Spring arrives in the Napa Valley on waves of wild golden mustard, two and three feet high, vivid yellow rivers beneath the grapevines blanketing the valley floor. The grapes ripen all summer, and in the fall when the leaves turn red and gold, open bins of harvested grapes are ferried to the wineries for the crush, a busy, celebratory time of the year in the California Wine Country. In the heart of the valley on a quiet country road, anchoring the 1,200-acre grounds of Silverado Resort is a circa-1870, white-pillared, ante-bellum-style mansion reminiscent of a southern plantation, built for a Civil War general on a Spanish land grant. The rambling grounds are shaded by towering eucalyptus, palms, oaks, weeping willows, and magnolias whose creamy white, dinner-plate-sized blooms are seductively fragrant in the summertime http://www.silveradoresort.com.

Massive overhanging trees line the fairways of the two Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layouts, built in the 1960s. Surrounded by vineyards and wooded hills, and watered by ponds, lakes and three creeks, the courses have good bones, having hosted many PGA Tour and PGA Champions Tour events. A new grounds maintenance program and a $4 upgrade has raised course conditions to near-perfect, creating a stiff challenge, especially on the greens. Tees were leveled, bunkers restored and fairways re-sodded, among other improvements. Club member and U.S. Open winner, Johnny Miller, who lives in the neighborhood, said, “(The courses) …are so popular because they are traditional, natural designs, not tricked up with railroad ties and funny bunkers, and the place is run like a gracious, old-style resort.”

Brand new are a beautiful new clubhouse and pro shop, and The Grill at Silverado, a sophisticated restaurant serving three meals and a bar menu, indoors or alfresco, overlooking the golf course.

The 6,896-yard North Course is wide, with very little water and acres of sand. Greens are big, flat, slanted and can be as slick as plate glass (73 rating 134 slope).

Ducks and birds inhabit the creeks and ponds that cross or border eleven holes of the South Course. Greens are elevated, large, super-fast and softly tiered, the architect’s trademark. The great arms of the Valley oaks loom over the edges of wide, seriously undulating fairways; sidehill lies are the order of the day. A 500-yard, par-five dogleg obstructed by towering pines, the 18th ends in a picturesque garden setting below the verandah of the mansion, on a green guarded by yawning bunkers. Arnold Palmer thrilled Senior Tour crowds in 1993 when he eagled the eighteenth on the first and final rounds; and David Duval nearly gave his father, Bob Duval, heart failure when he appeared, as a surprise, as his dad’s caddie on the first tee at the 1999 tournament.

281 one- and two-bedroom suites cluster in low-rise buildings around intimate garden courtyards with swimming pools; and have equipped kitchens, living/dining rooms, wood-burning fireplaces, and private balconies or patios. Lovely vacation homes and condos are also available.

Clinics and lessons for adults and juniors are scheduled at the largest tennis complex in Northern California, comprising 17 state-of-the art plexi-pave courts; three are lighted.

One of the largest, newest and most commodious spas in a valley known for spa resorts, the Spa at Silverado has enough attendants for an army of sybarites. A signature treatment, Tui-Na is an ancient Chinese concoction of vigorous massage, acupressure and stretching. Popular with non-golfers, the “Golf Widow” is a luxurious package of nearly four hours of massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. The Golf Massage combines stretching, deep tissue and Swedish massage, cross-fiber manipulation and other techniques focused on the golfer’s most-used muscles.

Couples at the spa are pampered together in a two-story, skylight-lit private pavilion with a fireplace, while sunseekers loll in the whirlpool in the men’s or women’s private patios, on the terrace around the 25-meter lap pool. Light meals can be enjoyed by the fireplace in the tiny cafe, or beneath a vine-covered arbor in the spa gardens.

Old oak trees, gardens and a glimpse of the North Course comprise the view from the Royal Oak, where Wine Country cuisine, and meats, poultry and sustainable seafood sourced locally are on the menu; prime beef, double-cut lamb chops and fresh fish are grilled over hardwood charcoal–and as to be expected, the wine list is legendary. The Royal Oak and the lobby and main lounge recently received a major facelift, incorporating a more contemporary, sophisticated style.

Exclusive to the resort, the Napa Valley Experience includes two nights in a junior suite, dinner and wines, daily breakfast, spa treatments, entrance to COPIA; a VIP tasting and picnic at V. Sattui Winery; tasting at William Hill Estates; and concierge assistance: $1090 to $1390 per couple.

A 1.5 hour drive from San Francisco and Oakland International Airports, Silverado is about an hour from Sacramento International Airport. Private aircraft land at Napa Airport, fifteen minutes away.

And, there is all that wine. The concierge will arrange tours at some of over 240 wineries and offer advice on where to find the top art galleries, boutiques and restaurants in the historic villages of Yountville, Calistoga and St. Helena. Popular activities are ascensions in hot air balloons, visits to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and to COPIA, the cultural center for wine, food and the arts.