What's New in Napa Valley 2024

Summer 2024

Discover what's new in Napa Valley, including new and upcoming experiences, live music, wine tasting opportunities, and restaurants and dining.

Discover Napa Valley and its full calendar of live music all summer. Wallet-friendly wine tastings trend now. New restaurants Violetto and Moro open, and Chandon plans for a Harvest Party. This and more news from Napa Valley Wine Country.

Open-air music, hotly-anticipated restaurant openings, and the first signs of 2024’s harvest are all a part of summer living – Napa Valley style. Whether you’re coming for a show, or taking a spontaneous Saturday drive (did you know about the resurgence of wine tastings priced at $50 and under?) Napa Valley welcomes you with open arms.

Culinary Scene
$50 Wine Tastings
Live Music
Harvest Preview

New on Napa Valley’s Culinary Scene

Napa Valley continues to hone its status as a West Coast culinary capital – world-class wine loves a chef’s hand. From its generous sprinkle of Michelin stars to gourmet food trucks and famous eats in every Valley nook, the only wrong turn a “foodie” can make is heading out of town.

St. Helena’s Forbes four-star retreat Alila Napa Valley launched a new restaurant concept, Violetto at Alila Napa Valley, with Executive Chef Thomas Lents at the helm. The former Acacia House is reimagined with fine dining, focused on Northern Italian cooking with California influences. The experience is framed by iconic Napa Valley views – and with dining timed just right, the historic vineyards at golden hour.

Elegant Moroccan street fare takes up a purveyor stall at Oxbow Public Market with Moro Napa – Chef Mourad Lahlo has opened a Napa-meets-Marrakesh-market counter service restaurant. From handhelds to grilled meats and housemade dips, this is grab-and-go fare made fresh and adds even more international flavors to the Napa Valley culinary scene.

In Napa's Rail Arts District, Stateline Road Smokehouse is gearing up for lines around the block as Napa's first Kansas City-style barbecue from Michelin-trained Chef (and KC native) Darryl Bell. Brisket, ribs, and burnt ends are coming this July and don’t miss the smoky half-chicken - so delicious.

What once was a barbecue pop-up is becoming a Downtown Napa brick-and-mortar – Biscuits BBQ takes up residence on Pearl St. this summer. Local Brett Schaublin, former sous chef at Redd under the tutelage of esteemed Chef Richard Reddington, is set to offer sharing plates.

Hungry for more? Join Feast it Forward for Cookbook Fest (Jun 21 - Jun 23, 2024) in Downtown Napa. Part cookbook festival, part food and wine festival, and part music festival, the event will include culinary demos, live podcasts, a book village, and good eats (plus plenty of cameos from chefs, including Tyler Florence) are guaranteed through the weekend.

Violetto at Alila Napa Valley

Wine Tastings $50 and Under

A resurgence of wallet-friendly wine tasting options abound in Napa Valley. From legendary to out-of-the-box fun (check out the ‘petting zoo’ and vineyard tour at Trefethen Family Vineyards), these tasting experiences bring an array of options – from fun and innovative to focused and formal.

Preview a selection of Wine Tastings $50 and Under, found town-by-town throughout Napa Valley.

Napa

Head to Domaine Carneros and ask for the Sparkling Wine Sampler ($40).
Catch rays at Clos du Val – get a glass in the garden ($10 entry, plus wine).
Dive into Compline Wine Shop, an ultra-cool wine-store-meets-tasting lounge, for a wine flight led by a knowledgeable sommelier. (Wine Without Borders flight, $39).

Yountville

Flock to Goosecross Cellars for a Patio Tasting ($50).
Jessup Cellars welcomes you with a casual Tasting Flight ($30)
Ready for a light snack? Silver Trident offers the perfect salty bite with your wine - get the Potato Chip Extravaganza Tasting ($50).

St. Helena

Take a seat at the Cab bar – Silver Oak Cellars now offers walk-up tastings of their famous Cabernets ($30).
Napa’s oldest winery, Charles Krug Winery, offers The Estate Tasting - and a taste of history ($50).
Clif Family Winery invites you to a casual bar tasting - a great stop during the week ($40).

Calistoga

Start with the Twomey Experience ($35) at Twomey Cellars.
August Briggs Winery will pour the hits with its Classic Wine Flight ($25).
Finish the day with Girard Winery’s Timeless Tasting ($50).

Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions at The Meritage Resort and Spa

Summer's Live Music

Fresh off the amplified heels of BottleRock Napa Valley and its lively afterparties along with the newly minted La Onda Latin music festival, Napa Valley is full of sound – from folk to jazz and from funk to country. Hear it all here, including this Summer’s Blue Note Jazz Fest Black Radio experience. While the “first taste” of our live music summer started over Memorial Day weekend, the music will keep buzzing in Napa Valley through early autumn.

Discover these outdoor concerts and more.

Let the sweet sounds of summer usher you into Napa Valley.

Groove Summit – Funk royalty comes to town for a two-day music party, hosted during the Blue Note Summer Sessions at The Meritage Resort and Spa, August 24 - 25th, 2024.
Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions run through September, with performances ranging from Kool & The Gang (June 15) to Brian McKnight (July 6) to Rick Springfield and Richard Marx (August 4).
Music in the Vineyards – You might not expect a Stradivarius to sing sweetest in a candlelit wine cave, but that’s why Music in the Vineyards was born – to bring locals and visitors the experience of chamber music within the acoustically primed, beautifully unexpected Napa Valley spaces. Held August 1 - August 30, 2024, venues include Inglenook and Hudson Ranch.
Rounding out the season, the Blue Note Jazz Festival Black Radio Experience is a rich celebration of Black culture, featuring 30+ artists across 3 stages on the grounds of The Meritage Resort and Spa, August 30 - September 1st. 2024’s headliners include John Legend, Jill Scott, and André 3000.

Seeking low-key experiences and a regular lineup of musicians weekly throughout the towns of Napa Valley? Of course, just try these spots.

Napa: Blue Note Napa, Uptown Theatre, JaM Sessions @ JaM Cellars, Napa Valley Distillery, ALBA Restaurant at River Terrace Inn, Levendi Winery Tasting Room, Grille 29 at Embassy Suites, Andaz Napa, Studio Unplugged at Feast it Forward, Be Bubbly, The Fink, the Pavillion at FARM Restaurant + Bar
Yountville: Priest Ranch, Foley Johnson Wines, RO Restaurant & Lounge
St. Helena: The Saint Wine Bar, Merryvale Vineyards
Calistoga: Buster's Southern Barbecue, Picayune Cellars & Mercantile, The Moonshine Outdoor Theater at Mount View Hotel

Summer also marks the return of family-friendly music in the parks with Napa Valley’s Town Concert Series. Bring comfy blankets and lawn chairs, and enjoy fun nights all around.

Calistoga Concerts in the Park, held in Pioneer Park, runs June – August.
St. Helena Summer Concerts, held in Lyman Park, take place all July.
Yountville’s Sunday in the Park, with music under the Veterans Memorial Park gazebo, held every other week June – September.
Downtown Napa’s Friday Nights in the Park is a summer tradition that attracts a good crowd. Live music starts as the sun sets, every Friday in July.
American Canyon’s Meet Me in the Street is a 3-part summer series, featuring live music plus a food truck rally, a car show, and a competitive cornhole tournament that’s equally fun as a spectator sport. Held the second Wednesday of each month, June - August.

Harvest Preview

The harvest parties start early for sparkling wine houses including Chandon. The nature of the winemaking means that August – not the traditional September or October dates visitors may expect – typically marks the start of a new vintage.

Join the team for a Chandon Harvest Experience & Breakfast beginning August 18th, and running every Sunday (by appointment) through September 8th. While a Chandon breakfast isn’t the only way to toast to wine season, it’s a great kick-off invitation to the most magical time of year in Napa Valley.