Napa Travel Forum

We live in San Diego and will be flying into SF to visit Napa and Sonoma this fall and then fly to Seattle. I hope to buy some wine (not all from the same winery. Any suggestions on how to get the wine back to San Diego? Many thanks in advance!

I'm sure there's a UPS store up there. The wineries can probably do it for you but I'm sure you will be paying a premium.

Actually, go to Napa Valley and Sonoma and do taste samples. You do not have to swallow the wine as there are containers to spit into, yes spitting is the preferred way to taste the different wines. That way you can visit more wineries and not lose your ability to tell the differences in wines that appeal to you. If you are driving and want to drink the sample tastes then have a person with you that doesn't drink to drive. You should be able to drive safely if you use the spit method. Most wineries will have a limit of 3-5 tastes of their wines for a set fee. A few do not charge, but they are far between. Most wineries are open 7 days a week from about 10:30am-4:30pm. Some are by appointment only. Try not to go on a Fri-Sat-Sun as these are very busy with both traffic and tasters. The real secret is that you most likely can buy the labels of the wines you enjoyed tasting at home. Write down your favorites and try to find them in San Diego, which has great wine stores. Unless you are a member of a winery club or have a discount coupon, you will pay top dollar at the winery and at home the labels you found may be less expensive. There is the exception such as V.Sattui which sells strictly from their location in St. Helena. They can, as well as all wineries will ship any purchase to your home. I trust this helps. Oh, bring a bottle or two back to your hotel near Napa & Sonoma. You do want to drink some wine on your outing. Safe travels.