Sun, Apr 19: Depart Indianapolis for San Francisco. Meet your motorcoach and drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Stop in the colorful Sausalito for lunch on your own and a little time to explore this charming community. Your first tasting is at the Black Stallion Estate Winery,  founded on the grounds of a historic equestrian center. Located in the Oak Knoll District, a wine grape-growing Appellation in the southern half of the Napa Valley, the winery primarily produces wines that are handcrafted and carefully blended from small vineyard lots capturing the exceptional character of this soil and climate. Transfer to your hotel, the Embassy Suites Napa Valley. Check into the hotel and enjoy dinner and the evening at your leisure. 

Mon, Apr 20: Early morning brings an optional hot-air balloon ride, a Napa Valley must! Soar over a tapestry of vineyards before landing in a field of wildflowers for a champagne brunch. Those not doing the balloon ride will enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Board the Napa Valley Wine Train, restored to its 1915 vintage glory, for lunch served in an elegant railroad car as you course across the Napa countryside to St. Helena. The amazing Wine Train features 100-year-old railcars traveling on a 150-year-old rail corridor. Disembark the train and transfer to Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga for a tour and tasting of wines enhanced with delicious chocolates. Built over a 15-year period, Castello di Amorosa is a gorgeous winery that primarily produces handcrafted Italian-style wines and features a grand manor resembling a 13th-century Tuscan castle. Return to your hotel with dinner and evening at your leisure. (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)

Tue, Apr 21: After breakfast at the hotel head for Yountsville for a tasting at Chandon, nestled into the rocky hillside with rolling gardens. The famous French Champagne producer Moët & Chandon and acclaimed cognac maker Hennessy combined forces with the mission of producing world-class sparkling wine in Napa Valley. Learn how sparkling wines are crafted and aged from vineyard to bottle to cellar. At the completion of your tour, taste four wines, including specially selected sparkling wines. Continue on to St. Helena, a vibrant community offering award-winning restaurants, boutiques and galleries for time to shop and have lunch on your own. Head to Grgich Hills Winery in Rutherford. Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, crafted by Mike Grgich, as the finest white wine in the world. Enjoy a tour and tasting of four wines! Toast to an amazing trip with a private dinner featuring locally sourced ingredients. (B,D) 

Wed, Apr 22: After breakfast, return to San Francisco and fly home. (B)