The Route
From downtown Napa, take Highway 29 north to Trancas Street, going east to Big Ranch Road north, to Oak Knoll east and Silverado Trail south. Go east on Hardiman Lane to Atlas Peak Road to Monticello Road to Wooden Valley Road East. Return by way of Monticello Road, or continue on Wooden Valley to Highway 80.
The
Napa River feeds into San Francisco Bay, which made the town of Napa an
important staging site for the shipment of goods during the Gold Rush of
the 1850s. On the west side of the river, Victorian-era neighborhoods remain,
restored to their brightly-painted, rococo glory. A red and green trolley
trundles along the revitalized Riverfront District to historic buildings
transformed into retail and restaurant complexes.
As fancy as a decorated wedding cake, the 1879 Napa Opera House, which opened in 1880 with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore,” is now the venue for concerts, drama and cabaret. Where steamships once picked up cargo from the wharf at the cavernous Hatt warehouse, waterfront cafes, a luxury hotel, a wine bar and an outdoor stage are among the attractions.
East of town, the low foothills of the eastern Vaca Range begin to rise, topped by Atlas Peak at 2,660 feet. On Big Ranch Road, the knolls of the Oak Knoll District collect the chill air and afternoon breezes that blow in from San Pablo Bay, resulting in cooler temperatures than up the valley, and making this AVA one of the rare places warm enough to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, without being too warm for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A handful of wineries on this road are architecturally interesting. At Monticello Vineyards, the pink brick Jefferson House is a delightful, quarter-sized version of Thomas Jefferson's famous Monticello home in Virginia.
Continue
the Napa Winery Tour with Stops
at Andretti Winery and Darioush Winery
The article on this page is adapted from the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country by Karen Misuraca (www.karenmisuraca.com), published by Voyageur Press.
Photo Credit: The pictures on this page are by Lisa Moore. www.studioponderosa.com