Entering wine country by water: the idea seems incongruous, yet it is this port call's calling card. The small river ships that ply San Francisco Bay sail up the Napa River between salt marshes and golden hills, right to the doorstep of the most famous valley in American wine country. Passengers gain a perspective that the region's millions of annual visitors will never know: that of slow water, egrets and wooden docks.

A journey upriver worth the trip

The sailing itself is already half the pleasure. After San Pablo Bay, the river narrows into meanders lined with wetlands where pelicans and birds of prey keep the ship company; onboard lecturers generally take the opportunity to recount the era when steamers and hay barges made this waterway the county's commercial artery. The ship docks upstream, at a marina south of town, amid a landscape of masts and boathouses; downtown and the vineyards are then reached by motorcoach, as part of the excursions offered by the cruise line. In other words, you do not walk down the gangway onto a town square: here, the pier is a starting point, not a destination.

The valley and its vineyards

The highlight of the day remains the winery visits. The Napa Valley lines up hundreds of wineries between hills and rows of cabernet sauvignon, from family cellars to internationally renowned houses. Excursions generally combine a guided tasting, a walk through the facilities and a photo stop in front of the vineyard landscapes that have made California's reputation since the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris, the blind tasting in which local wines outscored great Bordeaux. Non-drinkers will not be bored: estate architecture, gardens and local agricultural history fill the visit amply. You may also cross paths with the Wine Train, a convoy of vintage cars that has carried diners through the vineyards since the 1980s.

Downtown Napa

The town itself has reinvented itself around its river. Oxbow Public Market, named after the horseshoe-shaped bend that surrounds it, gathers some twenty artisan counters under one roof: cheesemakers, coffee roasters, oyster farmers and bakers, with terraces overlooking the water and lines of regulars at lunchtime. The neighbouring streets line up urban tasting rooms, art galleries and early-20th-century façades carefully restored after the earthquakes that have shaken the region in recent decades. A landscaped promenade runs along the water, pleasant for digesting your market discoveries while watching kayakers and herons.

Seasonal tips

The harvest, from late August to October, gives the vineyards their liveliest face, scent of fermenting must included; spring, with wild mustard blooming between the vine rows, appeals to photographers, and the quieter winter offers tastings without the crowds. Summers are hot and dry: water and a hat are a must during winery visits. Finally, the bottles you buy travel well in the climate-controlled holds, but check the quantities allowed when returning to Canada.

As the ship heads back down the river with the tide, many with an evening glass in hand, the day reads like a successful tasting: landscapes for colour, a winemaking history for the nose and, on the palate, the memory of a valley that raised American wine to the ranks of the greats. Arriving by sea will remain your secret as a cruiser.