San Francisco Travel Forum

Hi all,
i'll be visiting San Francisco for the first time and would like to go on a wine tasting tour (we won't be driving) and would like to visit 1 wine neighbourhood.

Is Napa Valley or Sonoma a better/more scenic place to visit?

What are the differences between both places?

and any good tours to recommend? (would prefer reviews of tours from people who actually took the tours before and not those who are advertising for their companies)

Thank you!

Hi Jerbell, I'm sorry, I have never taken a tour but I very much prefer Sonoma County and more specifically, the area around Healdsburg. The Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, Russian River wineries are smaller than those in Napa and less corporate. You will find it much less crowded and you can discover backroads that you expect the wine country to be like. I've seen groups in small tours with a van driver who will be happy to build a tour around your intrests.

www.wineroad.com

I was in the Napa Valley last week. I went on a 'Wine Country' tour which cost US$112 per person (pick up at the Ferry Building). This included a 'picnic lunch' at one of the wineries. The picnic lunch was in fact a $10 coupon for you to purchase something at the 'Deli' and eat it at a table outside if you were lucky enough to find one free. In addition to the cost of the tour, you then had to pay a total of $35 for four wine tastings (3@$10 and 1@$5). (You could look around the winery with no tasting if you wanted to - but hardly seems the point!) The wine tastings were four very small tastings of pre-determined wines. No selection of your own. (That said, one of the wineries kindly gave us our tastings for free instead of the $5 charge.) The tour guide openly admitted that they don't tell you about this in their advertising because it would 'scare people away'. One of the wineries was very new - still 'under construction' which meant that the one toilet on site was disgusting. The 'ferry ride' back was just that - a boring ferry ride.

That said, the tour guide and the driver were both very pleasant and very knowledgeable.

I am afraid I don't know what the alternative is, unless you are prepared to hire a car for the day and have a driver who does not want to taste, but looking back I think that this tour was a bit of a rip off.

The Napa Valley itself is quite lovely but I imagine on a weekend in mid-summer it must get pretty hectic. I have not been to the Sonoma Valley, but perhaps another VT member can help you out there.

Good luck.

There are many small wineries in the region I talked about that don't charge for tasting. The problem with Napa is has become spoiled by too many people.

Napa is very touristy and overcommercialized. Sonoma County has more character and the atmosphere is more genuine. I've never taken a tour, but have done the winery tours through self-drive. If you can do that for this vacation, I think it will be worth your time. There are many wineries in Sonoma. The oldest happens to be high on my list of favorites, "Buena Vista", which has rich wines grown around the Carneros region. It is around Sonoma proper. Ledson in Sonoma County is worth going to for its ambiance. Also, Ferrari Carano around the Geyserville area in Sonoma County. There are many more, I forgot their names, sorry! Also, it is nice if you can stay at any of the charming Bed & Breakfasts around Sonoma/Sonoma COunty. Goodluck & do enjoy the Wine Country!

Both Napa and Sonoma have wonderful wineries and unique scenery. Napa Valley is more crowded on the weekends than weekdays. Summer is very busy as well. Sonoma has a great square in the center of town. Napa Valley has unique shopping malls and towns with great shopping. St. Helena is one of my favorite wine country towns. There are many tours to choose from and the less crowded your vehicle, bus, van, SUV, or limo is the more it will cost. Many tour companies include the cost of tastings. The problem with the more crowded bus or van is that some tourists don't like mass tastings. Since you say you won't be driving, then the price is the concern. Just in case you change your mind and do want to rent a car, do it on a week day, drive to the Sonoma Town Square and a couple of Sonoma Wineries in the morning, have lunch, then head over to Napa and the Valley. Have your Wine country map in hand and pick the areas you wish to go visit. Have dinner in the Napa Valley and then return to San Francisco in the evening, having lunch after two-three wineries in Sonoma and dinner after two-three wineries in Napa, full, happy, and sober. I do know of one company that I saw with complete winery tours availability and descriptions. Their website is: www.sanfranciscowinetours.com

thanks for the great replies.

i saw a tour company (guideyou.com) which offers tour to Muir Woords + Sonoma at the special rate of $69 per person, do you guys think this is ok? any reviews about this tour company?

thanks.

Jerbelle,
I haven't been on the Guideyou.com tour, but it looks OK. Use the post above about a different tour as a cautionary tale. These types of tours are often rip offs.

For $69 the one you mention seems OK. You'll see a bit of the countryside and Muir Woods is really beautiful. I would find out ahead of time exactly how much tasting the $69 includes. My guess is that you will have to pay extra for most of it.

Badger