Advice on winery tours and Cali in general?

[bobarian]

Sorry, Missed this thread last night.

A few general thoughts on Northern California Wine tasting.
Napa Valley the wineries are much closer together and therefore easier to pick 3 or 4 to visit on a single day. However, most Napa wineries charge for tastings. Many are open to the public, but many of the smaller wineries are by appointment only. If you have some favorites, check their websites for tasting information.

Sonoma Valley wineries are more spread out. So it can take some real planning and good timing to hit more than 3 in a day. But there are more free tastings in Sonoma area.

Check Winecountry.com for a list of wineries by region. If you're headed south, maybe stop at Monterey Bay Aquarium. South on Hwy 1, Big Sur Coastline is an unforgettable drive. Hearst Castle is a nice stop. Continue south, divert a bit inland to the Santa Inez Valley. Many nice wineries mostly with complementary tastings. Continue south to Santa Barbara, lots of nice shops downtown on State St. From Santa Barbara south through Ventura, inland takes you to LA, coast road is to Malibu but takes a few hours longer.

Hope this helps some. As the other BABOTL's have said, drop a PM if you have time for a smoke!

[tsolomon]

San Francisco Highlights besides those already mentioned.
Muir Woods to see the Redwoods, just across the Golden gate Bridge
Golden Gate Park for the Japanese Tea House, it's really another world.

While out driving between places
In-N-Out Burger for lunch, great burgers and fries

Monterey - The Aquarium is a must especially if you have young kids
Take the 17 Mile Drive down to Carmel by way of Pebble Beach, The Little Swiss Cafe for the best pancakes, blintzes and Eggs Benedict. The town is full of interesting shops. Easy access to the beach with dogs and people everywhere.

Point Lobos just to the south, nice park with Sea Otters and then a littlle further south is Big Sur.

[Satch]

As mentioned in an earlier post, if you make it down to San Diego, Temecula is a great place to do wine tasting. There are over 30 wineries most of which are very close together. More a small town kind of feeling with some great wineries.
Some quick recommendations would be Wilson Creek (the most popular), South Coast, and Maurice Car’rie. Enjoy your trip. Also in Temecula is a newer B&M cigar lounge, the name escapes me at the moment.

[yourchoice]

I visited California about 5 years ago for a friends wedding. You have an absolutely beautiful drive in store for yourself. If my memory serves me, Big Sur was stunning. Also, hit 17 Mile Drive on the way too, especially if you're a golfer.

My trip started at Morro Bay and went north, so I can't help you anywhere south of there.

Have fun, I loved it!

[galaga]

There is a regional magazine called Sunset. Type in winery tours on their web site and see what you get, I couldn't directly link it for you. Good luck on your trip. There are nice wineries all over California so you should have fun. I haven't done it yet, but there is a local casino in Temecula that has a wine tour package called discover the vines that seems reasonable too. If yu go on that, let me know how it is please.

[livwire68]

Originally Posted by tzaddi

Paso Robles, central California and Temecula is not too far from San Diego.

I have provided some wiki links.

Paso Robles is a beautiful drive from Morro Bay which is on Coastal Highway 1. Distance: 28.02 miles Time: 43 mins
hr 1 min

Have fun.

I would second Paso Robles, I would reccommend spending time in Monterey Bay. They have a place in Cannery row where you can sample local wines and its right up the road from the aquarium. And about an hour out side Morro bay (east) you can visit the site where James Dean was killed when his Porche hit the tree ( just a neat point of interest) If you get the chance take the night tour at Alcatraz!

[GWN]

Tons of great advice, guys. We're going to start putting together a loose plan this weekend. I may PM some questions your way. Thanks again.

[hoax]

If you're in the Napa area tasting wine, my favorite winery is a tiny little place just south of St. Helena called Milat.




In Yountville, my favorite of the reasonably priced nice restaurants is Bistro Jeanty. Their cream of tomato soup is to die for.




As you head south down the SF peninsula, stop for lunch at Alice's Restaurant. It's a very famous motorcycle hangout spot.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/alices-restaurant-woodside



Then when you hit San Jose, have a smoke at West Coast Cigars.

http://www.westcoastcigars.net

[tedski]

The Santa Cruz / Santa Clara valley area has quite a number of good wineries. Right off Hwy 1 are Bonny Doon and Pelican Ranch. Many others are just a short drive inland.

Paso Robles has many fine wineries. I was there in early December and visited many good ones + tasted a ton of wine. I'd suggest Tablas Creek, Eberle, Calcareous (scenic mountain top location - good for a picnic). I'd definitely consider a stop in at Hearst Castle while in the area.

[Deucer]

If you go to Napa and want to stop in at some wineries, IN GENERAL you are going to want to go to places off highway 29 where the buses are. Drive up Silverado trail and do your tasting there.

I would strongly recommend you take the advice above and call ahead for reservations at a couple places while leaving half the day free. The best places taste by appointment.

If you want to be a hero with a romantic place at the end of the trip in San Diego go to The Marine Room . It's worth the price of admission and it's in La Jolla, which you should check out anyway if you're in SD.

[GWN]

Made it safely.Right now enjoying a VSG and scotch at Cigar Bar and Grill in San Fran. Headed for Sonoma tomorrow.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by GWN

Made it safely.Right now enjoying a VSG and scotch at Cigar Bar and Grill in San Fran. Headed for Sonoma tomorrow.

You picked the nicest weekend of the year, so far. Should be mid70's to low 80's all weekend. Have a great time!

[smokeyscotch]

My wife an I are going on a local winery tour tomorrow. This is a nice thread. Sounds like a great trip.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by smokeyscotch

My wife an I are going on a local winery tour tomorrow. This is a nice thread. Sounds like a great trip.

Tim, That old still behind your neighbors house is not a winery! j/k

[leasingthisspace]

I know it isn't a winery but if your in SD there is this spot called Wine Steals. I drink a little bit of wine, my wife loves. The spot is nice real nice.
www.winestealssd.com I was only in SD for @ two weeks when I was on leave but I look forward to going back.