Today I want to bring you my Napa day trip itinerary. Napa Valley is one of the most famous places to go wine tasting in my home state of California. The region is known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, but there’s more to it than vineyards. From acclaimed restaurants to stunning landscapes, there’s plenty to do and see on a day trip to wine country. I’ve included a map, too.
Napa Day Trip Itinerary
There’s no shortage of great places to visit in Napa County. From world-class wineries to Lake Berryessa, the area is a traveler’s paradise. But the vineyards are what draw most visitors, and I’m no exception.
I’m here now to spend a day in Napa with my other half and two of our friends. We’ve planned a fun itinerary that includes everything from wine tasting to restaurants.
If you want to follow in our footsteps without a car, you can book a Napa day tour here. It’s a fun way to see (and taste!) the highlights of the area without driving.
How to Get to Napa Valley
We start our day trip to Napa with a scenic drive north from San Francisco. We leave the city on a Sunday at 10am. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we make our way through Marin County to wine country.
The vine-draped hills in Carneros welcome us as we arrive. It’s just over 1 hour by car from San Francisco to Napa, and when we get there it’s another 20 minutes to reach to our first wine tasting.
Vice Versa Wines
We’ve pre-booked an experience at Vice Versa in St Helena. My friends are really into wine, and they found glowing reviews of it on CellarTracker. When we arrive, our host welcomes us and offers us an overview of the winery.
He tells us that Canadian Patrice Breton founded Vice Versa Wines in 2003 after working with legendary winemaker Paul Hobbs. Balance is the winery’s philosophy, and Philippe Melka, the winemaker at Vice Versa, ensures things are simple and focused.
We experience this firsthand in the tasting room, where there’s a table set with glasses and individual plates of fruit, nuts, and crackers.
Once seated, we sip a range of Cabernet Sauvignons. We take in their rich aromas and enjoy the generous pours as our host educates us on the growing conditions and vintages.
Lunch in St Helena
After purchasing a few bottles of wine, we leave Vice Versa and our Napa day trip itinerary continues with a short drive to our lunch stop. We’re eating at the famous Gott’s Roadside in St Helena.
It’s an outpost of a beloved local chain that’s known for its retro diner ambiance and good burgers. It’s also held in high regard for its California-inspired dishes that feature local produce.
As we look at the extensive menu, we see everything from citrus and avocado chop salads to chili cheese dogs. Oh, and hand-spun milkshakes with organic ice cream. Yum.
We queue up and order at the outdoor window before snagging one of the last available picnic tables in the huge grass area around the restaurant. A feast of ahi burgers, onion rings, and other classics soon materializes, and we enjoy all of it.
Quintessa
After lunch our Napa day trip itinerary continues with a 10-minute drive to Quintessa. This famous winery on Silverado Trail is situated at the foot of the Vaca Mountains on the eastern edge of Rutherford.
We’ve pre-booked the Quintessential Experience as a special treat. It features a tasting in a private open-air pavilion surrounded by vineyards.
When we arrive, our host greets us and whisks us off through the sun-dappled vineyards on a golf cart. We take in views across Dragon’s Lake and over the rolling hills as we head up to our pavilion.
Soon we find ourselves in a glass-walled room among the oak trees. There are beautiful vistas over the vines and the Rutherford Bench district.
Seated at a big table in the middle, our host tells us the story of the winery. As he does, we sample two Illumination Sauvignon Blancs, two vintages of Quintessa, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon blend, and two barrel samples of future red vintages.
He also educates us on Quintessa’s holistic philosophy and unique terroir. In doing so, he weaves in stories of Rebekah Wineburg, the winemaker, and her methodical approach to harvesting and fermenting the grapes.
Dinner in St Helena
After leaving Quintessa, our day trip to Napa continues with a 10-minute drive to The Charter Oak restaurant. An institution in St Helena, it’s famous for its wood-fired grill.
We’ve booked a table on the welcoming outdoor terrace, and we start with cocktails. The drinks are refreshing on a warm evening, not to mention a nice change from the wine we’ve been sipping.
For dinner we tuck into sourdough bread with house-cultured butter, wings, koji eggplant, pork chops, and other grilled deliciousness. The food is every bit as good as we’d hoped, and we love dining under the tree canopy.
We round out the meal with burnt vanilla soft serve. How could we not? It’s been listed as one of the 10 best cold desserts in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s the perfect sweet ending to our day.
Napa Day Trip
After dessert we head back to San Francisco. We take in a gorgeous sunset over the vineyards in Carneros along the way. We couldn’t ask for a better end to our day in Napa.
Napa Map
As promised, I created an interactive Google map of all the spots we visited in Napa Valley. You can see it here. I hope it helps you follow in our footsteps and have a great time in Northern California’s wine country.
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