306282 Sun Jul 02 02:35:39 -0700 2006 5 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 1723295 I am in Napa and Sonoma until Monday evening to do some wine tasting. To give some idea of what I want, I am reasonably familiar with wine generally and drink it very regularly. I care most about tasting interesting, hard-to-get wines with vineyards who are welcoming and friendly. Especially given the holiday weekend, I want to avoid the ultra-corporate vineyards that will be very overcrowded (I like some of their wine fine, but I don't want to be somewhere massively overcrowded). I have a tasting scheduled at Corison tomorrow, but frankly that is at the absolute top end of my price range, and I will not be able to afford to taste or buy bottles at many places of that caliber. I plan to do one full day in Napa and one full day in Sonoma. I will be starting early each day but do not have much time (basically two days). Any recommendations would be appreciated. Sun Jul 02 02:35:39 -0700 2006 12859 jonasblank 1 1724070 Recommendations in Napa would be Cliff Lede Winery, Miner Family, Robert Sinskey, Frank Family. All of these are off of Hwy. 29. If you go north to Calistoga and then further on, Bennett Lane, Calistoga Cellars, Summers, Vincent Arroy, August Briggs are all outstanding small wineries. We go to Napa very often and seek out small, fun wineries that make good wines. All of the above all into that catagory. Have a great time Sun Jul 02 23:44:17 -0700 2006 1723295 10925 rtmonty 1 1726762 Miner Family is on Silverado Trail, and I would recommend it. Also, not listed above Chateau Montelena is a great place to visit off Tubbs Rd. in Calistoga. This is at the very top of the valley, but is worth the detour, and it's fun to spend a little time in nearby Calistoga, too. Wed Jul 05 04:20:08 -0700 2006 1723295 15785 monday 1 1726866 I concur with Robert Sinskey and Miner Family wineries in Napa. If you like sparkling wine, may I recommend Schramsberg. Cheers! Wed Jul 05 08:29:40 -0700 2006 1723295 16301 Non Cognomina 1 1728564 I like Domaine Carneros for sparklers; they also make chocolates with a wine filling. I also bought an amazing Pinot Noir there many years ago (it was available at the winery only). Thu Jul 06 01:48:25 -0700 2006 1723295 13143 souschef 1 1728888 Agree with Miner and ZD Vineyards, both on the Silverado Trail. Miner has some excellent reasonably priced wines and is family owned and run. Thu Jul 06 07:06:09 -0700 2006 1723295 12536 PGB