I knew it was going to be a bit challenging taking them to vineyards but we were up for the challenge!
We decided to stay at a family friendly resort, The Meritage Resort and Spa, for the first two days and then see how it went. We flew in to Oakland airport and the drive to Napa was less than an hour. The plan was to change to a hotel near San Francisco for the last two nights if the kids couldn't take any more Napa. They ended up doing so well that we extended our stay another two nights at the resort, which was gorgeous and had their own winery and tasting room on the property as well as a kid friendly bowling alley, pool, outdoor and indoor seating areas with fireplaces.
Night 1- arrived at night and flight was delayed, got in at 11pm and the Budget Car Rental had a super long line! After waiting an hour in line, with another hour to go, I stood in line while my hubby asked the other counters if they had cars left. We decided to book online with Hertz while standing in line (found a comparable deal) and then cancelled with Budget. Got to the hotel after midnight!
Day 1- took it easy in the morning, got bagels from the cafe in the hotel, very reasonably priced as was the room service! (surprising for a resort!)
Vineyard Stop 1: Then started the day off driving to the Castello Di Amorosa vineyards, housed in a beautiful Tuscan style castle! It was a bit of a drive as its one of the ones furthest down the road from all the other vineyards. This kid friendly winery does not require reservations for small parties but calling ahead is always recommended. Fun tasting room with great wines. They had white grape juice for the kids and you can add a $5 chocolate upgrade which gives you a small but beautiful box of 3 premium chocolates. My daughters saved the empty boxes to put breadsticks in! The tasting room also had samples of oils and vinegars which the kids enjoyed. With the admission fee into the castle and winery, you are allowed to explore the castle on your own but guided tours available also. My kids loved playing with the chickens, goats and other animals outside the castle. Would highly recommend and would go back again!
Vineyard Stop 2: V. Sattui; we went there for a picnic (NOTE OUTSIDE FOOD NOT ALLOWED but this is variable with who's working at the front). Gorgeous and perfect kid friendly picnic grounds with deli, tasting rooms, market, and area where they have wood fired pizza's made to order as well as gelato cart. We thoroughly enjoyed our picnic on the grass at leisure. Most beautiful rose gardens I have seen in a very long time! Saw tons of kids there. Recommend and would go again!
Vineyard Stop 3: Peju Province Winery: beautiful little winery and vineyards with gorgeously manicured lawns and perfect picnic areas and cute outdoor bistro tables. We got there near the end of the day and though the website said they closed at 530pm and we got there before that, they initially told us the tastings were done for the day. Then we got lucky and they took one last group. We didn't like any of the wines we tried though :( We would've picnicked there had we known what a beautiful outdoor area they had, and saw other families there.
Dinner at the famous Gott's Roadside (great veggie burgers and sweet potato fries, we didn't like the corn on the cobb, too smoky) and also picked up food from the famed Oxbow Public Marketplace (kind of like Whole Foods which fresh produce and groceries and deli, but also little separate restaurants and stores inside selling chocolates, cheeses, etc. Got some great specialty tacos and cheeses as well as great fresh fruit.
Day 2: Got breakfast/lunch from nearby Golden Bagel Cafe - amazing bagels, sandwiches, pizza bagels, etc. Took some for breakfast and some for a picnic lunch.
Vineyard Stop 1: Raymond Winery (found a two for 1 tasting coupon online!) very cool and interesting tasting rooms with different, hip, themes and outdoor gardens and organic produce gardens. Really liked most of the wines and the cool tasting room decor. Fun place overall, had books for kids to read and Juice boxes. They especially liked outdoors here, feeding the goat rosemary from the garden. Recommend and would go again!
Vineyard Stop 2: Round Pond Estate Oil Tasting (across the street from the winery) we went here for a fun tasting that the kids could do too! We got to choose 4 oils out of the 8 they had and also got to try the two vinegar syrups. The oils were amazing, especially the Italian estate EVOO and we also liked the garlic, the basil, and the chili a lot. We paid for one tasting $25 and she was generous so 4 of us tasted from the one sample (we also had a baguette with us that helped) and she gave us a 5th oil to try too. The Tasting fee is waived with a purchase at least around $50 and we bought some oils to give as gifts and some for us! The kids loved this. There is a shaded area with benches too. Recommend this and would go again. Didn't have time to go across the street to their winery for tasting or cheese but maybe next time.
Vineyard Stop 3: went to Grgich Winery and Vineyards -it was gorgeous outside, they did not require reservations, had cute garden and patio outside but a big sign saying "no outside food or drinks allowed" and the kids were starving so we left ...we probably should've picnicked close by and gone in looking back, but maybe next time...they did allow kids and were friendly on the phone
Vineyard Stop 4: Beaulieu Tasting Room: (across their vineyard) Brad was super friendly on the phone, stating that as one of the oldest vineyards, they do not require reservations and do allow kids, especially if the kids have things to do. This is a large tasting room with not much else, as it's separate from the vineyard and across the street in a building. We took tablets with headphones and books for the kids so they were not running around and into people. Most places have free wifi too. I didn't love the wines, they feature more sauvignon blancs and red wines.
We spend the evening bowling at the resort and had drinks and queso before taking a hotel shuttle to Napa's Downtown for dinner at Gott's Roadhouse again (great veggie burgers, milkshakes and garlic fries). We also picked up pasta across the street from Fillipi's Pizza Grotto which is famous for pizza but the penne and marina was only okay.
Day 3- Sonoma Valley today! About 30 to 45 min from our hotel..depending on traffic and pit stops! We stopped at Homegrown Bagels to pick up lunch and it was amazing! We had bagels and cream cheese, bagels and nutella for late breakfast and also had picked up some amazing bagel sandwiches for lunch! They have tons of varieties of fresh bagels and bagel buns and cream cheeses! Yummy! Highly recommend getting there before noon, esp on a holiday weekend as bagels sell out, we got lucky!
Vineyard Stop 1: Benzinger Family Vineyards is a super kid friendly place that is a bit of a drive deep in Sonoma Valley. The great thing here is that the price of tasting and tour includes a tractor pulled tram tour through the vineyards and into the man-made caves that store the wine barrels and a peek at their biodynamic farming methods and their distillery machinery. This was a fun tour for my 10 yr old daughter but my 8 yr old has more of a limited attention span and wanted to get on her tablet to read and play games as she got bored of the talking part of the tour. They did have grape juice for the kids at the tasting. At the end in the tasting room, there was a great little shop selling all sorts of gadgets and gourmet products at reasonable prices. There were also samples of chocolate and caramel syrup, different vinegars and estate olive oil. The wines were great on the tasting menu, as well as the samples you can get in the main shop and then you can buy a glass or a bottle. They had great 3 and 2 bottle specials if you took the tour and we bought a few as they would make great gifts. The prices of a lot of the wines and everything else in the shop was very reasonable, especially the food items and chocolates. Would highly recommend and would go back, just wish it was a bit closer!
Vineyard Stop 2: Matanzas Creek Vineyards,Estate and Lavender Fields We chose this place due to being kid friendly and having other things other than wine. The lavender fields were gorgeous and smelled heavenly and the estate was beautiful and breathtaking. They had cute patio areas outside to sit and relax. The tasting was great and liked many of the wines there although the price per bottle was higher than some of the others we visited. We did find a two for 1 tasting coupon online but the tasting fees here were waived if we purchased something anyways. The kids had fun looking at the lavender shop and the items we bought there were very good quality including the roll on lavender oil my older daughter bought, with strong fragrance quality too!
Vineyard Stop 3: Domaine Carneros Estate and Winery we stopped by this absolutely GORGEOUS place on the way back to Napa and unfortunately they had just closed but it was so beautiful we wanted to explore and take pictures. The grounds and estate were beautifully manicured and well kept and there were several beautiful patio areas outdoors that were picture perfect! I really wished we would have made it on time there! None the less we got some great photos and its definitely on my list to go to next time. They do advise reservations, they allow kids and even have sparkling grape juice for them.
For dinner tonight the kids were craving veggies and fruit so we bought some from a local market on the way back to Napa and ate outside fireside in our hotel, along with some amazing pizza and garlic bread from Fazeratti's Pizza that we picked up.
Day 4: Checkout and head back to the airport - wish we could've stayed longer and already can't wait to go back!
All the places mentioned above are kid friendly and family friendly. Many don't allow kids or pets so always call ahead!
TAKEAWAY TIPS:
1: always call ahead and see if kids are allowed and if they require a reservation and if they have anything for kids there such as grape juice
2: most vineyards will close their tasting rooms 30 min BEFORE it says the winery closes on the website or on google maps!
3: search online for groupons and 2 for 1 tasting coupons prior
4: best tip- start early in the day and plan the day beforehand! it took us several hours at each place and the first few days when we didn't plan ahead and have it mapped out, we wasted time driving back and forth or calling places that we found out when researching that we might not like the wine or the ambience or they didn't allow kids!
5: ultimate tip: ALL the wineries and vineyards close between 4pm to 5:30pm!!! ( and stop tastings usually 30 min before that! So very early, and left with not much to do after 530pm unless you plan ahead with kids (most traveling without kids usually went for a nice long dinner at a fancy restaurant)
Looking for other family friendly activities – check out Napa Valley Kid for ideas.
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