The Best Way to Wine Country _ Explore _ Hipcamp Journal

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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THE BEST WAY TO WINE COUNTRYpostedon 07 29 2014 entryby HIPCAMP STAFF (/U/STAFF)

WeveallimaginedwhatspendingaweekendinCaliforniawinecountryislike.Beautiful?

Yes.Sunsoaked?Ofcourse.Fullofdeliciouswine?Duh.Butwhatistheprimarythingthat

probablycomestomind?Idabsolutelylovetodoit,butcantbecauseitiscompletely,

heartbreakingly,nevermindthatsanabsolutelyinsanepriceexpensive.Thankfully,thereis

anotherwaytoexperiencethevalleyinawaythatdoesntinvolveoverpricedB&Bs(you

canmakeyourowndarnbreakfast,right?).You,myfriend,areinluck,asweareaboutto

showyouawholenewworldofexploringwinecountryonadime,andgiveyouachanceto

spendsomequalitytimeoutsideinoneofthemostbeautifulspotsinCalifornia.Thekey?

Notbeingafraidofalittledirtandsleepingunderthestars(whichweassumeyouaredown

with,becauseyouarehere!).

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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Whenitcomestocampinginwinecountry,therearereallytwosuperstarparksthatyouare

goingtowanttofocuson:BotheNapain(ratherobviously)NapaValley,andSugarloafin

SonomaCounty.Bothoffersomeabsolutelystunninglandscapes,and,mostimportantly,

proximitytosomeofthebestwineintheUS.Sowithoutfurtherado,heresthebreakdown

onwhatsgoingonatbothparks,andhowtomakethemostoutofyourtrip!1)BotheNapa

Where:StHelenaHwy,Calistoga,CaliforniaWhy:Rollinghills,abadassswimmingpool,

hikingthroughcoastalredwoodsand,ofcourse,greatproximitytosomeoftheworldsbest

wineries.Oh,anddidwementionyurts?(!)(Afewofmany)Winerieswithinwalking

distance:

FranksFamilyVineyard(http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/)s,whichwasnamedthe

2012WineryoftheYearbytheConnoisseursGuidetoCaliforniawine.

TheepicandgrandioseCastellodiAmorosa(http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/),

which,inadditiontoscoringa92RobertParkerrating,featuresItalianarchitectureand,

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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delightfully,asmallfarmwithgoats,sheepandchickens.

Thehistorical,150acreLarkmeadVineyards(https://www.larkmead.com/vineyard/),

nestledinthebeautifulheartofthevalley.

(Afewofevenmore)Winerieswithinbikingdistance:

TristantVineyards(http://www.tristantvineyards.com/),whichfeaturesallorganically

grownwine.

BenessereVineyard(https://www.benesserevineyards.com/),acharming,familyowned

winerynamedaftertheItalianwordforwellbeing.

SterlingVineyards(http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/age_gateway?destination=home)

which,inadditiontobeingahouseholdnameandhavingsomedeliciouswines,also

includesaprettyspectaculargondolaridewithyourtasting&tourticket.

Ifyouwindupcampingouthere,youshoulddefinitelylookintogettingayurt.Itsalittlebit

moreexpensive(about$75insteadofthestandard$35forasite),butcomeon.Stayingina

winecountryyurtmeansyouhavemassivelyuppedyourglampinggame.Withthisinmind,

weveincludedafewyurthacks,whichareasfollows:

Site6isthebestyurtspot

Thereisnoelectricity,sobringalanterntokeepupthatambiance

Ifyouaretheprivatetype,bringanextrasheettocoverthewindow

Dontforgetyourbedding!

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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Ifyouareadairyfan,grabsomelocalcheese(http://cheesetrail.org/visitacheesemaker/)to

gowiththatamazingbottleyousnaggedearlier.That,myfriends,isliving.Readytobook?

Comeonover(http://www.hipcamp.com/ca/northcoast/bothenapavalley#rpl=1),wevegot

allthedetailsworkedout,allyouneedtodoispickthetime!Oh,andbesuretobringyour

kiniandtrunks,becausethatpoolisgoingtolookAWESOMEafteryourlongbikeride.

2)Sugarloaf

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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Okayokay,somaybeyouvebeentheredonethatwithNapaandyouarelookingforanew

experience.Ormaybeyouarelookingformoreofawildernessmeetswinecountrymash

up,heavyonthewildernessside.Ifthisisthecase,thenSugarloafRidgeisdefinitelyyour

answer.Where:2605AdobeCanyonRd,Kenwood,CAWhy:Abreathtakingwaterfall,25

milesofawesomehikes,gorges,aviewofthegoldengatebridgefromthetopofBald

Mountain,oh,anditsjustashortbikerideawayfromsomespectacularwine.Wineries

withinbikingdistance:

HowaboutChateauSt.Jean(http://www.chateaustjean.com/)?Gorgeousmansion?

Check.Beautifulgrounds?Check.2008winemakeroftheyear?Oh,hellyes!(Check).

KenwoodVineyards(http://kenwoodvineyards.com/),devotedtosustainable,smalllot

wine,threeofwhichareorganic.Smalllotsmeanstonsofvarietybutconsistentquality.

Youllprobablybehungry,sowhynotenjoydinneralongwithRobertParkercertified

deliciouswineatSt.FrancisWinery(http://www.stfranciswinery.com/)?

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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Wanttotryawidevarietyofwinesinonespot?TrytheNakedWine.comsWineStudio

(http://www.sonomauncorked.com/winecountry/wineries/nakedwines/)andTasting

Lounge.

Readytoroll?Youknowwevegotyoucovered(http://www.hipcamp.com/ca/north

coast/sugarloafridge#rpl=1)!Winecountryisntexclusivelyfordrinkingwine,however.Ifyou

arelookingforarespitefromthesniffingandswirling,youshouldabsolutelycheckoutsome

oftheamazingparksinthearea.JackLondonshome(http://www.jacklondonpark.com/)is

actuallylocatedinSonomaCounty,about10minutesawayfromSugarloaf.Thefrontier

comestolifeatBaleGristMill(http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=482)inNapa,whichwas

oncethespotsettlersgatheredtohavetheircornandwheatgroundintoflour.And,of

course,therespectivedowntownsofSonoma(http://www.sonomavalley.com/)andNapa

(http://donapa.com/)haveallthecharm,deliciousfoodandstrollablestreetsthatyouwould

expect.

Themoralofthestoryhereisthatyoucanabsolutelyhaveaspectacularvacationinwine

countryfor,literally,25%ofthecost.Becauseattheendoftheday,staringatthestarsina

sleepingbagbeatsafancyceiling(disclaimer:theyareallthesame)anyday.

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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previousentryTHE ULTIMATE CAMPING PLAYLIST (/JOURNAL/TRIBE/THE-ULTIMATE-CAMPING-PLAYLIST)

nextentryA BEGINNER 'S GUIDE TO BACKPACKING (/JOURNAL/EXPLORE/A-BEGINNER-S-GUIDE-TO-

BACKPACKING)

PS:Sincethereareapproximatelyabazillionwineriesthatarenearbyifyouaretravelingvia

automobile,weexcludedthatfromourlist.Wedid,however,findafewofthebestinNapa

(http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/bestnapavalleywineriestovisit)andSonoma

(http://www.sonomacounty.com/articles/13sonomacountywineriesyoushouldknow),for

yourperusingpleasure.Itgoeswithoutsaying,butpleasepleasepleasedrinkresponsibly!

Sharewithyourfriends,yourparents,yourbarber:

tags: CALIFORNIA (/JOURNAL/TAG/CALIFORNIA) ,WINE (/JOURNAL/TAG/WINE) ,BOTHE-NAPA(/JOURNAL/TAG/BOTHE-NAPA) ,SUGARLOAF (/JOURNAL/TAG/SUGARLOAF)

5/27/2015 TheBestWaytoWineCountry|Explore|HipcampJournal

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