Packing Guide | California Wine Country Vacation

Over the years we have noticed that many guests are confused about how to dress for their Napa Valley vacation.

Though we would not presume to tell you how to dress, we do have a few observations that we feel you might find helpful.

• For the most part the Napa Valley is a very casual place. Just because the wines are elegant does not mean the dress needs to be. During the day you will see more jeans and shorts than slacks and dresses. In the evening you will see more slacks and dresses, but few coats or ties.
• If you plan on booking one of our Michelin Starred restaurants then you might want to ramp it up a notch or two, but there are no restaurants left that require a coat and tie.
• If you are visiting the wineries and you chill easily, always bring a light sweater with you, even on a 95° day. The wine cellars are usually kept at about 55°.
• DO NOT BE FOOLED BY NATIONAL WEATHER NEWS. San Francisco and Bay Area weather IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM NAPA VALLEY WEATHER, especially during the summer.

• A typical San Francisco summer day is between 55° – 60°. The typical St. Helena day is between 85° – 95° with 105° about 20 or so days a year. Calistoga, just 8 miles north is another 8° – 10° warmer.

• Humidity is low, usually about 30%,  so most of our guests from anywhere other than the Pacific Northwest do not feel the heat very much.

• A typical St. Helena evening will cool from 95° at 4:00pm to a brisk 55° by 11:00pm. If you are dining al fresco it could get quite fresco before your meal is done, so bring a sweater.