So you are in wine country and the list of things to do are pretty obvious... wine taste & wine taste! Tasting wine in the valley is as easy as going down the main road and stopping in at one of the hundreds of vineyards; however, there are a few words of warning that we would like to give.
-Under no circumstance should anyone be drinking and driving. The county of Napa Valley is covered with police and will pull over any driver that they think may be under the influence. Just because you are in wine country does not mean that they police are any less strict. You must, at all times, have a driver or designated driver if you have been drinking.
-Please check ahead of time to see if vineyards take a reservation or not.
-Make a schedule of your day of touring. Our suggestion is to pick some wineries that you love the most visit those. It is not a race to see how many vineyards you can visit, trust us, you will thank us later (and in the morning.)
-Less is more. Trust us. We know it may be tempting to fill your day with as many wineries that your heart can imagine but the fun of Napa is getting to experience the wineries and all that they have to offer. Our suggestion is that you do no more than 4 wineries in one day. That sounds like not very many but if you spend 1-2 hours at each vineyard and have lunch inbetween you are talking about a full 8 hours of tasting. Plus, at many of the vineyards you will want to just sit with a glass/bottle and enjoy the views with your closest friends and family.
-Arrange to have a driver or a group tour. There are plenty of drivers that will drive your rental car or you can participate in group tours. The plus side to a personal driver is that you can pick what vineyards you want to go to and are not on anyone else's time schedule. The downside is that you will be paying for this amenity! For the group tours (usually in vans) the plus side is that they know the valley very well and you won't pay an arm and a leg. The downside is that you will be with strangers (sometimes that is great other times it is... awkward) and you wont get to pick and choose what vineyards you want to visit.
Below are some suggested drivers/tours that some of our friends have used:
Personal Driver
Geoff Pope (707)227-6452, or email napavalleywineguides@yahoo.com, (he knows everyone and everthing about The Valley) will take your car and drive it for you. Really cool guy!
Group Expierence
Platypus Tours http://www.platypustours.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment