What's a good winery tour in Napa/Sonoma

[axl911]

Hi All,

I am planning to go to Napa/Sonoma 2 weeks from now, and want to do a winery tour. My time up there is limited and I want to do a wine tour and dine at a good restaurant.

Any suggestion on a good winery tour with tasting?

As for the restaurant, I am looking at the CIA but would welcome other suggestions.

thanks,
anthony

[tc-sacto]

Mondovi has a nice tour.
http://www.robertmondaviwinery.com/tastings.asp

French Laundry for dinning if you've got big bucks.(really big bucks)
Otherwise stick with the CIA.

[Yellowbird RS]

http://www.pineridgewinery.com my favorite Vineyard. And don't forget to stay in the Villagio Inn a great place

[PorschePilot]

I live in Sonoma county and spend a lot of time in Napa. There is nothing finer that cruising around wine county in the Targa on a warm day and doing some wine tasting and eating good food.

Ravenswood is 2 blocks from the main square in the city of Sonoma. Beautiful setting and great wine. The wine maker drives a 911 SC and they offer PCA members 20% off the wine.

http://www.ravenswood-wine.com

If you go to the Sonoma you'll pass Sebastiani winery on the way to Ravenswood. They have some of the best Pinot Noir I have ever tasted.

http://www.sebastiani.com/home.asp

Great restaurants in Sonoma are The Swiss Hotel, The Generals Daughter or The Girl and the Fig.

Great restaurants in Napa are Mustards, Napa Girl, Rutherfords or Bistro Don Giovanni

[stevepaa]

A little out of the way, but Schramsberg is nice for champagnes.

[chuckr]

I spent a week there... Calistoga was really nice, Stirling was a
good tour as was Berringer. I enjoyed the Inglenook tour
they have caves they used in proabition to hide the wine !
It is all good !!
Good Luck
Chuck

[juanbenae]

do a search for cbeers here on the board and PM him. he has lived up there and currently works for a winery. he's a regular bouquet sniffer.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by chuckr

... Calistoga was really nice,

I stayed in Calistoga for a few days and liked it a lot, most of the hotels have their own natural hot springs if you are into that sort of thing.

Most hotels, restaurants, etc have free wine country guides with maps showing winery locations (prepare to be overwhelmed )

Mondovi has (debatable) the nicest tour.

Check this out:
http://www.napavalley.com/maps/index.html

[craigster59]

Cakebread Cellars has a nice wine tour (advance reservations only). 2 other good wineries that are close to each other are Piju and St. Supery.

[axl911]

Thanks. I'll look up some of the suggested places.

---
anthony

[Noah930]

+1 on the Mondavi tour

I also liked stopping off at the V. Sattui winery. Not very well known, as I don't think they sell via retail. But it's a nice place to stop for lunch, and I remember their extra dry Reisling being very good.

[fastpat]

Try Sausal, they used to grow and bottle only Zinfandel's, have now branched into other complex reds, and they're wonderful. Also Valley of the Moon Winery produces some exquisite reds.

Stick to Sonoma Valley and you'll be very pleased. Avoid Napa.

[red-beard]

Joseph Phelps! But call ahead. You must have a reservation.

www.jpvwines.com

[Don Plumley]

Sorry to disagree with Procon, but Viansa is a toursit trap. Mondavi is good for a first time tour, it's the Disneyland of Napa.

A lot of what I'd recommend depends on what kind of wines and what kind of food you like. Otherwise it's like recommending "what Porsche should I buy?" Give me some ideas of your favorite varietals and food.

I'm leaving to go to my kid's school thing, will post some Sonoma slanted suggestions later.

[jbripps]

I visited Clos Pegase, not as well known, but an amazing winery. Also, Hess is amazing too.

http://www.clospegase.com/hm.html

Best

[Don Plumley]

Here are some of my favorites - albeit Sonoma County favored:

Russian River Valley
Gary Farrell - Breathtaking tasting room, solid wines.
Davis Bynum - Rustic, authentic barn for a tasting room.
Rochioli - another RRV Classic.
J Winery - Great sparkling, good Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, all offered with food parings. Get a reservation for the Bubble Room and try the Sparking/Caviar pairings!
Martinelli - some of Turley's wines are over extracted for me, but some really solid wines.

Lambert Bridge - Nice smaller winery in southern Dry Creek

Sonoma Valley
Cline - just across the street from Viansa. Makes an eclectic assortment of wines (e.g. Mouverdre, Cinsault) of good quality and low price.
Landmark - Nice setting
Chateau St. Jean - Beautiful grounds. Go to the reserve room and try Cinc Cepage.
Benzinger - Good tours, nice facility, family owned.
St. Francis - good Zins at many price points
Matanzas - beautiful lavender gardens, wines are okay.

Note: These are all based upon wine quality and location. I honestly don't go on any tours, so other than what I've been told about Benzinger, couldn't tell you if they have/don't have/good/bad.

Napa - well, I haven't been to a winery in Napa for at least five years. So that's why I can't recommend anything there. I started going to the Mondavi tour when I was in college and took wine newbies there for many years, so there's a soft spot in my heart for Mondavi - and I'm not sure what's up since the sell-off, etc. I'm sure there are many nice places in Napa, e.g. Duckhorn, Cakebread, etc., but with so many here in Sonoma County, I don't have a lot of motivation to drive over the hill.

This is purely personal opinion biased by local pride: Sonoma is prettier. Most of the wineries are run by folks that truly love their craft, and are not caught up in the "we're NAPA" mystique. YMMV.

Winery notes: Everyplace (worth their salt) charges a couple of bucks for the tasting. Ask if they have a reserve room - and pay a little more. You'll get much better treatment and much better wine. Don't feel compelled to purchase, it's not cheaper because the tasting rooms have to sell at full retail. However, at the smaller wineries you will be able to buy wine that is typically not available elsewhere. Don't be afraid to spit. In fact, unless you have a designated driver, spit a lot and taste that much more. You will be pressured to sign up for their Wine Club. Only do it if you really, really want the wine to keep arriving at your door (I do!). Or in my case, I get to go and pick it up at the Winery!

Where to eat:
Girl in the Fig - another strong vote, along with Cafe La Haye (only 11 tables, call ahead a week or so in advance)
Bistro Ralph or Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg
Central Market in Petaluma
Zazu in Santa Rosa / Edge of RRV

I'm happy to provide any amount of recommendation or feedback to help make your trip memorable and help avoid time wasting stops.

Sorry for prattling on...Good Wine and Good Food is something I'm obviously quite passionate about!

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
Here are some of my favorites - albeit Sonoma County favored:

Where to eat:
Girl in the Fig - another strong vote, along with Cafe La Haye (only 11 tables, call ahead a week or so in advance)
Bistro Ralph or Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg
Central Market in Petaluma
Zazu in Santa Rosa / Edge of RRV

Hey Don, don't forget Della Fattoria, run by my old friend Eddie Weber and family. They started making bread and opened the restaurant some time ago.

Della Fattoria Downtown
141 Petaluma Boulevard North
Petaluma, CA 94952

Don is right, the best wines do come from Sonoma county.

[vash]

leave the driving to the ...conductor. take the wine train!

[Tobra]

Originally posted by vash
leave the driving to the ...conductor. take the wine train!

Agreed, Sattui has a nice place to have a picnic, Domaine Chandon is my favorite place to have lunch, go and get a map from the chamer of commerce and go look around. Exploring is half the fun. Vichon(now defunct, purchased by Mondavi) has another excelletn place for a picnic lunch, up Oakville Grade a bit on the left.

BTW, a convertible is a better way to travel the wine country than a targa, trust me.

[Stanley]

Don has some great advice. I live about 5 min from the Sonoma Valley so I’ll add some more info.

I have taken the Benzinger tour and I thought it was good. They take you on a tractor tram ride through the vineyards and they tell you all about the how the grapes are grown and the ideal conditions and all that stuff. You go into their wine caves too. The tour gives you a good idea of how wine is made from start to finish. They are family owned and grow organic grapes. Tip: If you go to Benzinger, tell them that you are also planning on going to Imagery winery and they will give you a comp tasting at Imagery. (Imagery is also owned by the Benzingers and it’s just across the highway).

I have heard from many people that the Korbel tour is great. It’s always rated as one of the best tours in the area.

If you are in the Sonoma area, grab a picnic lunch at the Glen Ellen Market. They have an awesome deli with everything you could want.

If you are in Healdsburg and want a burger or similar Bear Republic Brewing has good food and excellent beer.