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Living near the Napa Valley means appreciating its allure year-round. We can traipse through verdant vineyards, pop into world-class wineries and catch incomparable sunsets whenever we want. But summer is our favorite season for a wine country escape.
Almost on cue, the longer days signal the start of adventure. And this summer, there are a ton of new things to do in Napa Valley: Sip alfresco at an urban tasting salon, lounge poolside at a 19th-century luxury inn or watch the sun dip behind the Mayacamas Mountains at one of the valley’s hottest renovated restaurants.
On a recent visit, we put the late spring rains behind us and sank into all the sun had to offer, starting with a stay at The Francis House in Calistoga. Vacant for more than 50 years, the former hospital was recently transformed into a luxury five-room inn. The restored 1886 building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is an architectural marvel. We pondered every single tufa stone as we lounged by the heated pool.
The Francis House is also ideally situated within walking distance of downtown Calistoga’s many restaurants, including Cheer Bar, a new soda fountain and arcade on Lincoln Avenue, perfect for cooling off and playing skee-ball with the kids. Need caffeine? Check out Calistoga’s newest coffeehouse, Soul Rebel, for organic pour-overs and kale smoothies.
Farther south, in downtown Napa, the dining and shopping continue to evolve. We spent nearly an hour sampling olive oils and stocking up on infused vinegar at First Street Napa’s new epicurean boutique, Napastäk. Perched on the corner of First and Randolph streets, it’s a full-sized shop (as opposed to its original post inside Oxbox Public Market) complete with an espresso bar serving Bouchon treats. Yeah, it was hard to leave.
At wine o’clock, we turned the corner and popped into Mayacamas Downtown, a sleek new salon where you can drink the winery’s hard-to-find cabernet sauvignon and other varietals without trekking up to its home base on Mount Veeder. Best of all, the tasting room spills onto the patio, right where the Maker’s Market takes place every third Saturday.
Across the street, at the newly-opened Alpha Omega Collective, you can taste from three terroir-driven wine brands: St. Helena’s Alpha Omega, San Luis Obispo’s Tolosa and Spain’s Perinet. Enjoy a mix of wines by the flight, glass or bottle with festive small plates either inside the tasting room, with its antique mahogany bar and leather stools, or on the sidewalk patio.
Prefer sipping among the vines? Here’s a trend you’ll spot this summer: Iconic wineries, including Clos du Val and Louis M. Martini, have updated their traditional tasting rooms, eschewing old gabled buildings for modern pavilions and hospitality centers where you can select from multiple curated tastings with an appointed host.
On a Saturday afternoon at At Clos du Val in Napa, we nibbled charcuterie and tasted through library wines at the new Hirondelle House, a stunning indoor-outdoor space overlooking the estate’s vineyards on the Silverado Trail. It was exciting to experience one of the valley’s older, established wineries — circa 1974 — in a fresh and new way.
We found the same is true for classic restaurants, like Brix Napa Valley. The Yountville restaurant (formerly known as Brix Restaurant & Gardens) recently re-opened after a down-to-the studs renovation. In this new indoor-outdoor space, explore the menu of updated, eclectic offerings and garden-inspired mocktails and cocktails. This summer, you can enjoy punch bowls and savory eclairs on the 16-acre estate while your dog cools off on the restaurant’s back patio Barking Lot.
After ordering, we wandered the bright gardens with a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc, watching the sun dip behind the Mayacamas Mountains before heading back to our table for a divine meal of caramelized sea scallops and summer-sweet corn.
It was one of three truly memorable meals that weekend, from a salad of gem lettuces bathed in buttermilk herb dressing that we enjoyed among the heritage olive trees at RH Yountville, to a palate-perking barbacoa taco on the patio at Thomas Keller’s La Calenda. As we washed it down with a pineapple-agave laced margarita, we felt fortunate for long summer days spent outside.
If You Go
The Francis House: 1403 Myrtle St., Calistoga; https://thefrancishouse.com
Cheer Bar: 1348 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga; https://cheerbar.co
Napastäk: 1240 1st St., Napa; https://napastak.net
Mayacamas Downtown: 1256 1st St., Napa; www.mayacamas.com
Alpha Omega Collective: 1245 1st St., Napa; www.alphaomegacollectivenapa.com
Clos du Val: 5330 Silverado Trail, Napa; www.closduval.com
Louis M. Martini: 254 St. Helena Hwy. S, St. Helena; www.louismartini.com
Brix Napa Valley: 7377 St. Helena Hwy., Yountville; www.brix.com
RH Yountville: 6725 Washington St., Yountville; www.restorationhardware.com/yountville
La Calenda: 6518 Washington St., Yountville; www.lacalendamex.com