Winter 2012 Food and Wine: Foodie A to Z in Carmel Valley

Plenty of places proclaim they’re The Next Napa. Those places miss the point.


Yes, Napa’s beautiful. Stuffed to bulging with Masaharu Morimotos and Cindy Pawlcyns. Juiced to the gills with Stag’s Leap Cabs and Duckhorn Merlots. 


But it’s also over-priced, over-hyped, over-boutiqued and often over-booked, which is nothing to drool over. 


The real ideal isn’t being The Next Napa. It’s being The Pre-Napa.


Welcome to Carmel Valley, where we have our own world-class wines, celebrated chefs and beautiful landscapes. Only it’s still rustic, quaint and authentic. And it’s wildly walkable: Rather than having to shuttle from winery to winery across several municipalities, the heel-toe highway gets you there in minutes. And for most of Monterey County, it’s a half hour away.


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