Kicking Off the Growing Season with New Restaurants, Renovations, Expansions and Community Events

Eagerly anticipated openings and gorgeous makeovers mark this season in the Napa Valley. New restaurants and tasting rooms join expanded local favorites and culinary workshops to delight the palate, while renovated hotels and spas beckon with promises of luxe R&R. 

Food and Wine:A slew of new, expanded and refreshed Napa Valley restaurants serve locally-inspired artisanal fare, and renowned wineries welcome guests with fun and innovative ways to savor the region's viticultural bounty.

• NEW EATERIES: The Napa Valley is home to several new and upcoming restaurants this year, including the eco-chic Bardessono resort's new Lucy Restaurant & Bar (http://www.bardessono.com), which harvests ingredients from its onsite garden in Yountville. Nearby, Michelin-starred Chef Richard Reddington has launched Redd Wood (http://www.redd-wood.com), offering wood-fired pizzas, pastas and other seasonal selections. Rancho Caymus Inn has opened Alex Italian Restaurant (http://www.alexitalianrestaurant.com), featuring a regional Italian menu with strong influences from Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, with a California bent. Two restaurants are also slated to open in St. Helena, including French Blue Restaurant in April, which will feature local food sourced from nearby farms, orchards and bakeries. Goose and Gander (http://www.goosegander.com) will debut in May, housed in a 90-year-old craftsman-style bungalow. 

• NEW TASTING ROOMS: A variety of wine tasting rooms bring guests more to explore in the Spring and Summer of 2012. Savour St. Helena (http://www.savoursthelena.com) has opened the town's first cooperative tasting room, home to nine of the region's boutique wineries. Mark Herold Wines (http://markheroldwines.com) has opened a tasting room in Downtown Napa, also serving small plates as pairings. Kelly Fleming Wines (http://kellyflemingwines.com) has opened a winery tasting room in Calistoga, where tours and tastings include visits to the winery's caves. Materra Cunat Premium Vineyards (http://www.materrawines.com) will begin pouring wines by appointment on Main Street in St. Helena in March.

• NEW EXPANSIONS: A new wine cellar that holds up to 10,000 bottles of Napa Valley wine has been unveiled at PRESS ST. Helena (http://www.presssthelena.com), creating the largest Napa Valley wine list in North America. Charles Krug Winery (http://www.charleskrug.com/) is also making additions, having announced plans to add a delicatessen and Napa Valley wine history museum to its historic Redwood Cellar, along with a new picnic area and indoor lounge. This summer, Italian restaurant Oenotri (http://oenotri.com) will expand into Downtown Napa's Gordon Huether Gallery to open an artisan cocktail bar surrounded by Huether's artwork.

• CULINARY WORKSHOPS: Renowned Chef Michael Chiarello's NapaStyle (http://www.napastyle.com) has introduced the "NapaStyle Culinary Program," a new series of culinary workshops welcoming celebrated Napa Valley authors, chefs and vintners to its Yountville classroom kitchen to teach guests about artisan epicurean techniques. For wine enthusiasts, Calistoga's B Cellars (http://www.bcellars.com) has unveiled a series of wine blending boot camps on the last Friday of every month, providing guests an insider's view of winemaking. 

• "AUBERGE ADVENTURES" DEBUT AT TWO AREA RESORTS: The new "Auberge Adventures" program allows travelers to enjoy cultural and culinary exploration from two Napa Valley lodging hosts: Auberge du Soleil and Calistoga Ranch. Offerings include Artisan Workshops curated by Auberge du Soleil for hands-on classes on how to make cheese, sausage, salami and bread; a day-long Wine and Food Sensory Exploration at Calistoga Ranch that features an epicurean immersion at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, a session in wine-blending at an area winery an an Executive Chef-led master class and dinner; as well as an abalone-diving excursion with Calistoga Ranch that takes guests to a protected cove to hunt for this local delicacy. http://www.aubergeresorts.com 

Hotels and Spas: Four of the Napa Valley's lodging and spa hosts freshen up with some serious renewal this spring and summer.

• TWO RESORTS COMPLETE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RENOVATIONS: A $40 million expansion project at the Meritage Resort and Spa (http://www.themeritageresort.com) is on-track to be completed in May, including the addition of 165 guest rooms and 12,500 square feet of event space. An expanded fitness studio will now overlook the resort's own vineyards, and a new Crush Ultra Lounge features six luxury bowling lanes, two bars, a fireplace and pool tables. Unveiling on March 31 after a $4.7 million renovation, the Embassy Suites Napa Valley (http://www.embassysuitesnapahotel.com) offers guests completely refurnished and redesigned public areas and guest suites, including the addition of 60 luxury suites. 

• ANDAZ NAPA OPENING THIS SUMMER: Downtown Napa's Avia Napa hotel will undergo renovations before reopening this summer as Northern California's first Andaz hotel, Andaz Napa. The hotel's signature restaurant and bar will showcase items from regional ranches, orchards, mills and farms, and to accompany the menu, will offer a selection of local high-end and boutique wines. Events and meetings at Andaz Napa will accommodate groups of up to 130 in three venues, with other hotel amenities including a 24-hour fitness center and a rotating art gallery showcasing works made by local artists. http://avianapa.hyatt.com 

• CALISTOGA SPA HOT SPRINGS RENOVATES FACILITIES: The Calistoga Spa Hot Springs announces the recent renovation of their pool deck and four healing mineral pools, which draw mineral water directly from the source. The renovation of the mineral pools feature newly created "niches" where families or couples can enjoy respite from the active pool area, also offering guests varying degrees of water temperature. http://calistogaspa.com 

Outdoors: With a backdrop of wild mustard blooms and budding vines, the Napa Valley beckons active travelers with new reasons to explore its great outdoors.

• NEW WAYS TO CONNECT TO THE LAND: The Land Trust of Napa County is offering a free six-mile "Maggie's Peak Trail Run" beginning April 29, a new hike featuring a trek up the mountainside to the dramatic Devil's Well waterfall and into a serene redwood grove. This spring and summer, the Land Trust also kicks off its new MemberSeries program focused on new ways to connect with the Napa Valley's protected lands, including a 90-minute yoga/meditation session at Archer Taylor Preserve, a century-old redwood forest and field trips involving lessons in outdoor art and photography. http://napalandtrust.org

• ART-INSPIRED HIKES AT DIROSA PRESERVE: Beginning in April, di Rosa Preserve is offering a series of Spring Nature Hikes (April 28, May 5, May 19 and June 9), on which guests join experienced guides for the rare opportunity to hike to the top of Milliken Peak at di Rosa, the highest summit in Napa Valley's Carneros region. In addition to sweeping views of the North Bay, hikers' gazes will be entranced with sculptures along the trek to the peak. The hike is moderately strenuous and children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. http://www.dirosaart.org 

• ATHLETIC GEAR NOW OFFERED AT WESTIN VERASA NAPA: Travelers who stay with Westin Verasa Napa will have an opportunity to utilize athletic shoes and apparel, thanks to a partnership with New Balance. Once guests provide their shoe and clothing size, fresh exercise apparel and a pair of brand new socks will be delivered to their guest room, for a small fee. Upon departure, items can be left in guests' rooms for pickup. http://www.westinnapa.com 

• DOWNTOWN NAPA ARTWALK DEBUTS 13 NEW WORKS: Visitors can enjoy a self-guided interactive audio tour of Downtown Napa's featured outdoor artwork thanks to the Napa ARTwalk, where 13 new sculptures have been installed for the exhibit's second series, "Momentum - Art That Moves (Us)." Brochures with maps are available throughout the downtown area. http://www.napaartwalk.org 

• WINE COUNTRY TO WINDY CITY GOLF CHALLENGE: Registration is now open for travelers to participate in the new "Wine Country to Windy City Golf Challenge," hosted at the Silverado Resort & Spa beginning August 6, 2012. The winning golfer will earn a VIP trip for two to the 39th Ryder Cup in Chicago, including luxury hotel accommodations, round-trip airfare and a special behind-the-scenes tour of NBC Sports with Johnny Miller at the Ryder Cup. All players and guests are invited to a pre-tournament clinic by Johnny Miller, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and co-owner of Silverado Resort & Spa, who is scheduled to be on hand for all of the tournament festivities. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation. http://www.wc2wcgolf.com 

For more information about travel to the Napa Valley, including special offers and a full calendar of spring and summer events, visit www.legendarynapavalley.com.