Calistoga: Euro Spa & Inn; hotel review + things to do

Wine Country

Euro Spa & Inn  

1202 Pine St., 2 blks. from downtown, (707) 942-6829.  13 rooms.  All gas heaters.  Heated pool; hot tub; full-service spa.  Afternoon cookies & cider; continental breakfast.  No pets.  Children welcome. 

exterior of Euro Spa & Inn in Calistoga, California

Built in 1935, this motel has a center courtyard and is shaded by mature trees.  Downtown is just a nice two-block walk through a pleasant tree-lined residential neighborhood.  A self-serve continental breakfast is served outdoors at Euro Spa & Inn on a sheltered patio and includes whole fresh fruit as well as a prepared fruit bowl, delicious pastries from Costeaux French Bakery in Healdsburg, and an egg entrée such as Dungeness crab-scrambled egg strudel.  The spacious pool area has several large grassy areas, shade trees, and plenty of lounge chairs.  A free shuttle operates within a 3-mile radius.  Guest rooms vary in size, but all are roomy.  Decor is simple, with wall-to-wall carpeting and a few pictures on the walls.  Beds have knotty pine headboards and are made up with white cotton sheets and topped with a light white cotton-covered duvet.  All rooms have a small front porch, and free wireless is provided throughout.

breakfast plate at Euro Spa & Inn in Calistoga, California

   
Under separate ownership, The Spa ((707) 942-4056) is tucked into a detached part of the motel.  It offers an extravaganza of treatments, including a soothing and detoxifying mud wrap using several kinds of clay, local milled grape seeds, and local volcanic ash.  (This is different from the traditional mud bath available at some other places in town, where you actually climbs into a tub full of volcanic ash mud.  In this case, the creamy mud feels like wax and is applied by an attendant.)  Local grape seeds are also used in a foot renewal treatment, and an oxygen facial infuses effervescent oxygen and peptides into the skin for a firming treatment.

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images c2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Calistoga: Madrigal Family Winery; things to do

Wine Country

Madrigal Family Winery  

3718 North St. Helena Hwy./Larkmead Lane, (707) 942-1065. Tasting by appt., daily 10-4. 

tasting room at Madrigal Family Winery in Calistoga, California

Since the late 1930s, when grandfather Jess came to the Napa Valley from Mexico, three generations of the Madrigal family have farmed the Napa Valley vineyards.  Grandson Chris Madrigal studied wine making at U.C. Davis and now heads the current generation and the small Madrigal Family Winery that sells most of its production through its wine club and tasting room.  If you join the wine club, tasting is complimentary and you can take part in some special tasting programs, including a pairing with food from Calistoga’s Jolie restaurant or a lunch with owner Chris. 

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image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Calistoga: August Briggs Winery tasting room; things to do

Wine Country

August Briggs Winery  

1307 Lincoln Ave., (707) 942-4912.  Hrs. vary. 

Named for winery founder August “Joe” Briggs, this employee-owned August Briggs Winery has no dedicated facility.  All of the 15 wines across 7 varietals are made at another winery, where they lease space and equipment and then oversee and do everything themselves.  Sampling occurs here, in this tasting room, and most of the wine is sold directly to a dedicated group of wine club members   I especially enjoyed the light and refreshing 2012 Napa County Rose, the silky 2011 Carneros Chardonnay, and the 2010 Page Nord Napa Valley Syrah (the 2001 vintage was poured in the Bush White House).  A nice touch is that the label is silk screened onto the bottle in 22-karat gold. 

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image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers; image depicts winery-co-owner Colette Milliman pouring  

Calistoga: Ca’toga Galleria d’Arte + Ca’toga Villa Tour; things to do

Wine Country

Ca’toga Galleria d’Arte  

1206 Cedar St., (707) 942-3900.  Thur-M 11-6.  $25. 

interior of Ca’toga Galleria d’Arte in Calistoga, California

The stunning Ca’toga Galleria d’Arte art gallery features a hand-painted ceiling mural by artist Carlo Marchiori.  In fact, everything inside the gallery is made by Carlo—ceramic plates decorated with roosters, coffee mugs with dog-head handles, traditional yet unusual paintings.

Ca’toga Villa Tour  

Sat at 11am; May-Oct.  No children; no pets. 

Artist Carlo Marchiori also leads tours of his private residence, an Italian villa reconstructed here with pieces he selected in Italy and shipped over here.  His Venetian-style trompe l’oeil frescoes are spectacular and seen throughout the Ca’toga Villa Tour.  “It’s Italy without airlines,” says Marchiori.  He describes his house as “art you can live with” and started our tour with, “You’ve seen a few wineries, now you need something for the mind.”  After exploring the magnificent art treasures of the house, including a witty cage in which the sleeper is inside and the kitty is outside looking in, the tour moved on to the expansive grounds, which includes a manmade lake, fountains, and 18th-century follies.  Marchiori says he didn’t intend to have an attraction.  He started his retirement project

private residence seen on the Ca’toga Villa Tour in Calistoga, California

25 years ago on 5 acres of weedy land.  Now, everywhere you look is something wonderful.  “Be careful,” he warned us with a smile.  “Our liability extends to a get well card.”  Wear sturdy walking shoes.  

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images ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
  

Calistoga: Palisades Wine Company; things to do

Wine Country

Palisades Wine Company 

3130 Old Lawley Toll Rd., (707) 942-8020.  Tastings/tours by appt.; $25-$45. 

Tucked away in a little pocket valley known as Jericho Canyon, off a back road leading to Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, the informal Palisades Wine Company winery opened for tastings just last year.  It is pot luck as far as what you’ll see when you visit.  You’ll get a personal tour and explanation and might even get to do a barrel tasting of a two-hour-old Sauvignon Blanc grape juice as I did.  All the wine-making and bottling is done here for four different boutique wineries—RARECAT, Amici Cellars, Meander, and Aiken.  The tasting room is located upstairs above the winery action, providing a chance to sample the various labels.  Bring a picnic if you like; tables are available down by a small spring-fed pond formed by a 9-year-old dam.  A scenic events space has views of the Palisades Mountains.

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image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Calistoga: Bosko’s Trattoria; restaurant review

Wine Country

Bosko’s Trattoria  

1364 Lincoln Ave., (707) 942-9088.  L-D daily; $$.  

How can you go wrong ordering from a menu on which all the pastas, gnocchi, ravioli, and desserts are housemade?  You can’t.  Seated in a comfortable room with stone walls and some booths, we two decided to share everything.  We began with a tasty, lemony baked artichoke and garlic bread.  Then it was a spinach salad with toasted pine nuts and chopped egg, followed by a “Basilicata” fettuccine topped with fresh pesto cream sauce and more toasted pine nuts (can’t get too many of those).  Wood-fired pizzas (gluten-free dough is available) and sandwiches are also options.  Wine flights come in threes and are delivered dramatically perched in a wood holder.  We became fans of an exceptional spicy 2010 Andretti Sangiovese.  For dessert, it was a shared scoop of creamy spumoni--probably the best version I’ve ever had.  I wish I’d had room for the braised Brussels sprouts with pancetta and pine nuts, and for their famous cheesecake.  Next time.  

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image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Calistoga: Solage Calistoga Resort; hotel review + restaurant review

Wine Country

Solage Calistoga Resort  

755 Silverado Trail, in Calistoga, (866) 942-7442, (707) 226-0800. 89 rooms. 3 pools; 2 hot tubs; fitness room; full-service spa. Restaurant; room service. Pets ok.

Guest rooms at this low-key luxury resort feature open floor plans, contemporary decor, and cave-like stone showers with pebble floors. Special touches at the Solage Calistoga Resort include Italian linens, down bedding, and complimentary cruiser bicycles parked by each unit’s door for guests to use in exploring the property and town. All units have private or semi-private courtyards, and some suites also have private hot tubs. The heart of the resort is the bath house, spa, and fitness center (must be age 18+). The bath house features a large 100-degree geothermal mineral pool, plus private swimsuit-optional areas for men and women that each hold a hot tub with presssure-point jets strong enough to nearly topple an adult, a deep cold-water plunge pool, and a really hot eucalyptus steam room. This area also offers the property’s signature Mud Bar, where guests sidle up to a bar and select their fragrance to be mixed by a “mud-tender” with nutrient-rich local volcanic mud, then retire to a room to slather the made-to-order concoction onto their own body, then move on to a “mud lounge” or patio to bake, then on to a soaking tub filled with mineral water, and finally finish it off swathed in warm wraps in a sound chair designed to allow floating into a stress-free state of harmonic balance. The spa provides a refreshing outdoor waiting/resting area, and treatments include trendy Kate Somerville facials for both men and women. An adult pool (age 13+) and an area for families with children under 13--with a large pool, hot tub, and play area—are side by side. They use a salt-water, ozone-based filtration system. All water on the property is geothermally heated. Calistoga Water is bottled right next door and available throughout the resort.

Solbar restaurant 

B-L-D daily; $$-$$$.

The casual bar and Solbar restaurant opens onto a large outdoor terrace with a fire pit/water fountain, bocce courts and views of the Palisades Mountains. The bar serves creative cocktails and has the Napa Valley's largest champagne list. The spacious one-room restaurant and bar boast beautiful beams and natural-wood accents. A smallish eclectic menu offeris comfort food as and well as health-minded cuisine. The winner of local awards and a Michelin star, the restaurant showcases seasonal organic produce from nearby surrounding farms and makes its own delicious butter and biscuits. A large pool-view terrace with a striking fire pit/water fountain provides alfresco dining nearly 10 months of the year. The popular indoor-outdoor bar has Napa Valley’s largest champagne list and draws locals as well as hotel guests.

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image copyright 2009 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Calistoga: Brannan's Grill; restaurant review

Wine Country

Brannan’s Grill  

1374 Lincoln St./Washington St., (707) 942-2233. L-D daily; $$-$$$. Reservations advised.

It is a delight sitting in Brannan's Grill in one of the oversize booths in the large, open interior dining room outfitted with high rafters and a cozy fireplace for cool weather. The sidewalk-view booths, which have windows that change to screens in warm weather, are also choice. The hearty meat-and-potatoes menu is includes braised short ribs—you can’t go wrong with these--but fish, pasta, and sandwiches are also options. For a perfect ending, consider a flight of dessert wines, but keep in mind that the kitchen is famous for its chocolate lava cake.


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Calistoga: Bennett Lane Winery; things to do

Wine Country

Bennett Lane Winery  

3340 Hwy. 128, (877) 629-6272. Tasting daily 10-5:30.

Hidden away at the end of a long vineyard-lined drive, the newish Bennett Lane Winery operates within a Mediterranean-style building. “Our red wines are soft, with great depth of color,” promises winemaker Rob Hunter. Bennett is the world’s only winery that owns and sponsors a NASCAR racing team. A “petting vineyard” out front permits getting up close and personal with various grape varietals, and inviting picnic tables await on a large grassy area with vineyard views. Get together a group of six or more friends and you can sign up for a unique blend-your-own wine seminar that permits blending and corking a bottle of wine that you get to take home with you ($175/person).

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image ©2009 Carole Terwilliger Meyers