aka Cali²
April 22-27, 2023
Jason had this particular week off leaving me with the quest to find a trip with the best weather this time of year. We considered revisiting places we’ve loved on other vacations, then decided we wanted somewhere new to us. What could be more relaxing than wineries? What area has plenty of other activities to keep us busy? Where are the non-pretentious wine people? After a bit if research I found the city of Calistoga at the northern area of Napa Valley.
>>Getting Around
The Vine Calistoga Shuttle – $1 per ride shuttle that runs within a 3 mile radius of Calistoga, our Inn had free passes available, does not continuously loop so you have to call when you need them
Walking – we walked to lunch, dinner, and wine tastings up and down the Lincoln Ave area where everything is located which is always a perk for us
Private Shuttles/Tours – there are numerous services you can hire to plan out a day of tastings for you and shuttle you around, we did not do this because we wanted to take our time and move at our own pace
Bikes/E-Bikes – bikes are available to rent and ride around the area (some hotels offer free bikes), there is a wine trail map that is offered through the bike rental shop on Lincoln Ave to help you plan tastings by bicycle, we did not use this because we had a car but the weather would have been perfect for a bike ride all around town if nothing else!
Rental Car – we rented a car to get from Santa Rosa airport to Calistoga (30 min drive), parking at our hotel was free, driving to the coast/Hwy 1 was just over an hour and totally worth it
>>Stay
The Inn on Pine – room was comfortable and clean, there is a nice heated pool area with a hot tub and sauna available to guests, free parking and free breakfast, staff were helpful and friendly, beds were comfy and water pressure/temperature were great in our shower, the location was off the main road so nice a quiet but still very close to everything in town
>>Drink
Upon checking in we were asked if we knew there were 300+ wineries in the region. You can travel there over and over and never try them all. This is a short list of where we visited (all within 5-10 minute drives) but the possibilities really are endless. We generally booked one for 10 am upon opening, grabbed lunch, and then did another tasting around 3:30 pm.
August Briggs – tasting room with cute patio was on Lincoln Ave, sign said no appointments needed so we walked right up on our first day, wines were good and we were surprised by the chardonnay; 5 pours for $25/person
Castello di Amorosa – made a reservation right before we drove over, the castle is lovely and worth the visit (the wine is a bonus), any tasting gets you a self guided tour, guided tours are also available for a higher fee and you see more of the castle, numerous tasting options available; standing reserve tasting 5 pours for $50/person (we had 8-10 pours each)
Hans Fahden – nice smaller winery, scenic pond and gardens, tasting on a patio overlooking the pond and with mountains in the background (wisteria were not blooming on the pergola quite yet), has a decorative cave inside, interesting batch of wines with good variety; classic tasting 6 pours for $45/person
*Schramsberg – this was our splurge because friends of ours told us to make a reservation weeks before the trip since this one sells out, known for their sparkling wine so we were changing things up with lots of bubbles, this tour was outstanding with lots of history and seeing workers moving quickly throughout the caves; cave tour with sparkling & red wine tasting 6 pours for $95/person
*Storybook – another small family owned spot, specializes in Zin, tour was led by owner’s daughter who is also a wine maker there, grounds and view are stunning, cave tour included, tasting was outside under redwood trees with views of mountain and vineyard, this was one of our favorites and we ordered bottles to be shipped home, tour and tasting were very relaxed and we were treated like old friends; $50 per person
*Bennett Lane – Jason ran by this place every day and was happy to see it was on my list, in the valley surrounded by vineyard enclosed with mountains, looks like an Italian Villa as you drive up… seriously I could live in that spot, tasting on gorgeous patio with blooming wisteria everywhere, Bill was a great host for us and we joined their wine club, tasting was fun and relaxed – we could have spent the whole day here, multiple tasting options availible; signature tasting $32.48/person (I think they gave us the Reserve Seated Tasting instead since we were the only people there)
Wineries further down my list we didn’t make it to – Madrigal, Tedeschi, Girard
>>Eat
*Calistoga Inn & Brewery – this seemed to be a very popular spot for locals with lots of nice outdoor seating, we shared a prosciutto pizza and had a couple of their beers, everything was fresh and tasty
Fleetwood – “wood fired fine foods”, mixed drink menu seemed great but we had beer, Jason’s burger looked yummy and my short rib tortelloni was tasty (perfect portion for one person)
Sam’s General Store – had tasty sandwiches for lunch with a beer and cider for lunch
Calistoga Creamery – not a lot of flavor options and kind of pricey but good, one of the other shops had ice cream that we saw later but we didn’t try it
Hydro – would not recommend a meal here, might be okay for apps and drinks, but do not pass go!
Rio Nido Roadhouse (on way back from coast) – inexpensive random hole in the wall type place with great beers on draft and good food, my western burger was delicious
Sushi Mambo – very busy place with decent sushi, we preferred the regular rolls over their more specialty type stuff, service was friendly, patio was cute but there were itty bitty mosquitos involved
*Buster’s Barbeque – when I read that the owner is from Shreveport I knew we had to visit, all of our food was very good and they aren’t kidding about the spicy sauce being spicy!
*Bricco Osteria – Turkish fellas serving amazing Italian dishes, open kitchen with a huge window to the street, I wish we’d eaten here more than once but we didn’t go until our last day, the food was both our favorite of the whole trip – every drink and course was perfect, this spot has only been open a few months and seems to be an instant hit!
Pacifico – Mexican joint we only visited for happy hour, food looked good and the happy hour deals couldn’t be beat
*Russian River Brewing – there are 2 locations in Santa Rosa and one happens to be 5 minutes from the airport, shared a flight of 8 beers with some cheeseburger sliders, fries, and pita bread/hummus for lunch before our flight out, the sliders were REALLY good so I bet their burgers are phenomenal, the other location also offers pizzas
Didn’t get to try but wanted to: Lincoln Ave Brewery, Sam’s Social Club, Calistoga Depot
>>Play
WHAT WE DID THIS TRIP:
*Sonoma Coast State Park: Shell Beach – drove just over an hour to Hwy 1 & parked at Shell Beach parking lot, small trail down to the beach itself was slightly damaged but safe to navigate, sand is mostly black and glittery, we hit it at low tide and walked south toward a tidal pool where we saw lots of starfish on the huge multicolored rocks, I could have spent hours exploring here but we had a hike planned
*Sonoma Coast State Park: Red Hill via Pomo Canyon Trail – this trail was across the street from Shell Beach parking lot, you hike up a hill with mountain views, valleys, and through some beautiful redwood groves leading you downhill into the Pomo Canyon camping area in a huge redwood grove, roundtrip hike was just over 6 miles and we did it clockwise (there is a loop in the middle so you could skip going down to Pomo and make it around 4 miles)
Sonoma Coast State Park: Goat Rock Beach – the road down to this parking lot is extremely scenic with pull offs for the sunset boulders, peaked hill, and a nice view of arched rock; this is the beach where the end of The Goonies was filmed; we parked at the lot that looks down on the main parking that is at beach level and enjoyed the views then got hungry and chose not to finish the drive down to the main parking
Golden Haven Spa Couples Mud Bath – mud baths are popular in the area so I signed us up without doing a ton of research, the mud is 105ºF on top and gets hotter toward the bottom so you’d imagine our surprise trying to enter this piping hot tub of mud where they paint a nice mask on your face and offer you cold towels and water; climb out and sit to rinse off then get into a mineral water jacuzzi tub that is also pretty toasty; finally enter a cool-down room for a nice nap (but we had to recover from the shock of overheating our entire bodies first); it was quite the experience that we will not partake in ever again lol
Petrified Forest – we did this on the way to the airport but it is only a 10 minute drive from the inn, $12/person entry fee for a self guided tour of petrified redwood trees from 3.4 million years ago, the trails were probably very shaded before the fires of 2017, this was cool to see once but something I would want to revisit
Pioneer Park – during the summer months there is free live music at this park in the middle of town every Thursday, we happened upon an similar event for Earth Day and really enjoyed it
POSSIBILTIES FOR NEXT TIME:
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve –$10/car (40-50 min drive) 1.7 mile trail
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park/Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park – $8/person with optional 2.3 mile loop trail
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park – Oat Hill Mine Trail – 8.3 mile, out and back hike, to Bald Hill; Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Trail – 1.3 mile one way trail to bunkhouse of Silverado Mine; Mount St Helena Trail – 4.5 mile switchback trail up fire road climbing the slopes of the mountain, view to ocean if weather permits; Table Rock/Palisades Trails – views of volcanic formations but is known to be challenging, should have a ride arranged back as this is a long point to point trail that can be used to connect Oat Hill Mine trail to the Mount St Helena Trail
Old Faithful – $15/person to see the town’s very own Old Faithful erupt, also has a petting zoo
Safari West – safari style ride through some animals at the “Sonoma Serengeti“
Bodega Bay – another area (just over an hour drive) on the coast to explore; where the movie The Birds was filmed; has beaches, trails, wineries, and restaurants
LINCOLN AVE: besides eating (look for live music at restaurants), there plenty of tasting rooms, 2 breweries, murals, spas, art galleries, and shops to stroll through in this cute little town
* denotes my very favorites
Other Stuff Worth Mentioning – there is a grocery store and a great wine shop on the main road where you can stock up on snacks or whatever you want for the room (I grabbed a big bottle of water to refill at our inn), we didn’t get to try the food/drinks at Lincoln Ave Brewery due to them being closed certain days so pay attention to restaurant schedules
Breauxs Geaux 