Dig Lounge

Reynolds Family Winery is reservations only, but they were able to accommodate us right away. They specialize in Tuscan style wines, but make anything from a creamy Chard, Pinot Noir, to Merlot.

Our first stop is Darioush Winery. A Persian temple made of stone that was quarried in Iran, carved in Italy, and finally assembled in Napa. A truly opulent winery costing nearly 30 million dollars to make. Their wines are typical Napa prices at $40 for Chards and around $80 for their best cabs, but it's a must see winery. Tasting is $20 pp.

Our next stop is Regusci Winery. Recommended by the concierge at the hotel, this is one of the areas few Ghost Wineries, or winery that pre-dates prohibition. Their wines are a little bit more affordable here and the staff is super friendly, with tastings only $10.

Having never had a glass of Opus One we just had to try it. A reservation only winery (we called the same day though) the tastings here are very pricey. $30 for a glass of wine, and you get two choices. The 05 or the 06 cab. The wines have gotten more expensive over the years, and not necessarily better. There are better values in Napa to be found.

After 3 winery visits, we needed something to soak it up with. Rutherford was that place. No corkage, with comfort food staples that included Mexican, burgers, fall of the bone ribs, steaks, chops, and a very long wait for a table. Not to fear, the Beaulieu Vineyard tasting room is located right next door. We grabbed a tasting as we waited for our table, but this was one of the few wineries we didn't buy a bottle to take home. At least not when you can buy a bottle of it with your Ralph's club card at home.

Dean and Deluca, a gourmet shoppers paradise. We stopped in for a little breakfast grub before hitting the Silverado Trail. Fresh baked goods (check), delicious coffee (check), egg and bacon sandwich (check). This is also the perfect place to stock up on cheese, charcuterie, fruit, and bread for your wine tasting excursions. Can we please get one in LA? Preferably downtown, thanks.

Frank Family is one of our favorite wines at the moment. The '07 vintages are even better than the last. The tasting room is comfortable, friendly, and for $30, you can't get a better Zin right now. They will also credit the $10 tasting rooms fee to a bottle of wine.

Rivaling the Hearst's castle in Central California, Daryl Sattui's 121,000 square feet castle winery rivals the building cost of Darioush at a cool $30 million. It's a lot of flash, for just so-so italian style wines. Tasting room fees are $20, and the guided tours are even more. But if your into the whole Renaissance thing, this place is for you.

Another example of a ghost winery, Chateau Montelena is what put Napa on the wine making map (Check out the movie Bottle Shock if you want to know what I am talking about.) Their wines are excellent, and you can also put the $10 tasting fee towards a bottle here. Not only is the winery itself beautiful, their Japanese inspired lake, with views of the surrounding countryside is breathtaking.

A St Helena standard for recharging after an early day of wine tasting. Their burgers come topped with a "secret sauce" and made with Niman Ranch beef. It's a classic stop and a no brainer for tasty road side food that soaks up the wine for a second round of tasting.

Located just up the street from Taylors is Peju. They are open to the public, but do their tastings in groups. Their wines are good, but not outstanding, and their reds will run you around $30-$50. The tasting is only $5 though and they even gave us a couple of reserves to taste. Which were much better than their standard wines and the cost reflected that.

Also known as Del Drunko, the Del Dotto wine cave tour was one of the highlights of the trip. Del Dotto is another napa ghost winery. It's wine caves were dug out by Chinese laborers back in 1885. You can taste a handful of their wines in the tasting room for $20, or experience about twice as many (much better and only reds) wines in the cave for $40. The cave tour took about an hour, and your glass is never empty.

After two long days of wine tasting, we needed a breakfast of a little more sustenance than the last couple of days. Soscol Cafe came to the rescue. It's hardly a greasy spoon joint, the food is fresh, and both a knife and a fork are required for dishes like their huge breakfast burrito and corned beef hash.

The caves at Rutherford Hill are a little bit more refined than those of Del Dotto. In fact, they have one of the most extensive wine-aging cave systems in America. The caves were also home to the season six two-part finale of Top Chef. Their wines are more affordable, and they have some decent wines on their roster. Not to mention the cave tour and tasting are only $20.

Twomey is part of the Silver Oak family and was created to concentrate on Merlot wines which they do rather well. It's only $5 and located near a lot of other great wineries so it's worth a visit.

Named after the two daughters of the wine maker Charles Hendricks, the Hope and Grace tasting room is located in Downtown Yountville. Hope and Grace specializes in Cab, Pinot, and Chardonnay. The staff is friendly and the wines are solid and affordable. The guy working the tasting room suggested we check out Hurley's for a snack. He was spot on, their menu is very affordable compared to others in Yountville, and the braised wild boar is something not to miss.

You can't go to Napa without trying Thomas Keller's food. While Bouchon and French Laundry are his more well known establishments we were most excited about trying Ad Hoc. We were not disappointed. Their daily changing prix-fixe menu was flat out one of the best meals of the year. The pan seared duck breast was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I can't wait to make it at home out of the Ad Hoc cookbook.

On our final day we decide to take a road trip to San Fran. Located just under 50 miles from Napa, we had a hankering for some Chinese food. What better place than Hong Kong Clay Pot located in the heart of Chinatown. Known for their clay pot dishes, this authentic Chinese eatery is located above the bustling streets of Chinatown. Their lamb clay pot is not for the faint of heart, nothing is wasted here, large pieces of fatty meat and bones are stewed in a clay pot of vegetables and a rich broth.

How could we resist? Taking the northern route over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sonoma we stopped in at Domaine Carneros. Long known for their bubbles, Domaine Caneros was founded by the French champagne powerhouse Taittinger. The elegant chateau features a sit down tasting room with primarily sparkling wines and pinot noir.