Set against a backdrop of the Mayacamas mountains, Yountville is a storybook destination in the heart of the Napa Valley. Its 1.5 square miles of pristinely landscaped streets are peppered with luxury hotels, shops, and famed neighborhood restaurants such as Chef Thomas Keller’s Michelin 3-Star The French Laundry, Celebrity Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, and the crystal covered palatial-designed RH (Restoration Hardware), to name a few.
Options on what to do while visiting for a weekend may be wide-ranging, from a hot-air balloon ride at sunrise to wine tasting at one of 15 distinguished tasting rooms, to a high-end food-and-wine-pairing experience. With so much to do, it’s best to plan ahead for a weekend visit to Yountville.
WHERE TO STAY
Bardessono Hotel and Spa is the premier place to experience a digital detox. The neutral-toned spaces enhance a guest’s ability to unwind, and a spa butler is on-call to provide candlelight and music during an in-room massage. Partnerships with Lexus allow guests a chance to test drive or be driven around the area, while Duckhorn Vineyards, known for its Merlot harvested from Three-Palm Vineyards, offers tasting experiences on-site. // www.bardessono.com
Photo courtesy of Hotel Bardessono
Both Bardessono and Hotel Yountville Resort & Spa offer a digital Bedside Reading On the Download program to allow guests who prefer staying on-site to enjoy a reading luxury amenity. With Hotel Yountville’s 80 luxury rooms and suites, it’s easy for guests to curl up and immerse in a booklist of a dozen choices of eBooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and meditations. Physical books are also an option for guests who prefer to flip actual paper pages. // www.hotelyountville.com
WHERE TO DINE
By the time guests arrive on Friday afternoon and depart on Sunday, they’ve probably exhausted their palates after tasting wine and devouring farm-to-table plates that vary from Parisian to Oaxacan to Italian to Californian selections. It’s best to prepare for a visit by researching how early dinner reservations need to be booked, especially at The French Laundry, where tables fill quickly. // www.thomaskeller.com/tfl
The French Laundry // Photo by Meg Smith
Lunch at Bistro Jeanty for a puffed pastry bubbling over a bowl of tomato soup is a must-order for excellence in taste and presentation. This restaurant’s namesake, Phillipe Jeanty, arrived in Yountville in 1977 from the Epernay Champagne region of France to open a restaurant on the property of Domaine Chandon winery. In 1998, he left the winery restaurant and opened Bistro Jeanty with a vision to create a menu that speaks to comfort food and incorporates French cuisine, including a cheese plate with slices of pear and candied walnut to pair with an Époisses de Bourgogne cheese, known for its brandy-soaked rind. // www.bistrojeanty.com
La Calenda is a no-reservation Oaxacan restaurant that opens after 5 pm. It’s also Michelin-recognized as Bib Gourmand— defined as a friendly establishment that serves good food at moderate prices. Operated by Celebrity Chef Thomas Keller, on the menu are Oaxaca-inspired antojitos (appetizers) quesadillas al pastor with pineapple and Chihuahua cheese and a bowl of house-made tortilla chips, spicy guacamole, and salsa verde to wash down with a specialty margarita. A plate of charred butternut squash tamale is cooked in an avocado leaf, and the chicken in stone-ground mole negro, with its velvety texture and chocolatey essence, is a must-order. // www.lacalendamex.com
WHERE TO WINE
Everything tastes better with bacon, and at Priest Ranch, guests can sign up for the bacon and wine tasting experience or deconstruct the winery’s flagship Bordeaux blend, Coach Gun, during The Coach Gun Experience. // www.priestranchwines.com
Priest Ranch Coach Gun Tasting // Photo courtesy of Priest Ranch
A stop at the audacious yet sophisticated JCB Tasting Salon is where Old World and New World wines merge in three selections of wine flights, each accompanied by a selected pairing and elegantly served in Passion by JCB Baccarat crystal. Wines are also available by the glass and by the bottle. // www.jcbcollection.com/location/tasting-salon-yountville
When Jim, a.k.a. Bear Dyke, of Mira Winery, met Gustavo Gonzalez, a former winemaker at Mondavi, the two chatted mathematics; more specifically about Society 610, or the Golden Ratio, a formula that, in an artful exaggeration, equals visual perfection. The design of the Mira tasting room was built with the Golden Ratio front of mind, and this under-the-radar winery is the place to taste and marvel at Ovum, the winery’s wooden, egg-shaped fermenter. // www.miranapa.com
The luxurious Silver Trident name is a nod to Neptune and is associated with the owner’s ancillary businesses of luxury cruise lines. In response to Yountville’s ordinance that requires wineries to offer a percentage of retail, Silver Trident is adorned with the interior design of Ralph Lauren, as well as crystal accessories and framed photographs. The winemaking style of Silver Trident is Old World but with New World grapes. // www.silvertridentwinery.com
WHERE TO SHOP
Previously known as “Vintage 1870,” V Marketplace is filled with restaurants, art galleries, a tasting room, and luxury shops housed in three stone buildings historically accessible since the rail service began in 1868. // www.theestateyountville.com/marketplace
Jewelry, clothing, housewares, gifts, books, towels, artwork, handbags, candles, body lotions and more are worth perusing inside Alchemy Works, a retail, gallery, and event space concept in the heart of Yountville. // www.alchemyworks.us/pages/napa
FOR THE ADVENTURER
Run by a local family, Napa Valley Aloft is one of the original hot air balloon companies to offer agricultural aerial tours over Napa Valley. Guests are consistently impressed while they take in the valley’s breathtaking scenery from above. The company’s FAA-certified hot air balloon pilots have extensive knowledge of ballooning over Napa Valley and are among the most experienced captains for balloon adventures. Once the balloon lands, brunch is served. // www.nvaloft.com
Balloons over Yountville // Photo by Napa Valley Aloft
Sidebar: The History of Yountville
Yountville’s storied past began in 1836 when George C. Yount received a land grant from the Mexican government. Three years later, he planted the first Napa Valley grapes. More than a decade later, when California became part of the United States, Yount designed this six-block hamlet with a public square named Yountville. What makes this city stand out among the rest of the Napa Valley is what transpired almost 50 years later at the edge of town when The Yountville Veterans Home opened its doors to housing elderly and disabled military veterans. Close to the Veterans Home is the nonprofit Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater, where symphonies, speaker series, and wine-related events occur throughout the year.
