<>a>p>The Wine Country of Northern California is a destination for wine connesuirs from all over the nation and around the planet. Napa, Sonoma, and Calistoga offer visitors a splendid vacation experience with the laid back manner of Northern California. From the romantic bed and breakfast trip to the exhilaration of winery tours for the wine affecionato, the Wine Country is really a fabulous destination.
The area has definitely been created on the wine industry’s success. In 1975, Napa Valley had about 20 wineries. Now visitors can select between an extraordinary 275. Just about all of these wineries offer tours and tastings and several are open to the public daily. The Wine Country continues to mature and to bring in visitors who are interested in the best wines that California has to offer.
The city of Napa is the largest in the valley and has all of the facilities a person might look forward to from a city of its size. There is mainstream shopping and several options for tourists needing to have a fitting base of operations in the valley. Rates for vacation rentals and hotels are typically less in Napa than beach rentals directly on the coast line. The disadvantage is that the city is less refined and definitely more mainstream than the rest of the valley’s wine getaways, but the proximity to the rest of the valley might make that a minor price to pay.
If you are searching for something different, then Calistoga ought to be on your list of destinations. The town is decorated with false fronted bistros in the style of the Old West. There are authentic 19th century hotels and marvelous opportunities for visitors looking for bed and breakfast inns in the wine country. The fine dining found elsewhere is replaced by unassuming cafes and a relaxed attitude that permeates the town. The town was designed as a resort destination, and a number of the initial hotels and hot springs are still in operation. This is definitely the place for visitors who are fascinated in the Wine Country but also have a wish to see Northern California the way that it once was.
Another 19th century innovation, and the oldest town within the Wine Country, is Sonoma, California. There are a diversity of sights here and several of them are unrelated to the food and wine culture of the surrounding region. There are places preserved from the Spanish Mission era, 19th century adobes, old hotels, and even a theater preserved from the 1930s. Sonoma is without doubt an excellent place to find vacation rentals to set up your base of operations, although there are amazing hotels and a range of bed and breakfasts here as well. Make a stop in the city’s central plaza to catch sight of what real life is like for locals of the California Wine Country.