Three days in Napa Valley

Day one. The valley floor, the classics.

Morning. Start in Oakville at Robert Mondavi, the winery that talked America into taking its own wine seriously. The tour earns its fee for the history alone. Afternoon. Inglenook in Rutherford, Coppola's restoration of a nineteenth century estate, where the Rubicon tasting comes with the chateau and the courtyard. Evening. Dinner in Yountville. The town has more serious kitchens per metre than anywhere in America; even the casual rooms are excellent.

Day two. Uphill, where the structure lives.

Morning. Book a mountain producer: Spring Mountain or Howell Mountain. The drive up is half the lesson, the tannin in the glass is the other half. Mountain Cabernet against valley floor Cabernet is Napa's own internal Bordeaux argument. Afternoon. Down into St Helena for lunch and a slow main street. One more tasting if the morning was disciplined, sparkling at Schramsberg if it was not. Evening. Casual dinner in Calistoga, the unpolished end of the valley, and better for it.

Day three. Choose your church.

Morning. One last booked tasting, and make it the comparison: ask for their Cabernet beside a Bordeaux if the host will play, or order that flight at a downtown Napa tasting bar. Afternoon. Oxbow Public Market in Napa town for lunch and provisions. Evening. If the budget stretches, the wine train or a final splurge dinner; if it does not, a bottle from day one on a porch somewhere. Both are correct.

Know before you go

When to go. September and October are harvest and glorious and booked solid. April to June is green, calm and cheaper.

Getting there. Ninety minutes north of San Francisco. Book a driver or split designated duty; the valley is one long road and the police know it.

How many days. Three. Valley floor, mountains, town.

The wineries. Almost everything is by appointment and prepaid, 40 to 150 US dollars per tasting. It is the most expensive tasting culture in the world; choose two a day and choose deliberately.

The mistake first timers make. Booking four tastings a day because they are paid for. Napa pours are generous and the afternoon ones are wasted on a tired palate.

Drink it before you go

A Napa Cabernet from a major house. The benchmark of ripeness; this is the sound the valley makes.

A Bordeaux of similar price. Drink them on consecutive nights and the lesson writes itself.

A Napa Chardonnay. The other half of the story, sunshine in white.

Napa is one of twelve places in The Grape Atlas. Learn it in five minutes, free.