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Tour Vin – Exploring Yountville

Published on: January 27th, 2023

There are many towns in Napa Valley that offer a wide range of unique wine tasting and dining experiences. Each town also offers varied accommodations such as B&Bs, hotels and inns, so there is much to choose from!

This month, we are featuring the small town of Yountville, just north of Napa. This village offers a variety of shops, restaurants, galleries and wineries, which are all within walking distance of each other. Here are a few venues you should consider exploring when staying in Yountville:

Accommodations:
North Block Hotel
Napa Valley Lodge
Bardessono
Hotel Villagio
Hotel Yountville
Maison Fleurie
Vintage House

Wine Tastings:
Chandon
Handwritten Wines
Hill Family Estate
Jessup Cellars
RH Vine Vault
Stewart Cellars
JCB Tasting Salon

Dining:
AD HOC Restaurant
Bistro Jeanty
Bottega Napa Valley
Bouchon Bistro
Coqueta Napa Valley
La Calenda
Lucy Restaurant & Bar
R&D Kitchen
Regiis Ova Caviar & Champagne Lounge
RH Yountville
The French Laundry
Bouchon Bakery
Mini Model Bakery (6am-12pm)

Don’t forget that Napa Valley Aloft launches their hot air balloon rides from the center of town, too!

The entire Valley is in bloom with mustard seed and other cover crops, and our clients are beginning to plan their upcoming trip to the Wine Country. Give us a call and we can help you navigate the abundance of choices Napa and Sonoma have to offer!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Wine Country Concierge

Tour Vin – Yountville Has a New Restaurant to Try!

Published on: March 30th, 2021

There’s a new restaurant in the town of Yountville. Located next to North Block Hotel, North Block Yountville is now open for dinner! 

We stopped by TWICE on our last visit to Napa Valley to enjoy cocktails with locals and grab a copy of their upcoming menu. The interior is being remodeled (see pic) and should be quite nice when completed. Check it out – there are some great breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that everyone will enjoy. If you’re staying at the hotel, this is the perfect spot to enjoy breakfast before you begin your wine tasting tour.

The restaurant will feature cuisine created by Chef Nick Tamburo, known for his success at NYC’s Momofuku. The menu will feature California-inspired items prepared with locally grown ingredients and will change with the seasons. That said, following in the footsteps of Redd Wood (former restaurant), pizza will also be on the menu.

As Napa Valley is beginning to open up, now is the time to plan your wine country vacation. We are hearing that hotels are filling up for summer and fall, so contact us to help plan your next trip!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin Wine Tasting in October

Published on: October 29th, 2014

Wine tasting during this year’s Napa Valley Crush was once again amazing! An incredible time was had by all of the Tour Vin guests during a weeklong wine tour in the Napa Valley.

After landing in Oakland, we began our trip with a luncheon at Chez Panisse in Berkley. The food was, of course, outstanding! Our next stop was wine tasting and dinner at the famous Mustards Grill. A special request by one of our guests, this venue offers truly amazing cuisine options and, again, the food was out of this world.

The next few days of the trip included wine tastings at Palmaz Vineyards, Failla Wines, Shafer Vineyards (with an introduction to owner Doug Shafer), Anderson Conn Valley Vineyards, Luna Vineyards, Vineyard 29, Raymond Vineyards, Carter Cellars, Odette, Realm Cellars and Robert Biale Vineyards. One of the most unique wineries we visited was Palmaz. This included a wine and food pairing in addition to a two-hour tour featuring the winery’s state-of-the art, gravitational flow, technological advanced wine making facility.

Our guests were also in for a special treat at Failla Wines. Not only did we meet the winemaker/owner, we were also invited to partake in the food and wine tasting in their caves. Have I yet mentioned the special Ghost Horse wine tasting we also partook in with our host Todd Anderson of Anderson Conn Valley? Another special treat, for sure!

Our group stayed at the North Block Hotel in Yountville – a truly first class hotel. One of our guests took advantage of a midday massage, while others enjoyed a shopping spree in Yountville’s boutiques and shops. We also like to recommend that any stay in Napa Valley include an adventure outing and some of our guests enjoyed a hot air balloon ride with Napa Valley Aloft, capped off with a champagne brunch.

Dining in Napa Valley is always a wonderful experience. We dined at Solbar, Farmstead, Bottega and TORC. Each day, remarkable cuisine rounded out the experience. Tour Vin also visited our favorite bars: 1313 Main and Bounty Hunter Wine Bar – great folks, and the wine and food never fail to please.

We also visited a relatively new venue during the trip. City Winery Napa is a music venue, restaurant, wine bar and winery. While enjoying one of the many concerts offered during the year, you can also enjoy dinner and wine tasting in a very relaxed atmosphere. This new hot spot is a definite must-try!

Napa Valley has so much to offer and Tour Vin visits all the hot spots before we recommend them to you so that we can tailor your trip to your travel, wine tasting and cuisine preferences. Contact us to help plan your next Napa Valley vacation!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin Explores New Places in Napa Valley

Published on: October 29th, 2013

Accompanied by our guests, Tour Vin recently visited new wineries and restaurants throughout Napa Valley. We barrel tasted; strolled through wine caves; enjoyed a food and wine pairing prepared by a well-known winery chef; toured a newly constructed wine facility atop Pritchard Hill; and learned firsthand about the gravity-flow process of wine making.

After a great day of wine tasting, we sat down at some of the best restaurants in Napa Valley. We enjoyed steak at Press; California cuisine at Farm; Italian food at Redd Wood and Bistro Don Giovanni; and French cuisine at Bistro Jeanty and Angele.

And, you ask, where did we stay? We kicked back and relaxed at the North Block Hotel in Yountville. The staff was great and the accommodation luxurious. This place is a definite do again!

All in all, this was a great Napa Valley vacation for our tour guests. Give us a call so we can help you plan your next trip to Napa Valley!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge