Napa wine tasting dilema?
Is it better to drive up there yourself and do wine tasting or is it better to take the bus tours?
i basically want to go for the scenery and do a little wine tasting. Do I need a reservation for wine tasting? or can i just drive up to napa and do the wine tasting?
Tagged with: napa • scenery • wine tasting
Filed under: All Things Wine
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Either - it depends on what you want. We did both last fall. With tour operators we went to small independent places I wouldn’t have found on our own. We saw the vineyards up close and personal - we were there in October and got to pick grapes off the vine and taste them. We didn’t get to do that anywhere we went on our own. On your own you can go to the big name places like Mondavi (and I suggest a reservation there) These are tastings and not drinkings - the taste is 1.5 oz and you typically taste 4 wines in an hour. The total is like a large glass of wine. When I was on the tour I swallowed, when I was driving I spit.
If you go on your own, stop by the visitors office in downtown NAPA - they have coupons and can make some suggestions.
Check Trip Advisor.com for tour operators.
For most of the wineries with tasting rooms you don’t need a reservation. You don’t need to be on a tour though it ensures you have a designated driver. If you aren’t going to taste a lot I wouldn’t bother with a tour at all.
Take the bus tours unless you have a designated driver. CHP and the Napa County PD are always cracking down on DUI’s, especially Fridays through Sundays, usually starting in the afternoon. If you have specific wineries in mind, you might want to find a driver. If you want the scenery and other good wineries, just take the bus tour. By law here, some wineries are open with certain hours, others have to be by appt. only. You can check their web pages for hours or to make appts. Have fun! Spend a night and take a balloon ride early in the morning! It’s gorgeous.