Wine Country Uncorked
Magnificent coastlines that get washed by large, roaring Pacific waves that crest, crash and roll onto shore with the speed and fury of a Neptunian NASCAR race, then gently and quietly recede into the same ocean that gave birth to them, leaving behind a pristine beach awash with curious flotsam and jetsam that will include sand dollars, seaweed and seashells. It's also a region of quaint seaside communities like Steinbeck's beloved Monterey and bustling burgs like Jack London's Oakland and Jack Kerouac's San Francisco. One region, nestled in a valley approximately fifty miles north of Ess Eff, has been enticing a breed of tourist known as The Vino Visitor to explore this land of the vintner's art. A veritable Garden of Eden of varietals and vino... The Napa Valley or Wine Country, USA!
The Corkscrew Tour and History
The Napa Valley is a paradise for lovers of the vine and those who wish to worship the grape gods. The valley has wineries aplenty from the large established names like Mondavi and Sutter Home to the smaller unique boutique operations. Wine tours and tastings are plentiful and guaranteed to please the palate To ensure that your visit is truly memorable, nothing goes better with fine wine-ing than a good bout of fine dining, and you have plenty of award winning choices to select from. Shopping, of course, is an offbeat treat with merchants offering up for sale everything from wicker picnic baskets, complete with fine china and stemware, to an assortment of Hawaiian Shirts and custom Jerry Garcia neckwear. Touring the valley is varied and exciting no matter which mode you choose. You can drive yourself or luxuriate in a limo, or you can even pretend you are Steve Fossett trying to circumnavigate the globe and enjoy the sunrise with a spectacular view of the rolling valley below while sipping on a glass of early morning champagne. [Can you come up with a phrase to add in here, further clarifying your reference for the uninitiated? As it stands, could refer to ballooning or helicopter-ing or airplane flying… Thanks.] To top off your day, you can ride the rails in luxury with haute cuisine and fine wines on The Wine Train as you roll gently through the valley with a backdrop of mountains kissed by a sunset. So grab your corkscrew and get ready to Uncork The Wine Country!
The Napa Valley wasn't always a vintner’s enclave. The Wappo Indians inhabited the region 4,000 years before the Spaniards arrived. Mexico eventually gained its independence from this European power and assumed control of the whole of California. In 1831, George Yount, the first American settler in the Napa Valley arrived and it was he who planted the first grapevines. These original plantings were from Mexico and
it wasn't until 1860 that the higher-grade European grapes were introduced. The Gold Rush came and went, and in its wake was left a demand for the Valley's wine. The demand was greater than a Pacific tsunami, and by 1891 there were over 600 vineyards in the valley serving the needs of a thirsty population. Today, there are more than 200 wineries in the area, turning out marvelous Merlot's, Zinfandel's and Riesling's and other faves of the wine crowd. This oenological bounty has attracted an abundant harvest of tourist green with over 5 million Vino Visitors a year!
Uncorking the ValleyHighway 29 is the main vino vein that passes through wine country like an asphalt artery. Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga each offer the visitor something different and unique. Napa, at the southern terminus of wine country, is the Gateway to the Grape. One of the highlights of the town are hand painted murals that adorn the downtown buildings depicting the region’s history and the growth of the wine industry. More than just informative, they are a visual folk art feast for
the eyes. Traveling north on 29, you'll come to the community of Yountville, and yes, it is named after George Yount, the Johnny Appleseed of viticulture. After paying your respects at his grave in Pioneer Cemetery, you may want to visit Vintage 1870, a three story brick building with over 40 eclectic emporiums that will cater to every shopping whimsy. Quaint, best describes Oakville, the next stop on your journey of wine discovery. Famed for its historic grocery, it is a definite “must stop and see”. Continue north and you come to the town of Rutherford, home of the Niebaum-Coppola Winery. This is a wine country stop you 
can't refuse. Sure, it's a winery, and yes, you can get a tour and a glass of wine, but the main feature is showing in the upstairs Francis Ford Coppola Movie Museum. Props and artifacts from many of this famed director’s films are here on display, but for my money, the hands-down fave rave is the chair and desk from The Godfather where Brando and Pacino, as the Corleone's, ruled their celluloid criminal empire. St. Helena is your next stop. It's a stylish boutique boomtown with enough cappuccino to float the Queen Mary. It's Bar Harbor without the harbor. Design and flair ooze from every shop; so don't expect any Blue Light Specials in Aisle #5. As you journey ever northward on Highway 29, just north of St. Helena, on your left you'll see the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, serving up some the finest cuisine in America west of NYC. Prepare now to enter the spa and mud bath kingdom of Calistoga. Rumor has it that the original name was to be Saratoga of California, after the fabled resort in New York State, however, alcohol got the better of town founder Sam Brannon's tongue and he proclaimed loudly to all, “This will be the Calistoga of Sarafornia!” Calistoga it is then. Bubbling mineral waters, massage and mud baths create a mellow air in this renowned realm of relaxation. Pampering has been elevated to a high art form and smiling faces are the rule. All that's missing is a group hug!
The Alterna-Tour
Of course, the wineries are the main attraction in Napa Valley. Add unique shopping and dining experiences
and it becomes an adventure for palate and wallet. If, however, fine wine tastings aren't your brown paper bag idea of a vacation and you could care less if your wine requires a corkscrew or has a screw top, then there are a host of other activities and attractions. Mount St. Helena stands guard at the north end of the valley; stately and Sphinx-like, she guards the geyser realm that bubbles beneath her in Calistoga, spawning spas like a fertile rabbit on overdrive. The mountain was also home to the fabled Silverado silver mine made popular in Robert Louis Stevenson's The Silverado Squatters. Stevenson also spent his honeymoon on Mount St. Helena in 1880, and you can hike the five miles to Consummation Summit to view the marker that indicates the cabin's location if you’re feeling ambitious. Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, named in honor of the author, and is located 7 miles north of Calistoga on Highway 29.
Hot springs and geysers dot the valley, but one ranks as the Ethel Merman of heat and steam, California's version of Old Faithful. The old girl belts out a plume of steam 60 feet into the air every 30 minutes or so and is every bit as stirring as a full chorus singing a Broadway show tune.
If it's a touch of natural history and Humphrey Bogart you’re looking for, search no further than California's Petrified Forest, also located near Calistoga. Before Walt Disney figured out that tourists would shell out cold hard cash to see pirates and Mad Hatters, Petrified Forest Charlie beat him to it in the mid 1800's by charging folks to look at a petrified tree he had dug up. In 1910, Ollie Bocker and her husband began serious development of the area, and today it’s a primo attraction for the petro-curious from around the world.
The Roadhead chrome-magnon aficionado of Detroit’s metal and muscle auto industry will do well to visit Litto's Hubcap Ranch on Pope Valley Road just 2 miles northwest of Pope Valley. No Cabernets here, but you will find over 2,000 hubcaps collected by Emanuel Litto Damonte. Born in 1892, Litto created arrangements and art forms over a 30 year period comprised of hubcaps, bottles and pulltops. Litto passed away to that Great Auto Scrap Yard in the sky in 1985, but left behind one of California's preeminent 20th Century folk art environments, California Registered Landmark #939. Litto's Hubcap Ranch Kicks Asphalt!
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Touring the green, rolling hills of Napa Valley is one of life's indescribable journeys. Lush fields undulate suggestively with row after row of well manicured fruit of the vine. Majestic mountains frame this verdant panorama straight out of Monet or Gaugin, and travel options are as plentiful as the award winning varieties of wines produced in the region. The do-it-yourselfer will discover the joy of asphalt discovery by renting a car to wander this Wine Wonderland. For the more luxury minded, you can book a Limo Tour from one of many companies that specialize in the Wine Country. You can luxuriate with an informed designated driver while you imbibe and sample the finished product of the harvest.
If you have some Boxcar Willie lurking in your genetic code, you can ride the rails on The Napa Valley Wine Train, enjoying champagne brunches or dinners in a restored Pullman car as you sniff and sip your favorite varietal concoctions. The Pullmans hearken back to a time of railroad style and grace. Rich, imported Mahogany, brass fixtures and grape motif etched glass surround you with quiet elegance as your Wine and Dine Magical Mystery Tour rolls gently up the valley for a culinary experience you'll not soon forget. 
The Wine Train station is located in downtown Napa, and while you’re waiting to board the vino version of the Orient Express, you can avail yourself of the many gift stores to shop for that perfect Wine Country gift or souvenir. Don't forget to stop at the Wine Emporium that is filled to the cork with over 200 varieties of wine and wine related items. All Aboard!
Or take advantage of the Wright Brothers’ and Charles Lindberg’s innovations by making a little aviation history of your own. Take to the skies for a Bird’s Eye Tour of the Wine Country by booking a flight on a Wine Plane. Charter a wine tasting flight over the Valley and enjoy the view while sampling Mother Grape. In addition to flights over Napa Valley, many of the charter companies offer combo tours of the Valley and San Francisco. All in all, this tour gives new meaning to the term flying high.
And Balloons
Ever since the Montgolfier Brothers soared the big blue in their big balloon, the race was on! Everyone from Jules Verne to Steve Fossett was bitten by the gas bag bug. In Napa Valley, champagne balloon flights of fancy are not only a reality, but plentiful, and you have your choice of flight specialists to take you soaring into the early dew-laden morning sunrise. The balloons themselves are works of aeronautical art, stretched like an artist's canvas as they expand and fill to reveal brilliant, colorful designs that float above the valley floor as though on display at some private flying museum of modern art. This is definitely one of the Wine Country “to do's” that is not to be missed
The Napa Valley is a wine lover's paradise to be enjoyed by the corkscrew and the screwtop crowd alike. It doesn't matter if you enjoy your vino in a glass of crystal or a paper cup, Wine Country only gets better with age, like the fine wines this award winning region produces year after year. Once you visit Wine Country, you'll come back time and time again if for no other reason than to keep the grapes happy. After all, nobody wants to experience The Grapes of Wrath!