Napa Valley Day Trip Itinerary

This post may contain affiliate links wherein I earn a small commission if you purchase or subscribe to a product from one of my links (at no extra cost to you!). Read my full Privacy Policy here.

---

I’ve lived in the greater San Francisco Bay Area for two decades and have been to Napa numerous times. Napa Valley is a great destination to visit pretty much anytime of the year. In the summer, the vines are green and the grapes are growing. In the fall, the leaves turn beautiful colors and give the valley a whole different look. Personally, I recommend a visit in the fall, especially if you want to avoid the summer crowds and take advantage of the cooler weather.

Because we live about an hour away from Napa, it has made a great day trip over the years. However, it can really be quite overwhelming if you have never been before and don’t have a clue where to start! Don’t overdo it. Visiting three wineries in one day is perfect (max of four), especially if you want to squeeze in a visit or two to one of the many fine eateries Napa has to offer.

While I have much more to cover when it comes to Napa, this was a budget day trip itinerary that we did one day that worked out pretty well!

Note: prices have risen significantly since writing this itinerary so I no longer really consider this a “budget” itinerary (but it might be compared to others)!

Stop 1: Lunch at Melted

966 Pearl Street, Napa, CA  94559

First rule of thumb when wine tasting: get something to eat! To me, I like to enjoy the experience of wine tasting without getting totally sloshed. I also know that spending a day in Napa can get pretty pricey, so we opted for a cheaper, light lunch at Melted in Downtown Napa.

Melted was a little sandwich shop (now closed) serving up creative concoctions on waffle-pressed bread. I got the Aunt Weaver Stamper, one of their vegan sandwiches, made with vegan Swiss cheese, artichoke hearts, walnut arugula pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes, and it was pretty tasty!

Micah got (and thoroughly enjoyed) the It’s Been a Long Time Cousin, which had roasted chicken breast, jack cheese, habanero salsa, and pickled okra.

Stop 2: Castello di Amorosa

4045 St. Helena Hwy, Calistoga, CA  94515
https://castellodiamorosa.com/

If you have never been to the castle, I would suggest a visit if it fits into your budget, if not just for the experience of visiting a castle in California! It almost feels like you are in the Italian countryside, and I’m always looking for those Europe feels.

Since Castello di Amorosa is located more in the north Napa Valley in Calistoga, we started with the castle as our first wine stop. That way, we could work our way back down towards Napa, and home.

Tickets & Self-Guided Tour

You’ll need to purchase a ticket for entry into the castle and select your preferred wine tasting option. The cheapest option these days is a whopping $50 per person for a Standing Reserve Tasting! In my humble opinion, I have never been a fan of the Castello wine. I just don’t think it’s that great (sorry Castello). But it’s included with your ticket and I’m not one to pass up any wine!

Touring the castle is done on a self-guided basis, meaning you are free to explore on your own. It is also a very popular destination for visitors so I would definitely recommend getting here early to avoid heavy crowds. I’ve also visited in the late fall before and have found the castle to be a little less crowded and more pleasant to explore the grounds of the castle when the temperatures aren’t so hot.

If you’re just looking to get some exterior photos of the castle and grounds, you can do so for free without entering the castle grounds. They have several different farm animals on the property, including sheep and chickens, that can keep you entertained if you aren’t keen on touring the castle.

We really enjoyed the wine here and it’s a great place to escape the summer heat in the AC. One of my favorites that we tried, that you could only purchase at the winery, was the Rose of Pinot Noir. We also really enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot!

We even got a little tour of the barrel room since we joined their wine club. Be careful people…wine makes you do these kinds of things.

Well, I think we ended up waiting in line to snag a tasting table for at least a half an hour. The way it works here is they will seat you at the next available table and the wine pourers will come to you. It is an extremely popular place, so if you are visiting in the high season, definitely expect to wait in line for a bit.

Was it worth it? It was okay. I did like that we got the sampler with the Santana, which is a special blend selected by Carlos Santana himself (a Bay Area native).

Have you ever been to Napa? I’d love to hear what your favorite wineries to visit are. Some of my past favorites include Chateau Montelena, which is definitely worth a visit as it is a beautiful location, and it’s also the winery behind the movie Bottleshock; Pine Ridge; Peju; Del Dotto; and Alpha Omega. It really is too hard to choose!