Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
but when Napa wines earned top honors at a 1976 blind tasting in Paris, the wine-drinking
world noticed and land values skyrocketed. Only the very rich could afford to build.
Hence, so many architecturally jaw-dropping wineries. Independent, family-owned winer-
ies still exist - we highlight a number of them - but much of Napa Valley is now owned by
global conglomerates.
The city of Napa anchors the valley, but the real work happens up-valley. Napa isn't as
pretty as other towns, but has some noteworthy sights, among them Oxbow Public Market.
Scenic towns include St Helena, Yountville and Calistoga - the latter more famous for wa-
ter than wine.
Napa Valley Wineries
Cab is king in Napa. No varietal captures imaginations like the fruit of the Cabernet
Sauvignon vine - Bordeaux is the French equivalent - and no wine fetches a higher price.
Napa farmers can't afford
not
to grow Cabernet. Other heat-loving varietals, such as San-
giovese and Merlot, also thrive here.
Napa's wines merit their reputation among the world's finest - complex, with luxurious
finishes. Napa wineries sell many 'buy-and-hold' wines, versus Sonoma's 'drink-now'
wines.
Artesa Vineyards & Winery
WINERY
$15-20, incl tour $30; 10am-4:30pm)
Begin or end the day with a glass of bubbly or Pinot at Artesa, southwest of Napa. Built
into a mountainside, the ultramodern Barcelona-style architecture is stunning, and you
can't beat the top-of-the-world vistas over San Pablo Bay. Tours run at 11am and 2pm.
Bottles cost $20 to $60.
Vintners' Collective
TASTING ROOM
707-255-7150;
www.vintnerscollective.com
;
1245 Main St, Napa; tasting
$10-30;
11am-6pm)
