Napa Valley 101: Legacy Wineries, a Baloon Ride, and French Cuisine

You'll start your visit to Napa Valley with an overview of it—an exquisite one, actually—that you'll experience from the basket of a balloon, floating over Napa Valley.
Guests gather at 6:30 a.m. outside of The Model Bakery at the Oxbow Public Market to meet the van that will drive them to the launch site. Before you get in the balloon, you'll be served a nice breakfast, and then you're off! Make sure your phone is charged, as the views of the valley awakening will be magical. Note that advance reservations are required.

Once you've returned to Napa, take a relaxing stroll around the town. For decades, the City of Napa was just a gateway to the wine region, a place where visitors would stop long enough to get gas and directions to sites in the rest of the valley, and then move on. Not anymore. Various flood-control measures during the past 10–15 years, including new dikes, levees, and floodwalls, have made downtown safer and created a lovely riverwalk along the Napa River. Dozens of new boutiques, cafes, boutique hotels, and tasting rooms have moved into previously vacant storefronts in recent years, making First Street more of a destination than it’s been since the early 20th century. Start at First and Seminary streets and stroll on First toward the river. The next two stops are on the other side of the river, so feel free to keep walking.

Originally opened as a food and wine museum and learning center that shuttered in 2008, COPIA became a satellite campus of the Culinary Institute of America in 2016, offering courses to visitors in the culinary arts. Among the things to see and do here are the state-of-the-art dispensers at the Wine Bar that offer samples of up to 24 curated wines.

Immediately adjacent to the CIA at COPIA is a foodie's dream destination that showcases the region’s best comestibles under a single roof. Walk through the marketplace to meet vendors selling artisanal cheeses, exotic spices, bottles from micro-wineries, and an impressive selection of other gourmet goodies. For a sit-down lunch, grab a seat at Hog Island for oysters, C Casa for a new twist on Mexican dishes, or Live Fire Pizza for a wildly inventive slice from a wood-fired oven.

You can’t say you’ve done Napa’s best without having seen at least one small, exclusive winery in the Stags Leap District along the scenic Silverado Trail. Marked with both French and American flags to properly convey this estate’s thoroughly French heritage, Clos du Val’s tasting room is behind ivy-covered walls. In it, try the flagship Stags Leap District cabernet sauvignon. Ask the tasting-room staff for a tour of the demonstration vineyard, where you can learn about trellising techniques and how to identify different kinds of grapes.

Founded in 1973 by the French champagne house Moët et Chandon, Domaine Chandon is the valley’s most renowned (and hip) sparkling winery. Manicured gardens showcase locally made sculptures, and guests linger—their glasses fizzing with bubbly—by a table loaded with snacks in the festive tasting salon or under its patio’s umbrella. The comprehensive tours and tastings are informative and friendly. Walk-ins are welcome for tastings, although reservations are recommended.

This casual, warm bistro, with muted buttercup walls and an inviting patio area, serves seriously rich French comfort food and is constantly converting first-time diners into lifelong fans. Menu highlights include tomato soup in puff pastry, crème brûlée (made with a thin layer of chocolate cream), and rib-gripping free-for-alls, including coq au vin, cassoulet, and a thick-cut pork chop au jus. It's conveniently located in one of the busier stretches of Yountville's main strip.

This shrine to modern luxury is one of only three LEED Platinum hotels in the United States, so everything is extraordinarily eco-friendly. It’s also home to one of wine country’s best spas. Release tension with a massage customized to your preferences, or try reflexology. The spa also offers skin treatments, from ones that incorporate LED lights to champagne baths.