Kisses Sweeter Than Wine In Napa Valley
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010The Wine Country of Northern California is a destination for wine lovers from across the country and around the planet. Napa, Sonoma, and Calistoga offer visitors a splendid vacation experience with the laid back attitude of Northern California. From the romantic bed and breakfast tour to the pleasure of winery tours for the wine affecionato, the Wine Country is really a fabulous destination.
The area has unquestionably been developed on the wine industry’s success. In 1975, Napa Valley had roughly 20 wineries. Today tourists can select between an extraordinary 275. Nearly all of these wineries suggest tours and tastings and several are open to the community daily. The Wine Country continues to mature and to attract visitors who are interested in the best wines that California has to offer.
The city of Napa is the biggest in the valley and has all of the accommodations one might expect from a city of its magnitude. There is mainstream shopping and many options for guests looking to have a convenient base of operations in the valley. Prices for vacation rentals and hotels are generally less in Napa than beach rentals directly on the coast line. The disadvantage is that the city is less refined and certainly more mainstream than the rest of the valley’s wine areas, but the proximity to the rest of the valley might make that a lesser price to pay.
If you are on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, then Calistoga should be on your list of adventures. The town is bedecked with false fronted shops in the manner of the Old West. There are real 19th century hotels and fabulous opportunities for visitors looking for bed and breakfast inns in the wine country. The fine dining found elsewhere is replaced by unpretentious cafes and a relaxed attitude that permeates the town. The town was founded as a resort vacation destination, and some of the earliest hotels and hot springs are still in operation. This is absolutely the place for visitors who are fascinated in the Wine Country but also have a need to see Northern California the way that it once was.
Another 19th century creation, and the oldest town participating in the Wine Country, is Sonoma, California. There are a variety of sights here and many of them are unrelated to the cuisine and wine culture of the surrounding region. There are places preserved from the Spanish Mission era, 19th century adobes, old hotels, and even a theater preserved from the 1930s. Sonoma is undeniably an outstanding place to find vacation rentals to set up your base of operations, although there are genuine hotels and a variety of bed and breakfasts here as well. Make a stop in the city’s central plaza to catch sight of what real life is like for locals of the California Wine Country.