrace.

Our food and wine paring at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley (Sonoma County).

Another memorable stop was the famous Jordan Winery. Not only does this winery have beautiful grounds, it has one of the best wine tasting experiences around. We arrived at our appointed time and checked in. We were soon met by our host and escorted to an outdoor terrace. Each group/couple that came had their own little table with a beautiful setting under tall trees that provided some cool shade. Our host was incredibly knowledgeable about the wines and history of Jordan. Each wine had a suggested food pairing. We both agreed the Vichyssoise (a thick soup made of boiled and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream and chicken stock), was our favorite. This paired best with the Chardonnay. Did you know that Jordan Winery only makes two types of wines? Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are their specialties and they do them well.

The courtyard at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. A classic hotel in the heart of Sonoma.

Our hotel of choice was nothing but the best, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, also available through Costco Travel. The service at this hotel was probably the highlight of our stay here. Each person we came across working at this beautiful resort was helpful and friendly. The bellman said he had worked for the resort for 20+ years. He knew everything about the resort and rooms, and things to do in the area. He delivered our luggage (and growing cases of wine) to our Deluxe Fireplace Room so quickly.

Wine tastings at the hotel featured a different local wine every day which was a pleasant surprise. Our stay at this resort was memorable, we know we will be staying here again.

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa can be booked via the "Hotels" tab above until the end of January, when it will join our Vacation Package collection.

A foggy day at Bodega Head, but none the less beautiful.

The Side Trip
In the middle of our trip we took a detour and headed out to the ocean. Mary's a film nut and needed to check Bodega Bay off her bucket list (the primary filming location for Hitchcock's The Birds). This 55-mile stretch of Sonoma County's Pacific Coastline is less than two hours from Napa. If you go, be sure to try the chowder from both Spud Point Crab Co. and Fisherman's Cove restaurants, and let us know who's chowder is actually "world famous". To stretch your legs and burn a few calories, take a hike through the dunes at Bodega Head, the views are spectacular.
We had the luxury of a whole week for this trip but even just a couple of days in wine country can be a restorative getaway. It doesn't matter if you know a lot about wine or are a novice sipper, just drink what you like and don't worry about being an expert at any of it. Wine is after all meant to be shared and enjoyed. Cheers!
Our Tips:

Cast Wines in Geyserville was memorable in both taste and view.

About the Authors: The above piece was experienced and written by Mary Tillman, Assistant Merchandising/Ecommerce Manager, and Erin Huffman, Caribbean Buyer.