OT: Napa wine tour recommendations

[Degaz-RU]

Going to Napa for the first time and looking for recommendations for wine tours.

Thanks!

 

[AnonAmoose26]

My cousin works for Duckhorn so I will always recommend them.

 

[RU Jeep]

Following...

 

[Ru-baby]

Inglenook Schramsberg Rudd Phelps

 

[RC1991]

Hall, Frog’s Leap, St. Supery, Honig, Stags Leap Wine Cellars (the original Stags Leap), Orin Swift are all excellent. There is also the Napa wine train.

 

[rufan4ever]

Schramsberg Winery is the best by far! You need a reservation in advance. It's a tour through the caves where thousands of bottles of sparkling wine are fermenting and aging. It gives you an education on the art of producing sparkling wines. Well worth it.

 

[RUforester72]

Jessup in Yountville has excellent wines. Been a member there for over ten years.

Also, be prepared for expensive wine tasting fees. Some upwards of $60, but reduced or waived if you buy some product.

 

[RU#1fan]

Sterling Vineyards

 

[FLKnight]

Beringer in St Helena is nice and a beautiful facility. Castillo di Amaroso in Calistoga is also very much worth the visit. If you go to St Helena there is an Orin Swift tasting room right on the main walking street.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Prepare yourself for some very snobbish attitudes from the winery employees...lol. They think they are doing you a favor. If you have time go over to Sonoma, they treat you like long lost friends at some wineries.

 

[kupuna133]

Prepare yourself for some very snobbish attitudes from the winery employees...lol. They think they are doing you a favor. If you have time go over to Sonoma, they treat you like long lost friends at some wineries.

Agree 100%. Been to Napa/Sonoma a bunch of times. Still venture into Napa for Stags Leap and a couple restaurants that we like. But I Prefer Sonoma over Napa. People are nicer. Vineyard tours are better and approachable. Had the pleasure of visiting Sonoma during harvest. And was invited by a vineyard owner to accompany him and his family, to the Sonoma county fair. It was a blast. Entire airport hangar (fairgrounds is a converted airport) full of wineries vying for category ribbons. Get to taste multiple wineries and price points without travelling. Interact with owners vintners winemakers etc… Truly passionate people. One thing I can tell someone for the first time. Plan to go see a vineyard you know, are familiar with, has been recommended but also pop into vineyards nearby that you don’t know. Pick an area and explore. Don’t fall for the name you know trap. I’ve recommended voneyards that I love and for all the reasons I love it they didn’t. My wife and I have similar tastes in Pinots but are vastly different in Cabs and Chardonnays. Go
Off the beaten path.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

Prepare yourself for some very snobbish attitudes from the winery employees...lol. They think they are doing you a favor. If you have time go over to Sonoma, they treat you like long lost friends at some wineries.

Second this. Visited for the first time a few years ago and loved Sonoma. We have friends who are locals there, such a small town feel.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Agree 100%. Been to Napa/Sonoma a bunch of times. Still venture into Napa for Stags Leap and a couple restaurants that we like. But I Prefer Sonoma over Napa. People are nicer. Vineyard tours are better and approachable. Had the pleasure of visiting Sonoma during harvest. And was invited by a vineyard owner to accompany him and his family, to the Sonoma county fair. It was a blast. Entire airport hangar (fairgrounds is a converted airport) full of wineries vying for category ribbons. Get to taste multiple wineries and price points without travelling. Interact with owners vintners winemakers etc… Truly passionate people. One thing I can tell someone for the first time. Plan to go see a vineyard you know, are familiar with, has been recommended but also pop into vineyards nearby that you don’t know. Pick an area and explore. Don’t fall for the name you know trap. I’ve recommended voneyards that I love and for all the reasons I love it they didn’t. My wife and I have similar tastes in Pinots but are vastly different in Cabs and Chardonnays. Go
Off the beaten path.

Spent quite a bit of time in Santa Barbara wine country in the early 2000s (pre-Sideways movie), similar experience to Sonoma. You had to drive to most of the tasting rooms back then. Unfortunately, haven't been to any of these areas in a long time now.

Pre 9/11, I used to bring so much wine back to NJ in my carry on since you couldn't ship it back then. Security at Santa Barbara airport would make me open my bag so they could see which wines I had in there. Think I had 10 bottles on time, and they were busting my chops that it would be too heavy for the overhead, so they'd gladly take a bottle for "safety reasons"...lol.

 

[kupuna133]

Spent quite a bit of time in Santa Barbara wine country in the early 2000s (pre-Sideways movie), similar experience to Sonoma. You had to drive to most of the tasting rooms back then. Unfortunately, haven't been to any of these areas in a long time now.

Pre 9/11, I used to bring so much wine back to NJ in my carry on since you couldn't ship it back then. Security at Santa Barbara airport would make me open my bag so they could see which wines I had in there. Think I had 10 bottles on time, and they were busting my chops that it would be too heavy for the overhead, so they'd gladly take a bottle for "safety reasons"...lol.

Luckily I lived in the city when I was a member of 6-10 wine clubs. When I moved to Nj had to scrub 3-4 out because didn’t want to take the cases home on the ferry.