Girlfriends' Guide: St. Helena

EATS

Wake up and smell the pastries: Try as you may, there’s no avoiding the tractor-pull of fresh wood-baked bread and lattes wafting through the screen doors of Model Bakery. After the feed, burn off some calories with a walk through the epicurean wonderland that is the St. Helena Farmers Market. When hunger knocks again (and it will), choices abound in this haven for ladies of the lunching sort. Clink glasses at Martini House’s intimate downstairs bar. Outdoor seating beckons here, as well as at the upscale fish and sushi extravaganza, Go Fish. If Italian’s more your speed, Tra Vigne’s villa-esque patio is a bustling social scene for locals.

Feeling puckish – or broke? Leave the hours long commitment of Napa’s restaurant scene behind for a quick bite at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, a beloved outdoor walk-up burger joint. This ain’t your everyday greasy spoon, however. The revitalized restaurant serves up top-notch burgers, including the Western Bacon Blue Ring burger with sweet potato fries, a rare-Ahi tuna burger with wasabi mayo and slaw and fish tacos.

A little swankier? Stylish, intimate and always bustling, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen serves up a mix of California classics with a relaxed Wine Country vibe. Belly up to the zinc bar for some pre-dinner cocktails or slip out to the patio for steak frites, flatbread and oysters or a rabbit tostada.

SLEEPS

The Meadowood Resort is Napa’s playground of the rich and pampered. Here, you can frolic and cavort through 250 secluded acres. Private cottages are outfitted with every amenity imaginable and guests are invited to use the on-site spa, tennis courts, pool and access to one of the world’s few croquet masters. If your pockets aren’t quite as deep, El Bonita’s a 1950s retro, affordable motel along Highway 129. Though it’s simply furnished, the clean, family-friendly atmosphere, homey picnic tables and rock-bottom prices (at least for this area) make it a top cheap sleep.

SIPS

Decisions, decisions. St. Helena is about as close to being smack dab in the middle of Napa’s hundreds of valley wineries as you can get. Just north of downtown St. Helena, along Highway 29 is picturesque Beringer. Going south: Picnic winery V. Sattui, Hall Winery (with a Frank Gehry tasting room in the works) and woman-owned Corison. Less on the beaten path is the Silverado Trail, where the funky Casa Nuestra is a can’t-miss. Just down the road in Rutherford, Swanson Vineyards’ Parisian-inspired pink-and-coral tasting room is a girlfriends’ dream. This luxe tasting is a sit-down affair (by appointment only), dreamed up by daughter Alexis, and features pours from the winery’s best bottles, well-paired nibbles and plenty of time for gabbing with your neighbor.

SPA

One of the valley’s most luxe spas, Health Spa Napa Valley offers up everything from grapeseed wraps and hot stone massages to their Sugar Honey Glow scrub and rub. Luxuriate poolside as one of the beautiful people.

SHOP

Don’t hate Carolyn Perry because she travels the world tasting wine and sussing out stylish footwear. (Okay, you can hate her a little.) Fortunately for your pedicured little tootsies, she brings her best finds home to local foot shrine, Foot Candy. Pop into the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone for a morning cooking demonstration – a perfect way to justify the bags of cookbooks, haute chef’s tools and nifty kitchen schwag you’ll be toting home from the well-stocked store. It’s worth sticking around to see what the students are cooking up at The Wine Spectator Restaurant, with its incredible vineyard views and creative California cuisine. Need a little post-indulgence pick-me-up? Woodhouse Chocolates are inspired designer delectables. Stop in for a glass of sinfully creamy hot chocolate, Thai ginger-infused truffles or a sea-salt caramel. River House Books is the spot to grab luxe coffee table books featuring the wine and cuisine of the region. In tony St. Helena, consignment is often couture and Lolo’s is the place to shop. Check out the funky window dressing and grab a few bargains before collapsing in exhaustion.