There are lots of guides out there to visiting Napa with a baby. But I don’t want to know where the petting zoos are, or which hotels are close to the Walmart. For me, what I want to know when I’m travelling with a baby is what decent restaurants will serve me breakfast at 6:30 in the morning? And which hotels let kids under 12 into their pools?
So here’s what I learned. I’m sure there’ s LOTS more, but we were only there for 2 days.
1. Our hotel, The River Terrace Inn, didn’t charge us for a pack ‘n play. They were fine with babies in the pool (though they do black out certain weekends a year so it is worth checking). The restaurant had highchairs, and it was really good. And we could hear the baby monitor from the riverside patio and the pool.
2. There are bike rental places that rent baby trailers.
3. A picnic at a winery is a great way to go. This way we could see a winery in the precious awake hours while taking care of lunch at the same time. This list will tell you which wineries have picnic licenses. Apparently, there’s a county regulation that prohibits picnics with outside food without a license. NB: Reynolds Family Winery is on the list but they do NOT allow picnics. We had a delightful picnic at Clos du Val – AJ bought a bottle of wine and we enjoyed it in the shade of the umbrella at our picnic table.
4. The Rubicon Estate Coppola winery has a beautiful fountain. And in the little restaurant tasting room, there’s a sign letting you know that kids are welcome to borrow the beautiful model wooden sailboats and bamboo poles, and go to town in the fountain. It was a scene straight out of a Coppola movie, and baby was totally smitten. Plus, they sell $1 cups of delicious granita made from lemons from their on-site lemon grove.
5. The St. Helena Olive Oil Co. is located right across the street from Rubicon. They have a huge tasting room, with oils, vinegars, mustards, and pasta sauces, and they’re all fantastic. This way the kids get to experience a tasting as well.
6. Breakfast, the best meal of the day! The Model Bakery is open from 7:00am 7 days a week. They have the World’s Best English Muffins (no, it’s kind of true. Featured on the Food Network. Really really good), as well as other baked goods and breakfast sandwiches. They’re right next to the Oxbow Market, which technically doesn’t open until 9:00 but some of the vendors open on their own before that.
7. Alston Dog Park was a fun place to run around and look at dogs, and it has great views of the vineyards.
The Aunt Farm 