Where to Buy Picnic Food in Napa Valley: Delis & Picnic Boxes

The easiest Napa Valley picnic lunch is a boxed one you order ahead. Oakville Grocery sells $30 box lunches, Fatted Calf at Oxbow Public Market packs boxed lunches for $22.50–$28.50 with two days' notice, and the Market at Carneros does a $25 picnic lunch. If you'd rather walk in, the classic sandwich stops are Giugni's and The Model Bakery in St. Helena, Bouchon Bakery in Yountville and Oakville Grocery mid-valley.

Below, from south to north, is what each place does best, its hours as of September 2026, and the nearest place to spread out. Hours change with the seasons, so check before you go.

Quick picks

• Picnic boxes to pre-order: Oakville Grocery, Fatted Calf, Market at Carneros, Brasswood Bar + Bakery, Sunshine Foods, Velo Deli, and Sam's General Store (baskets).
• Sandwiches to go: Giugni's, Contimo Provisions, Loveski Deli, Bouchon Bakery, Soda Canyon Store.
• Cheese and charcuterie: Fatted Calf (house-cured salumi), Sunshine Foods (a big cheese department), Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. (imported Italian meats and cheeses).
• Open late: Market at Carneros (10pm), Fivetown Grocery (9pm; 10pm Friday–Saturday), Oxbow Public Market (9pm), Cal Mart (9pm), Sunshine Foods (8pm).

Carneros and south Napa

The Market at Carneros, in the Town Square at Carneros Resort and Spa, is open to non-guests daily from 6:30am to 10pm. Its $25 picnic lunch is a sandwich, wrap or salad with chips, a cookie and boxed water. Order it ahead by phone at (707) 299-4820; parties of 12 or more need 24 hours' notice. You can eat at the garden tables by the bocce court, or take it to Madonna Estate on Old Sonoma Road, which has a picnic area beside its vines.

On the south edge of the city, Fivetown Grocery at The Meritage Resort is a deli, wine shop and café where you build a picnic from the case (cards only). It stays open until 9pm, or 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Skyline Wilderness Park, about 5 minutes away, has picnic grounds for $6 per car.

Downtown Napa and Oxbow Public Market

Oxbow Public Market on First Street (daily 7:30am–9pm; vendor hours vary) is the one-stop shop:

• Fatted Calf: house-cured salumi, pâtés, a porchetta sandwich ($16) and boxed lunches ($22.50–$28.50) with two days' notice. Charcuterie and cheese boards serve four or more.
• Loveski Deli: pastrami, brisket and whitefish sandwiches plus hand-rolled sourdough bagels, daily 7:30am–7pm.
• The Model Bakery's Oxbow counter for bread and pastries.

The market's cheese shop closed at the end of 2025, so buy cheese at Fatted Calf.

A few blocks away, Contimo Provisions (Tuesday–Saturday, 8am–3pm) builds sandwiches on its own house-made meats and pickles. Sweetie Pies in the historic Napa Mill sells whole pies for dessert, and Butter Cream Bakery, family-owned since 1948, opens at 6:30am. The Napa Farmers Market runs 8am to noon at 1100 West Street every Saturday, and on Tuesdays from April through December.

Where to eat it: the market suggests its grassy knoll along the Napa River. Oxbow Commons across the street is a wide riverside lawn, and Veterans Memorial Park has terraced grass above the river on Main Street. City of Napa parks don't allow alcohol without a permit, and glass is banned in every one, so keep the wine for later.

North Napa and the Silverado Trail

Genova Delicatessen on Trancas Street has been making big Italian combo sandwiches since 1985, and also sells cold cuts, ravioli and sauces. Its last published hours date from 2023, so call first. Alston Park is about 4 minutes away.

The Soda Canyon Store, a country store built in 1946, is one of the few places to stock up on the Silverado Trail. It opens at 6am on weekdays and 7am on weekends; the store closes at 4:30pm on weekdays and 3pm on weekends, and the deli an hour earlier. Half a mile north, Hagafen Cellars welcomes a light picnic at a reserved tasting ($45–$55).

Yountville

Bouchon Bakery (Monday–Thursday 7am–3pm, Friday–Sunday 7am–6pm) sells baguette sandwiches, breads and pastries; order online to skip the line. Velo Deli & Pizzeria opens at 6am on weekdays and takes pre-orders for box lunches. Addendum at Ad Hoc, known for boxed fried chicken, was closed for the season as of late September 2026.

All three are a short walk from Vineyard Park, a quiet lawn with vineyard views toward the Stags Leap hills, and Veterans Memorial Park, which has bocce. Yountville allows beer and wine in both.

Oakville and Rutherford

Oakville Grocery, selling groceries on Highway 29 since 1881, opens at 7am daily (closing 5pm Sunday–Thursday, 6pm Friday–Saturday). It has sandwiches, wood-fired pizza, cheese and more than 200 local wines. Its catering menu lists four $30 box lunches; the Napa Box Lunch is a sandwich, chips or pasta salad, fruit and a cookie, and vegan or gluten-free boxes cost $5 more. The patio tables are for customers, and wine bought in the shop can be opened on the patio.

Next door, Napa Cellars lets you bring food to an outdoor tasting (from $40). A short drive north, Honig has a designated picnic area, Pestoni Family Estate offers a free picnic lawn to guests enjoying its wines, and Rutherford Hill has an oak-shaded Upper Picnic Grove (bottle purchase required).

St. Helena

St. Helena has the valley's densest cluster of picnic shops:

• Giugni's Deli: build-your-own sandwiches dressed with the tangy house "Giugni juice." Order online to skip the midday line. It's open roughly 9am to mid-afternoon; call to confirm.
• The Model Bakery: opens at 5:30am; famous English muffins, plus sandwiches, salads and pizza until 3pm.
• Sunshine Foods (daily 7:30am–8pm): a full deli, a big cheese department and local wine. Boxed lunches and cheese or charcuterie platters are ordered by email with up to 72 hours' notice.
• Gott's Roadside: burgers, fish tacos and shakes, with its own lawn and grove picnic grounds, open until 8:30–9:30pm.
• Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. (daily 9:30am–5pm): an Italian grocery since 1931 for prosciutto, salami, cheese and bread.
• Brasswood Bar + Bakery (daily 8am–5pm), north of town on Highway 29: lunch boxes and charcuterie boards with 48 hours' notice, and a lawn with picnic tables.
• The St. Helena Farmers' Market: Fridays, May to October, 7:30am to noon in Crane Park.

Where to eat it: Lyman Park is a gazebo green on Main Street, and Crane Park has redwood-shaded tables and bocce. St. Helena allows beer and wine (not spirits) in its parks, but not in Lyman Park from 8pm to 6am, and not in open containers on the street. North of town, Bale Grist Mill is about a mile from Brasswood, and Bothe-Napa Valley State Park has about 50 shaded tables with stoves ($10 per car).

Calistoga

Sam's General Store (daily 7am–4pm), in the 1862 Brannan Cottage Inn, packs picnic baskets to order and sells local wine; call for the price and lead time. Its umbrella-shaded patio sits on the Napa Valley Vine Trail. Cal Mart (7am–9pm, 8pm Sunday) has a full deli, salad bar, cheese counter and wine. Buster's Southern BBQ (daily 10am–8pm) sells tri-tip, ribs by the rack and sides by the quart for a group.

Calistoga bans alcohol in its city parks, so for a picnic with wine, drive about 4 minutes to Envy Wines on Tubbs Lane (buy a bottle to enjoy on the terrace) or about 8 minutes to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park.

Tips for a smooth pickup

• Order early for September and October weekends. Visit Napa Valley calls those months the busiest of the year, and picnic boxes need one to three days' notice.
• Pick up before you taste. Many delis close by mid-afternoon, and many winery picnic areas are small.
• Pack for heat and glass bans. Bring an insulated bag and unbreakable cups.
• Buy the wine where you picnic. Wineries that allow outside food almost never allow outside wine. See can you bring your own food to wineries and which parks allow wine.