St. Helena Guide: 1876 Beringer Rhine House, Culinary Institute of America (Greystone) & Main Street

Halfway between Yountville and Calistoga sits St. Helena, Napa Valley's historic 19th-century 'Main Street' town. Whereas Yountville is a compact modern resort village, St. Helena is a historic farm town with a five-block 1880s brick-and-stone downtown (Main Street), anchored at its northern edge by two monumental 19th-century stone estates and at its southern edge by Napa Valley's classic winery picnic lawn.

1. North of Main Street: 'Beringer Vineyards' (1876) & The 'CIA at Greystone' (1889)

Directly next door to each other on Highway 29 just 1 mile north of downtown St. Helena stand two National Historic Landmarks:

1. Beringer Vineyards (2000 Main St, Founded 1876): established by German immigrant brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer, who kept Napa's oldest continuously operating winery open through Prohibition under a federal sacramental wine permit. Book the Legacy Cave Tour or stroll the gardens around the ornate 17-room 1884 Victorian Rhine House and walk into 365 metres of underground ageing tunnels hand-chiselled into the volcanic hillside in the 1870s.
2. The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone (2555 Main St, Free Entry): right across from Beringer towers a colossal 1889 castle of hand-cut volcanic stone (formerly the Christian Brothers Winery). Walk inside for free to see the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum, watch student chefs baking through glass walls, browse the cookbook store, and eat lunch at the student-run Bakery Café or Gatehouse Restaurant.

2. Historic Main Street Shopping, 'Gott's Roadside' & 'V. Sattui Deli'

• V. Sattui Winery & Artisan Deli (1111 White Lane at Hwy 29): because strict Napa County agricultural laws prohibit 95% of wineries from selling prepared food, V. Sattui is famous for its Italian Marketplace Deli (stocking 200+ artisanal cheeses, house-made charcuterie, paninis, pasta salads and weekend wood-fired pizzas) that you can take onto their 2 acres of shaded oak picnic tables with a bottle of wine.
• Downtown Main Street, Model Bakery & Charles Krug (1861): walk down historic Main Street for The Model Bakery's famous English Muffins, handmade chocolates at Woodhouse Chocolate, burgers at the original 1949 Gott's Roadside stand, or Charles Krug Winery (founded 1861, Napa Valley's first commercial winery).