{"id":1208,"date":"2019-02-27T18:34:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T18:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1208"},"modified":"2019-02-27T19:04:44","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T19:04:44","slug":"napa-valley-at-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1208","title":{"rendered":"Napa Valley at Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people who think of spending time in Wine Country visualize it in daylight.\u00a0 That\u2019s when the wineries are open for tasting and when the sunshine kisses the vines and makes the grapes grow.\u00a0 If you are going to spend more than a day, then you\u2019re going to encounter at least one night there.\u00a0 In most parts of Wine Country, outside the principle cities and towns, there\u2019s nothing to see or do because, well, it\u2019s dark.<\/p>\n

Famed for its restaurants, Napa Valley has a nocturnal side for visitors.\u00a0 One of its two main thoroughfares, Route 29, is well lit and there are attractions that are also illuminated.\u00a0 The smaller roads are only lighted up by passing headlights, which also creates an atmosphere rather spookier than that experienced by day.<\/p>\n

Sunsets can be spectacular in Napa Valley.\u00a0 The wide-open spaces between the Vaca and Mayacamas mountains create a backdrop for the setting sun that can be quite dramatic.\u00a0 We think there must be something in the air there that brings out the best around 5:00 in the winter and 9:00 at the height of summer.<\/p>\n

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Sunset in Carneros, from the Etude winery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Driving north on Route 29 you\u2019ll pass a lot of hotels and commercial establishments at the widest part.\u00a0 Where the road narrows, you can see the lights of Yountville to your right.\u00a0 Popular restaurants such as Brix and Mustards<\/a> appear on your left not much further on.\u00a0 Of course, they\u2019re there during the day as well, but their rapid appearance out of the dark is a reminder of what were once called roadhouses, gathering spots out in the countryside with hints of racoon coats, bootleggers and late-night parties.<\/p>\n

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Mustards Grill.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of the Napa Tourist Guide.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>These days, the action is to be found in the towns such as Yountville, St. Helena<\/a>, Calistoga and especially Napa Town<\/a>.\u00a0 The first three mentioned are really just villages, with one or two commercial streets including a few restaurants.\u00a0 Besides restaurants (and some very good ones) the town of Napa has the additional nighttime advantage of a beautiful walk along the river.\u00a0 The town leadership has refurbished the old buildings on the southern bank and erected a promenade.\u00a0 Passing down the walkway adds a very romantic after-dinner touch.<\/p>\n

Nocturnal walks outside the towns are probably not a good idea.\u00a0 For one thing there are no sidewalks, so your only path would be in the roads themselves.\u00a0 Now, this is California where nobody walks if they can help it.\u00a0 So you\u2019ll be traipsing along poorly lit roads. (Did we say, \u201cpoorly lit\u201d.\u00a0 For the most part there\u2019s no light at all.) Because most drivers aren\u2019t expecting to see pedestrians, there\u2019s an appreciable danger in taking a walk in the back roads.\u00a0 If you are intent on doing so, wear reflective clothing.<\/p>\n

Napa Valley is a pretty magical place, day or night.\u00a0 Because daytime activities predominate, not many give consideration to seeing it by starlight.\u00a0 If you\u2019re there, enjoy it.<\/p>\n

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The walkway along the Napa River.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of napawineestates.com<\/em><\/p>\n

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Most people who think of spending time in Wine Country visualize it in daylight.\u00a0 That\u2019s when the wineries are open for tasting and when the sunshine kisses the vines and makes the grapes grow.\u00a0 If you are going to spend more than a day, then you\u2019re going to encounter at least one night there.\u00a0 In … Continue reading Napa Valley at Night<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1208"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1225,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1208\/revisions\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}