Napa California Holiday Ornament - The 1976 Bottle

What’s with the name? Long before the vines, this was the homeland of the Wappo and Patwin peoples — the name Napa itself comes from a Patwin word whose exact meaning is still debated — and, as across California, colonization took a devastating toll on them; their descendants remain part of the valley’s story today. The Mexican rancho era carved the land into grants like Rancho Entre Napa, and in 1847 a twenty-one-year-old settler named Nathan Coombs laid out “Nappa City” at the confluence of the Napa River and Napa Creek — the uppermost point a boat could navigate, which made it a natural landing. The steamboat Dolphin reached town in 1850, and Napa incorporated in 1872.

Napa was settled by a contract too — just signed in glasses instead of ink. On May 24, 1976, in Paris, wine merchant Steven Spurrier poured California wines against the great châteaux of France in a blind tasting before a panel of French judges — and when the scores came back, a Napa Valley cabernet and a Napa Valley chardonnay stood first. The Judgment of Paris, the papers called it. The judges were stunned, the wine world was rearranged overnight, and a quiet farm valley in Northern California became the most famous wine country in America. Napa has been pouring with that kind of confidence ever since.

Why People Visit Napa California

• Drive Highway 29, the historic Wine Road that runs north out of the city of Napa up the western edge of the valley past the founding-era estates between Yountville and St. Helena.
• Drive the Silverado Trail, the quieter parallel route a few miles up the eastern hillside, with the long-view back across the valley floor toward the Mayacamas.
• Drive past the 1861 stone winery on Highway 29 in St. Helena — founded by Charles Krug and among the oldest commercial wineries in California, still pressing grapes more than a century and a half later.
• Browse the Oxbow district on the downtown riverbend — the market halls, oyster bars, and coffee roasters of Napa’s eating-city era, a few steps from the river walk.
• See the exterior of the 1884 Rhine House on Highway 29 in St. Helena — the German-style mansion that is one of the valley's signature architectural landmarks.
• See the Napa Valley Opera House on Main Street in downtown Napa — the restored 1879 performing-arts landmark in the heart of the riverfront district.
• Walk the Napa River Walk and the downtown riverfront — promenades, plazas, and bridges along the river through the historic heart of the city.
• Hike Skyline Wilderness Park on the southeastern edge of the city — 850 acres of oak woodlands, lake loops, and hilltop views back across the valley.
• Drive north to Calistoga at the head of the valley for the mineral hot springs, the geyser country, and the long view south down the length of Napa Valley.
• Drive northeast to Lake Berryessa for the boating, the fishing, and the high-country views east of the valley floor.
• Climb (or drive partway up) Mount St. Helena, the 4,343-foot peak that closes the head of the valley — Robert Louis Stevenson State Park preserves the trail and the slopes where Stevenson honeymooned in 1880.
• Plan a visit during harvest season (August through October) for the crush, the cellar work, and the late-October press — the peak of the valley's working rhythm.