Comments on: Fifty green bottles

Question: Fifty green bottles

randomination — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 05:15:11 -0800

Grapefilter: Can you recommend a good winery tour we can pick up from San Francisco this April? Difficulty: no car.

My fiancée and I are going to SF on business and we have the weekend of 14-15 April free. I don't drive, and she can't be arsed to.

Can you recommend any good day tours of the Napa or other wine-producing areas that we can pick up from the city? Any wineries that are particularly superb?

There is a liver-bogglingly large number of tours on Google, and previous AskMe threads seem to assume car access...

Yes, I know this may not be the right time of day to ask this...

By: moonbird

moonbird — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 07:05:33 -0800

From my slightly fuzzy memory, you can grab a Marin Airporter bus from the airport, (and many other locales) connect at a big hub like Larkspur, and can grab a coach tour from there up to Napa. Good luck, it's beautiful up there.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 07:29:50 -0800

Go to napavalleyonline.com/directory/wtransp for good bus and shuttle info and then be sure to visit Clos Pegase winery (clospegase/com) for a fantastic experience!
They have a Sauvingon Blanc that'll make you see the face of God, the pours are bountiful and the pourers very friendly.
Added bonus: Michael Graves designed the visitors' center-- truly a Temple among the Vines.
Wish I could go with you!

By: baggers

baggers — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 08:49:33 -0800

The wine train might be a good option. It goes from pretty close to the center of Napa (and you can get a bus from SF, or take the ferry to Vallejo and the bus from there). You get some decent food, and there are a couple of options for winery tours on the way.

By: Wolfie

Wolfie — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:06:09 -0800

If you're willing to spend a little bit more - I would hire a car and driver to take you around to a few wineries. You see it a lot when you're up there. No one has to drive drunk and you don't have to sit on a bus with a bunch of drunken tourists from Iowa. If you're staying at a half way decent hotel in SF - I would think this is something the concierge could easily help you arrange.
And no offense baggers - but avoid the wine train at all costs. My parents did it for some company event not long ago and said it was really awful.

By: bizwank

bizwank — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 14:13:22 -0800

Some friends of mine took a limo tour of wine country and enjoyed themselves immensely. One plus to not driving yourself is not worrying about how many samples you've had. I don't know what company they used but here's an example: http://www.sanfranciscolimo.com/napa_tour.htm

By: nadise

nadise — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:57:15 -0800

I can't recommend a specific tour, but as a local I've seen many tour buses going from SF to the wine region, and I've heard that they pick up at downtown hotels, even if you're not a hotel guest. Can you call the concierge at a big downtown hotel? Perhaps you'll even be staying at one of them?

Oh, and if you can find a tour that goes to Sonoma instead of Napa, I'd recommend that area.

Happy tasting!