womantraveler

Wine Country Good Life at Napa Valley's Carneros Inn

Splurging for the best room (one of the east vineyard-facing Vineyard View Cottages) at Napa Valley's Carneros Inn was worth the stretch price, especially the outdoor shower and vineyard views.    Now in off-season there are deals worth considering across the property for a peaceful winter get-away. There's lots of good buzz about the place, most of it worthy. Besides the privacy, we especially liked the patio with overhead heaters, the fireplace, French doors and flat screen TV/DVD/CD combo. I'm told by Womantraveler friends that a girlfriends spa visit at the Carneros Inn tops the list in the highly competitive Napa Valley spa scene, including a room for the day for relaxing and changing. On another visit to the Valley, simply stopping for a glass of wine at the outdoor lounge was a delightful treat. Just inside was the highly rated Farm restaurant -- we can't vouch for it directly but the word of mouth is tantalizing. 

Get Away to Nick's Cove

The Northern California insiders' new retro getaway is Nick's Cove along a curvy stretch of the Marin County coast. It's hot because its impressario is restaurateur Pat Kuleto (Fog City Diner, Boulevard, Postrio and a host of other signature San Francisco dining destinations), supports the credentials of organic farming and sustainable fishing and is sufficiently out of the way for a cache of remoteness. Plenty of people have gotten the word in the past six months, though -- it's already difficult if not impossible to get a reservation on short notice, although they do have a bar and seat walk-ins.

The 45-minute jaunt west of San Rafael, Novato or Petaluma or about an hour north of San Francisco snakes along hairpin turns through vast protected West Marin hills and dairy farms before reaching the town of Marshall on the Tomales Bay. This coastal Highway 1 stretch from Point Reyes Station on the south to Bodega Bay on the north is across from the Point Reyes National Seashore, a coastal wilderness abundant with wildlife. Landside, it's dotted with late-1800s onetime railroad towns and farms of cultivated oyster beds. It's an area full of history, as the story of Nick's illustrates. And far enough from modern civilization, in fact, that even cell phones can't find you here.

Turning a 100-year-old restaurant that was a local favorite and adding 12 pricey bungalows was a bumpy eight-year journey for Kuleto and his longtime partner, Executive Chef Mark Franz. They've preserved the ambiance -- the restaurant is casual roadhouse-style, and the bungalows were built or remodeled from wood-rotting shacks. They are perched along the water's edge, where you can hear the lap of the tide hitting the bungalow pilings and across the road in the groove of a hill. Each cottage is unique. All are decorated in comfortable antiques with luxury appointments -- high-thread count linens, heated bathroom floors, flat screen TVs and Wi-Fi. Winter rates range from $165 to $595 a night, which suggests what the summer season will fetch.

We sampled the inventiveness of Nick's kitchen staff during a wine tasting dinner hosted by Ross Halleck. You can't go to Nick's and not have oysters, which are farmed in the area by Hog Island Oyster Company, Tomales Bay Oyster Co. and others. Halleck Vineyard in the Russian River Valley produces just under 2000 cases of Pinot Noir. That's not far from Nick's, which has become Halleck's local hangout. His Hallberg Vineyards Pinot Noir 2005 was paired with a butternut squash flan, delightfully rich and nutty with white truffle oil. His Three Sons Cuvee Pinot Noir 2006 accompanied the wood grilled Vermont quail stuffed with local chanterelles, pancetta, cannellini bean puree and a balsamic reduction.

This, of course, wasn't the regular Nick's menu, which is harvested daily from the bay out the back door. We'll head back to do that soon. Kuleto, meanwhile, is hard to keep up with -- he opened two new restaurants in San Francisco's Embarcadero waterfront to more fanfare in late January -- Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar.

Wine and Art at Clos Pegase

Clos Pegase, a temple to both wine and art, is the Napa Valley winery I recommend friends visiting when they're searching through the hundreds of options. Designed in the post-modern style by architect Michael Graves, the winery also houses the internationally renown art collection of owner Jan Schrem. In addition to the winery, a visitor can take a tour (including self-guided with narrative) of the 24 sculptures in the gardens and porticos as well as the art in interior galleries. One of the most famous in the collection is Henry Moore's "Mother Earth," who faces west and is usually bathed in sunlight.

The winery's name is a tribute to Pegasus, the mythological Greek winged horse who touched the earth with his hooves and unleashed the sacred spring of the muses, the wine that flows from grapes. Bacchanalian pleasure is also suggested here in a humorous way. Touring Clos Pegase mixes the fineries of an art museum, a wine cellar and the expansive and welcoming beauty of a Napa Valley estate.

You notice I've yet to talk about the wines, but they are stunning and carefully produced. Small berries, thicker skins, well-drained soil planted in old vines that are the progenitors of really fine wines. Wines are harvested by hand, not by machine, and crops are not densely planted. Our favorites are the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot offerings. We were fortunate to visit on a slow day and have our own private tour guide, who took us down into the cellars, where art is displayed purposefully as well. From earliest times, people's enjoyment of wine led to them to embrace art and music, and there's a lovely taste of the experience right here.

All Aboard the Wine Train

  Of all the great ways to go wine-tasting in Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Wine Train is not only the easiest, but probably the safest. Though casual valley-style, it also turned out to be surprising elegant and a lot of fun. The three-hour trip for lunch or dinner starts in the town of Napa, slowly cruises north along the 1847 railway line to St. Helena and turns around.

Even in the off-season, when the grapes are resting and the air is crisp, it's a beautiful time in Napa Valley -- and the Wine Train special events keep it even more interesting. We opted for a weekday, when the crowds aren't so crazy, and the elegant Gourmet Express experience ($89 each) in the 1915-1917 vintage Pullman and Lounge cars, that over the pricier Vista Dome glass-topped 1947 Pullman. It's an elegant old train, with vaulted ceilings, white table cloths, silver flatware, drapes and ceiling fans. I appreciated the orchid on the table and the upholstered chairs. Totally charming, wonderful eating and generous service. What a lovely way to spend part of a day! After our appetizer and main course, we "repaired" to a club-style parlor car for dessert and sight-seeing. There are two seatings, as on a cruise ship, and well-mannered children will enjoy it, too.

There are several ways to do the wine train. Some people preferred to hang out in the less expensive Wine Tasting Lounge Car (which is open to everyone) or eat more casually a la carte. But from whatever your appetite, there are stunning wine country panoramas, and you don't have to thread along the highways with the tourists hopping from winery to winery.

The hokiest part was the obligatory lecture at the depot before taking off -- a little too Vegas-y. But in the 15-minute talk we we learned that there are 140 different types of soil in Napa Valley (making for a multitude of grape-to-wine options) -- and the perfect way to swirl to get the "wine nose" -- and thus the authentic aromas -- to the top of the glass. Even for afficionados, a good tip to launch the excursion.

2 Michelin Stars in Sonoma

The stars are aligned for Sonoma Valley wine country's hottest restaurant, Cyrus, which is offering a midwinter dining and hotel special with the Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza. That's the good news for epicureans -- the bad news is that a newspaper article led to 700 inquiries and a waiting list at the 12-room inn, which is quickly coming up with some more options. While Cyrus' reputation clearly is in the starry zone, its reputation alone didn't count for the popularity of the special package. While a typical evening at the 2-Star Michelin restaurant could approach $300 for two, the special is just $325 (for two), including a 4-course meal and luxury inn room with wine, truffles and breakfast in bed. Check into both places to get the latest availability. While in charming Healdsburg, about an hour north of San Francisco on US 101, go up to the Jimtown Store, an artist's hip remake of a vintage country store.

Less-Traveled Roads of Sonoma

During the fall wine crush, there's nothing like a taking a car along the less-traveled roads in Sonoma County in Northern California's wine country. Sonoma is my favorite Northern California wine region -- just 45 minutes north of San Francisco. It's rich in wonderful wines and vistas yet retains a more rural character than its more-developed Napa Valley neighbor. With pristine features like the Mayacama Mountains to the west and fertile Sonoma Creek, a 5-mile trip can take 30 minutes or more winding slowly through the vineyards and up and down hillsides with sharp hairpin turns. These lovely drives take us past wineries, in and out of quaint villages, California history, quiet B&Bs and -- surprise -- suddenly a dark and dramatic hilltop redwood forest. Sonoma Valley is said to be the birthplace of California's wine industry, dating back to 1825 and the arrival of the Franciscan Missionaries, who established their wines on the Sonoma Mission grounds, now the location of a fabulous inn and spa resort.

Local writer, the famed Jack London, called enchanting Sonoma The Valley of the Moon, the title of his 1913 novel that named Sonoma Valley as the "perfect spot" for his wandering lovers. London lore is in fine style in Glen Ellen at the Jack London State Historical Park, which has the cottage where he wrote, redwood forests, dam, lake and other recreational areas. Fine dining in tiny, shady Glen Ellen includes Saffron and the Glen Ellen Inn.

For one spectacular drive, take the five-mile Trinity Road off Route 12 across the mountain into Oakville on Route 29, the main drag in Napa Valley. Be prepared for a lone cyclist at any point, 10 mph hairpin turns, a one-lane bridge and a final 3-mile low-gear downhill grade. Here a vineyard on a sunny slope, then you're in a dense redwood stand a short distance away -- it's quite a visual mix. Probably best to save your wine picnic for another outing, or later in the day -- you have to be very alert as the locals zoom along these roller-coaster roads and there's no place to pull over or park anyway.

Then, at the Oakville Grocery, you can stop for a fine latte or indulge in a wine country gourmet carryout or picnic.

Sonoma's Jimtown Store

Carrie Brown's Jimtown Store in Sonoma County, California wine country on Highway 128 north of Healdsburg is a destination in itself. A revival of an old country store, with the sign commanding "Get In Here and Eat," the market purveys gourmet sandwiches and carry-out boxed lunches for wine country touring. And its dime-store-style wares offer nostalgic toys for wistful early Baby Boomers, including Sock Monkeys (and Sock Monkey Baby Slippers) and Potato Guns, along with sweet baby things, like Canus L'il Goat's Milk Soap.

Presiding with artistic personality and local character is Carrie Brown, who with her late husband (Silver Palate partner John Werner) visited from New York City more than 15 years ago and made the bicoastal leap. They turned back the Jimtown clock to its 1895 origins as a community gathering place. Today's Jimtown still reflects lack of pretension and an easy down-home feel, yet the upscale tastes of food, wine and antiques expected in sophisticated wine country. Wear jeans, nibble on a Brie and chopped olive spread sandwich, drink a latte on oilcloth on the patio, take home an antique crate made of Burma Shave signs or a folk art carnival ride helicopter. Gosh, we're hooked -- and keep coming back to have more fun.

Summer Festivals in Wine Country

There's little more glorious than a summer wine festival in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley north of San Francisco. Warm days, cool nights and sparkling clear air in Wine Country matched by the release of new vintages, jazz and classical music and art festivals. We girlfriends and our guy friends keep returning over the summer for such marvelous events in the Valleys, because in just a few hours we can pack in wine, song and shopping, plus gorgeous rolling hills and fields as we cruise along the backroads. And for those of us living in the San Francisco Bay Area, we'll be visiting frequently this summer, as Fog City (San Francisco) cools down and the outlying valleys heat up.

Some of the featured events:

June 24: Matanzas Creek Wine and Lavender

July 13-15: Sonoma County Showcase of Wine and Food

July 15-16: 12 Sonoma Valley Wineries' Spotlight on Summer Wines

July 16-23: Festival del Sole

July 22-23: Catalan Festival

July 28-30: 21st Annual Sonoma Salute to the Arts

Aug. 18-20: Russian River Wine Weekend

Sept. 1-3: Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction

And elsewhere across the state are many other other California wine festivals, including Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Temecula.

Put the Sonoma Jazz Festival's "Wine & Song Around the Plaza" event on your calendars for next year. On Memorial Day Weekend, for $60 each, armed with a sipping glass and brochures, we walked through the four-block area to restaurant patios offering tastings from small family and large producers, light hors d'oeuvres and jazz, including Bay Area guitar favorite Josh Workman. We were disappointed that there was too little food (bite-size snacks, one each per ticket) for potentially a great deal of wine (12 tastings-plus, depending on the generosity of the pourer), especially for those driving. But we moderated ourselves and enjoyed an early dinner before our drive back.

Best bets for Sonoma wine this weekend afternoon: Dutcher Crossing chardonnays, Buena Vista Pinot Noir and Imagery's Malbec. Among the best local bets for food, Meritage Martini Oyster Bar & Grille (165 West Napa St., Sonoma, 707.938.9430) and El Dorado Kitchen (405 First Street West, Sonoma, 707.996.3030). For return visits to Sonoma, several of the cellars have their own tasting rooms on or near the plaza.

The Real Napa Valley Style

On my trips through St. Helena in California's Napa Valley wine country, I'd passed by the homestyle store Vanderbilt & Company and heard through the insider buzz of its unique offerings in dinnerware, linens, bedding and gifts. But I began to really understand what owner Charles Gautreaux is creating in his store when consulting with him on a project. Given that disclosure, you can see the store for yourself through these photos and on its new website -- and enhance your own understanding of the real Napa style, which those in the know are duplicating in their homes around the world.

As the wine harvest flourishes now in northern California, St. Helena is one of the must-do stops on Highway 29, with upmarket boutique shopping along its Main Street and terrific restaurants, such as Market and Terra. I like Market (American comfort food) for lunch and rom antic Terra (southern France meets Asia) for dinner (it's not open for lunch).