My prosciutto loving friends, Napa Valley is MEANT FOR US! A few months ago, Chase and I drove around the state of California hitting up all the National Parks… spontaneously, we decided to spend a night in the ever so wonderful wine country that is Napa Valley, located about 90 minutes north of San Francisco.
I had noooo idea that Napa Valley had a little downtown area filled with top notch restaurants, bars, and a ton of shopping. I was pleasantly surprised and ecstatic that there were so many things to do within a 2-5 minute walk from where we were staying, at the Archer Hotel (you have to stay here)!
In case you’re wondering what I mean by spontaneously… I mean, we really did not know we were going to Napa Valley until we started driving north of San Fran! Luckily, it was the off season, so we didn’t have any trouble booking a room and didn’t have to deal with restaurant reservations.
We loved Napa Valley so much that we booked a second night at Archer so we had more time to explore the restaurant scene. I’ve got you covered with some great dining experiences and the most perfect wine tour (pizza is involved) ever!
Location
First, let’s start with the location because I had no idea there were several places to stay near Napa Valley and it’s important that you’re staying in an area that you’re happy with. There are several popular areas in wine country that have restaurants, bars, wineries, and the arts!
I couldn’t be happier with our choice to stay in the heart of Napa Valley (downtown). Everything was walking distance, with the exception of our 10 minute Lyft ride to our cave wine tour.
Next time, I definitely want to visit Yountville for several reasons:
- It was frequently recommended to us
- Yountville has an abundant amount of Michelin restaurants
- The famous French Laundry restaurant is in Yountville
- the wallet wasn’t ready for that…
From what I’ve read and heard, St. Helena and Calistoga seem to be a real treat too… all the more reason for me to go back and explore!
Here is a great article about some of the other areas in Napa Valley and things to do!
When to Visit Napa Valley
Chase and I are big fans of traveling to places during the off season because we like having the place to ourselves.
Napa Valley’s peak season is August through October. It gets pretty crowded in Napa Valley during this time. At our wine tour they told us that the lobby when we were there (six people) usually has about 60 people in the lobby during the peak season (gross).
The downfall to traveling to Napa Valley during the off season is that you miss a lot of the vineyards in growth mode. There wasn’t anything happening in the vineyards while we were there in March. Something I would LOVE to do during peak season is stomp on some grapes. They start the grape stompings in August.
But you know what, as long as I’m drinking a nice glass of red wine… all is good with me!
Where to Stay
Omg, staying at Archer was an absolute dream – I could not imagine staying at any other hotel for our little escape to Napa Valley. We handed the keys of the campervan over to valet and as soon as we walked through the front doors, we were greeted with the sound of live music from their big, beautiful lounge area, while people sipped their wine together.
One of the best things about staying at Archer was their customer service and concierge service. The concierge service was SO helpful because you will be inundated by the number of wineries. They helped us narrow down the winery search based off what we wanted to do and the concierge service was knowledgeable on all the different wine experiences.
Archer Hotel Perks!
There is a huge perk to staying at Archer (at least when we were there): since we were guests at Archer, a lot of wine tasting rooms offer a deal to the guests. We went to one wine tasting room and literally did not pay for a single thing! Free wine, popcorn, and charcuterie… and we were there for about two hours. We didn’t stop eating or drinking, so it was worth it! The popcorn was fancy popcorn, btw – lavender and chardonnay!
Archer has an on-site restaurant, Charlie Palmer Steak with a happy hour SEVEN days a week from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (when does a seven day happy hour ever happen?)!
Wait, it gets better with Archer’s rooftop bar – they have fire pits for that extra cozy vibe when it’s late out or you can sit in their lounge chairs that are partially dipped in a shallow swimming pool when you’re roasting in the sun on their water deck. This area is for guests only.
Archer Hotel puts little salted caramels in each of the bedrooms (AND THEY ARE SERIOUSLY SOOO RICH AND GOOD!!) Get this … we decided to stay an extra night at Archer, which required us to switch rooms. Archer felt bad for the inconvenience, so they gave us two MASSIVE bags of the salted caramels at checkout because they knew we loved them so much. Nicest treat ever!
What I loved most about Archer was the location. It was awesome being able to walk 2-5 minutes to all the fun spots, be back in our room in no time, and not have to mess around with getting rides places.
Where to Eat and Drink
We ate at several incredible restaurants, consumed a lot of cheese, drank a bunch of wine, and had a delicious cubano from the local coffee shop, Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co. This was highly recommended and it’s where all the locals go! Pass on the Starbucks, you can get that anywhere!!
Carpe Diem Wine Bar
Carpe Diem Wine Bar was our first stop as soon as we got into Napa Valley (around 8:00 p.m.). We had red wine flights, charcuterie (of course), and lots of pasta. The customer service was top notch and really helped us pick the best meat and cheese for our red wines. I ordered the housemade ravioli (Short rib + Porcini + Black Truffle Stuffed, Sage Cream Sauce, Truffle Salt, Micorgreens), it was good, but it was a little too heavy for me (shocking, I know).
1001 2nd St, Napa, CA 94559 (two minute walk from Archer Hotel)
Gabrielle Collection taste+
Gabrielle Collection taste+ was my second favorite thing we did (cave wine tour was first). This is a spot I would definitely recommend as well. The ambiance was pleasant, bright, and airy. It’s a perfect little date night spot! Chase and I ate and drank here for hours.
The wine connoisseur who led our tasting was knowledgable and made the tasting a lot of fun. Honestly felt like I was hanging out with a friend! And that’s what you want when you’re doing something like this. We had several glasses of wine, charcuterie, lavender popcorn, and chardonnay popcorn!!
- Lavender popcorn: lavender olive oil, lavender sea salt, lavender pepper, parmesan, and lemon zest
- Chardonnay popcorn: olive oil, chardonnay, sea salt
Both popcorn flavors were DELIGHTFUL. Popcorn is my biggest weakness and if you’re wondering how we can be friends: popcorn is the answer.
1000 Main St #150, Napa, CA 94559 (three minute walk from Archer Hotel)
Grace’s Table
We walked over to Grace’s Table for breakfast the next morning before we hit up our first wine tour! I ordered the quiche with sliced fruit and berries because I wanted something light and refreshing otherwise, biscuits and gravy would put me into a food coma before the day even started. Chase ordered the Chilaquiles (scrambled eggs, house tortillas, cascabel chili cream, avocado, tasso ham, cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, lime crème Frâiche) and it was excellent!
1400 2nd St, Napa, CA 94559 (one minute walk from Archer Hotel)
Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co
Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Co. was a great recommendation. It’s where all the locals go, so we stopped there in between our wine bar hopping escapades. I ordered a cubano and it was seriously AMAZING. I have yet to find a coffeeshop in Cincinnati that can make it.
948 Main St, Napa, CA 94559 (three minute walk from Archer Hotel)
Stone Brewing
Stone Brewing opened in 1996 and when we pulled into Downtown Napa Valley, Chase was HYPED to see Stone Brewing. You know, when in Napa Valley, sometimes you just need a beer. We love going to breweries (our neighborhood in Cincinnati is FULL of them), and thanks to Chase we were able to come to Stone Brewing, twice. I had wine and beer here.
930 3rd St, Napa, CA 94559 (nine minute walk from Archer Hotel)
Del Dotto Cave Wine Tour
Guys, the Del Dotto Cave wine tour was AWESOME and incredibly educational without being a major snooze fest. I learned so much about wine and the barrel aging process – I was completely mind blown. We walked through the caves had a chance to try a ton of different wines and compare the taste of the same wine, but aged in a different types of wood barrels to see what a difference the wood can make. Wow.
Our tour group was our guide, us, and one other couple, so it was really easy to get to know everyone and ask as many questions as we wanted about the wine. The tour was 90 minutes and $75.00 a person, we had 10 glasses of wine and ended the tour with PIZZA, charcuterie, chocolate, and of course more wine. I highly recommend this tour, Chase and I both loved it.
Until next time, Napa Valley!!
Napa Valley is a dream and I can’t wait to come back! It’s perfect for a romantic weekend getaway, a girls trip, you name it. Especially, if you love fantastic food, wine, and shopping! Overall: my top two recommendations are Del Dotto Cave Wine Tour and Gabrielle Collection taste+. I’m curious: if you’ve been to the Napa Valley region, which part of town did you stay in and what was it like? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet at @twoweekspaidvac!
