Saint Helena – Napa Valley’s Main Street

Napa Valley’s Main Street awaits you. From incredible dining options and amazing shopping to fantastic winery tours, your wine country vacation will be unforgettable when you visit Saint Helena, CA. Food and wine superstars such as Cindy Pawlcyn, Michael Chiarello and Christopher Kostow call this scenic hamlet home. Come stay awhile in the heart of Napa Valley. It’s home to some of the greatest wineries in the world and St Helena is no exception.

Traveling up from the south, quintessential wine country rises to meet you. Endless stretches of vineyards line Highway 29, with sweeping mountains hugging the valley from both sides. Whether you arrive in the morning, when the fog is thick and rolling off the top of the peaks or in the evening when the sun is kissing the sky in a million colors, charming St Helena will open its doors wide open.

It didn’t earn “Napa Valley’s Main Street” for nothing. A throwback to a different era, historic store fronts house modern, chic boutiques full of chocolate shops, jewelry and clothing stores as well as fine home goods and gift shops. Amongst the stellar shopping a myriad of tasty restaurants satisfying any palate. Like nowhere else, the town defines expectations in great dining, comfortable and welcoming accommodations, art, boutiques and entertainment all awaiting your arrival.

To wine and to dine should be fore front in your mind when visiting this home away from home. After checking into one of the elegant B&Bs that dot downtown, stretch your legs with a stroll down Main Street. Must stop shops include: the world renowned Woodhouse Chocolatier where you can taste sweet confections in their Baroque gilded tasting room under the light of crystal chandeliers, Pearl Clothing a very special women’s boutique featuring a beautifully edited collection of contemporary clothing, shoes, and accessories and Pennyweight full of beautiful stationary products, small leather goods and desk accessories and a great variety of writing instruments. Your partner’s not a shopper? Send them off to one of Main Street’s wine tasting salons and plan a time to meet up including Materra Wines, Bello Family Vineyards, or Merryvale Vineyards. Take note of where the locals go for breakfast, The Model Bakery on Main Street and vow to have a house-baked English muffin for breakfast.

No matter where you’re staying, a small B&B or luxury resort, you will never run out of options for dining, just as with wineries, in Napa Valley the options are endless. Grab a seat at Long Meadow Ranch for a long lunch as there are many things to catch your eye. From their farm-to-table menu (sourced directly from their onsite farm) to their garden patio, well-appointed gift shop and rustic tasting room there is Napa Valley style entertainment for hours. Goose & Gander Restaurant on Spring Street has already become one of the premier restaurants. Chef Howard Ko creates amazing rustic American food and mouthwatering bar bites served in their pub-like dining room, cherished basement bar or lush patio.

Saint Helena is home to one of America’s top 3-Michelin-starred restaurants, The Restaurant at Meadowood. Plan an elegant evening and have a 12-course tasting menu with a wine flight to accompany. The food is incredibly imaginative and, of course, delicious. Highlights: daylily stuffed with spot prawns. Braised cucumber with cod collar. Duck tea with chrysanthemum leaves. Preserved peaches with ricotta. The menu changes daily.

If casual is the choice, dine at Napa Valley iconic, Cindy Pawlcyn’s Backstreet Kitchen. This restaurant embodies the Valley’s life style. Fresh ingredients, patio dining to enjoy the weather and vibrant flavors.  Cap the evening with a film at the century-old Cameo Cinema where owner Kathy Buck personally welcomes the audience to each show.

Of course, there are no shortages of places to enjoy wine tasting. Cairdean Estate, Napa Valley’s Wine & Food Village, is a one-of-a-kind wine and food destination offering multiple wine tasting experiences, spectacular dining and shopping. Charlie Crocker and Pam Starr’s partnership flags the resurrection of an 1870’s winery called naturally, Crocker & Starr. Their commitment to sustainable and organic farming techniques coupled with cutting-edge winemaking tools and guided by expert hands have combined the best of both old-world philosophy and new world fruit. Fantesca Estate & Winery is located just a mile up Spring Mountain Road from Main Street. Fantesca produces 3,000 cases annually. Its portfolio includes Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Fantesca Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a red Napa Valley blend called All Great Things that is crafted by Heidi Barrett each year. Check out as well the legendary Charles Krug Winery. Here the Peter Mondavi family has recently renovated the oldest commercial winery in Napa Valley. Classic wines and lush forested gardens abound.

Honorable mentions include Greystone at The Culinary Institute of America, Clif Family Winery’s Velo Vino as well as Gott’s Roadside, and the well-known Dean & Deluca shop for all your picnicking needs. We’ll “Make It Happen” from lodging options, where we can often get you a better deal than listed price, to dinner reservations, private wineries and everywhere in between. Let us make St. Helena your home away from home.