A Wine Paradise

Located about an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, the Napa Valley is narrow—just one to five miles in width—and a little less than thirty miles long. Steep hills, none more than 2,750 feet high, march along either side: the Vaca Range on the east, the Mayacamas Range on the west. Within their embrace, wineries, some of them small affairs and others positively industrial, are everywhere. About 280 of them are strung along the valley’s two lengthwise roads, Route 29 and the Silverado Trail, or on the lesser roads that connect those thoroughfares like the rungs of a ladder. Growing grapes and making wines are the main engines of the local economy, but tourism is a major business too. Something like five million people pass through in the course of an average year, sampling wines in the estates’ tasting rooms, flocking to the many excellent restaurants (Napa Valley is almost as famous for its food as for its wine) and absorbing the beauty of the area. For sheer pleasantness and sensuous enjoyment, this place is special.