St. Helena

Today I'm adding my first non-Davis Local Great to the list. Last summer my hubby and I spent a weekend in Napa Valley. We discovered lots of new favorite places, but we were particularly taken with the town of St. Helena. It felt old and somewhat rustic (for Napa, that is!) and it was full of cute restaurants and boutique shopping. In our case, it was most definitely window shopping much more than buying, but it was still lots of fun.

My favorite place was a merchant called St. Helena Olive Oil Co. They make olive oil, vinegars, and bath products of their own, but they also sell a huge variety of sauces and other fine edibles. Although they sell online and ship all over the country, the best way to enjoy St. Helena Olive Oil Co is definitely to go there. Why? Because they offer samples of everything they sell. I tried pasta sauces, barbecue sauces, unusual flavored olive oils and vinegars, and lotions galore. But what I actually brought home for myself was a really good (and strong!) French mustard with basil. Yum!