Secrets of Wine Country: Top Picks by Town
Our Insider's Guide to Sonoma County and Napa Valley Travel
June, 2008 - Jack

WORK IN PROGRESS - On this page, we pick our favorites and/or choices we would investigate first. The towns are also listed in our order of importance. We would spend Wed/Thur/Fri between Calistoga and Yountville (i.e., not the City of Napa). We would spend Sat/Sun/Mon in Healdsburg.

Napa Valley

Yountville

Must Dining:
The French Laundry (long meal)

Dining:
Bistro Jeanty
Redd
Bouchon (esp. for seafood)

Lodging:
Vintage Inn
Yountville Inn
Napa Valley Lodge

Saint Helena

Dining:
Meadowood
Press
Martini House (esp. cocktails)
Go Fish
Market
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen

Inexpensive:
Taylor's Refresher
Silverado Brewing Company

Lodging:
Meadowood
Harvest Inn

Wine Stores:
Dean & DeLuca
St. Helena Wine Merchants

Napa

Dining:
Ubuntu
Angèle
Pilar

Inexpensive:
BarBersQ

Wine Bar:
Whole Foods

Rutherford

Dining:
La Toque Restaurant
Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil
Rutherford Grill

Calistoga

Dining:
Wappo Bar
Solbar

Lodging:
Calistoga Ranch
Solage

Carneros

Mendocino

Sonoma County

Healdsburg

Must Dining:
Cyrus (long meal)
Farmhouse Inn

Dining:
Madrona Manor

Inexpensive:
BarnDiva (great bar)
Bistro Ralph

Lodging:
Le Mars Hotel
Healdsburg Hotel
Madrona Manor
Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza

Sonoma

Dining:
The General's Daughter
La Salette

Santa Rosa

Inexpensive:
Rosso Pizzeria (best pizza!)
Sea Thai

Wine Stores:
Bottle Barn (top pick!)

Rohnert Park

Dining:
Hana

Windsor

Petaluma

Kenwood

Geyserville

Dining:
Santi

Sonoma - West County