A Local's Guide to the Napa Valley

This is really a local's favorite. Tucked away in a non-descript (and fairly misleading) strip mall, Foothill Cafe boasts some of the best vegetables in the Napa Valley. Most of the food comes in substantial portions, but make sure you save room for the desserts.

The menu leans more to the ubiquitous "California Cuisine" angle, but rest assured you can get a great rack of smoked ribs or even tuck into some creative specials of the evening. The fish is always fresh, and the calamari appetizer is among the best of its type in the Valley.

2006 Update: Niebaum-Coppola Winery has now moved north to Geyserville (in Alexander Valley). In the former Coppola winery spot now stands Rubicon Winery, which is Francis Ford Coppola's "premium" label. As of the time of this writing it was $25 per person to park your car and get a special "passport" to tour the (formerly free) grounds and taste some wine. Locals get in free, but it's still a pricey proposition for a wine with a limited name and *no* movie memorabilia. All the "touristy" film stuff moved to Geyserville. This writer has not taken the opportunity to visit Rubicon, but will certainly update the journal when that happens. As it stands, the Niebaum-Coppola experience is still recommended and the review below still holds water, but be sure to add in an extra 30-45 minutes of roundtrip drive time from Rutherford if you want to visit the new winery location.

It's a bit of a tourist mill, but that's also why you go. Not only does Francis Ford Coppola's label boast some of the best table reds at a very reasonable price, but a tour of the winery itself is a must for any movie fan.

A handful of Oscars from the various Godfather movies are on display, as well as one of the cars from Tucker, the the desk from the Godfather(!!!), Kilgore's boots & hat from Apocalypse Now, the suit of armor from Dracula...and numerous other items of genuine movie memorabilia. There is also the most stunning stained glass over the staircase casting light into the main entryway.

The tasting room can get a bit crowded and has an overly-commercial feel to it, but premium tastings are available for the asking in a separate room. During the summer it can be a madhouse, so be prepared to walk a ways in as parking can be impossible when the crowds get big. Still worth the effort to see.

After millions of dollars in renovations, the Napa Valley Opera House opened in 2003 to great anticipation, and thankfully it has delivered by bringing a wide range of cultural performances of all types to the formerly-sleepy downtown Napa area. Everything from classical piano performances to interperative dance and gypsy-pop music has been gracing the stage. Check their web site (http://www.nvoh.org) before you go for a schedule of performances.

There is a variety of difficulty with the trails; there are two peaks that can be challenging to some hikers. There is definitely flat and easy terrain, though.

Bringing water in the winter months is a must- it gets extremely hot even in the shade there. There is also an entry fee in the Late Spring/Summer/Early Autumn months.

Every Friday evening (5-10) from late May to early October, there is the Chef's Market, where you can wine taste, eat from booths set up by restaurants, shop crafts and fresh produce from local farmers, and enjoy live music in three seperate locations. Lots of people show up to have a good time, and it really adds to the liveliness of downtown during the summer months.

The Bounty Hunter started off as a specialty wine retailer. If you wanted a unique or hard-to-get wine, that's who you'd call, and they'd deliver.

Now they've taken a century-old building downtown and turned it into a *very* fashionable wine bar and eatery. Mostly an over-30's set goes there, and it's fairly yuppie, but go anyway. The wines-by-the-glass selection (not only from Napa, but around the world) is quite interesting and will do the job as you nibble on selections from their appetizer menu. If you want to shoot the breeze after dinner and enjoy some great wines, the Bounty Hunter is not to be missed.

In what some people around here call "Robert Mondavi's monument to himself", you'll find the much ballyhooed Copia. There was much local turmoil when the center was being built (traffic & land use issues), and now they're doing their best to actually INCREASE the amount of traffic, as the attendance numbers have been unfavorable as of late.

Perhaps it has to do with the overpriced admission ($12.50 for adults; $10.00 for seniors and $7.50 for children). Perhaps the lack of attendace stems from the almost-comically snooty attitude coming from the people working there. Maybe the low numbers are a sign that maybe a museum about food and wine is just too limited to bring in enough people.

To Copia's credit, they are changing to adapt (except the admission). The on-site restaurant, Julia's Kitchen (as in Julia Child) has recently changed management and promises to be more "down to Earth", which was MUCH needed. Copia also has been hosting the Farmer's Market on Tuesdays, and will be hosting a slightly expanded Saturday Farmer's Market this spring. For the first time ever, the Mustard Festival was held on Copia's grounds this year, and the crowds were actually too much...so there seems to be a delicate balance that needs to be worked out in regards to foot traffic.

Second-run movies and musical performances are also regular events at Copia. Again, the tickets for these are not a great bargain.

While I would recommend Copia for the visitor who fancies him/herself a food or wine enthusiast, I would honestly say keep this off your list if you are with children or have only a marginal interest in the whole "fine food & wine" culture.

Nestled in the trees at the top of a small hill on your way to Calistoga is Rombauer Winery. From the same family that gave you the world-famous cookbook "The Joy Of Cooking" comes a spectacular selection of wines with some of the friendliest tasting room staff I've ever met.

The wines are not your average table wines; prices per bottle range roughly from $25-$60, although this will change with each release. There is no charge to taste.

The grounds are not as manicured and "perfected" like you will see at Mondavi, Opus One, or Coppola, but there is a laid-back homey feel that is much more welcoming to the visitor. The shade from the trees offer a welcome respite during the potentially dreadfully hot summer days.

Among wine enthusiasts, Napa Valley's climate is known to be best suited for growing the cabernet sauvignon grapes. In my opinion, nowhere else in the valley is this climate utilized better than Clos Du Val where you're assured to get the best wine for your money. It's not necessarily cheap, but it's good.

The tasting room is a dark, cool, cavernous, room where one can taste a flight of wines for $5 per person.

Picnic grounds are available; this is a great place to bring a spread and relax, as the winery is set off the main road a bit.

Is it a gift shop? Is it a rest stop? Is it a picnic ground for the shoppers from the Dean & Deluca across the street? Or is it a place for free tastings of decent wine with the hard sell?

V. Sattui is all three. I really hate saying this, as my grandfather used to be in the same winemaker's club as Daryl Sattui's father, but this Napa Valley "hot spot" is *way* overrated, *way* too crowded, and simply not worth the aggravation, traffic, and commercialism.

The wine itself is good enough, and it's only sold on the premesis, of course. But one shouldn't need to walk through a gift shop in order to see the main attraction (reminiscent of the Winchester House in San Jose). Yes, similar experiences are to be had at other "famous" wineries in the area, like Coppola, but really, Coppola *is* a bit of a museum, of sorts. V. Sattui is just wringing every last cent from people who want to hit the first big winery they see on Highway 29 where they can picnic.

Again, I hate to slam a place, but consider this a fair warning to people who may not know exactly what they'll be getting into.