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SAN FRANCISCO
NAPA VALLEY
United States

Welcome to San Francisco and the Napa Valley. For travelers seeking life-changing experiences, San Francisco’s romantic beauty, innovative spirit and expressive cultural pulse never cease to inspire all those who visit. Known for its breathtaking scenery, groundbreaking arts and culture, diverse communities, world-class shopping and memorable cuisine – paired, of course, with Napa Valley wines – it’s easy to see why so many people have left their hearts in the City by the Bay.

Just an hour northeast of San Francisco, city lights give way to majestic vistas and warm, sunny days in the Napa Valley – a destination where world-class wines, Michelin-star dining, miles of rolling vineyards, and a spirit of wellness set a slower pace, inviting you to share, savor, and discover all the valley has to offer.

Together San Francisco and the Napa Valley make up North America’s premier food and wine destination. The two areas complement each other and offer the very best in hotels and resorts, culinary creativity, cultural diversity, wellness retreats, and most importantly, world-renowned wines.

The Napa Valley and San Francisco emanate a true “town & country” destination. The sophistication of the big city and luxury of the Napa Valley offers an inspiring taste of the good life you’ll never forget.

To help plan your visit in either region, go to the following destination websites:

Wines

Family wineries to make you feel at home

With hundreds of wineries to explore, each with its own unique style, setting and history, planning your Napa Valley wine tasting excursion may seem overwhelming. But whether you are visiting just for fun or to delve into that library collection and stock the cellar, there is an experience and price point for everyone.

Due to our diverse soils, climate and topography, Napa Valley vintners are able to produce a variety of consistent quality wines from a wide-ranging selection of grapes. Although Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the most widely planted, the Napa Valley holds many surprises for wine lovers looking for varieties off the beaten path. From Albariño to Zinfandel, more than three dozen different wine grape varieties flourish in the Napa Valley.

Visitors to the Napa Valley enjoy intimate wine tastings, expansive outdoor spaces, and behind-the-scenes private tours of wine cellars and caves. Plus, 95% of our wineries are family-owned and operated, which means nearly every spot will feel like home.

One of the most
inspiring places

Tourism

Globally known for world-class wine, San Francisco and Napa Valley invite you to discover more. Napa Valley is home to more than 400 wineries and tasting rooms, and some of the world’s most coveted grapevines – but those who visit just for the wine are missing out. Sprinkled in between vineyard-covered hillsides are charming destinations with entertaining and delicious things to fill busy days in wine country.

Napa Valley, at only 35 miles long by five miles wide, welcomes over 3.8 million visitors each year. The valley is home to five towns, each with its own personality and distinct character, and 16 distinct grape growing regions, or appellations.

San Francisco, with its diverse neighborhoods and thriving culture, welcomes over 25 million visitors each year. San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any other major city in the U.S. Local chefs excel at combining the best of local ingredients with authentic international flavors, paired with world-famous Napa Valley wines.

The good life is calling. The San Francisco/Napa Valley region is one of the most inspiring places to visit in the world. Explore bustling city streets or wide open outdoor spaces in almost perfect weather, shop charming local boutiques, soak up arts and culture, and find private tours and activities to create your perfect wine country escape at any price point.

Have a look at our
Insiders'
guide

best of
wine tourism

AWARDS

San Francisco - Napa Valley History

Sustainability

With seemingly endless rows of vineyards, luscious grapes peeking through the vines, and magnificent mountain ranges on either side of this wine-filled oasis, Napa Valley is easily one of the most beautiful destinations in the world — we love sharing it with you, and we hope you treat it as home, so we can share it with visitors for years to come.

The wineries, restaurants, and hotels within the valley have made sustainable and eco-friendly practices a priority, having embraced conservation and land stewardship for more than 50 years, meaning it’s basically in our nature. In 1968, Napa Valley was designated America’s first Agricultural Preserve. Translation? The valley’s sweeping landscape is set aside for growing — not building.

There are more than 90 Napa Green Certified Wineries, and the Napa Valley is home to 40% of all certified sustainable wineries in California. Many of the Napa Valley’s most iconic wineries pride themselves not only on making exceptional wines, but on being sustainability leaders. From soil to bottle, Napa Green Certified vintners make a long series of thoughtful decisions that steward the land and conserve resources. The Rutherford AVA leads the way in sustainable winegrowing, having become the first appellation to achieve 100% participation in the Napa Green Land program.

History

Wild grapes certainly grew in abundance in early Napa Valley, but it took settler George Calvert Yount to tap the area’s potential for cultivating wine grapes. Yount built one of the first homesteads in the area and was the first to plant Napa Valley grapes in 1839. Soon after, other pioneers such as John Patchett and Hamilton Walker Crabb helped introduce the first vitis vinifera grapes to the area.

Charles Krug is credited with establishing Napa Valley’s first commercial winery in 1861. His success and leadership sparked a wave of new growth, and by 1889 there were more than 140 wineries in operation, including Schramsberg (founded in 1862), Beringer (1876) and Inglenook (1879).

The prominence of Napa Valley wine on the world stage is largely due to the efforts of the valley’s vintners during the last 50 years. People like Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley’s greatest marketer, fully embodied the collective spirit and camaraderie that gave rise to the success of the valley.

If a single event can be credited with putting Napa Valley on the map, it was the Paris Tasting of 1976. This blind, comparative tasting pitted Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from California against the best wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy in a blind tasting. When the tasting was done, the judges had given top honors to Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa Valley would never be the same, and the number of wineries would grow from a few dozen to several hundred today.

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