I want to travel to Napa/Sonoma. What should I do?
I’m so glad you asked me this question. Too many people try to go it alone, or follow the suggestions of the wrong people. Bad visits will get you stuck in traffic, in bad wineries, and drunk when you don’t want to be. The main thing to remember is quality over quantity. You can always make another trip. You can’t go back in time and remove a bad experience though.
My recommendation is to see no more than two wineries per day. And cap you trip to three days. Less than that and it will go by too fast. More than that and the trip will start to wear on you. Three days. Not over the weekend. Rookies go on the weekend. After reading this you are a PRO! Say it out loud. “I’m a PRO!” Believe it! Fly out Tuesday morning and back home Friday. Three nights, enough time for you to feel comfortable unpacking your suitcase.
(The picture at the top is from many years ago. Pre-kids for Ashley and me. Going with friends is always more fun!)
Sample trip that will never steer you wrong:
Tuesday
Upon landing in Northern California get lunch. Do not go to the Wharf. Everyone goes to the Wharf! You are a PRO. After lunch drive to to the wine country and check into your hotel. Then hit one winery in the afternoon. Make this a longer visit than normal. Maybe somewhere with an extended tour. Back to the hotel, take a shower, put on some fresh clothes and go to dinner. The first night in California is a little tricky because of the time change. Force yourself to stay up, but not too late. (my normal bedtime is 10 because I’m old!!)
Wednesday
Breakfast somewhere. Eat some protein and carbs. This will help you later in the day. Drink a lot of water! Winery visit after breakfast. Quick, but good lunch somewhere, and then relax time. Maybe a massage at the hotel spa, or a round of golf, or a nap because your body is out of whack. You are definitely drinking some water no matter what you are doing. Then clean up, and another short winery visit and then an amazing dinner. You want to go all out on this one. Whatever over-the-top means for your finances, do it on Wednesday night. (you have planned for this dinner and made reservations several months ago. Remember, you a PRO!)
Thursday
Breakfast in the room. Protein is your friend. Winery visit. Then lunch; make it a good lunch. Another winery visit in the afternoon. This is the one you have been waiting for. Your favorite wine. Or the place all your friends have been talking about. You pay a lot for this tour and expect the royal treatment. After the tour do something non-wine related. Go shopping with your spouse, hit a museum, take a walk. Anything else other than drinking. Unless it is water of course. Water is your friend. For dinner, find the best, low-key place you can. Preferably with an outside patio. Stretch your meal to over two hours. Get to know your server. Talk to the people at the table next to you. Where have they been on their wine trip? Exchange recommendations. Pretend you are a local.
At this point in the trip you have probably accumulated a few bottles of wine. Open one of the bottles back in the hotel. Get in the hot tub. Have a glass with some dessert you brought home from the restaurant. It’s a little chilly at night. Fog lifts off from the water. You are happy. You feel like royalty. Life is awesome!
Friday
Don’t take the morning flight home. You don’t want to wake up at 5:00 AM to get to the airport for an 9:00 flight. Why are you rushing home anyways? You will hate yourself for trying to be home early. Read a book on the way home and smugly congratulate yourself for putting together a baller wine trip! Brag to your friends when you get back.
Some things to consider during the trip:
- Drink a lot of water
- Take pictures, but don’t be obnoxious about it. Most vineyards look the same to the untrained eye. We all have the same pictures of up-close grape bunches looking down a perfect line of vines. I know it looks cool, but when you get home and realize you have 100 identical pictures you will feel silly. (see pic above)
- Don’t buy any wine you can buy back home. Only buy the special stuff. Be selective. Pay to have it shipped properly. Don’t transport it in your dirty clothes!
- You will be pressured to join wine clubs. That’s the sales room managers’ job. Only join the ones you really, really want. Wine clubs aren’t cheap (unless you are in mine, but that’s a different matter.)
- Ask your tour guides who they like and would recommend you see during your next trip. Keep a log of them. The best places are from referrals, not the internet.
- If in Napa Valley, at all costs avoid Highway 29!
- Immediately start planning your next trip, and take friends. Groups are always more fun. But don’t go too big. 3-4 couples max.
- I am more than happy to suggest some wineries to visit.
- The wine country is NOT FOR KIDS!!!!
Yes, I plan on putting a wine trip together in the future. A reasonable guess is that it will happen in the summer of 2020. In the meantime we will have a few mini-trips to a winery resort outside of Tyler. More information to come later….
Always the Wine Guy 