Planning Ahead in Napa and Sonoma
Over the years of touring with clients we’ve noticed that the more times people visit here, the more they plan in advance, and in detail. This is due two reasons, first, there is the joy of anticipation that planning to visit a beloved location feeds. Second, they recognize how complex this area is, how diverse and delightful. Even though we jokingly call it Disney Land for adults, it is so much more.
Part of the secret is that Wine Country exists on three levels. At its base this is farm country, abundantly fertile, with mild weather that promotes all kinds of natural prosperity. It is rolling hillsides crossed by tractors and trellises, tanned vineyard workers and pickup trucks. On top of that is the winery business, stainless steel tanks and imported oak barrels, pumps and hoses, pale people who hunch over barrels of must in caves. On top of that is the hospitality industry, a collection of incredible restaurants, hotels and spas, tour guides and caterers with remarkable wine lists, accustomed to taking care of people who have been drinking a little too much.
This combination makes it more than just a tourist area, this is a place where people are fed, physically and emotionally. I often joke that the only three topics of discussion are food, wine and the weather. I’m actually not kidding about that. In a world that is so consumed with politics and business, smart phones and stock markets, visiting a place like this restores the soul.
People plan ahead so they don’t end up with the default, wine country vacation program. A very large percentage of visitors go to a very small percentage of the wineries. In Napa about 20 wineries get the lion’s share of the walk in business. That’s because they are large, located on Highway 29, the main road, making them easy to pull into when you arrive, and they advertise everywhere. However 60% of visitors return to wine country, and the next time they want something more.
In our Amicis Winery Guide book and our Wine Tour Apps we list a not very comprehensive 250 wineries in Napa and 200 plus in Sonoma. We know about lots more, but many require the secret hand shake to get in the door, so we don’t include them. Still that makes 230 other wineries in Napa alone that do a great job, yet most visitors never see. There are so many wineries that are hidden gems, and when we go there with clients, more than half of their guests were driven there by guides like us.
That’s the real wine country, where the smell of fermentation is in the air, and the clothes of the person pouring for you might be speckled with purple juice. I’m writing this at the Vine Cliff winery just off the Silverado trail. I’m sitting at a small table under a grand olive tree, heavy with fruit. I’m watching the hummingbirds play among the purple flowers along the stone path leading down to their pond. Across the way the ivy covered winery building sits below the crush pad and tanks. Across the drive are their caves, located comfortably downhill from the tanks, so the wine hoses can run from the tanks above, to the barrels below for aging. The simple, graceful elegance of the site is all the more beautiful because it is authentic wine country.
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