Quattroporte Consumes The North Bay
Of Vines and Velocity

North of San Francisco are two of the most famous wine regions in North America, the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Despite tiny production – Napa, for example, produces less than 5% of the wine made in California - they have achieved their reputations from some of the finest wines available, made in small quantities by dedicated enthusiasts. What better place to take a Maserati for an all-too-brief holiday, especially when one considers that the scenery resembles Tuscany, and the roads beckon to those with a passion for serious motoring?

We enjoyed a Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT Automatic for the trip, courtesy of Maserati of San Francisco. Resplendent in Blu Oceano, a lustrous color of seemingly endless depth, and set off by the Avorio leather and Tanganyka wood interior, the car looked terrific, and won the approval of our photographer. So on setting off from the dealership in Mill Valley, it was the photographer who called the early shots; he found a road along the shore of Richardson Bay, with the gleaming spires of San Francisco in the background. Making repeated passes along the same stretch of road for the camera can be tedious – but in a car with the performance and handling of the Quattroporte, and with a stretch which included challenging bends, it was most entertaining. The best corner was a long sweeper of almost constant radius but with an uneven surface. The Maserati had me pushing ever harder on each pass, remaining completely in control whatever the challenge.

We then headed north to our hotel in Napa itself, the route skirting San Pablo Bay. This is the most northerly part of the vast stretch of water which runs for fifty miles, from Vallejo in the north to Palo Alto in the south, with San Francisco and Oakland in the center. The bay is one of the influences on the southern part of the Napa and Sonoma valleys, helping give them milder weather than the more northern areas. The valleys themselves are broad and flat, bounded by mountains; vineyards and wineries line the roads which generally run north-south.

Next morning, we had an early appointment at the home of winemakers Garen and Shari Staglin, to discuss their efforts for local charities – you can read the article in Maserati Monthly 22. Having caught the dawn light as it played on the valley mist, we headed off to a late breakfast at Gillwoods in St Helena, taking the opportunity to discuss our route. Of course, while simply cruising in the Quattroporte is a pleasure, straight roads and traffic are frustrating for the driver.

Since there is one main road running north from Napa to St Helena, traffic is ever-present. The automatic transmission in the Quattroporte was the perfect match for the conditions, well suited to keeping pace with traffic using almost no throttle, the engine almost inaudible in the cabin; yet when circumstances allowed, pushing the throttle pedal down brought immediate response, a couple of gears dropped and the car surging forward. Developing an automatic capable of handling the 7,200rpm red-line of the 4.2-liter V8 wasn’t easy, but the effort was worth it. We particularly admire the way the electronics cause the car to respond appropriately; floor the throttle and the transmission will hold each ratio past 7,000rpm, even without Sport mode being engaged.

Once we left St Helena, we ensured that the geography worked in our favor. With the Napa and Sonoma valleys separated by mountains, this means that roads from one valley to the other are anything but flat and straight – ideal territory, in fact, to exercise a Quattroporte. And so it proved, as we headed out on Spring Mountain Road; once it began to climb into the hills, things just got better and better. With Sport mode engaged the suspension became still more firm, allowing us to slice into the turns to breathtaking effect. The Maserati, reveling in freedom from highway traffic, responded with alacrity to our demands, holding gears longer and allowing us to enjoy the soaring exhaust note. And when enthusiasm started to make demands that were at the outer limits of our own talent, the big 13” ventilated disc brakes proved more than capable of calming things down.

Dropping down into the Sonoma valley, we found ourselves on the back roads that snake between the ubiquitous vineyards. The roads were well-surfaced and empty of traffic, with short straights linked by 90-degree corners. After the intense pleasure of the Spring Mountain Road, we decided to take things easier, which gave us time to enjoy the luxurious cabin of the big Maserati. The fine leather seats cosseted us wonderfully – the seat heating function had come in useful during our pre-dawn start to the day, and once the sun had risen the cooling function of the Executive GT seats was put to good use. The wood trim and Alcantara headlining which are standard in Executive GT specification also contributed to the luxurious ambiance.

Of course, in our opinion the ideal position in any Maserati is the driver’s seat, with controls falling readily to hand. The buttons on the leather-trimmed steering wheel allow fingertip control of the audio system, developed in conjunction with Bose. However, any seat in a Quattroporte Executive GT is a fine place to be – the finely appointed and fully adjustable rear seats most definitely included. When hustling the car through the twisties, it is easy to forget that this is a large sedan, able to take four adults in wonderful luxury.

Sonoma has a long history of wine-making; Russian settlers grew grapes in the area as long ago as 1812. Nowadays over 55,000 acres of vineyards are in use, producing almost a quarter of a million tons of grapes. Since we were driving, we regretfully passed by the tastings offered by many of the 250 wineries in the area, and had to make do with simply admiring the serried ranks of vines that stretch into the distance.

With our time in Napa and Sonoma drawing to a close, we pointed the nose of the Quattroporte south. Even cruising in thick traffic, the car was the center of attention, drawing admiring glances from other drivers. At one point, in traffic on a divided highway, a motorcycle pulled alongside; the rider looked over, nodded his approval and mouthed: “nice car”.

Back at Maserati of San Francisco, it was with great reluctance that we returned the keys. Our brief tour of the area had shown it to be a great region to explore, full of history and roadside gems – not to mention roads which, in turn, were almost tailor-made for exploring the gem which is the Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT Automatic. Whether it was tackling the mountain roads with gusto or ambling along in traffic, it made the ideal traveling companion. Explore the Quattroporte for yourself – even if Napa and Sonoma aren’t on your itinerary, contact your local authorized Maserati dealer to arrange a test drive.