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10.19.06

Wine Country Less Traveled

It's reigning grapes in Napa and Sonoma. Yep, harvest season. Fermentation never smelled so good. This weekend try biking, hiking, or just relaxing in a wine country most visitors never see.

Bike Napa Wine Country

Sonoma Two-Wheeler

Take in autumn and the rolling vineyards on the “Dry Creek Ramble,” Bacchus Bicycle Tours’ one-day excursion through Dry Creek Valley. Participants join two guides in Healdsburg for a pedal-pumping journey through three to four wineries. The package is a splurge at $139 (for an extra $30, they'll pick you up in San Francisco), but it includes tastings of the Valley's famed reds, plus a gourmet picnic lunch and a trailing van to carry purchases (or tired bodies). The 15- to 20-mile outings are offered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the rest of this month only (but private tours continue year-round). Bottoms up!

Bacchus Bicycle Tours (415-615-BIKE) Bring your own bike, get 10% off.

ALTERNATIVE: Prefer to set out on your own? Pedal to the top of Mount St. Helena, which rises more than 4,300 feet above the vines. A 10-mile out-and-back with a 2,000-foot climb, this dirt road offers an odyssey (and view) you’ll never forget.

Directions: From the junction of Highways 128 and 29 in Calistoga, drive 8.7 miles north on Highway 29 to the parking areas at the highway’s summit. The gated trailhead is on the west side of the highway. At 3/4 mile, go left at the fork. Go straight at the turn-off for South Peak. At 5 miles, reach the peak of Mount St. Helena, elevation 4,343 feet.

Activity
Bike
Region
North Bay

Napa Valley High

A secret awaits just eight miles north of Calistoga on Highway 29. We’re not talking exclusive cabernets. This is the entrance to the Table Rock Trail — and some of wine country's most awesome views. The easy two-mile hike (four miles round-trip) takes you through the woods of Robert Louis Stevenson State Park and up to the moonscape Table Rock, a 200-foot volcanic cliff. Here you’ll be rewarded with a postcard panorama of southern Napa Valley. And that rare cab? Bring it along. It’ll taste even better at this altitude.

Directions: Follow the directions to Mount St. Helena, but take the trail on the east side of Highway 29. For more information (707-942-4575)

Activity
Hike
Region
North Bay

Silverado Slow-Down

For a taste of Napa as it used to be, get off Highway 29 and drive the Silverado Trail instead. This country road runs from Napa to Calistoga directly east of 29, passing friendly, family-owned and-run wineries like Van Der Heyden Vineyards, which produces a very rare late-harvest cabernet; for $10 you’ll get five tastings, plus a guarantee you'll leave laughing. For a special treat, drive 15 minutes off the Trail to sample the wines at RustRidge Ranch and Winery, where you can spread your picnic on the grassy grounds and enjoy the tennis courts for free (check out the horses in the back too). If you get sleepy — or just sip too many samples — you can stay overnight at their B&B, then wake up to a ranch-style buffet breakfast. (Rooms start at $150 per night.)

TIP: A dozen Silverado Trail wineries are offering a special Silver Pass Weekend November 11 and 12. You’ll get exclusive tastings of new wines, food pairings, and discounts on purchases. Buy tickets ($20 for one-day, $30 for two-day) and see participating wineries here.

Directions to the Silverado Trail: Drive north of Napa town on Highway 29. Turn right on Trancas St., then left to start up the Silverado Trail.

Van Der Heyden Vineyards, 4057 Silverado Trail, Napa (800-948-WINE)

RustRidge Ranch and Winery, 2910 Lower Chiles Valley Rd., St. Helena (707-965-9353) From Silverado Trail, take Highway 128 east to Chiles & Pope Valley Rd. and continue 3.5 miles. Turn right onto Lower Chiles Valley Rd. and go about 1 mile before turning left into RustRidge.

Activity
Relax, Overnights
Region
North Bay

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