Calistoga

Calistoga is situated at the top end of the Napa Valley, where the valley fans out to its widest point—approximately 4 miles—before the Mayacamas and Howell mountains close it off. The town enjoys an especially lovely setting, with the ancient Mount St. Helena to its north and lush vineyards to its south, planted largely to Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon in typically warmer growing conditions than the rest of the Napa Valley farther to the south.

Calistoga itself is a lively little town, notable increasingly for its hot springs and spa resorts. It was originally founded in 1868 by Sam Brannan, one of California’s first millionaires, who established here the first of the area’s spa resorts, and named it “Calistoga—which, we are told, is derived from confusing the words “California” and “Saratoga.” In any case, the town has in it no fewer than eight full-fledged spa resorts, offering visitors a wide range of health and beauty treatments, and all sorts of exotic baths—steam, mud, mineral, herbal, sulphur.

The town also has a rather colorful main street (Lincoln Avenue), lined with old and lovely buildings, dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, mostly restored, and now housing modern shops and restaurants. Toward the upper end of the main street, of course, is the Old Calistoga Depot, one of the chief attractions of the town, dating from 1868 and claimed to be the oldest railroad depot in existence in California. The depot has been largely restored, and converted into a small shopping arcade, with gift shops, a wine shop, delicatessen and a well-liked café. Alongside the depot, on the railroad tracks are a half-dozen old Southern Pacific rail cars, refurbished and converted, again, into unique shops, specializing in rare gifts and old-fashioned candy. The Calistoga-based Once-in-a-Life-time hot-air balloon company also has its offices here.

Another place of supreme tourist interest is the Sharpsteen Museum on Washington Street, a block or so east off the main street, where you can view some excellent displays of Calistoga’s pioneer history, including three or four superb dioramas, one of which features Brannan’s original hot springs resort and the town as it appeared in the 1860s. Adjoining the museum—and, in fact, with its entrance through the museum—is Brannan’s old cottage, built in 1866 and now beautifully restored with original 19th-century furnishings and decor. The museum and cottage are open on weekdays, 10-4.
Also, not to be missed is Calistoga’s “Old Faithful” geyser, located just to the north of town on Tubbs Lane. It is one of the area’s oldest and most famous geysers, claimed to be among only three regularly erupting geysers in the world: it erupts approximately every 50 minutes, gushing forth in a fountain of boiling water and steam, some 60 feet or so directly into the air. There is a small picnic area at the site, and an admission fee is charged.

Calistoga Wineries

For wine buffs, too, Calistoga has much of interest. There are, in fact, in and around Calistoga, at least a half-dozen or so well-known wineries, some of them indeed quite historic. Just to the south of town, for instance, on a small side road off Highway 29 are the celebrated Schramsberg Vineyards, founded in 1862 by pioneer vintner Jacob Schram, and memorialized, in 1880, by noted author Robert Louis Stevenson in his book, The Silverado Squatters. Schramsberg makes bottle-fermented champagne primarily.

Two other wineries worth visiting. located on Dunaweal Lane which goes off the highway, eastward, are Stonegate and Sterling Vineyards. The latter is especially to be recommended to first-time visitors to the area, housed in a splendid, white Mediterranean-style building, perched on a hilltop overlooking valley vineyards. The only way up to the winery is by way of an aerial tram, which, again, has superb views of the valley. At the winery there is an excellent self-guided tour of the winemaking facility, quite interesting to wine enthusiasts who can study, at their own pace, the winemaking process. There is also a comfortable tasting room here, and a delightful patio with panoramic views, where you can sample Sterling wines. A gift-cum-wine shop on the premises retails Sterling wines, as well as wine-related books, gifts and other paraphernalia.

Also of interest, not far from Sterling Vineyards, located just to the north on Dunaweal Lane, is Clos Pegase, one of Napa Valley’s newer but more prominent wineries, housed in a dramatic, Greco-Roman, architect-designed stucco edifice, built in 1986 as a tribute to wine, art and mythology. The winery, in fact, is named for the mythological flying horse, Pegasus, featured on its wine label. The winery is open to the public for wine tasting and sales, and tours of the facility can also be arranged.

Among other interesting wineries in the Calistoga area are the Robert Pecota Winery, just north of town, and Cuvaison which is situated at the top end of the Silverado Trail and housed in a lovely Spanish-style building. Chateau Montelena, also north of Calistoga, on a side road that dashes oft Tuhhs Lane, is housed in a picturesque, French chateau-style stone castle, overlooking the artificially-created, yet beautiful, Jade Lake, with its small. Oriental bridges and red lacquered pavillions, and a real Chinese junk beached at one end of the lake. Chateau Montelena and Cuvaison have good visitor facilities, and offer primarily varietal wines from the Napa Valley.