If you’re coming into the San Francisco area to engage any of the wonderful San Francisco tours in the city and plan to include some sort of wine country tour during your stay, there are a few things that might not be obvious to the uninitiated. The northern California wine country is not right outside of the city over the Golden Gate Bridge as some might imagine; it is north of San Francisco about forty five miles at the minimum to reach Sonoma Valley, and about sixty miles to reach Napa Valley so it will be an hour’s drive no matter how you slice it. The nearly five hundred wineries are spread out the length of two long valleys meaning that you will drive for miles even if you’re staying within one valley. Each wine country valley has a main thoroughfare through its many wineries which line the respective valleys but since the roads are only one lane in either direction, the summer tourist season can be overly crowded and slow the pace to a crawl when trying to get between wineries. And so this is a good place to point out that you will benefit in a myriad of ways if you avoid driving yourself. There are professional tour companies in San Francisco which specialize in getting people in and out of wine country with the best possible results through a myriad of wine country tours. Even if your not a tourist there are trips to wine country for locals too!
Enlisting one of these wine country tours will enhance your experience in wine country exponentially because first and foremost, you will be free to enjoy all of the wineries’ tasting rooms to your heart’s desire, without having to worry about getting behind the wheel of a car. In the summer months, the police sit on the route out of the valleys heading back to the city and filter out the drunks, so you don’t want to be part of the problem. Taking a tour bus is the only solution. You can also have as many people as you wish together for the whole trip instead of rendezvousing with multiple cars at every stop, and being together with the people in your group means the fun never stops even when traffic flow drops to a crawl. Being able to ride together is often what creates the memories that you will cherish the most. The tour companies know the shortcuts, the most scenic routes, the history of the area, details of the appellation, surrounding vineyards, and they have relationships with the wineries you’re attending that will afford you VIP treatment without the cost. The tour guides will ensure that your group has not only the best possible experience but also ensure its safety, and therefore they can guarantee your wine country tours will be memorable for all of the right reasons.
