Best Of Wine Country In The Fall & Winter

The fall and winter is a quiet time in wine country which makes it a very good time for a visit. Cooler weather transforms the valley from exuberant summer splendor to a moodier hue. And as temperatures drop, so do crowds and prices, making a getaway less stressful on your psyche and wallet. Associated Press travel writer Michelle Locke offers some suggestions for a cool time in the Napa Valley during the fall and winter seasons.

Bistro Don Giovanni

4110 Howard Lane
Napa, CA 94558
(707) 224-3300
www.bistrodongiovanni.com
Feast on the hearty braises and roasts that go best with Napa's robust red wines. Grab a table near the fireplace at Bistro Don Giovanni, just north of Napa on Highway 29, and get ready to tuck into some seasonal fare – with pastas, pizzas, meat and fish entrees from $13-$37.

Mustard Festival

P.O. Box 3603
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 938-1133
www.mustardfestival.org
Starting in late January, you don't wan to miss the Mustard Festival. The valley gets a shot of color when the mustard planted as a cover crop for vines erupts in a burst of yellow. From Jan. 26-March 26, 2011, the humble plant is celebrated in a festival that includes music, art, dining and, of course, wine.

Wine Tasting

1310 Napa Town Center
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 257-0322
www.napadowntown.com
Wine tasting remains a year-round pastime. If you're staying in the city of Napa, a shortcut is to buy a $20 Taste Napa Downtown card from the Napa Valley Visitor Information Center. With that you can taste wine for a dime at 14 different tasting rooms in downtown Napa. The card also comes with other discounts.

Castello di Amorosa

4045 N. St. Helena Highway
Calistoga, CA 94515
707-967-6272

castellodiamorosa.com
For a wine-tasting with a difference, try Castello di Amorosa, a 121,000-square-foot replica of a 13th-century Tuscan castle off Highway 29 near Calistoga. The castle is a working winery with caves and tasting room, but also boasts such flourishes as a Great Hall, 72 feet long and 22 feet high, decorated with huge frescoes. Reservations recommended. Be sure to check out the dungeon and torture chamber.

Schramsberg Vineyards

1400 Schramsberg Road
Calistoga, CA 94515
(707) 942-4558 or (800) 877-3623
schramsberg.com
For a dose of history, visit Schramsberg Vineyards (by appointment only) at the top of the valley in Calistoga with its hand-hewn caves dug by Chinese workers in the 19th century. One visitor who was quite smitten was Robert Louis Stevenson, whose experiences in the Napa Valley of 1880 are included in "The Silverado Squatters."

Far Niente

1350 Acacia Drive
Napa, CA 94562
(707) 944-2861
farniente.com
Far Niente in Oakville, also by appointment only, is another historic winery, founded in 1885. But its caves are surprisingly modern, started in 1980. Today, the winery has 40,000 square feet of caves that include an octagonal wine library and a number of 45-degree tunnels. The Stag's Leap Winery caves, meanwhile, feature a round room in the center with a Foucault pendulum suspended above the floor.

Jarvis Winery

2970 Monticello Road
Napa, CA 94558-9615
(707) 255-5280 or (800) 255-5280
www.jarviswines.com
And then there's Jarvis, by appointment only, where the entire Napa winery is underground, tucked into 45,000 square feet of caves tunneled into the Vacas Mountains.