Downtown on the upswing
NapaOld trip: Swirl, sip, and sniff the very best
New trick: Do it on foot, with great meals to boot
For the first time in ages, “going to Napa” actually means heading downtown. The neighborhood’s movers and shakers have finally figured out that part of the draw of that other grape-growing valley to the west is the charming main square of its namesake town. So, in addition to the mixed-use development going up along Napa’s quickly changing riverside area, there’s a new Westin, and other big-name hotels are in the works. A gastronomic temple has cropped up, and the area is now filled with undiscovered tasting rooms within cork-throwing distance of one another.
STAY: Leave your car with the valet at the Westin Verasa Napa, the ambitious new hotel that just opened across the river from downtown. The all-suites property, with its kitchenettes, dining areas, cozy sofas, and 32-inch flat-screens, has all the comforts of home. There are also some extras, like dreamy beds, a riverside bocce court, a heated outdoor pool, and a bustling wine bar off the lobby.
PLAY: Several tasting rooms and wine bars have joined forces with the Napa Chamber of Commerce and put together a screaming deal for wine lovers. For $20, you get a card to take to 14 downtown tasting rooms, where you’ll receive a free tasting and discounts on purchases. From the bargain chardonnays at Stonehedge to the robust syrahs and cabs at Rocca Family Vineyards, the spectrum is covered, and select restaurants will waive their corkage fee if you walk in with a bottle purchased at one of the tasting rooms.
DINE: Since opening its doors in the summer of 2007, Ubuntu has been surprising skeptics with Jeremy Fox’s inventive and masterful vegetarian dishes. The chef’s menu is a four- to five-course trip through the restaurant’s own gardens, as well as others in Napa: always seasonal, but never clichéd. Just as rare in these parts as an all-vegetarian menu is an authentic slice. But Azzurro Pizzeria e Enoteca’s blue-and-white-subway-tiled oven turns out perfect pies in a pared-down urban setting. On a recent visit, some antipasti and a Sicilian pizza played nicely with a bottle of old-vine zin from Bounty Hunter (Azzurro is part of the no-corkage-fee crew). If you’d rather cobble together your own dinner and stay in, pick up the best of everything (Fatted Calf sausages, Kanaloa seafood, Ritual Roasters coffee, and bread and pastries from the Model Bakery) at the Oxbow Public Market, kitty-corner from the hotel.
New trick: Do it on foot, with great meals to boot
For the first time in ages, “going to Napa” actually means heading downtown. The neighborhood’s movers and shakers have finally figured out that part of the draw of that other grape-growing valley to the west is the charming main square of its namesake town. So, in addition to the mixed-use development going up along Napa’s quickly changing riverside area, there’s a new Westin, and other big-name hotels are in the works. A gastronomic temple has cropped up, and the area is now filled with undiscovered tasting rooms within cork-throwing distance of one another.
STAY: Leave your car with the valet at the Westin Verasa Napa, the ambitious new hotel that just opened across the river from downtown. The all-suites property, with its kitchenettes, dining areas, cozy sofas, and 32-inch flat-screens, has all the comforts of home. There are also some extras, like dreamy beds, a riverside bocce court, a heated outdoor pool, and a bustling wine bar off the lobby.
PLAY: Several tasting rooms and wine bars have joined forces with the Napa Chamber of Commerce and put together a screaming deal for wine lovers. For $20, you get a card to take to 14 downtown tasting rooms, where you’ll receive a free tasting and discounts on purchases. From the bargain chardonnays at Stonehedge to the robust syrahs and cabs at Rocca Family Vineyards, the spectrum is covered, and select restaurants will waive their corkage fee if you walk in with a bottle purchased at one of the tasting rooms.
DINE: Since opening its doors in the summer of 2007, Ubuntu has been surprising skeptics with Jeremy Fox’s inventive and masterful vegetarian dishes. The chef’s menu is a four- to five-course trip through the restaurant’s own gardens, as well as others in Napa: always seasonal, but never clichéd. Just as rare in these parts as an all-vegetarian menu is an authentic slice. But Azzurro Pizzeria e Enoteca’s blue-and-white-subway-tiled oven turns out perfect pies in a pared-down urban setting. On a recent visit, some antipasti and a Sicilian pizza played nicely with a bottle of old-vine zin from Bounty Hunter (Azzurro is part of the no-corkage-fee crew). If you’d rather cobble together your own dinner and stay in, pick up the best of everything (Fatted Calf sausages, Kanaloa seafood, Ritual Roasters coffee, and bread and pastries from the Model Bakery) at the Oxbow Public Market, kitty-corner from the hotel.
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