Travel: Napa Valley 2.0

Been there, done that? Think again. Offering expanded tasting opportunities, innovative experiences, and a remarkable array of dining options, Napa Valley is keeping things fresh.

It gets busy early on Friday mornings at Bouchaine Vineyards. Guests are eager to see Master Falconer Rebecca Rosen’s team of raptors—falcons, hawks, and owls—swoop, soar, and divebomb the hungry nuisance birds, and rodents that threaten the crop. Enjoying glasses of wine, guests learn all about these remarkable birds, who are also happy to pose for photos.

Bouchaine isn’t alone in turning the typical winery visit on its head.  

At Sequoia Grove Winery, red wine lovers who book the Taste of Cabernet experience get more than a chance to sip the winery’s single-vineyard and reserve Cabernet Sauvignons. Working closely with winemaker Jesse Fox, Chef Bryce Palmer shows off Cabernet’s surprising food versatility with a menu that pairs the Cabs with dishes like Hamachi crudo, tomato salad, and prawns.

“Providing a variety of thoughtfully-designed experiences allows each guest to discover Sequoia Grove in a way that feels most meaningful to them,” says Rick Bonitati, president of Sequoia Grove. “Ultimately, our goal is to create innovative, approachable and authentic experiences that allow guests to connect with Sequoia Grove’s wines, the beauty of our property and our passionate team.”

Napa’s restaurants are also taking guest experience to new levels. Helen and Stanley Chen, owners of Hestan Cookware, recently opened Hestan Napa in downtown Napa. There, guests can sip wine while browsing artful displays of Hestan Cookware, or pause to enjoy Chef Mark Dommen’s menu of sophisticated but approachable dishes including Dungeness crab with fennel and citrus, homemade Parkerhouse rolls, and silky butterscotch pudding. 

Bottega has been Yountville’s see-and-be-seen spot almost since the day Michael Chiarello opened the restaurant in 2008. After Chiarello’s tragic death in 2023, Alex Espinosa, who had worked under Chiarello since 2021, took over as Executive Chef. Today, caviar-topped crudo served on a Himalayan salt slab, a Wagyu beef program, and burrata cheese accented with tiny exploding “pearls” of balsamic join the classic lineup of homemade pastas and other Italian-inflected dishes.

Ready to plan your next Napa adventure? Keep these tips in mind.

Rent a car—but hire a driver

Running 35 miles from San Pablo Bay to Calistoga, Napa Valley is home to not only hundreds of wineries, but explorable towns like Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga. For winery tastings, though, you’ll want to hire a driver—Uber or Lyft pickups at remote wineries aren’t always possible.

Bring your favorite beer drinker

Napa may be best-known for wine, but the region is also a hotbed for creative brewers. At Mad Fritz, which has a tasting room in Yountville and a brewery in St. Helena, beers are aged in wine barrels before being bottled; Fieldworks’ tasting room in Oxbox Market in Napa serves a rotation of handcrafted beers that include an imperial ale aged in Blanton’s bourbon barrels and a rye dry-hopped saison. There are more traditional pilsners, IPA’s and lagers, too.

Plan ahead

While you can still pop into some larger wineries to stand and sip, reserving a time for your tasting will generally offer a more relaxed experience with seating and a few snacks. To really see a winery’s best, though, consider booking a food-centered specialty tasting that pairs real food (instead of snacks) with an array of top-flight wines. Wineries such as Progeny, Ashes & Diamonds, and Sequoia Grove have hired chefs from top restaurants to create gorgeous meals that, not surprisingly, are perfectly calibrated to the wines you’ll be tasting. It’s a delicious way to take your tasting game to the next level.

Join a club

Have a favorite Napa wine? Become a club member before you visit and you’ll reap all sorts of benefits, like special tastings of library wines and limited releases; access to private members-only areas at the winery, and discounts on wines and tastings. Even better, you’ll have the opportunity to taste (and buy!) wines that you might not know existed. Frank Family, for instance,

produces a line of reserve wines that include single-vineyard expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir; a Bordeaux-style blend, a Pinot Noir rosé, and four aged sparkling wines. They’re nearly impossible to find outside of the winery.

Be ready to buy

Love that new wine you just tried? Limited releases and library wines often sell out, so if you love it, buy it.

Consider a picnic

Lunch with a view? Yes, please, especially when you’re looking out over majestic mountains, neat rows of vines and deep green valleys. As long as you purchase wine, wineries such as Frank Family, Grgich Hills, Rombauer, Honig, and Laird Family Estate welcome picnic basket-toting guests.

Where to stay

Set on a sloping hillside just a few miles from Yountville, Sttupa Estate is the kind of dreamy wine country paradise that you always hoped you’d find. Each of the five suites look out over rugged mountains and miles of neat vineyards from oversized private terraces. The Estate staff can make dinner reservations, coordinate transportation, and, best of all, offer access to exclusive experiences at top wineries in the Valley.