In My Own Backyard: Wine Country

If you happen to be traveling through my backyard, San Francisco Bay Area, and you happen to enjoy wine, you’ll want to make a day trip to the wine country. Napa is less than an hour’s drive from the city. With nearly 400 wineries in the valley, the possible itineraries are endless. But in this blog, I offer you one. Here’s how I recently spent a day in my own backyard.

We started early. But don’t worry, with coffee, not wine. Bouchon Bakery in Yountville has amazing pastries and coffee. It’s owned by renowned chef, Thomas Keller. The same Thomas Keller who owns the famous French Laundry restaurant. That’s a difficult reservation to get and involves some planning. So, if you’re more of a spontaneous type traveler like myself, you can opt to carry out breakfast or dessert from Bouchon. Trust me, it’s worth the stop.

Properly caffeinated, we headed over to The Model Bakery in downtown St. Helena. Apparently, Oprah has their English muffins flown in. So, of course, I had to have one. I must admit, they are really good! They’re super buttery. And butter equals good. They’re also a little pricey, $16 for a pack of four. But once again, worth it.

In between these two stops, you’ll pass Oakville Grocery where you may want to pick up picnic supplies for snacking on throughout the day. It’s a gourmet deli where you can buy meats, cheese, bread, and whatever else looks good. With our food situation taken care of, we set off to Francis Ford Coppola’s winery.     

Francis Ford Coppola is done making movies. Now, he makes wine. The Coppola Winery offers wine tasting, a restaurant, a museum, and even a pool! In the warmer months, pre-covid and someday post-covid, they have a pool open to the public. It was closed off so I couldn’t get a picture, but look at the cute changing cabanas. 

I can’t wait to go back and swim. My daughter turns 21 this summer and that sounds like a perfect mother/daughter afternoon. Anyway, back to this trip and our wine tasting at Francis Ford Coppola. Reservations are highly recommended during Covid due to limited capacity. Tastings take place on the patio overlooking the vineyards and include a choice of two different flights. We chose both. The First Flight offered wines only available at the winery and The Portfolio Flight consisted of wines available in stores. Both included whites and reds which I appreciated. 

The wine wasn’t that great, but I still recommend this winery because what other winery has a pool and a museum of movie props, memorabilia, and awards? Not to mention, there’s a great gift shop. And I do love souvenirs. 

Our next stop was dedicated to my personal favorite: sparkling wine. We went to Iron Horse Vineyards in Sebastopol. It’s a bit of a drive down a winding country road. Be sure to look out for wild turkeys as you drive through the rolling hills crisscrossed by vineyards. The scenery makes the wine taste even better. And their wine did taste good. But averaging $50 a bottle, it was way too expensive for take-out. However, the $30 tasting is well worth it.

As they say in the movies, “That’s a wrap.” Two wineries, two bakeries, and one museum all in one day. But if this itinerary doesn’t appeal to you, you can ask any SFO-based flight attendant for their recommendations. Everyone has them. In fact, when I told my flying partner about my weekend, she wrote out her favorites for me. (see below) She was married at one of these places and spends every anniversary in Napa.

So, come to think of it, you may want to take her advice this time.