"Popping the Question" Napa Valley Style

by Christina Andrews

The Napa Valley is the perfect setting for an engagement weekend. Beautiful outdoor settings, amazing sunsets, loads of exhilarating outdoor activities, soothing spas, posh hotels and resorts, music and art and of course, world-renowned food and wine. There are many ways to celebrate this important turning point in your life that will provide you with lasting memories.

Finding just the right place to stay is critical and sets the tone for your important weekend. The Napa Valley boasts accommodations of all sorts, from more rustic settings such as Mayacamas Ranch, to lavish downtown B & B’s such as Churchill Manor (in Napa) to world-class resorts with stunning scenery, such as Auberge du Soleil. Perhaps you’d prefer a weekend of golf and tennis at Silverado Country Club or melting into oblivion at the Mount View Hotel and Spa in Calistoga. It all depends on what you as a couple enjoy and what reflects your passions. 

Equally important is finding just the right spot to “pop the question.” Many people imagine an intimate dining setting where they present their loved one with fine wine and gourmet food as a sensual appetizer, preparing them for the important proposal. The best establishments for an engagement dinner provide an intimate atmosphere, warm, relaxing surroundings, a great view, attentive, yet unobtrusive wait staff and of course, great food and wine. In the Napa Valley some of the best “engagement” restaurants include La Toque, Terra, Press and Martini House in St. Helena as well as The French Laundry and Hurley’s in Yountville. Although in a more urban environment, n.v., Cuvee and Cole’s Chop House are also excellent spots. Auberge du Soleil offers exquisite food with one of the finest views of the valley as well as romantic accommodations and a luxurious spa. The same goes for The Carneros Inn, which takes romance even a step further by offering the gourmet menu from their Hilltop Dining Room in the privacy of your cottage setting.

Another fabulous way to propose is by packing a gourmet picnic and taking your sweetheart to one of the many beautiful vistas the valley has to offer…a private spot with breathtaking scenery, a picnic lunch with your favorite wine and a beautiful ring… The Mount St. Helena Trail takes you past the site where Robert Louis Stevenson spent a summer in 1880. Views from the summit of this peak are some of the farthest in the world…a romantic metaphor for your commitment. The Oat Hill Mine Trail was a track used by miners to carry flasks of mercury from the mines to the Calistoga railhead. This trail takes you to the heart of the Palisades volcanic cliffs with heart-stopping views of Peregrine falcon territory. For additional hiking ideas, be sure to visit: www.napavalleycarfree.info.

For great picnicking supplies visit Oakville Grocery (at Hwy. 29 and Oakville Cross Rd.), Dean and Deluca or Sunshine Foods in St. Helena, the Napa General Store or Vallergas in Napa. You’ll find all kinds of gourmet cheeses, artisan breads, salads, charcuterie, grilled veggies, ethnic dishes, olives, fancy pastries, unique and refreshing beverages, wines and much more. 

“Wine is a precarious aphrodisiac, and its fumes have blighted many a mating.”
- Norman Douglas, English writer (1868-1952)

"Love is the greatest refreshment in life" - Pablo Picasso