wine country weekend

View of Napa Valley from Mt. Veeder vineyards

Today, Josephine of Chic At Any Age and I are each sharing our version of a weekend getaway travel wardrobe. As I figure you’ve all had your fill of our recent weekend trip to Las Vegas for this post I decided to pretend we’re planning a trip to Wine Country, in this case California’s Napa Valley. (And we are actually hoping to return there soon, perhaps in the autumn.)

We’ll presume for the sake of this post, that our weekend is a long one; we arrive at our destination Friday afternoon, and start our journey home Monday morning. We’ll also presume that we’re visiting during late Spring, after the rainy season but before summer’s heat. Temperatures may be cool to chilly during early mornings and evenings, and pleasantly warm during the days. We’re not planning any excursions that require hiking, biking, canoeing or horseback riding gear. Mostly we’ll need casual wear, but have dinner reservations two of the evenings where “smart casual” attire would not be out-of-place.

What to bring:

Friday: arrive, check into the hotel, enjoy a glass of wine on the patio. We’ll have an early and low-key dinner, because Saturday morning we have to be up before the sun….

to be picked up for our scheduled hot air balloon ride over the valley. It will be chilly starting out, so I’d want to wear jeans, a sweater layered over the tee, a scarf and a jacket. By the time we reach the mid-way point of the ride,

it’s warmed up and I’ve shed the scarf and jacket.

we land mid-morning, and enjoy a lovely brunch before being driven back to our hotel.

We’ve mapped out a few wineries to visit over the weekend, but we have a lovely dinner planned and are pacing ourselves, so probably will visit only one or two in the afternoon. I’ve left the jacket, scarf and sweater in the hotel, and changed from the long-sleeved tee to the lightweight blouse.

Sometimes you’ll be offered a chance to do some barrel tasting. I’m not enough of an oenophile to get much sense of a wine’s potential from barrel tasting, but it’s still an interesting experience.

Back to the hotel to rest up and change for dinner. For Saturday night, I’d wear: black ankle pants, black silk top, ankle strap shoes, the pearl pendant necklace, gold bracelet. If it’s chilly enough I’ll add the utility jacket, but that comes off as soon as I’m inside.

Sunday morning: a late buffet brunch, then off to another two or three wineries. We might stop in Healdsburg for an afternoon coffee and to do a bit of shopping. For Sunday night dinner, I’d wear the same top and shoes, the dark skinny jeans and alternate some of the jewelry for variety.

A few wardrobe considerations: for wine tasting and winery tours, you’ll want to wear comfortable shoes. If it’s very hot, sandals are fine, but be aware that some tours may include walks through vineyards, or at least on dirt drives, so be prepared. Often tours and tastings involve time spent standing on concrete floors, and interiors can be chilly. In all but the warmest seasons, a lightweight sweater may A small cross-body bag is my preference; no need to lug a heavy large bag around. If the weather’s warm enough and your hotel has a pool, do bring a swim suit.

Monday morning we load up the car with our clothes and a few bottles of wine purchased from the wineries we visited, and hit the road back home.

If you’re traveling with wine, consider picking up a few of these re-useable wine protector bags

, especially if you’re flying and will be checking bags.

What types of wardrobe items do you regularly travel with? Please do go visit Chic At Any Age; I know she has a wonderful weekend travel recap to share!

TRAVEL WARDROBE STALWARTS:

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Susan Blakey

wine country weekend