Fifty green bottles

March 10, 2007 5:15 AM

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...

posted by randomination to Travel & Transportation around San Francisco, CA (6 answers total)

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.
posted by moonbird at 7:05 AM on March 10, 2007

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!
posted by Dizzy at 7:29 AM on March 10, 2007

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.
posted by baggers at 8:49 AM on March 10, 2007

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.
posted by Wolfie at 10:06 AM on March 10, 2007

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
posted by bizwank at 2:13 PM on March 10, 2007

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!
posted by nadise at 1:57 AM on March 11, 2007