Bachelorette Weekend in Napa and San Francisco

My dress: Forever 21. My sisters dress: SheIn. My shoes: Nordstrom.

Maid of Honor duty is no joke. I am very happy to be my sister's MOH and planning her bachelorette party was a lot of fun, but also incredibly stressful and I'm sure a lot of you who have been there (or are currently there!) can relate. From finding venues to coordinating schedules and fine-tuning itineraries, there's a lot that goes into creating an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. I can't even begin to imagine the stress that goes into planning the actual wedding!

When I first started planning, we had toyed with the idea of taking a trip somewhere—Vegas, San Diego, etc.—but since she is having a destination wedding in Mexico, we decided to keep it local to San Francisco with a day trip to Napa included and it ended up being the perfect bachelorette weekend. 

Honestly, a lot of my initial stress came from figuring out the best way to get to Napa Valley from San Francisco, which wineries we'd go to, how many to choose, where to go for lunch...and so on. I ended up coming across Beau Wine Tours and reached out to them and am so, so happy I did. Honestly, they took so much of my planning stress off the table and pretty much took care of every little detail, allowing me to actually enjoy my time in Napa Valley with my sister. 

I knew we had to get a group of 11 girls to Napa from San Francisco and that a private tour would feel a little more special, so upon recommendation, I booked a 12-passenger Executive Van with Beau Wine Tours. I worked with Rose and Lauren who both were so helpful in providing tips and recommendations for the best wineries for our group. They helped with every little detail. I mentioned I wanted to keep it as economical as possible since all the girls were already spending money to fly to Mexico for the wedding. They were very receptive to that and were able to find us some amazing wineries that fit our needs without astronomical tasting fees.

After working with Beau Wine Tours to plan our day-trip to Napa, I booked our hotel in San Francisco at Hotel Union Square which was very convenient. Friday night before our wine tour, we had dinner at Waterfront on the Embarcadero before drinks and dancing at another bar. 

Saturday morning, Beau picked us up at our hotel to take us to Napa Valley and back, which was the 8-hour day we planned. Beau had emailed me the day before our tour to let me know our driver was James, who then called me to make sure we had our itinerary squared away. He was wonderful and made sure we knew everywhere we needed to be and when we had to leave each winery. Basically, every detail was thought out for us.

We ended up going to three wineries and had a pre-planned lunch that James picked up for us. Below is a breakdown of our 8-hour itinerary for your reference. The great thing is that Beau Wine Tours provided us with timing estimates, taking all the guesswork out of the equation. 

Itinerary

Pick Up: 9:00 am at SF hotel. We stayed in the Penthouse at Hotel Union Square and it was perfect!

Stop: Domaine Chandon Napa, CA

10:00 am: Pre-scheduled Pickup for deli lunch at Yountville Deli. Beau to deliver lunch to White Hall Lane while girls are at Domaine Chandon

Stop: 12:00 pm lunch and tasting at White Hall Lane, St. Helena, CA

Stop: V. Sattui Winery St. Helena, CA

Drop Off: 5:00 pm at SF Hotel

Our first stop was Domaine Chandon and, since it's on the expensive side, Beau Wine Tours suggested purchasing a few bottles instead of scheduling a tasting. We ended up buying two bottles of rosé and then headed outside to the patio to have our own little tasting. Beau provided an ice bucket and plastic champagne flutes on the van, so we had already begun drinking and starting our first tasting day with champagne (sparkling wine) was perfect. 

The grounds at Domaine Chandon were stunning and it's such a wonderful place to relax and take in the scenery. You can grab your glass and walk around with it and I loved starting somewhere so breathtaking. It was also quite nice not to have the structure of an official tasting right off the bat. All the girls wanted a mini photo session with this vine wall as the perfect backdrop and we had plenty of time to ourselves to do that. 

I think we could have stayed at Domaine Chandon all day, but James picked us up and we headed to our next tasting appointment, which was scheduled for noon. James made sure to let us know exactly what time we'd need to leave in order to make it to the next winery, which was beyond helpful. We were able to step off the tour bus with every girl knowing the plan. 

Our next stop was Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena. Beau recommended I pre-order sandwiches from Yountville Deli, which James picked up for us while we were tasting at Domaine Chandon. When we arrived at Whitehall Lane we had a picnic lunch at this farm table and our sandwiches were all laid out and waiting for us. I was genuinely blown away by this. I don't know why I wasn't expecting that, but it was so, so appreciated and was the perfect touch to make the day feel special. We had our tasting with Whitehall Lane as we ate lunch and it was incredibly relaxing, serene and intimate.

Honestly, Whitehall Lane was by far my favorite winery for the atmosphere. It was the prettiest setting and we had this whole backyard to ourselves, which made the day feel a bit more special and unique. We walked through their cellar, picked our own grape (yes, one) to taste, laughed like crazy and all-in-all had a really great time. The staff was incredibly accommodating and didn't mind when we got up to take 500 photos either. This is very important for a bachelorette party!

Our last stop of the day was at V. Sattui, which was really cool and casual and one of the wineries on the lower end of price. We didn't make an appointment at this one, which was perfect because not everyone even ended up wanting to taste. Those who did want to taste paid the $15 tasting fee for a six glass tasting, which was very reasonable and I loved the wine.

There were plenty of tables outside to relax on where a bunch of girls snacked on post-lunch treats we picked up from DEAN & DELUCA, which I'm obsessed with and is right across from V. Sattui. You may have seen my snap about the bacon spread. Oh my god, the bacon spread. Out of all the wineries, V. Sattui definitely has the most lively, young feel.

Overall, it was truly the perfect Napa bachelorette party experience. My sister thoroughly enjoyed the day, we all experienced Napa Valley and everyone was so impressed with our itinerary and the attention to detail. Beau Wine Tours took care of everything and I was able to enjoy the day without having to think about every little scheduling detail. If you're planning a trip to the Napa Valley, I highly recommend scheduling a tour with Beau Wine Tours to have someone help plan your special day—at least once! It really makes all the difference. 

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you find this helpful in planning your own trip!

x Tyler

Shop the Post

*I received a discount from Beau Wine Tours in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.