It’s no surprise that I love escaping to wine country. This weekend, we spent our time in Yountville, which is still semi-new to me. Aside from passing by a few times, I didn’t actually realize how adorable the small little town is, and a nice change from Sonoma Square, which gets a little repetitive after multiple trips. I always wrote Yountville off as too pricey and uppity, maybe it was the name, Yountville sounds like “Yacht” to me and has a classiness to the name 😉 That said, we had the best weekend relaxing, sipping wine, and eating our way through the quaint little wine town.
I always make a stop at Kitchen Sunnyside a top priority en route to wine country. Located in Mill Valley and owned by the culinary geniuses behind Blackwood, Kitchen Story, and Sweet Maple in San Francisco. Only one word comes to my mind and I’m sure yours also, if you are an SF resident, *Millionaire’s Bacon*!! Kitchen Sunnyside has a diner-ish charm, but with way better food than a diner. And lets not forget about their $7 grapefruit mimosas, I’m never against a little wine country pre-gaming 🙂 Before hopping in the car, grab a cashew mylk latte at Equator around the corner.
Where we Stayed:
We went back to Senza Hotel again, located just outside of the downtown part of Yountville. You can read more detail on Senza in a past post here. It was even better this time around and we can’t wait to return again.
What to do & Where to Sip (Day 1):
After the short drive from the city/Marin, we ended up in downtown Yountville, grabbed another coffee at an adorable gourmet food and espresso bar (some say I’m coffee addicted – I prefer to call it a love affair).
After a quick caffeine stop, we stumbled upon the coziest tasting room with the best Chardonnay – Raymond Vineyards and got comfy on a big couch and sipped away.
We capped off our perfect afternoon by checking into the hotel, hopping in the hot tub for a quick relaxation session, and got ready to taste again at the hotels complimentary wine and cheese hour.
We finished the night by taking a quick uber to Bottega, a great option in Yountville if you’re craving Italian food and fabulous calamari. Also, their HUGE wine glasses are to die for – I need them!
(Day 2)
I’ve talked about the breakfast at Senza Hotel before, but the real take-home from it is that they provide Bouchon baked goods with their complementary breakfast which means no standing in 30 minute Bouchon lines while visiting Yountville!
After breakfast, we headed to to St. Helena to visit Hall Winery. Hall is the sister winery to Walt, which we usually visit while in Sonoma and is owned by Senza Hotels’s owner, Kathy Hall. Hall Winery is a must stop – it is the most outstanding and aesthetically pleasing winery I have visited, with both indoor, outdoor, bar and private space scattered around the large property.
We then finished off our trip at R+D Kitchen (sister to Hillstone in San Francisco). I am obsessed with their filet mignon thai salad..and burger…and fries. We always sit at their outside bar and sip Sauvignon Blanc as we enjoy our meal.
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