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Some of the Best Wineries Lie Along the Silverado Trail

Silverado Resort Untouched by Napa Fires

By Dave Daubert

Grapes and Golf go together like Claret and Jug. California wineries have been producing outstanding vintages for decades. At the ‘Top of the Vine’ is the Napa Valley that nowadays celebrates golf in a ‘Grand Magnum’ manner thanks to the Silverado Trail.

I recently took a tasting and playing road trip on the eastern two-lane road less traveled in Napa, visiting some of the best family-owned wineries and playing a little golf.

Instead of fighting the traffic on Highway 29, where there is a plentitude of tasting rooms and wineries begging you to stop, the Silverado Trail is snuggled up against the Napa hills of vineyards with trees lining the 30-mile route with some great vintners along the way.

Nestled a mile off the Silverado Trail, the 1200-acre Silverado Resort and Spa plays host to the beginning of the PGA Tour’s new season, the Safeway Open. As you drive in the entrance you approach an antebellum mansion typical of the Deep South, wondering ‘am I in the right place.’

My open-concept mansion estate suite came with a complete living room, bedroom, full kitchen, dining area and a lovely patio to enjoy a hot cup of joe in the brisk morning air. It was a special delight to have a room close to the practice green and the first tee on the North course.  More