Winery Tour Stops
Each
of our tours is slightly different in the number and locations
of wineries visited, and on some tours we can respond to
your requests. In our thousands of trips to Wine Country,
we have compiled a list of wineries that range from very
to small to very large, from Mom and Pop, to conglomerates,
from brand new up-and-comers to brands that were household
names 50 years ago. California’s
Wine Country is almost the whole state, and some perfectly
good wineries are well outside of the radius that would
make for a one day trip. We have come up with a list of
wineries that are within a reasonable distance, have good
wine, are friendly and do a good presentation, and have
other attractions, such as nice scenery, interesting history,
or other attractions. Our list of wineries might change
slightly from time to time, as we discover new gems, or
someone’s staff
or business policy changes. At this time, here is our list
of wineries that we have visited on a regular basis. Keep
in mind we won’t visit all of these on a single tour.
This is just to give you an idea where we MIGHT end up
when you travel with us. These are our “friends”,
so to speak.
View a list of California
Wineries that are
possible stops on our various tours.
The Golden Gate
Bridge
During our Wine Country Tours we cross one of the most
famous landmarks in the world, the Golden
Gate Bridge.
We found a less frequently visited viewpoint to get one
of the most spectacular views of the Golden
Gate Bridge and the City of San Francisco that makes for incredible
photo opportunities.
California Wine Country
California has approximately 1400 wineries with almost
every county represented, even San Francisco! Many great
grapes are produced in other regions, like Mendocino, San
Luis Obispo, Monterey, and the Central Valley. However,
almost half of California’s wineries are concentrated
in Napa and Sonoma counties, within 100 miles from San
Francisco. Nature and history have blessed this region
with a variety of soil types, terrains, micro-climates,
and the influx of European winemaking talent to develop
into a world-class wine-producing industry – not
once but twice! Starting in 1857 in Sonoma, the region
saw 50 years of growth and profit and a wave of tourist
activity unrivaled almost anywhere in the U.S. at the time.
The twin perils of the Great 1906 earthquake and Prohibition
(of alcohol) from 1919 to 1933 put a majority of winemakers
out of business and the industry into a depression from
THE Great Depression until the 1970’s. The modern
era began in 1976 (see Napa Valley) and the present day
can be seen as the Second Golden Age of California Winemaking.
There are about 650 wineries located in Napa and Sonoma
counties, representing some of the most famous brands in
the U.S., and even the world, and so constitute what many
people call “THE Wine Country”. You can get
great wines farther away from San Francisco, but it takes
more time (and money) to get there. Our California Wine
Tours give you the biggest bang for your travel bucks by
giving you a great California Wine Country Experience in
one great day.
Napa Valley
Napa Valley was a few years behind its neighbor Sonoma
Valley in the 1850’s and when the tourists started
coming into the Wine Country in large numbers, they were
in Sonoma, largely ignoring Napa Valley, which was just
a place with a lot of vines. Both valleys became quiet
and relatively empty from 1906 until the 1970’s.
The roles became reversed and Napa Valley became a household
name (in households where they read Wine Spectator, anyway)
after a 1976 Bicentennial Contest between California
and French wines, where the upstart Americans shocked
everyone by winning 2 First Place ribbons – both
from Napa Valley - and 14 out of the top 20 places. That
notoriety jump-started a successful promotional campaign
that soon overshadowed all other “neighborhoods” in
the American wine business, and now the word “Napa” is
synonymous with “Wine” in many people’s
minds. It’s not that it is NOT true, but it is
most certainly not the whole truth about wine in America,
or specifically California. Some of the facts are that
it is farther away from San Francisco and time spent
on the road is time NOT spent tasting wine, the average
price of a bottle or a tasting flight is higher, and
the average nose behind the counter is also pointed a
little higher, if you get my drift. Some of the most
famous names in American Wine have their home addresses
in the towns along the Napa Valley Highway, and it’s
still a great place to go, but there are very few complimentary
tasting rooms in Napa Valley, and when pressed for time,
Sonoma is closer to San Francisco, and has lots of great
wine to taste.
Sonoma County and
Valley
Sonoma County is one of California's premier wine-making
regions, yet it has remained relatively untouched by tourists
compared to its more popular neighbor, Napa Valley (only
5-10 miles east). It is said that Sonoma Valley gets its
name from the Miwok Native American Indians. The Miwok
named it the valley of "many moons" - while walking
through the Sonoma Valley and the Mayacamas Mountains,
the moon was said to rise seven times.
In the 1850’s,
it was Sonoma Valley residents who solved the imported
vine disease problem by widely adopting the practice of
grafting onto native (resistant) root stock. Hungarian
immigrant Agoston Haraszthy basically invented large scale,
industrial wine-making, and Sonoma became the epicenter
for a huge new wine industry and therefore became a popular
tourist destination for locals from San Francisco and visitors
from around the world.
Sonoma Valley's currently more famous neighbor,
Napa Valley, remained the “outback” for about
50 years. Both valleys became “ghost towns” after
the Great Earthquake of 1906, followed by Prohibition (of
alcohol!) from 1919 to 1933. You could say the Great Depression
continued well into the 1970’s for this part of the
world (see Napa Valley). Declared National Historic Landmarks,
the downtown Sonoma Plaza and the San Francisco Solano
de Sonoma Mission (1823) are at the heart of this renowned
wine producing region. Sonoma Valley is located in the
much larger Sonoma County, which also includes the equally
renowned Healdsburg region, the Alexander Valley, Russian
River, and other well-known Appellations.
