City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Address: 607 St. Helena Highway S.
2. Jan De Luz
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-1525
Address: 1219 Main Street
Description: Ooh la la! Named for its owner, this store features inventory that is all imported from France. Linens are the specialty, in a couple basic styles that can be mixed and matched and personalized with embroidery right in the store. Linens, kitchen accessories, and bath products dominate one side of the store, home decor and furniture the other. The antiques, the lavender, the spices, the colorful tableware—it’s all from the old country. Look for the copper bathtub in the window. Jan de Luz has a second location in Carmel.
3. Footcandy
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (877) 517-4606
Address: 1239 Main Street
Description: A woman cannot own too many shoes and purses, right? If you must have more, and money is no object (I mean, really, no object), step into Footcandy. Most of us might walk on by in our arch-friendly Birkenstocks, but there’s a thriving market for stores like Footcandy, and it’s proven successful with two other shops in the Bay Area in addition to the Sonoma outpost. You know the names: Kate Spade, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Lilly Pulitzer, and Emilio Pucci are only a few of the many designers represented. Like the heels, the prices are steep. Maryjanes by Manolo Blahnik, for instance, will set you back $615; to complete the ensemble, add a Jimmy Choo Congo clutch at the sale price of $1,197.
4. Freckles Children’S Boutique
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-1201
Address: 1309 Main Street
Description: In a town targeted to more mature shoppers, there’s this sweet little store for kids. Freckles has the usual adorable outfits for boys and girls, along with books and toys. They also carry Rody ponies, those inflatable riding toys from Italy, available in several colors. Freckles is located at the corner of the entryway to Hotel St. Helena (you can’t miss the vertical hotel signs).
5. Goodman’S
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-1750
Address: 1331 Main Street
Description: There is no shortage of women’s clothing stores along St. Helena’s Main Street, but I like this store for its big selection of apparel for women and men. The sale racks are always worth a look, too. If your passion is aloha shirts, they usually have a large collection. The store is housed in the historic Richie Block building, built in 1892 and hands-down the best looking facade on Main Street.
6. Woodhouse Chocolate
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (800) 966-3468
Address: 1367 Main Street
Description: Stepping into Woodhouse is like walking into Tiffany & Company, but you won’t spend as much, and the experience will be sweeter. Inside, beautiful display cases fit for fine jewelry are filled with stunning chocolates lined up like rows of soldiers. The confections are all made on-site in a production kitchen behind the “salon,” as the owners refer to it. The Andersons are longtime Wine Country residents who jumped from the wine industry into chocolates several years ago. I’m glad they did. The storefront display window is always entertaining.
7. Olivier Napa Valley
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 967-8777
Address: 1375 Main Street
Description: The olive is celebrated here in many ways, from cookbooks to soaps, candles, and ceramics. Check out the handcrafted tableware from Provence and other beautiful serving pieces. Though some of the products are imported, Olivier has its own label of gourmet oils and savories, tapenades, and so forth.
8. Fideaux
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 967-9935
Address: 1312 Main Street
Description: Greeting customers on a recent visit to this shop was a shirt that read, i kiss my dog on the lips. If that sentiment warms your heart rather than turns your stomach, come on in. Dogs and cats are shaggy royalty here. Fideaux (pronounced “Fido”—get it?) offers numerous squeeze-and-squeak toys, a wide selection of pet collars, collapsible dog dishes for hiking, pet futon beds (made for the Fideaux label), and even wine-barrel doghouses. Take home a bag of scoopable snacks for your mutt, too. Fideaux also stocks the basics: shampoo, food, kitty litter, etc.
9. Pennaluna
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-3115
Address: 1220 Adams Street
Description: Just around the corner from the main shopping street in St. Helena is this sun-filled gift shop named for the owner’s grandmother. It’s the type of place that’s hard to categorize. There’s some kitsch (pillows, dish towels, and glasses printed with touristy Napa Valley maps), stuff for kids, greeting cards, desk accessories, great jewelry, and the store’s own fragrance, called Pennaluna. Lots of Jaag plush animals, too.
10. Main Street Books
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-1338
Address: 1315 Main Street
Description: This business has been around since 1983. It’s an extremely small shop that emphasizes used items, and it’s the only upvalley used-book store. The cramped quarters and carefully selected titles are bound to remind you of a classic London bookstall.
11. River House Books
City: St. Helena, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 963-1163
Address: 1234 Adams Street
Description: Duck into this bright and airy store a few steps off the main drag and sample the cookbooks, tomes on the science of winemaking, and beautiful Napa Valley souvenir volumes. Looking for an old-fashioned potboiler for reading in your spa tub? You’ll find those here, too, along with a good selection of magazines and a corner for kids.