Sara Brooks – General Manager

I’m a third-generation Napa Valley native and was born and raised in Napa, as were my mother and grandmother (my great grandparents were immigrants from Northern Italy).  I  have over 100 family members in the Napa Valley alone!   For me, it’s the perfect blend of a fantastic life – family, wine, arts and world-class food all rolled up in our  little Napa Valley.

I started at the Napa River Inn and Historic Napa Mill in 1999 and have been serving as General Manager since 2006.  Our staff has very little turnover and we are more like a family than typical co-workers.  You can see some photos of us being silly somewhere on the site.  We hope we can make you feel at home and like you’re with family when visiting our part of the world.

Here are a few things I’d recommend (in no particular order):

• Tuesday night local’s night at the Oxbow Public Market.  1/2 price burgers, fries and shakes at Gott’s Roadside Cafe, half-off oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company and multitudes of other specials abound.  It’s crowded, but it’s worth it.   5-7pm only on Tuesdays (although shhhh, you can get the same deal at Hog Island on Wednesday and it’s less crowded).
• French Fries and wine at Angele Restaurant.  Hands down best french fries in town!  Also, a very lively bar even on weeknights.  I’m happy with a mac and cheese, french fries and the house red any night of the week.
• Napa Downtown Wine Tasting Room Crawl.  No car?  No problem.  You can walk to every one of the 22+ wine tasting rooms in Downtown Napa.  Sample from thousands of different Napa Valley choices.  Bounty Hunter and Back Room Wines are two of my favorites.    Purchase a Downtown Wine Tasting Card for $25 and save some dough – but not all of them participate.
• Appetizers and drinks at Auberge Du Soleil.  In nice weather you can’t beat the view from their outside patio.  Champagne and tuna tartar from the Bistro are pure heaven.  They don’t take reservations, but if you avoid going between 6:30 and 8:00pm you can usually get in.  Try and get there an hour before sundown and you’ll be happy you did.
• Hire a car and driver and pick a winery theme for the day.   Sustainable wineries?   All pinot’s?  Varietals unique only to the Napa Valley?  Only wineries that let you taste out of the barrel?  Guided tours through the vineyards?  There are so many options here that you can narrow it down as much as you want and still find plenty to visit!   If it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned Napa Valley traveler – there are always new wines to explore.
• Ride the Napa Valley Wine Train.  If you haven’t done it do it!  It’s a unique experience that you can’t find anywhere else.
• Grab your partner or your girlfriends and hit the spa!  Really…any spa.  If you want to spend the day try Spa Terra, Silverado Spa or the Spa at the Napa Valley Marriott.   For local day-spa favorites try La Pelle Skin Spa, Greenhaus European Day Spa or Lavender Hill Spa.
• Drinks at Morimoto Napa, dinner at Tyler Florence Rotisserie and Wine and dessert at Celadon – all within steps of each other.  You can hop from place to place, meet new people and experience them all in one night.
• Pick up an Anzac Cookie from Sweetie Pie’s Bakery.  Seriously, best cookie ever!
• Go on a Historic Walking Tour with George Webber - really fun for both the history minded and the everyday traveler.  George dresses up daily and shows you all the ins, outs and arounds of Napa.  I haven’t talked to anyone who wasn’t completely entertained by this tour.
• Check out the Downtown Napa Sculpture Walk and Art on First.  Both feature some amazing artists and it’s a nice walk around downtown.