T1B

We'll be visiting the Bay Area next week for our 25th anniversary and I'm planning to do one of the touristy things...a private wine country tour through a commercial transportation provider. Since these are private tours you can pretty much set your own agenda, though the drivers usually have a good knowledge of the landscape. Anybody have any experience with the Napa or Sonoma valleys and have suggestions about any of the 1000s of wineries to visit?

We pretty much favor the smaller out of the way places where you won't see busloads of other tourists.

Mikey wrote:We'll be visiting the Bay Area next week for our 25th anniversary and I'm planning to do one of the touristy things...a private wine country tour through a commercial transportation provider. Since these are private tours you can pretty much set your own agenda, though the drivers usually have a good knowledge of the landscape. Anybody have any experience with the Napa or Sonoma valleys and have suggestions about any of the 1000s of wineries to visit?

We pretty much favor the smaller out of the way places where you won't see busloads of other tourists.

I'd go to Fess Parker's. Not just because he was Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, but it's pretty decent wine.

Goober McTuber wrote:

Mikey wrote:We'll be visiting the Bay Area next week for our 25th anniversary and I'm planning to do one of the touristy things...a private wine country tour through a commercial transportation provider. Since these are private tours you can pretty much set your own agenda, though the drivers usually have a good knowledge of the landscape. Anybody have any experience with the Napa or Sonoma valleys and have suggestions about any of the 1000s of wineries to visit?

We pretty much favor the smaller out of the way places where you won't see busloads of other tourists.

I'd go to Fess Parker's. Not just because he was Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, but it's pretty decent wine.

True, but I think his place is near Santa Barbara, a few miles from where I'll be.
I'm leaning more towards the Napa Valley.

Sorry. It's all just California to me.

Speaking of celebrity wine guys, Greg Norman makes some pretty decent hooch too.

I've never taken a wine tour or been to a winery nor do I drink wine. But I have some friends coming into town that want to visit a winery. Have you ever been on a Temucula Wine tour? If so, would you recommend it? I know it's not Sonoma or the Wine Country, but is it worth taking a day to visit?

trev wrote:I've never taken a wine tour or been to a winery nor do I drink wine. But I have some friends coming into town that want to visit a winery. Have you ever been on a Temucula Wine tour? If so, would you recommend it? I know it's not Sonoma or the Wine Country, but is it worth taking a day to visit?

Definitely worth hit. Check out www.temeculawines.org for tours, etc.

Haven't actually been there for a number of years (it's all of 20 minutes from here) but there are some excellent wineries. Thornton, Wilson Creek, Callaway, Mt. Palomar to name a few.

After the second tasting, they are all good.

I still say Mustards is a must-stop to eat.

R-Jack wrote:After the second tasting, they are all good.

I still say Mustards is a must-stop to eat.

Mustards in Yountville? What's good there?

Just looked it up and we may have to stop there for lunch. We're booked for a private tour at the Hall winery, looks like about 15 minutes away, in Rutherford at 1:00.

http://www.hallwines.com/hall-rutherford

I decided to do the full-on VIP experience. We're getting picked up at our hotel on Union Square in the morning in an Escalade (unforturnately the Mercedes was booked). The driver supposedly knows all the best places and will take us wherever we want to go for 8 hours, and then drop us back at the hotel. We're booked for the private tour at 1:00 and can probably fit in 3 or 4 other tastings in the meantime. No worries about driving while buzzed. No having to deal with 6 to 50 other people in the same vehicle.

A PET may follow.

Stayed in the Sonoma at Guerneville last year Highly recommend eating at Boon, all the produce is locally sourced & the truffle fries are awesome

Napa is just a darn cool place.

Opus One is cool, but you'll be sharing it with plenty of other tourons.

Same with Rombauer.

But there's smaller outfits all through Napa -- just bump through Yountville, Oakville, and St Helena, and you'll find them (or your guide will).