A Day Trip To Napa Valley | What To Do In Just One Afternoon

What can you do when you only have one afternoon to spend in Napa Valley? Make the most of it, of course! According to the locals, Spring is the absolute best time to visit Napa Valley. Not only will you avoid the crowds of other tourists, you will also have the greenery. The rolling hills were covered in bright green grass and wild flowers were popping up along the hills. Everyone we spoke to told us that it last for only a short period of time before turning to brown with the hot and dry summers. 

We were driving back to San Francisco from Yosemite and decided to drive through Napa Valley. Located an hour and a half (without traffic) outside of the city, it makes for a wonderful day trip if you are visiting San Francisco. 

Our action plan was to visit two wineries, enjoy a tasting, and find a place for lunch. We managed to accomplish all three in one afternoon. 

Stop one was Artesa, a modern winery that is open for walk-in wine tastings. 

The sky was so blue and it looked just as I imagined Napa Valley to look like. However, the high winds that day kept us from enjoying our wine outside for long. 

A king gentleman who works for Artesa directed us to the Oxbow Public Market for lunch. Not only is this a lovely market for groceries and other shops (including a small book shop), it has several restaurants to choose from. As wine tasting in Napa Valley can be expensive, having budget friendly options for lunch is always a good idea. 

It was a beautiful day in Napa Valley. With it being so windy though I had to make an outfit change as the wind was blowing my dress up in a less than flattering Marilyn Monroe moment. 

Matthew enjoyed exploring around the market and we found this fun wall. 

After a yummy fish taco lunch we took a drive around to enjoy the vineyard views. If you have the chance, stop along the side of the road to take in the scenery. 

Domaine Carneros was the second vineyard on our list. It is actually a fairly new building, but it has a very traditional and historic facade. Wine tastings here are on the more expensive side and by appointment only. As we did not have time for an appointment on our spontaneous trip to Napa Valley, we opted to visit anyway to check out the beautiful grounds. If you do not have the time or funds to set up an appointment, don’t let it stop you from exploring the grounds of Napa’s beautiful wineries. 

Both Artesa and Domaine Carneros made the Top 10 list for Napa Valley wineries and they’re both within a short drive of one another. With so many amazing wineries to choose from, you really can’t go wrong. My advice is to select two that you really must see; one modern and one more traditional so you will have variety. If we had more time we would have driven to the vineyards with the mansion that look like historic castles. 

No matter which wineries you choose, you’re bound to have a lovely time.