# United States & Canada Vacations Forums > General Discussion >  >  Oakland, California

## noel

My partner and I are stuck over the weekend in Oakland in meetings and depositions.  We should be free from noon Saturday until Sunday morning, and we have a car.

Any recommendations for wine country and dinner on Saturday?  We are both novices in the wine world.

Thanks

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## JEK

Head to Yountville and see if you can get a table at Thomas Keller's Bouchon. 

http://www.bouchonbistro.com/

You are in the heart of Napa and you can find tons of places to visit for tasting. A couple of my favorites 

http://www.grgich.com/ 

http://www.cakebread.com/

http://www.silveroak.com/estates/napa

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## MIke R

KevinS turned me on to Cakebread Chardonnay  during one of his P Town visits....very nice wine

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## andynap

You can take the road to Napa or Sonoma from Oakland. I like Sonoma and the Sonoma Mission Inn 
http://www.fairmont.com/sonoma

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## noel

Thanks very much for the recommendations.  As it turned out, we didn't get out of Oakland as early as we'd hoped and arrived in Yountville around 3:00.  Could not get in Bouchon but took a quick look -- it's very nice and elegant.  We then went across the street to Bottega, a new place in back of the shops and had a great late lunch (kind of like defaulting to Le Repaire when we haven't made reservations).

Thanks again to all.

Tim

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## andynap

Can't go wrong in Wine Country

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## JEK

Bouchon can be a tough table, but not as tough as The French Laundry. Glad you had a chance to explore Yountville. Did you get to any wineries?

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## noel

Thanks -- we stopped at a couple wineries that closed at 4:30 and ended up at Sattui in St. Helena mainly because it stayed open until 6:00, and it was just fine for a quick afternoon.

Tours seem pretty much impossible if not reserved at least 24 hours in advance.  And lots of limos running up and down Route 29!

And for dinner in Oakland, we'd recommend Lake Chalet on Lake Merritt.  Great setting and decent food.

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## JEK

Morning tours are a little more loose. If you hit the Valley at 3 you are cooked.  We get out there 3-4 times an year and have a regular routine.

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## andynap

Wine is the morning is not so good- that's why the morning tours are sparce

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## phil62

Were there still grapes on the vine or are they picked clean by now? Amy

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## noel

Still some grapes here and there, yes.

And we suspected we were cooked on the the timing but it was the best we could do with our squirrelly work schedule.    Certainly beat hanging out in Oakland or going to Pier 39!

I also looked up the last time I went to Napa -- it was the weekend Bill Graham died in the helicopter crash and the road to Sonoma was closed because the helicopter was still tangled in the power lines.  18 years ago!  Time flies.

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