Historic Wine Country Town and Foodie Heaven

TRAVEL
YOUNTVILLE
Yountville
BY DON AND ANN JACKSON
Historic Wine Country Town and Foodie Heaven
In 1831 George Calvert Yount, the first white settler in the area,
came up with the name Napa Valley, planted the valley’s first
grape vines and laid out the town’s boundaries.
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Rather strangely, he named it Sebastopol,
even though a town just over the hill
already had the same name. Two years
after his death in 1867 it was renamed
Yountville in honor of Mr. Yount’s
enormous contributions to the region
and put an end to the Sebastopol
confusion. And what has evolved, in
the last 182 years within this muchadmired vale, is viticulture and culinary
history. Located in the center of the
Napa Valley, this quaint upscale town
with a rather minimal population of
under 3,000 is considered by many to
be the culinary capital of wine country.
One source stated the town has more
Michelin stars and critically acclaimed
restaurants and highly regarded chefs
PER CAPITA than any other small
town in the United States. And until
proven otherwise we’re on board. In all
the years we’ve been traveling to and
writing about most of California’s wine
country towns, we’ve also come to the
conclusion that Yountville just may have
the most upscale lodging choices of any
other destination when compared, once
again, on a per capita basis. Considering
these factors this small hamlet maintains
a very lofty status. And when seeking a
small quiet destination for those very
special occasions, it remains one of
our premier recommended locations.
Newlywed honeymooners, anniversary
celebrants and birthday revelers should
find that heading off to Yountville would
be a perfect decision! And why shouldn’t
our Lavish Living readers prefer the kind
of lavish vacations that destinations like
Yountville offer?
PHOTO: JORGEN GULLIKSEN
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WHAT TO SEE AND DO:
There are over ten wine tasting venues within
walking distance of the downtown’s lodging choices.
We wholeheartedly recommend V Wine Cellar,
located in V Marketplace inhabiting a 138 year old
former winery. Offering an amazing variety of local
wines, they also feature a rare opportunity where
they can teach you the art of sabrage. This French
term refers to the entertaining technique of opening
a Champagne bottle using a specially designed small
stainless steel saber to cleverly slice off the top of the
bottle near the lower cork line. Purportedly introduced
during Napoleon’s reign, the method was often used on
horseback after a battle victory or for other ceremonial
occasions. It’s a cool experience and fun to perform for
friends at special times or events. One caveat: this can
be a dangerous hobby with broken glass flying around
so extreme caution is recommended if you decide
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to pay the “learning fee” and become a practitioner.
www.vwinecellar.com. Our favorite winery tasting room
downtown is Hill Family Estate offering a very unique
venue featuring impressive wines that are matched up
with an eclectic collection of wine stained items such
as Fender Guitars, a pro surfboard and baseball bats.
www.hillfamilyestate.com.
There are also quite a few wineries within a few miles
of downtown and our favorites include: Domaine
Chandon- this famous French champagne relative
boasts countless accolades that support our own personal
taste buds as one of our country’s finest producers of
sparkling wines. www.chandon.com; Dillon Vineyards
showcases award winning chardonnays. www.
dillonvineyards.com; Cliff Lede Vineyards is well known
for their distinctive cabernets. www.cliffledevineyards.
com; And Cosentino Winery features superb estate
bottled merlots. www.cosentinowinery.com;
minutes of downtown. www.vintnersgolfclub.com.
Experiencing the interesting-albeit minimal- exhibits
at Napa Valley Museum or attending a local symphony
concert, ballet performance or play at the beautiful
Performance Arts Center at Lincoln Theater on the
historic grounds of the California Veteran’s Home
are other enjoyable options. www.lincolntheater.
org; www.napavalleymuseum.org. Upscale shopping
at V Marketplace is a must. High end art galleries,
a decadent chocolate shop, clothing stores and
jewelry shops await. www.vmarketplace.com. Napa
Style, an especially intriguing shop within “V”, offers
an amazing collection of carefully chosen eclectic
gifts, unique food items and wines from Italian and
California boutique wineries (mostly Napa). www.
napastyle.com.
WHERE TO DINE:
Even though the primary reasons that most folks visit
Yountville is to dine at their many illustrious restaurants,
relax and unwind in one of many elite lodging and spa
choices, or go wine tasting at multiple world class wineries
and downtown tasting rooms, there are also a few other fun or
interesting things to do at this special getaway destination. For
example, biking through the nearby scenic vineyards is one of
our favorite activities. If you aren’t bringing your own bikes,
check out Napa Valley Bike Tours for escorted excursions
like their Pedal, Pamper and Plunge Package or opt for a self
guided outing on rentals. www.napavalleybiketours.com. For
an unforgettable cloud hugging viewing adventure be sure to
consider a hot air ballooning flight over one of our country’s
most picturesque valleys with the local family owned and
operated Napa Valley Aloft with over 30 years of ballooning
experience. www.nvaloft.com. Golfers should definitely opt
for a round at the Vintner’s Golf Club, a very challenging
nine hole resort type course with three sets of tees and within
As we begin to write about our recent visit to the
extraordinary yet pricey culinary world of Yountville
our taste buds begin telling us to return soon. So hang
on to your dining seatbelts and get ready to openup those pocketbooks! Our overriding suggestions:
Check out the websites, menus and pricing of all
the restaurants we’ll list. Make reservations well in
advance of your trip as these cookery gems are that
popular! This famous epicurean scene is anchored
by Thomas Keller’s Michelin three star, French
Laundry, one of the most prestigious and wellknown restaurants on our continent. Their creative
American cuisine with imaginative French twists
comes with a prix fixe price-tag of around $270 per
person not including tax or wine pairings. Whew!
Keller has two other highly rated (and less expensive)
restaurants in town, Bouchon (Michelin one starFrench Bistro foods) and Ad Hoc (offering one prix fixe
four course family style dinner daily). Into a decadent
pastry or a limited selection of sandwiches? Then
don’t miss- even if it means standing in line- Keller’s
Bouchon Bakery. For all of Keller’s local enterprises go
to: www.tkrg.com. Redd, another one star Michelin
designee, highlights Inventive wine country cuisine
with Asian, European and Latin touches since 2005
by applauded chef/owner Michael Reddington. www.
reddnapavalley.com. In addition to their star honors
Michelin also rewards a limited number of Bib
Gourmand ratings to superb value restaurants offering
two courses, a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.
Bib Gourmand winners: Redd Wood at the North
Block Hotel was recently opened by Chef Reddington
and offers stylish Italian-inspired cuisine in a more
casual atmosphere than Redd. www.redd-wood.com;
and Bistro Jeanty, serving classic French haute cuisine
by celebrated owner/chef Philippe Jeanty who arrived
in the valley from the famed French Moet-Chandon
kitchens in 1977. www.bistrojeanty.com. Although
not a current Michelin winner, Bottega, led by T.V.
Emmy winner/host/chef Michael Chiarello takes
his magical Southern Italian fare to new heights of
dining nirvana. www.botteganapavalley.com; Etoile
Restaurant at Domaine Chandon, claims they’re
the only fine dining restaurant within a Napa Valley
winery and rising-star Chef Perry Hoffman brilliantly
spotlights wine-inspired cuisine. www.chandon.com/
etoile-restaurant.html; Brix Restaurant, a short distance
out of town and under the guidance of innovative new
chef David Cruz from Ad Hoc is currently developing
new menus and Hurley’s Restaurant, a very popular
local’s favorite features seasonal wine-country cuisine
with Mediterranean flair. Both provided very enjoyable
recent dinner experiences and deserve attention in
this highly competitive gastronomy dreamland. www.
hurleysrestaurant.com.
www.brix.com; Other local
restaurants that deserve consideration include: Pacific
Blues Café, located in an historic train depot building,
with a more moderately priced menu featuring what
they refer to as Maverick American cuisine, great blues
music, pleasant ambience and the best hamburgers in
town. www.pacificbluescafe.com.
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VILLAGIO INN & SPA EXTERIOR DUSK
Lucy Restaurant at the Bardessono Hotel is a very upscale
dining experience featuring “field to fork” offerings. www.
bardessono.com; Hopper Creek Kitchen at Hotel Yountville
is only open to hotel guests for breakfast and “all day lunch
type dining” but has a very fine culinary reputation. www.
hotelyountville.com. Yountville Deli, recommended by almost
every hotel employee we talked to, is the perfect pick for
quality sandwiches and most deli items at quite reasonable
prices. www.yountvilledeli.com.
WHERE TO STAY:
As we mentioned earlier, for such a small village, Yountville
has an amazing number of highly regarded lodging properties.
Three of our most recent visits included stays at Villagio Inn
and Spa, Vintage Inn and Napa Valley Lodge, and all are AAA
four-diamond properties and offer affordable value-pricing
considering the high-level of amenities. Hallmarks: no resort
fees; complimentary champagne buffet breakfasts; free parking/
WiFi, bocce-ball, beautiful pool areas, superior service, friendly
staffs and delightful accommodations. In addition Villagio and
Vintage include fireplaces and a bottle of wine with every room,
afternoon tea with an incredible offering of scones, pastries and
finger sandwiches and free usage of Yountville Fitness/Health
Club and their tennis courts. Villagio’s nationally acclaimed
spa with a number of stunning private couple’s suites is one of
the finest we’ve visited. Vintage Inn’s newly upgraded suites are
sublime. Napa Valley Lodge has a nice fitness room and offers
tea and scrumptious cookies each afternoon, complimentary
wine tastings on Thursday and Friday afternoons and fireplaces
in many rooms. www.villagio.com; www.vintageinn.com. www.
napavalleylodge.com. Another recent stay found us enjoying
the former Yountville Inn, now re-branded as the luxurious
and totally refurbished Hotel Yountville. Conde Nast Traveler
named it one of the “hot 100 new hotels and restaurants in the
world” and we can see why. Twenty-five stunning new guest
rooms, a dazzling swimming pool, an alluring restaurant and
a marvelous Spa AcQua have transformed this former small
inn into a full service contemporary boutique style deluxe
hotel. This dramatic makeover, a “no resort fee” policy,
complimentary bike rentals, wi-fi service, parking and wine
tastings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings more than
justify the higher rates. www.hotelyountville.com;
Although we’ve not stayed at these lodging possibilities we’ve
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checked them out and feel they merit consideration:
Bardessono- an elegant, pricey, luxury to the max
property claiming to be California’s first and the
world’s only luxurious LEED Platinum built and
certified hotel. It’s also been voted one of the most
romantic hotels in the U.S. by TripAdvisor. www.
bardessono.com; North Block Hotel (formerly Hotel
Luca) is a very distinctive mix of old world charm
and modernity.www.northblockhotel.com; Prefer a
friendly B & B? Lavender and Maison Fleurie are
two very delightful inns owned and operated by
The Four Sisters Inns, one of the west coast’s most
respected small inn operators. www.foursisters.com;
Into funky or unusual overnight accommodations?
If so, you should love the Napa Valley Railway Inn
with nine rooms all located within historic 100 year
old railroad cars. They offer much more moderate
pricing, considering the local competition. www.
napavalleyrailwayinn.com.
Bottom line: Anyone, especially connoisseurs,
seeking an ultimate gastronomic, oenological and
lodging vacation, will find that a visit to Yountville
should be that perfect getaway. An added plus is the
fact that most everything is within walking distance
from your lodging choice.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Check all the above website links carefully for
pricing and more details and the following city
website for year-round festivals, meeting facilities
and all things Yountville: www.yountville.com
Publisher’s note: In our next issue our travel journalists will be
taking us off to an exciting getaway recommendation to the serene “Ojai
Valley” near Santa Barbara, one of their personal favorite destinations.