Napa needs you: Why your next Fall trip should be to Napa Valley

Year after year visitors are lured to the Napa Valley region by the striking beauty of the area and it’s promise of world class wine, unmatched hospitality and exceptional fine dining. After the devastating fires, the valley stands strong and most businesses have opened their doors to welcome wine enthusiasts back to the area during it’s most beautiful time of year.

With cooler weather and clear skies, the region is bustling with activity and your visit or wine purchase could make all the difference to those who depend on visitors for their livelihood.  If you are contemplating how to help, here are a few ways you can support the affected communities.

1. Plan a Visit

During the fires businesses and residents came together to help victims in need. They opened their doors to those who lost their homes and fed hundreds more facing uncertainty.

Restaurants such as Bistro Don Giovanni and Market donated meals or their corkage fees to local fire relief and impacted fire victims. Dine at one of these highly rated restaurants and give back to those who have helped their communities. This time of year is usually very busy and reservations are hard to come by. Because of the fires, many have cancelled their trips, so you can enjoy most restaurants without too much advanced notice.

The Harvest Inn Napa and Los Alcobas in St. Helena provided fire victims with meals and a place to stay during the crisis. They are welcoming guests again after power outages and would love your business. If you are unsure about a restaurant’s or a hotel’s standing be sure to call ahead and ask if they are open for business. Almost all are open for business as usual. And better yet, many are offering great room rates as incentives to visit.

The Napa Valley Film Festival is another reason to visit the valley. The festival includes culinary demonstrations and wine tastings with 300 filmmakers arriving to the region Nov. 8 through Nov. 12.  The festival is offering 1,000 free tickets to those impacted by the fires and will donate 10% of the pass sales to the Napa Valley Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund.

At Whitehall Lane we donated our current release tasting fees for the month of October to the Napa Valley Community Foundation.

2. Purchase Wine

Locals have the great task of revitalizing this community but they cannot do it without your help, if you can’t plan a visit, purchase wine from the Napa Valley in your community or enjoy a bottle from the area when you dine out with friends.

Stock up on your favorite wines for holiday dinner parties or gifts. Your purchase could help offset the costs of repairing damaged buildings or lost crop due to smoke and fire.

3. Donate Directly to Funds

Lastly, you can still donate directly to the Napa Valley Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund, the Sonoma County Resilience Fund, and the Community Foundation of Mendocino County.

Beyond the reparations are people and places doing their best to continue the tradition of welcoming guests to the beautiful place they call home. Napa stands strong and you can take part in supporting a great cause by choosing to experience this lively region as your next destination.