Fourth of July in Napa Valley

The famous Judgment of Paris put Napa Valley on the map as the best wine making area not only in the United States but also the world. Top honors in the 1976 blind taste test went to Napa Valley chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons, beating out the favorite French wines. Since then, Napa Valley has become a world-renowned destination for wine tasting, fine dining, and spa treatments.

While we didn't get a chance to visit all of the wineries in the area, a few really stood out to us as being entertaining and unique. The Hess Collection Winery is a combination private art museum and winery; we enjoyed both equally. V. Sattui winery has a large tasting room and a gift shop and deli, it is a great place to enjoy lunch and a bottle of wine.

We also visited Calistoga for a mud bath and massage at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs. I chose a mud bath with a massage for . The treatment starts with a huge bathtub full of densely packed mud, where you lower yourself in and relax for about 15 minutes. Then you rinse off in another bath, head to the sauna, and end with a massage. It was a very enjoyable experience, but the lofty price will probably keep me from doing this again any time soon.

Quick Tips:

We enjoyed the taste Napa card that allowed us to get a 10-cent tasting at several local wine bars. We rode the trolley from our hotel, the River Terrace Inn, to the wine bars and were able to sample wines from different vineyards to decide which ones we liked best. These bars were less crowded than the wineries and we were able to get to know the wine pourers. We discovered what it was like to be a student studying to be a wine maker, and talked with a former dentist starting a winery of her own.

Take a day to visit the wineries in Sonoma Valley. They're nearby and a lot of them still offer free tasting, which is rare in Napa Valley. You can also rent bikes and spend the day riding from winery to winery.

Make sure to stop at any winery that looks interesting, but skip the commercial wineries without any appeal. We visited Robert Mondavi, but a tasting of the wines there cost more than a bottle in the local supermarket.

If you want to taste the prestigious food of French Laundry fame, but are on a budget, try visiting the more reasonably priced Bouchon in Yountville. If you don’t get reservations in advance, you can visit the pastry shop next door, where we got a delicious ham sandwich and peanut butter cookies for under .

COPIA, the wine-making museum, is a fun place. They offer a tasting that includes samples from the wineries that won awards in the Judgment of Paris. They also had a great garden out front with grape vines, fruits and vegetables with placards about different varieties.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Napa Trolley was our favorite way to get around. There were only two of us, so it wasn't cost effective to get a private driver. The train seemed overpriced and it didn't stop at many wineries. We really enjoyed the Napa Trolley and felt it showed us the local life of Napa better than the wineries did.

This is one of many fine dining restaurants in the town of Napa. The front of the restaurant was not stunning, but the inside had a nice atmosphere. We opted for outside seating and enjoyed the ambiance by the fire.

A appealing selection of salads, appetizers and main courses filled the menu. We had the Moroccan lamb and the scallop dish. Both were excellent. The scallops were done perfectly, and the seasoned, slightly crisp top and bottom gave the melt in your mouth center a nice edge. The Moroccans lamb was also delicious. If given the opportunity, we would definitely return. We felt that this place had delicious food and was fairly affordable in the pricey Napa area.

Bouchon is a quiet but classy cafe on the main road in Yountville. As pretty much everyone who goes there knows, it is run by Thomas Keller of the top rated restaurant French Laundry. If you're itching to get a taste of the famous food, but you don't have the budget or the reservations, try Bouchon.

Bouchon will usually be full with reservations, but you can visit their bakery next door for some delicious to-go food. I had the best ham sandwich and peanut butter cookies I've ever tasted. It was pricey for a sandwich and cookies (about $20) but a steal for a sampling of top chef fare.

I would recommend stopping in if you're someone who doesn't like to make reservations but suddenly gets the urge for that special meal. If you go without reservations, you might still be able to get in, after the lunch rush is through. When we visited around noon, they told us they could seat us around 2pm.

V. Sattui Winery stands out to me as one of the most enjoyable wineries to visit in Napa Valley. The stone tasting room and gift shop sit next to a luscious green vineyard. Small touches like old oak wine barrels used for decoration and free cheese tastings helped us get what Napa Valley is all about.

We visited for lunch on the Fourth of July. It was crowded but instead of a stuffy feel, the winery gave off one of celebration and happiness. We started with a reasonably priced tasting, which was quite good. We chose our favorite wine, purchased a bottle, and managed to find an open seat outside for lunch. There was a huge variety of cold and hot food available; we chose pizza from the grill and were not disappointed.

The winery is open every day of the year except Christmas, from 9am to 5pm in the winter and 9am to 6pm in the summer. If you don't mind lots of happy people, and enjoy relaxing with good wine and delicious food, I would highly recommend a visit.