To celebrate my mother’s 50th birthday, I booked us a five day trip to Napa Valley, the world famous wine growing region. Since wine tasting is one of our favorite activities this was the perfect way to celebrate such a milestone. 

DAY 1: OPUS ONE WINERY & NAPA RIVER INN

After driving 6 hours from Los Angeles to Napa we were more than ready for our first winery, Opus One. Arriving at Opus One was the perfect welcome to the beautiful Napa area. While at first it looks subtle and feels like a small town, you soon realize its abundance of fine restaurants, luxurious wineries, stunning views, and delicious wine. For more details on Opus Wine check out our full article here.

After the Opus One Estate Tour, we headed to our beautiful hotel, the Historic Napa River Inn located in the heart of the wine region. The hotel has charming rooms, and it’s only minutes away from world-class dining at Angele and Celadon. The location was perfect. Check out our full article on it here.  

DAY 2: HALL ST. HELENA & ARTESA NAPA VALLEY

We woke up to complimentary scrumptious breakfast-in-bed from Sweetie Pies bakery including a delicious housemade parfait with fresh fruit, housemade croissant with egg & cheese and blueberry custard danish (a favorite!). What a way to start the day! 

With our bellies full, we headed to our first winery of the day, Hall St. Helena, for The HALLmark Tour. If you’re an art lover, this is the tour for you. In fact, there is so much art here that they have developed an app for it. It was captivating! Check out our full article here.

Feeling fully inspired by the art, we headed to Artesa Napa Valley Winery for their Pintxos and Wine experience. Our Wine Educator paired five Tapa dishes with five Carneros and Limited Release Artesa wines. This experience is perfect for those who are interested in the delicacies of pairing wine and cuisine together flawlessly. It was one of our favorite experiences in Napa. Plus the views from Artesa are unbeatable! For more details check out our full article here.

DAY 3: DOMAINE CHANDON, THE MERITAGE RESORT & TRINITAS WINERY

The special day finally came – my mom’s actual birthday! To kick off 50 years with style, we went to Domaine Chandon for their Sparkling Tour & Tasting. Throughout the tasting, we tried several kinds of bubbly and and were grinning ear to ear. How could you not?! For more details check out our full article here.

With bubbly in our tummy, we headed to our second hotel, the Meritage Resort, an upscale, Mediterranean-inspired resort that’s only 4 miles from Downtown Napa. The hotel treated us to a chocolate & wine pairing from their sister winery, Trinitas Winery, located at the hotel. It was a sweet welcome! (Literally) More details here.

DAY 4: NAPA VALLEY ALOFT HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE & CLOS PEGASE WINERY

Apart from wine tastings, Napa has much more to offer. There is everything from horseback riding to safari excursions. One of my favorite experiences during our visit was a hot air balloon ride with Napa Valley Aloft. It was everything I could have imagined of and more. Truly a MUST experience for anyone visiting Napa and something you’ll never forget. Nothing compares to the views you’ll see while floating above vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see. Click for full article here. It was remarkable! 

After our breathtaking balloon ride, we went to Clos Pegase Winery in Calistoga for their cave tour & tasting. The estate is awe-inspiring with beautiful drought-resistant gardens. The tour included a tasting of 5 current and library Clos Pegase wines paired with artisanal cheese and charcuterie. This was definitely a treat! More details here.

DAY 5 ROUND POND ESTATE WINERY, KENZO ESTATE & SENZA HOTEL

We kicked off our last day of wine tasting at Round Pond Estate, a stunning winery in the Rutherford region of Napa Valley. It features beautiful gardens and orchards, and even its own Olive Mill. This was also the first winery in which we tasted wine straight from the Barrel, an experience everyone should have in their life. The tour culminated with a delicious tasting of their estate-grown wines and a sampling of appetizers featuring fresh ingredients grown in their gardens. Yum! Click for full article here. 

Next stop was Kenzo Estate for a private tour & tasting. The winery is owned by Kenzo Tsujimoto, the founder of Capcom, and is an enchanting oasis hidden in among a mountain terrain. This wine is unique because it is only found in Japan and at their winery, making it a one-of-a-kind experience to taste their delicious offerings. Full article here. 

We ended the night with a lovely wine and cheese pairing at Senza Hotel, our final hotel for the trip. The Senza Hotel (owned by the Hall Wines family) immerses guests in art and vineyards. It’s the perfect hybrid between a country bed and breakfast and a luxury hotel. What more could we ask for?! Full article here. 

DAY 6: A BITTERSWEET GOODBYE TO NAPA

We had a wonderful breakfast at Senza Hotel and headed back to Los Angeles. The return trip gave us plenty of time to reflect on our truly unforgettable trip with memories that will last a lifetime!