Today I want to share my itinerary for a day trip to Napa Valley in the winter. The cooler months are great for visiting Northern California’s wine country, not least because there are fewer crowds in the tasting rooms, the summer heat is gone, and festive decorations are up in the local towns and wineries. I’m here now and I can’t wait to show you the highlights. I’ve included a map, too.
Napa Valley Winter Travel
Napa Valley is one of the most popular places to go wine tasting in California. People from all over the world flock to its vineyards in the spring, summer, and fall, hopping from winery to winery, tasting room to cellar door.
But a lot of people wonder if it’s worth visiting Napa Valley in the winter. The grape harvest has long since taken place, the vines are brown and bare, and the famous Chardonnays and Cabernets are maturing in their barrels. Is there anything going on?
There is. Locals know that winter is one of the best times to visit Napa. It’s easier to get reservations at popular tasting rooms and restaurants, the winter light is beautiful, and everything feels a bit more relaxed.
If you’re in the area during the holidays, there are a lot of seasonal highlights, too. From Christmas lights and trees to special events and decorations, it’s a fun time to visit.
Accommodation can be more reasonably priced in winter, too. Napa is infamous for expensive hotels, but the cooler months bring a drop in prices as much as they do in temperatures. If you want to turn your day trip into an overnight stay, this is the time to do it.
I spent a beautiful winter weekend at Indian Springs in Calistoga once, and I loved it. If you want to follow in my footsteps, you can book a room here. If you want more ideas, you can take a look at range of places to stay in Napa Valley here.
Winter Day Trip to Napa Valley
If you’re just looking to take a day trip to Napa Valley in the winter, there are a lot of places you can visit. On my itinerary I’m visiting two wineries and having dinner at a restaurant run by one of the most famous chefs in the world.
Hess Persson Estates
After an easy 1-hour drive from San Francisco, the first stop on my Napa day trip itinerary is a winery called Hess Persson. This place makes The Hess Collection and Lions Head Collection wines. From tastings to vineyard tours and food pairings, it offers a range of experiences guests can enjoy.
The tasting room is located deep in the oak-studded slopes of Mount Veeder, and it has plenty of space for my friend and me on a winter’s day. We’ve pre-booked our tasting, and we sample everything from Chardonnay to the famous Cabernet Sauvignons along with a cheese plate.
Our host has plenty of time to talk us through each wine, something that might have been difficult in the busy summer season.
We’ve also booked a guided tour of the property as part of our experience. During the tour we learn that the winery was established in the Prohibition era by a man who thought he could escape the law if he hid his business away on a mountainside. He was mistaken.
When he was caught, the local Christian Brothers were allowed to buy the winery and continue production under the guise of making sacramental wine for the church. Years later, Swiss art collector Donald Hess took over, and today the winery is not only home to famous Napa Valley wines, but also his impressive collection of art.
We visit the contemporary Hess Collection Art Museum, where we see the works of famous artists from around the world (including Andy Goldsworthy, one of my favorites). It’s a unique experience, and a fun way to round out our tasting.
Chandon
Leaving the Hess Persson estate, we continue our winter day trip to Napa Valley with a stop at Chandon in Yountville. This place is best known for its sparkling wines and beautiful outdoor seating areas.
Chandon has more flexibility for walk-ins than most wineries in the area, especially in winter. It also has special themed experiences guests can book for festive seasonal fun.
We arrive in the late afternoon and check in with the host for our pre-booked tasting. In summer it’s a miracle to get an outdoor table, but on this pretty winter day we sit right down in the afternoon sun and imbibe our bubbles among the oaks. We take a stroll in the garden, too.
Dinner in Yountville
As if our day of wine tasting in Napa hasn’t already gone perfectly, we happen upon yet another benefit of visiting Napa Valley in the winter: getting a table at acclaimed chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Yountville without a reservation.
Admittedly, it’s not the same thing as getting a table at his other restaurant in town (The French Laundry has three Michelin stars, after all). But it’s still something we couldn’t have done in summer.
Dinner is a feast of onion soup, classic French salads, steamed mussels with truffle fries, Idaho trout, and decadent desserts. We wash it all down with an elegant Freeman Pinot Noir that compliments the excellent food.
Napa Valley in the Winter
Dinner at Bouchon Bistro is a great way to finish our day trip to Napa Valley in the winter. As we drive back to San Francisco on traffic-free roads and wide-open highways (another thing that wouldn’t have happened in summer), we vow to make our winter visits to California’s wine country a regular occurrence.
We just hope nobody else gets the same idea. Let’s keep it a secret, okay?
Napa Day Trip Itinerary Map
As promised, I’ve created an interactive Google map of all the places I’ve written about on my itinerary for Napa. You can find it here. You can use the map to plan the perfect wine country excursion of your own. Happy travels!
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