Yountville

It is in the bountiful lands of the Yountville wine district that Napa county's history begins. Named after American Pioneer George C. Yount, the area started out as the Rancho Caymus land grant, deeded to Yount by Mexican General Mariano Vallejo in 1836. Yount is credited with planting the very first wine grapes in Napa Valley. These were mission grapes that produced simple table wines for home use. From those humble beginnings, the Yountville area and eventually all of the Napa Valley wine country would go on to become one of the world's greatest producers of wine. Yountville quickly moved on from the coarse mission grapes to embrace a number of popular European varietals. A patchwork of varied soils allows Yountville to grow light Sauvignon Blancs to heartier red varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel.

In addition to the numerous wineries and wine tasting rooms to be found around the Yountville wine district, the town of Yountville is also home to one of the finest (and hardest to get into) restaurants in the country - Thomas Keller's French Laundry. If you can't get a reservation don't fret, there's Ad Hoc Thomas Keller's more casual soul food restaurant and plenty of other celebrity chef restaurants to keep you dining in style (Michael Chiarello's Bottega or Richard Reddington's Redd).

Yountville wineries that offer wine tours and tasting are: Domaine Chandon, Noah Vineyards, Bell Wine Cellars, Elyse Winery, and Koves Newlan.