A California Honeymoon: Napa & Sonoma (Days 4-7)
Like all vineyards in the valley Chateau St Jean features beautiful and interesting architecture.
UPDATED: 1/22/2023
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Arriving in Napa in the evening, we checked in to Candlelight Inn , a gorgeous tudor B&B nestled in a residential neighborhood. Each afternoon they had a wine tasting and fruit, and cheese reception, breakfast was delicious, and there was a pool for those feeling sloth-like after a day at wineries. We stayed in one of their standard queen rooms called “The Winemaker Room” on the ground floor. Our first evening there, we grabbed a bite to eat at a pizza place, Azzurro , which was delicious. While I am not a huge fan of pizza, I do like interesting pizzas with fresh toppings, so Azzurro was right up my alley!
After dinner, we drove the length of Napa Valley. What we didn’t realize before visiting is that Napa Valley is essentially a 28 mile long route with Napa at the southern end, Calistoga at the northern end, and two roads running parallel the length of the valley. If you catch the light at the right times, the valley comes to life in golden hues.
The next day we were ready for some wineries and opted to try ones that would offer very different experiences. We quickly learned that each winery has its own style and approach to appeal to visitors and even touring them without tasting would be a worthwhile experience. Our first stop was Clos Pegase, which had a Grecian style and caves for wine storage that we were able to tour. The winery has beautiful grounds and gardens. Afterwards, we drove to Calistoga, which is the adorable little town at the valley’s northern reach, and had lunch at Calistoga Inn. After getting some food in us so the wine had some company, we headed to Sterling Vineyards, which was a totally different experience. To access it, you take a gondola lift up from the parking lot, a unique feature in Napa, offering gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside. After a self-guided tour through the vineyard, we spent time on a patio overlooking the valley below, sipping wine. Does it get any better than that?
Perched atop a hill, Sterling Vineyard has a beautiful view of the valley
Having imbibed enough for the day - the amount of alcohol consumed during tastings adds up! - we decided to enjoy the outdoors with a hike at the Bothe-Napa State Park.
We hiked the 3.3 mile out-and-back Redwood Trail. Fun fact: this park is home to the most inland coastal redwood trees. We found the trail to be sparsely populated since of course the wineries are the prime attraction for the area. After an exhausting day, we decided to return to our B&B and eat our leftover pizza poolside.
Given that Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley are only about 20 miles away from each other, we decided to head to Sonoma the next day. We drove by Dustin’s old house that he lived in when he was really little. Given that it was destroyed in the Napa fire of 2017, which also did some serious damage to some wineries, I’m glad we stopped by.
Shadows of leaves dance with the wind along the Redwood Trail path.
Lindsey loves old barns. The golden grass contrasts nicely with the dark wood of this barn and the vibrant greens of the trees..
Filled with dappled sunlight and the scent of pine, a hike down the Redwood Trail was quite enjoyable.
Downtown Sonoma is adorable - a combination of unique stores and historic buildings, small enough to be easily walkable. A map of the town center is available here. Two of our favorite stops were The Sonoma Barracks, which housed Mexican and United States troops over the years of territorial battles in the 1830s-1840s, and Mission San Francisco Solano , both right in the town center. One of several missions we visited on this trip, you may be interested in learning more about California’s string of Spanish missions. If so, check out our blog on this topic here.
Built in the early 1823, Mission San Francisco Solano is the northernmost of Californian’s Franciscan mission and served the community until 1881.
One of the first inns in California, the Blue Wing Inn was built in 1840.
In the afternoon, we visited a Sonoma Valley winery - Chateau St. Jean - with picturesque gardens and a beautiful tasting site. While you may be tempted to assume Jean is pronounced the French way, it is actually pronounced like the English name (also like blue jeans) since it was named after a relative of its founders. The winery has an epic architectural feature that looks like it comes straight out of a fairy tale (see the picture at the top of this blog) - not exactly a turret, but I’m not sure how else to describe it so I will let the picture speak for itself! After we returned to Napa, we went downtown along Napa River for a nice dinner at Celadon to celebrate our one week anniversary.
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