From Napa Valley Life

 

The Ten Best Things to Do on a Cold, Rainy Day in Napa Valley

 

Paul Franson

 

They say that Napa Valley has two seasons, tourist and rainy.

      There’s always plenty to do when the weather is good, but there’s also lots of fun  indoors on a cold, rainy day. It’s the favorite time for locals to visit the local tourist haunts while the hoards are still at bay.

      The most obvious thing to do in Napa Valley on a cold, wet day is taste wine at your favorite winery, but let’s look beyond that. Many wineries would be fascinating places to visit even if you’re a teetotaler, so we’ll break those wineries out separately in this list of ten things to do on rainy days, but I bet you’ll try the wines, too.

 

Check out a local museum

While Napa Valley isn’t New York or even San Francisco, it still has a number of museums worth a careful look. The most obvious is Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, which someday hopes to open a location in Napa. The Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga is a wonderful look at the way Napa Valley once was, and is ideal for kids.

      The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in St. Helena chronicles Napa Valley’s first publicist. While you’re there, the adjoining Napa Valley Wine Library collection in the St. Helena Wine Library also has an amazing collection of books and historic documents.

 

Take a tour of a winery

Many local wineries give good tours, but perhaps none is better than that at St. Supéry Vineyards, which also has a fascinating demonstration area with its famous smellavision apparatus where you can sample wine aromas.

      At Sterling Vineyards, you have to lead your own tour, but it’s comprehensive and well annotated and the views can’t be beat. Neither can the tram ride – though they use a van if it’s too windy – and even kids will enjoy the tastings, too, for they get fruit juice while their parents sit and enjoy the wine.

 

Explore historic tunnels

There’s something spooky about a cave, and the hand-dug tunnels at Schramsberg and Beringer are the oldest and among the most extensive in the valley. Just as caves are cool in the summer, they’re warm (relatively) when it’s cold outside, and the tasting at the end of the tour is even more warming.

 

Visit a winery in a cave

Of late, a few wineries are building their whole production facilities in caves, not just storing wine there. Some do it to minimize impact on the environment, but no one can dispute the appeal to visitors, either. Jarvis Winery’s cave includes an underground stream and a small waterfall as well as huge rooms containing giant amethysts, while Palmaz Vineyards’ cave stretches the equivalent of  14 stories from top to bottom, with its fermentation cavern an enormous five-story high dome blasted out of Mount St. George. The Staglin wine cave is more utilitarian, but still worth a visit.

 

See fine art  

Many wineries feature original art, not none can compare with the three-story art museum at the Hess Collection. From the flaming typewriter, a mystery to kids in this computer era, to the giant portrait of Johanna, you can spend hours studying the art.          Jan and Mitsuko Shrem’s collection of art at Clos Pegase is also impressive and eclectic, though part is sculpture outdoors. Cliff Lede Winery features an art gallery managed by I. Wolk, who also has an impressive gallery in St. Helena and an astounding sculpture garden outside at Auberge du Soleil.

 

Visit a photo gallery

Some art galleries specialize in photographs, including Mumm Napa’s impressive gallery in Rutherford. It’s best known for its collection of Ansel Adams works, but has permanent and traveling exhibits of other photographers as well. Turnbull

Winery also has an impressive collection of rare photos.

 

Enjoy a food demonstration

Though neither teaches hands-on classes for amateurs, both the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena and Copia in Napa have demonstrations of cooking along with samples or even lunch or dinner almost daily. If you want to get yourself involved, some wineries, individuals and the Napa Valley Cooking School at the Upvalley Campus of the Napa Valley College have tasty classes.

 

Shop for special treats

Obviously, there are many places to eat in Napa Valley, including the French Laundry, where you can while away a long rainy afternoon or evening as well as your children’s inheritance. But you could also spend as long looking, tasting and eating at two new exciting venues, the Oxbow Public Market and the Whole Foods Market in Napa. Both also have many things to take home, and you can also find special treats at Dean & DeLuca, Oakville Grocery, Sunshine Market and the Napa Valley Olive Oil Company in St. Helena and Genova Deli in Napa.

 

Visit a hilltop castle in Italy

See your ultimate fantasy at Daryl Sattui’s Castello di Amoroso in Calistoga. The formal tour takes an hour and a half, and while few now visit for the wines, the tasting of the excellent wines at the end of the tour will convince you that it really is a top winery, not just a tourist attraction. Even the most cynical anti-tourist local will be impressed with the care and details Daryl has devoted to his “castle of love,” and most would happily enjoy the wine while they pretend they’re in a hilltop near San Gimignano or Monteriggioni.

 

Sit by the fire

Few things are more pleasant on a rainy day that sitting by the fire, perhaps reading a book while you sip a glass of sherry. You can do that at many resorts and bars in Napa Valley, including the bar at Auberge du Soleil, in the lobby bar around the original mansion fireplace at Silverado Resort, in the front lobby at Villagio , which has the least-known public bar in Napa County, in the comfortable sofas in the lounge at Cuvée or in the bar at Meadowood. At Meadowood, you might even just read in the lobby as if you're waiting for someone or for dinner. Who knows if they just don’t show up or you change your mind about dinner…

 

 

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