Creative director for her family-owned Swanson Vineyards, Alexis Swanson Traina is quite familiar with all things Napa. Since her family moved to Northern California in 1985, Alexis has shuffled between her city home in San Francisco and her idyllic vineyard spread in the Valley. The wife and mother of two also runs a carefully curated blog called Alexis’ Napa, where she highlights local goods such as her favorite wine pairings, and seasonal specials on wine, food and fashion. This is Alexis’ Napa:

PRESS The Bar at Press offers the most delicious and irresistible culinary extravaganza ever. Their bacon tasting illuminates the best purveyors of bacon in the land and every single bite is a sensory explosion of aroma, taste, texture, chew, smoke, salt, sweet, heat.

IRA YEAGER STUDIO Ira Yeager is a world-famous painter above all things, and an almost equally famous bohemian, raconteur, entertainer from Northern California (mostly in Calistoga), acting as though he were living in the 18th century.

NAPA VALLEY OLIVE OIL COMPANY Established in 1962, this enchanting discovery beguiles anyone looking for the real deal. The Particelli family runs this old-fashioned Italian market out of a little, white washed barn off the beaten path in St. Helena. Gourmands flock to stock up on their Napa Valley Olive Oil bottles in every imaginable size (which make the perfect Napa souvenir).

SWANSON SIP SHOPPE This is a candy store for adults, reinventing the rituals of fine wine, reviving the nightcap, offering clever clandestine delights and gifts. The Sip Shoppe is a decadent wine emporium offering something for everyone—from the old fashioned Clarke’s Bark candy bar (made in partnership with Vosges Haut Chocolat) to the extra-rare “Angelica” made from vines dating back to 1865, to our must-have gift, the Modern House Wines.

SUNSHINE FOODS MARKET Jim Ayers is the cheese monger at Sunshine Foods Market and, in my opinion, runs the best cheese program in Napa Valley. They carry the most perfect and edited assortments of cheeses, olives, crackers, grissini, wafers, jellies, spreads and is a dreamy resource.

GOTT’S The Gott brothers’ burger joint is instant Napa to me—and a modern day slice of Americana that makes every day of summer feel like the 4th of July!

INDIAN SPRINGS RESORT AND SPA Nestled at the farthest end of Napa Valley, it’s one of the more charming and nostalgic relics standing.  A time capsule and healing refuge where the spirit of California is alive and well at their historic spa, in the form of old school volcanic ash mud baths. Everything about Indian Springs has a vintage feel about it:  the menu of services, facilities, architecture, landscape, accommodations, and amusements.

OXBOW PUBLIC MARKET The Oxbow in downtown Napa is a true foodie emporium. It is packed on the weekends with locals and thrill-seekers looking to taste, try, and swoon. And much like the Ferry Building in San Francisco, it is becoming the hub of the emerging Napa community and a must-visit destination for the gastronomically inclined and out-of- town visitors.

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