The main winemaking region of the United States and one of the most famous places in the world for growing ideal grapes, the picturesque and fertile Napa Valley stretches across the expanses of Northern California . There are 14 thousand hectares of vineyards, several dozen large and four hundred small wine farms . Fragrant and full-bodied wines of California are popular not only in America but also abroad - bottles with mention of Napa can also be found in Russian enotecs . To see how grapes are grown produce wine, it is possible during excursions along the Napa Valley . And besides, there are a lot of gourmet restaurants, own gastronomy school and a whole bunch of spa centers working, as you might guess, in the grapes .
How to get
The main cities of the Napa Valley are Napa proper, Yuntville, Oakville, Rutherford, Saint Helena and Calistoga. You can get here from the cities of "big" California: San Francisco, Auckland, San Jose and Sacramento; it is preferable to use road transport. From San Francisco, for example, the path lies along picturesque highway No. 37 via the Golden Gate Bridge and takes about an hour and a half.
What to see
"Chateau" of all historical periods, sizes and grades of products is the main subject of tourist interest in Napa, although, of course, fantastic landscapes deserve no less attention. There are also gigantic vineyards here, real "medieval" castles, and exclusively chambered ones, homelike. Where to stay is just a matter of your choice.
Each wine farm (from accepting tourists) holds a half-hour tour of its premises: the actual production halls, cellars and tasting rooms. The visit costs about 13-20 USD per person, tasting is included, but some types of wine can be tried only at an additional cost. In the store at the "chateau" you can buy the goods you like and even "post it" here, for which you have rest areas with benches and barbecue grills
Excursions through the Napa Valley
In the Napa Valley a large number of travel agencies offering services of organized tours of vineyards in cars, sipeds or on foot. Usually programs start in the city of Napa and last about 6 hours, during which tourists visit 4-5 wine farms and admire the picturesque landscape. A number of travel agencies arrange tours directly from San Francisco and other cities in California
Napa Wine Train
Napa Wine Train - a refined, though not cheap way to see the valley . The three-hour journey in the restored Pullmann carriages of the early 20th century covers about 70 km of scenic route among vineyards . During the trip, passengers are treated with gourmet dishes and the best samples of local wines, as well as entertained by stories about winemaking and the history of Napa Valley . You can simply make a sightseeing trip by train or in addition visit it by visiting one of the wine farms - a large number of package tours are offered "by measure" .
| Balloon over Napa Valley |
| Vineyards of Napa Valley |
| Sunset, Napa Valley |
| Napa Valley Napa Valley Beautiful landscape |