Pet Friendly Wine Country: Napa Valley Getaway

Napa in the rain

My recent trip to Berkeley began as a way to visit my middle daughter, a '1L' at Berkeley Law school. But while we were across the country, we figured we could head up to wine country for a couple of days while she was in class.

We stayed at the pet friendly Wine Country Inn, in St. Helena. We hadn't brought our dog, but I find that dog-friendly hotels are often relaxed and less formal than other places. Not that housekeeping is relaxed. In fact, some dog-friendly hotels are even cleaner, since they have to devote so much time to eradicating fur.

The lush grounds at Wine Country Inn

The Wine Country Inn offers free wine tastings on Friday and Saturday evenings (we were there Sunday - Tuesday) and a half bottle from a local vineyard to all guests.

A generous buffet breakfast includes eggs, fruit, yogurt and made to order waffles. There were also pastries from Model Bakery, on Main Street.

We hit a rainy spell in Napa, but did get in a soak at the outdoor hot tub. There is also an outdoor pool. Our room had robes, slippers and pool towels. The only thing missing was a place to exercise. With all the rain, we had to cancel our bike ride and didn't want to run.

Eating in Napa

The justifiably famous English muffin at Model Bakery

So we ate. We had lunch at Model Bakery, where people sit outside with their dogs. We had to have the homemade English muffins, which were not offered at Wine Country Inn. We had just missed the cut off for egg dishes, but there were some tasty salads, and we got toasted English muffins with avocado.

By law, leashed dogs are allowed in outdoor dining sections of all California restaurants. And Napa has many. We just didn't get to enjoy them this time.

Indulgent dining

A room with a view at Las Alcobas

Since we needed to stay inside, we had a long, luxurious lunch at Acacia House by Chris Consentino, in Las Alcobas. This hotel and restaurant has an elegant spa, luxury rooms with views of the next door winery.

Avo toast at Acacia House

This would be my choice for my next (dog free) trip. The free Trek bicycles are perfect for a day of riding the gym has everything needed for a workout, along with classes, and the rooms have perks like fire pits so you can enjoy the balcony in any weather.

The Top Chef alum makes delicious California cuisine with lots of vegetarian choices.  At lunch the $29 prix fixe is a good deal. You get a starter, main course and dessert. We were too stuffed for our second dessert. I had the little gem salad and my husband had the tuna tartare. Then I had a huge avocado toast and he had lobster BT without the 'b' but with a salad. There was also pasta or chicken.

The signature margarita at Las Alcobas

For dessert, we shared the chocolate mousse with fennel pollen creme fraiche. Worth every calorie.

We shared the signature cocktail, the Margarita Las Alcobas. There is another Las Alcobas hotel in Mexico City, and both make the margarita with sea foam. I'm not really a margarita fan, but this was tasty.

Wine tasting 

Forg's Leap signature wine tasting

Many of the vineyards let dogs in outdoor tasting area, and some of them even lets dogs inside. St. Supéry, in Rutherford, allows on the winery grounds and in the downstairs tasting room.

We tried delicious wine at Frog's Leap, which provides a platter of cheese, nuts and dried fruit at its signature tasting. We curled up by the fire to taste the wine. 

There is also a guided tour with a tasting, but not in the rain. Dogs are welcome on the tastings, but not the tours. To show how welcoming Frog's Leap is to dogs, Spinone stars in the winery video. Just made a reservation.

The St. Helena Welcome Center also has free wine tastings on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. You can bring your dog in. This is also a good spot for humans; it has a public bathroom.

Mud bath at Golden Haven

Rainy Day Options

Since it was so muddy everywhere, we decided to embrace the mud and get a mud bath. At Golden Have Hot Springs & Resort in Calistoga, we had a couples mud bth that started with immersion in thick gooey muck. An attendant smeared some mud on our faces, laid cool towels on foreheads, and took pictures. 

Pool at Las Alcobas

The mud allegedly has curative powers, and it was certainly relaxing. After rinsing off and sitting in a whirlpool, we were each wrapped in blankets for a nap. Then we headed to the hot tub for another soak. You can also use the pool for as long as you want.

The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, is just down the road from Las Alcobas. CIA has cooking demonstrations and tours, wine tastings and a cafe. You can wander around the main floor, where there was an exhibit of unusual corkscrews. Cooks will love the marketplace, which has lots of interesting spices and kitchen gadgets. It's a great place to buy souvenirs for a foodie back home. 

Dog Friendly Car

The shiny Mazda6 in the fog

Although we didn't have our dog with us, the Mazda6 we drove had a lot of dog friendly features. The major one was the generous floor space i the second row. My dog is, ahem, a big boned lady, and she needs all that space to feel comfortable.

A sunroof is also important when you have an animal in the back seat. Having the windows open doesn't always cool the floor, and other passengers in the car might not want the windows all the way down. The Mazda6 had a large sunroof that made the cabin feel airy.

The Mazda6's smooth ride is as important for animals as it is for car-sick prone passengers (and drivers). We were on many curvy roads and poorly maintained streets, yet I never felt the least bit queasy.

Note: Mazda loaned me the Mazda6 for this drive. Opinions expressed are my own.