When researching all of the wineries and trying to decide which ones to visit,┬áit’s important to remember that the valley is only five miles at its widest point, but 35 miles long. Getting from Napa to Calistoga can take up to an hour.
All things considered, I thought it would be more effective to visit wineries via tours. That way I was guaranteed transportation while still being able to visit a good amount of wineries in each day. Appointments are typically 90-120 minutes long, and I would recommend making a max of three winery appointments a day and account for eating lunch. That being said, on the second day, I booked another┬átour…
Sometimes, the best way to see wine countryside is by train – and that’s how the┬áNapa Valley Wine Train┬árolls.┬áLike Platypus, the tour visits multiple wineries for tastings and tours of the estates. Based on your schedule and wine preferences, there are several touring options.
THE COLLECTIVE TOUR, is a 6-hour tour visiting three wineries:
St. Supery,┬áBeringer┬áand┬áRaymond Vineyards. Raymond Vineyards not only has goats and chickens hanging around and living their best lives┬ábut at this vineyard, you can┬áplay┬á”winemaker┬áfor a day.” In their Blending Room, you can┬áblend┬áyour own red wine, design the bottle and keep your personalized wine on file for you to order any time you like to share with friends and family!
While aboard the Wine Train, guests are served breakfast, a main course,┬áchampagne┬áand dessert. By the time you’re finished with your course, the train has stopped at your next destination. And once you board the train again, the servers are ready to serve you the next course!
Riding through Napa on the train while gazing┬áout the window and taking in┬áall the beautiful greenery, hills and valleys is something that really can’t be described with words. I captured moments with picture and video but hold the true memories in my heart. Words can’t really describe how amazing this experience is! From start to finish, you feel like you’re some sort of important person heading to meet another important person to conduct top-secret important business. It is a GEM, a definite must when visiting Napa. And fortunately, my hotel sat right across the street, so all I had to do was walk on over to the check-in before boarding the train.
After the wine train experience, we went to visit The Meritage Resort & Spa (875 Bordeaux Way, Napa, Calif.), a gorgeous resort with numerous amenities including an adults only pool, spa room and gym.  Only about 10 minutes or less from my hotel, it was a quick and easy uber ride down the road.
Andrew Bradley, the marketing and communications manager of the resort was so kind and invited us to a tasting at TRINITAS CELLARS, the onsite wine tasting room, right across from the spa. He also gifted us with beautiful wine glasses and custom wine openers!
The wine at Trinitas was so good!  And even better, our host was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wine she poured us.
We tasted about six different wines from the Portfolio Collection and Limited Releases. It was very hard to choose just one favorite from both collections.
