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One thing that is glaringly missing from the Family-Friendly Napa Valley content I post here for you is Family-Friendly lodging options.

I cover activities, restaurants, and wineries–but as I live here–I have never personally experienced staying at a hotel, B&B, or resort with my family.

This is where you come in, dear readers.

Whether you’re a family who has something to say about a particular experience, or you’re a lodging facility that considers itself to be family-friendly, I’d love to hear from you.

With the ideas provided by you, I will create a page with a list of recommendations. If you’re interested, I also invite guest bloggers to contribute posts.

Let’s talk.

You can reach me via Twitter or via email to jessica AT jezebelmedia DOT com.

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Even though it’s just a few minutes from our home, we hadn’t visited Sequoia Grove Winery in years; in fact, it’s been since before Samantha was born.

I suppose we didn’t think it was family-friendly.

But then, in using our favorite winery finder tool, I found that Sequoia Grove fits both of our two main criteria:

1) Family-friendly
2) Picnic area

After tasting through a few wines, we decided on a nice rosé. A perfect pairing with our picnic fare, the wine offers pretty strawberry & raspberry notes and a nice balance.

We settled into a bistro table on the shaded patio and tucked into our charcuterie, cheeses and breads.

Samantha ran around the expansive grassy area, and made some new friends.

Who: All ages, though of course you’ll need to watch those toddlers closely

What: A low-key wine tasting experience in a casual atmosphere (but as the winery is right on Highway 29, I bet it can get quite busy)

Where: 8338 St. Helena Highway (that’s Higway 29)–their website says they are in Napa, but I’d swear it’s more like Rutherford or Oakville

When: Non-peak Highway 29 tourist times, so weekdays in spring or fall, would be best

Why: Nice wines, unimposing tasting room, pretty grounds and convenient location

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Part of our Valentine’s Day celebration yesterday was a picnic at Tudal Winery.

Discovered on the Napa Vintners site, this winery fit all our criteria: family-friendly, picnic area, low-key atmosphere.

And it was indeed quite low-key as you can see below the manner in which we were greeted (that there is Cheyenne, we found out).

We proceeded to a seated tasting in the winery building/shed. Samantha entertained herself with drawing as we tasted through a nice, Burgundian-style Chardonnay (Burgundian-style connoting little of that oaky, buttery–and to us, overwhelming, quality of most Chardonnays), a beautiful, fruity, textbook-Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and a jammy, peppery, but not over the top Zinfandel.

And–to kiddo’s delight–in place of the usual bland tasting room crackers, they had fishy crackers.

The atmosphere was casual, congenial and educational–and without any sort of pretension.

With the Zin in glass, our group headed out for a quick tour of the vineyards…

…the production facility…

…and the barrel room…where we tasted the Syrah…

… and ended up in what could be called the sales room.

We bought a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc (limited production and no longer available–seriously, we got the last bottle), headed out to the picnic area, and easily settled in.

As we nibbled, sipped and chatted…

…Samantha explored the picnic area and gardens. She found this old tractor…

…and we found that it was quite dirty…

…and apropos for Valentine’s Day, there were even heart-shaped decorations (made from barrel rings).

Who: All ages, except perhaps the toddlers who are mobile, but can’t/don’t listen yet

What: A low-key, casual winetasting experience, with a short tour and a pleasant picnic and garden area, including bocce courts

Where: 1015 Big Tree Road, Saint Helena, phone 707-963-3947 (tastings are by appointment, so call ahead)

When: Best on days when you can picnic; we’re certainly visiting again come summertime

Why: To taste good wines, to learn a bit (but not too much) about the winery & winemaking, to picnic, to let the kids explore an interesting and safe picnic/garden area

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Honig is a small, family-owned winery and was one of the first tasting rooms Tom & I visited when we moved to the Napa Valley five years ago.

That was, of course, pre-kiddo. And while we had a wonderful visit then and have been long-time fans of their wines, we hadn’t thought of the winery as being kid-friendly.

That is, until we saw them listed on our go-to winery finder tool on the Napa Valley Vintners website.

So while we were out & about this past weekend, we gave them a quick call (tastings are by appointment only, so be sure to call ahead), and to our delight, got in that afternoon.

Recently, I wrote about this time of year as being ideal to visit because the tasting rooms tend to not be busy. And indeed, we were the only ones there for most of our visit.

Our tasting took place seated at a long table in an open, comfortable room. As our host poured the first of the wines–their popular Sauvignon Blanc (which we purchased and enjoyed that evening), she asked if Samantha would like to check out the toy cabinet.

And boy, was she excited.

We spent the remainder of the tasting–a second Sauvignon Blanc, two Cabernet Sauvignons and Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc–with kiddo happily occupied.

And when she did grow bored, she headed out to the expansive patio (easily viewable from the tasting room) and explored.

The Napa Valley Vintners have a great website that’s just chock-full of information on everything from events and history, to grape varietals, and of course, wineries.

They even have this nifty little Winery Finder tool. An option on which is Family Friendly.

While there aren’t necessarily reviews posted, there are a lot of great details on each winery.

Who: The trip planners; Napa aficionados

What: An excellent resource on many things Napa Valley

Where: http://napavintners.com

When: 24/7

Why: To learn, discover and narrow down the overwhelming number of wineries to a list that suits you

Up to now, Casa Nuestra is our favorite kid-friendly winery.

So, that’s not an easy proclamation to make. There are a lot of wineries in the Napa Valley. A lot of wonderful wineries in the Napa Valley. And a lot of wonderful kid-friendly wineries in the Napa Valley.

But, Casa Nuestra stands out for us.

In the simplest terms, we like this winery because of their utter lack of pretension.

We’ve visited several times. And I’ve written about the experience here and here. Oh, and we joined their wine club (and that in and of itself says A LOT because most locals don’t join clubs, and we had to be on the waiting list for a while to even become members).

Who: Obviously, the wine tasting is for those 21+, but all ages can feel comfortable and have fun; we’ve visited with two 3 year-olds and a 1.5 year old

What: A laid back and unassuming time, tasting fantastic, unique, limited-production wines in a homey old farmhouse with a super-casual picnic area AND GOATS

Where: 3421 Silverado Trail North, just north of Saint Helena

When: Monday-Saturday, 10am-4:30pm, by appointment–call 707.963.5783

Why: To experience Napa as it was back in the 1970’s (when the winery was founded), taste awesome wines you can’t really find elsewhere and picnic in a beautiful setting–all while not fretting too much about the wee ones, or worrying about what other people think about you having wee ones with you

Tasting Room from Picnic Area

View from our Picnic Table

Ask Them for Goat Food

Eskimo kisses at Benessere Vineyards this past Sunday.

We really had a great time at Benessere Vineyards yesterday.

Today I’d like to share more about what Samantha did while we tasted wine and then enjoyed our picnic.

First, she danced on the garden patio immediately adjacent to the Tasting Room (that means she was able to be independent–as were we–but that she was within sight at all times).

Then she helped us set up & enjoy our lunch.

Lunch was intermingled with playing in the garden, particulary under the acorn tree, collecting the fallen nuts (or whatever type of tree/nut this might be–please correct me if I’m wrong).

Then she ran in the vineyards and picked grapes (the few still on the vine, apparent leftovers from harvest).

Lastly, we got to spend some very-appreciated time together.

Today (even though home and work chores beckoned) we decided to go to a winery for a picnic.

After consulting the Napa Vintners website, we dropped by Sunshine Market for our favorite selection of cheese & charcuterie and headed north to Benessere Vineyards.

Part of the Napa Vintners family-friendly winery list, we were not disappointed.

In fact, we had an absolutely wonderful time.

Benessere is located just a few minutes north of Saint Helena down a country road off Highway 29, and along a gravel lane that skirts the Napa River (which is just the slightest trickle, if at all, this time of year).

Walking up, we immediately felt comfortable when we saw another family with two small children enjoying a picnic lunch on the patio.

Through that intimate garden patio is the small, comfortable Tasting Room. The bar is only large enough to host a handful of folks at a time.

We were graciously and patiently welcomed by a wonderful woman who reminded me of my Grandma Jarecki.

We tasted through their wines and were most impressed by their 2005 Phenomenon, a Super Tuscan-style blend. Big, bold, fruity and balanced, Tom mentioned it is his favorite of all the wines we’ve tasted at wineries recently.

We also enjoyed all the wines, particularly the 2006 Sangiovese, the 2005 Sorridente and the 2005 BK Collins Old Vine Zinfandel–all solid, nice wines.

Samantha made friends while we tasted.

We bought a bottle of 2007 Pinot Grigio, then headed out to our picnic table and enjoyed the food, the wine and the views.

It was very quiet and tranquil.

The vineyards were beautiful with all the fall colors.

I found my new favorite cheese, a Camembert-style bloomy rind cow’s milk cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy out of Georgia.

Samantha enjoyed playing in the garden and in the vineyard.

Here are some more shots from our most lovely day:

So, these the last few days, NaBloPoMo has gotten hard.

I feel unmotivated, uninspired and unprepared.

I need more material. And more creative space. And more time.

Perhaps Tom, Samantha & I can head out to a new winery tomorrow. We’ll see…there are chores, holiday preparations and workitywork to do.

In the meantime, I have the following to share:

This photo was taken in the Tasting Room at Cuvaison Winery (yes, she is sitting in the retail cubbies and no one cared–in fact, everyone enjoyed it) in October.

I know I’ve said before that I will share more about our experience there (totally family-friendly, highly recommended). And I will.

I just need to get to that place where my creative reserves and my time reserves intersect. And I will.