Route 29 connects Napa County’s five incorporated regions: Calistoga, Yountville, American Canyon, the town of Napa and St. Helena. It is also the path to many unexpected delights because there’s much more to this strip than just wine tastings. Step outside the ordinary with these alternative Napa adventures and find out what local somm James Darden suggests for your bucket list.
Stop by: The Spa at Napa River Inn in Napa
Bring: Your Pet Yorkie
Dog spas and pet aromatherapy we’ve heard of. Animal communicators, not so much. At the Spa at Napa River Inn, staff Animal Intuitive Barbara Martin leads 45-minute therapy sessions with owners and dogs so Guapo can explain why The Bletchley Circle is a better DVR option than any episode of the Real Housewives franchise. After spa-ing together—the Aloha Flow treatment for you, the Pampered Paws massage for him—all will be right.
Bonding can continue at Sweetie Pies, just across the parking lot, where morning buns have been a local fave for over two decades. Truthfully, the morning bun—croissant dough rolled into a spiral and dusted with cinnamon sugar—is what a cronut might be if it were baked instead of fried.
Tip: Quaint boutique properties abound. At the Westin Verasa Napa, “I guess I’ll just eat at the hotel” isn’t foodie dread with Michelin-starred La Toque.
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Stop by: Tamber Bey in Calistoga
Bring: The friend dying to try equine therapy
Tamber Bey is the only winery to offer cookie and wine pairings. Sip, bite, sip. That a buttery cookie can so drastically improve the taste of an already good red wine is mind-boggling. Fave five-by-five tasting menu pairing is the crumbly herb biscuit with hibiscus sea salt and the 2011 Deux Chevaux Vineyard Merlot, with the cherry pepper popper and 2012 Sun Chase Vineyard Pinot Noir as a close second. Sipping reds any other way becomes impossible.
As for that friend: since there’s a fully functioning 22-acre ranch and equestrian training facility, why not fellowship with the vintner’s Arabian racers? Just do not feed the horses.
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Stop by: Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley in Yountville
Bring: That art collector chum looking for a 1920’s Louis Vuitton Steamer Trunk
Ma(i)sonry gallery and wine tasting room offers a tasting menu filled by the wine collective of 22 boutique vintners this marvel (housed in a former brothel) represents. Sip and enjoy as the vintage junkie meanders through the bi-level gallery area ogling antique collectibles and pricey objects d’art.
Tip: Locals love the $50 magnums of Blackbird Vineyards rosé.
Stop by: Hestan Vineyards in Yountville
Bring: The bestie with a fetish for hammered copper bowls
Hestan Vineyards’ tasting salon isn’t just a minimalist tasting room with Usher in heavy rotation. It’s also a shopping mecca for artisanal cookware, like exclusive Ruffoni designs. Leisurely sample the library wines: mostly reds but one palate-pleaser in particular, a game-changing white that’s made appearances at Obama’s private dinners. Hestan’s 2010 Chardonnay—a crisp, barely oaky number—has converted many hardcore red drinkers like me into white devotees.
Tip: Stop at nearby Finesse —Thomas Keller’s only retail store—to stock up on the heirloom seeds, cookbooks and kitchen tools he uses.
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Stop by: Main Street in St. Helena
Bring: The shopaholic tequila lover in your life
Main Street’s ample people watching can include a small girl intently munching an English muffin from Model Bakery or observing retail therapy at Footcandy, which is full of all the Jimmy Choos your closet doesn’t need. Head to the small room in the back where racks on racks on racks of dainty frocks, Scandal-esque coats and jeans are on sale.
Besides the vintage boutiques, practically every other shop is a source for outfitting walls, curio shelves and coffee tables. The hands-down standout is interior design haven Martin Showroom. Being there is like being inside the mind of someone with a slightly warped sense of humor prone to fits of creative genius and stories to tell for each one.
Under the weight of multiple shopping bags, a tequileria is a most welcomed sight. After all, tequila is an upper and at La Condesa more than 250 types of tequila and mezcal help weary spirits soar. One citrusy Dia de Los Muertos cocktail sparks life, only to be canceled out by the food coma-inducing signature guava-chipotle carnitas sandwich. Chase it with an ounce of blanco, then pull out a map and decide where the next surprise adventure awaits along Route 29.
James Darden, a 17 year resident of Yountville and the town’s first and only black sommelier, knows wine country the way he knows, well, vino. Here, the wine director at Nickel & Nickel Winery offers five bucket list suggestions to Napa Valley first-timers:
- From the freestanding picnic tables you have the best 360 views of the Napa Valley. Excellent place to pop the question.
- Auberge du Soliel’s terraced bar offers a million dollar view, the sunset at this location is epic, especially with their namesake Napa cocktail.
- Mark the farmer has farmed exclusively for all top local restaurants. Paul Robeson has a tomato named after him. Find it, then eat it.
- Nickel and Nickel gives you a wine experience that may advance you to the rankings of Cab Connoisseur. Tastings by appointment only.
- French countryside atmosphere. Try “Pigs Feet” in a terrine presented with frisee haricot verts and Dijon or Pike Quenelle dumplings paired with local sparkling rose.