We only had 3 days in Napa, so we spent one day in the Napa Valley, and one day in the Sonoma side. Stephen really enjoys the sweeter wines, particularly port. Here’s a peek at the places that we stopped at which had dessert wines.
NAPA VALLEY
V. SATTUI
We didn’t pick up any sweet wines at V. Sattui, but they have a lovely deli, and we did pick up some bread, meat and cheese to eat while winery hopping.
PRAGER
Our Bed & Breakfast had complimentary port in the living room from this winery. Stephen liked it so much, we stopped by for a tasting… in their “money” room.
ROMBAUER
This winery took a little longer to get to, but it was worth the drive. Nestled on top of a hill, you can overlook the valley. We didn’t have a reservation, but was still warmly greeted to come in for a tasting. We didn’t know that it was the President and CEO of the winery who helped us. Such personal service!
SONOMA
Sonoma is quite different than Napa. It’s not as commercialized, and the wineries are more spread out. It’s almost like how Napa used to be 20 years ago.
ANABA
Anaba was our first stop, but unfortunately they only had 1 sweet wine. The woman who helped us referred us to her competitor, who had a lot more sweet wine and even ports. We were so amazed that wineries were helping wineries.
ROBLEDO
Anaba referred us to Robledo because they had more port and dessert wines. They had 2 ports and 2 sweet wines for tasting. The 2 ports were so delicious, Stephen purchased one of each.
GUNDLACH BUNDSCHU & MATANZAS
Robledo recommended stopping at Gundlach Bundschu to check out their cave, but told us they don’t have dessert wines. We made a slight detour to check out the cave, and then a quick stop at Matanzas, which also did not have dessert wines, but had the lavender field. Unfortunately the lavender season is over, and the once bright purple flowers were now dark… it still smelled heavenly.
FERRARI-CARANO
Our final stop was Ferrari – Carano. The grounds were simply magnificent! We were supposed to make an appointment but since they were close to closing time, they let us try a few dessert wines, and we took home 2.
There are so many wineries on the Napa and Sonoma area. Most wineries are open 10 am to 4:30/ 5:00 pm, so there’s not a lot of time to try them all. It’s definitely a place you can return to over and over again, and the vintage also changes. Some recommend an appointment, and some places allow walk in. Many even offer tours!
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