Napa is magical year-round but it assumes a special warm and welcoming glow at the holidays. From December through January, you can enjoy an unforgettable holiday season in our valley of lights, music, magnificent food, and wine. Napa Valley in December guarantees marvelous, world-class holiday experiences and memories. Napa Valley December Events are luminous, magical, delicious, and musical.
Napa Valley in December: Yountville, the Valley’s Glittering Gem
You simply cannot miss the Holidays in Yountville which runs through December 21. A full six weeks of events highlights the holiday season in Napa’s wine country heartland. December 15 brings the official Holiday Lights Tour in Yountville, with the Recreation Department’s luxury bus tour of all the best holiday light displays. You can enjoy caroling, hot chocolate, and holiday treats — but dress warmly. Our Napa Valley evenings are normally cloudy and cool, with potential drizzles overnight.
No need to worry if you miss the guided tour: thousands of lights in town, performances, and special treats at tasting rooms and restaurants continue throughout the holiday season. A few other events include winery special offers, and specials at the romantic Cottages Napa Valley.
The holidays coincide with the Cab season in Napa Valley. Taxi cab season? Au contraire, so much better than that: Cabernet Sauvignon season. The glorious red wine is at the height of its harvest in December. You can enjoy a special Cab Season holiday package at Hotel Yountville, which includes a curated bottle of Cab from Stewart Cellars, a wine tasting for two, and marvelous Cab-filled chocolates made locally from Kollar Chocolates.
Several other lovely boutique hotels and B & B’s are offering holiday packages throughout December. Highly sought-after Maison Fleurie and Lavender are offering a two-night stay during the week (Fri-Sun excluded – different benefits offered) with afternoon wine tastings, hors d’oeuvres, and the Four Sisters Inns’ breakfast buffet. Solage will offer you a magnificent alternative to wintry and snowed-in holiday cabins with their geothermal heated mineral pools and Cab tastings.
Yountville’s wineries are extending their holiday hospitality, starting with S’mores and wine at Girard Winery’s Yountville tasting room. Find Ghost Block Estate Family Wines at their tastings throughout the season. If you missed the Stags Leap District’s Black Card this year, you can still participate with extraordinary wines in the District through the New Year.
Napa Valley’s Wine Trolley and Other Napa Valley December Events
Running throughout the holidays, Napa Valley’s Wine Trolley is a replica of an 1890s San Francisco cable car that will take you on a six-hour tour of four notable wineries. You’ll also enjoy a catered picnic luncheon. You’ll be able to enjoy the lunch at one of the festively-decorated Napa wineries.
First Street in Napa is hosting special holiday shopping offers and light displays throughout the season. You’ll be able to enjoy carolers and a visit with Santa along Napa’s First Street shopping district. The Napa Valley Wine Train, not to be confused with the Wine Trolley, transforms into the Santa Train, which runs throughout the holiday season in the evenings from 5:45 to 7:00 p.m. Enjoy sing-alongs, games, and a cast of familiar holiday characters, along with fresh-baked cookies and hot cocoa.
St. Helena’s Chamber of Commerce kicked off its first Jingle All the Way event this year. The delightful display at Lyman Park includes food trucks, music, wine tastings, a roller rink, and ice igloos. Of course St. Helena’s Jingle All the Way festivities include Santa Claus.
Napa Valley December Events in Fine Dining
Chef Christopher Kostow is holding the 11th annual Twelve Days of Christmas celebration at The Restaurant at Meadowood. Chefs from around the world join Chef Kostow in creating holiday menus that benefit Saint Helena Preschool for All.
Nearly every one of Yountville’s fine dining restaurants is hosting holiday menus or creating holiday celebration events from November through the New Year. Check daily tasting menus at The French Laundry and other Yountville landmark establishments to see which holiday treats you may taste. For daytime picnics, you may enjoy takeout from Atelier Fine Foods and Catering. You may also enjoy a more traditional holiday chophouse experience at Perry Lang’s on Washington Street in Yountville. Children will adore the holiday gingerbread house workshop at Vista Collina Resort.
Kick off the New Year with extraordinary celebration events at the Silverado Resort and Spa, Vista Collina Resort, and Meritage in Napa. Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga offers a New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball in one of the valley’s most sought-after events. Carneros Resort and Spa is hosting a Bubbles & Bow Ties event, and Goose & Gander, a New Year’s Eve Speakeasy Party, featuring dinner and an afterparty. If bow ties and tails aren’t your style, get laid-back at the annual Pajama Party at Gran Electrica in Napa.
Music and Entertainment in Napa Valley in December
The week before Christmas brings Jessy J’s holiday jazz vocals to Blue Note Napa. Find tickets for the December 21 and 22 evening concert. After you’ve enjoyed Jessy’s number-one jazz vocals, don’t miss late evening hors d’oeuvres or tasting menus at nearby restaurants. Also on December 21 and 22, enjoy a performance of the classic holiday ballet The Nutcracker at the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center. Finally, you can ring in NYE 2020 with the incomparable Kenny G at Blue Note Napa. Do check reservation sites and call as soon as you are able, as many of these events fill quickly.
Silverado Cooking School offers a yuletide log-shaped chocolate cake making class, otherwise known as Buche de Noel, on December 21, and you’ll find a whirl of glittering and inviting cooking events throughout the valley.
Finally, after the festivities have hit their peak and we enter a new year, detox, relax, and de-stress with an impeccable Disco Brunch at Solage Calistoga.
January may be another month to enjoy the best events Napa Valley has to offer, as it is still Cab season, and also mustard season. Few regions are as magical or memorable as winter in Napa Valley over our glorious holiday season.