Advice on winery tours and Cali in general?

[GWN]

My wife and I are heading to Cali in a couple of weeks for a well-deserved vacation. Flying into SF and driving Hwy. 1 down to SD. Want to hit a few wineries along the way (event though Napa/Sonoma is a little out of the way). Can anyone suggest some wineries in the region that offer decent tours and tasting that aren't run like they're hearding cattle?
Also looking for cool points of interest along our route, including eateries, B&Ms, etc.
It's all new to us, so any advice is welcome.

[Ms. Detroit]

Great thread!!! Will and I are headed to Cali is Aug so I'll be stealing some of the advice given to you. Have a great trip

[rumballs]

I only went to Napa once so I'm a total novice...
Merryvale does a cool "component tasting" where you taste each component of flavor separately.
Robert Sinskey has better food to go with the tasting than most.
Pride is pretty awesome for scenery and their wines - but it will take you 20-30 minutes to get up the mountain.
Favorite restaurant of the few we tried was Redd.

... just a few thoughts - I'm sure others will have better advice...

[rdcross]

Have been to Napa several times.

Second and strongly recommend Julian's suggestions of Pride Mountain. Take a picnic up there with you. It's a singular experience.

Elyse is a terrific, reasonable winery. It's a homey tasting room, but the wines (and prices) are worth the visit.

Copola's Rubicon Estate is well worth the time. Great tour of a historic, very cool winery. You go in the caves too. He's a cigar guy too, andhis Cuban cigars are visible to all in the walk-in humi on the ground level.

Swanson has a fun sit-down tasting with crackers and cheese. They have a great Spanish-style tasting area. It's not free, but the money is well spent for the experience.

Mumm is fun because it's champaign, and you'll be red-wined-out after a day or so. This is a nice change, and they have a great outdoor tasting area.

We also really liked Duckhorn. A much more formal tasting area, with restaurant-style tables. "Servers" come and pour you the wine.

Opus, of course, is one of Napa's prestigious wineries. It's like cult fortress. And very expensive at $30 per tasting glass (you can share). But the tasting environment, high above the valley, is stunning. The whole experience here is worth the money, and really what you're paying for.


Robert Simsky is a fun, at-the-bar tasting that's paired with little food bites. A fun way to taste, and a neat all-wood tasting room. The wines are also quite good and most are reasonable.

For eats, Bouchon was very good and extremely reasonable.

And Mustard's was a surprise meal for us. I had a yummie swordfish tostada entree that ran a grand total of $25 or so.

Only buy wines you can't buy at your local wine retailer. Almost 100% of the time, they're cheaper at the store than at the winery. Do buy the little small-batch non-distributed wines. Those are well worth it. For the memory of your visit, when you open them, if nothing else.

Call ahead, just in case, for every winery you want to visit. Many require appointments. Some do not. But do leave about half of each day open for "just stopping in." It's a great way to discover new wineries.

Have fun!!

[vstrommark]

Originally Posted by GWN

My wife and I are heading to Cali in a couple of weeks for a well-deserved vacation. Flying into SF and driving Hwy. 1 down to SD. Want to hit a few wineries along the way (event though Napa/Sonoma is a little out of the way). Can anyone suggest some wineries in the region that offer decent tours and tasting that aren't run like they're hearding cattle?
Also looking for cool points of interest along our route, including eateries, B&Ms, etc.
It's all new to us, so any advice is welcome.

My uncle lives in Atascadero and I've had many wines from that area. I wish I could remember names, but there are plenty of wineries inland from San Luis Obispo in the Atascadero and Paso Robles area.

[hotreds]

Jeez- I thought you meant Cali, Colombia! I would say not to go there! But wine country is a different story. Rent "Sideways!"

[jjefrey]

There is quit a few of us BABOTL in the San Francisco area if your going to be in town, Maybe we can get a small Herf going.

As far as specific wineries I cant help much, my wife and I usually just drive up hwy 29 stopping as we see fit. Bob (bobarian) may be able to help you there. The company he works for deals with the wineries, so he may be able to make some recommendations for you.


For sites along your route you may want to check out

Monterey Bay Aquarium
Carmel - lots of shops and galleries
Hearst Castle
Solvang - A nice Danish town set in central CA, a little out of your way but worth the drive.
Venice Beach
In San Diego check out La Jolla Cove
Santa Cruz Boardwalk

If your going to spend time in SF then there is all the usual:
Alcatraz
Fisherman's Wharf
China Town
Union Square


Thats a few to get you started. I post more as they come to mind. Feel free to shoot me a pm if you have any questions or want specifics about something.





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[duhman]

Originally Posted by vstrommark

My uncle lives in Atascadero and I've had many wines from that area. I wish I could remember names, but there are plenty of wineries inland from San Luis Obispo in the Atascadero and Paso Robles area.

I second this!
Napa wineries are a bit snooty and you always have to pay to taste. Most non-Napa wineries don't charge. The Paso Robles area has some great wines. Easily researched on the web. Come to think of it, I'm going to go pick out a Paso Robles Petit Sirah. Mmmmmm, Petit Sirah!

[duhman]

Originally Posted by jjefrey

There is quit a few of us BABOTL in the San Francisco area if your going to be in town, Maybe we can get a small Herf going.

I live down the road from a winery with a picnic ground. The next time I pick up my club shipment I was going to ask them about having a herf there. TBC

[jjefrey]

Another site in San Francisco is Fort Point, one of my favorite places to visit. It's an old civil war fort that sits directly under the Golden Gate Bridge. I take everyone who comes to visit here.



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[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

Temucla is north on Highway 15 from San Diego. Distance: 60.56 miles Time: 1 hr 1 min

Have fun.

[duhman]

Cambia is a very nice town full of artsy shops. Here is a map:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...mbria&state=CA
The "west side" of Hwy 46 has more of the smaller wineries. The "east side" has some giants.
I'm sipping a David Bruce Central Coast (mostly Paso Robles area) Petit Sirah right now.

[Darrell]

You can PM Bobarian, he lives in Napa.

[Ivory Tower]

I have lived in the Central Coast/Paso Robles area for 35+ years. Now in Templeton, which is 5 miles from Paso. If you're heading south from SF, try to hit Paso for wine tasting--some really great wines here. It's the largest producing region in California after Napa/Sonoma.

This link should take you to a map of the wineries (use the zoom feature). At top of page are links to some related items of possible interest such as a clickable list of local wineries.

Some of the wineries have outdoor seating areas where you can puff away. For instance, I've had cigars at L'Aventure with Stephan the winemaker/owner.

Mid-May is the 26th Annual Wine Festival, if that's of interest.

A couple of good B&Ms in the area along 101: Boyd's in Paso Robles and The Sanctuary in San Luis Obispo.

Any other questions, just ask.

[tsolomon]

Napa, don't go on a weekend and call ahead for reservations and avoid where the busses stop.
Pride Mountain, call ahead for a reservation, great wine, great people and a spectacular view. The ride to the top of the mountain is on a tight road.
Sawyer Cellars - Rutherford Dust, big fruity wines, next to Cakebread and across the street from Grgich
Cakebread has a good tour, reservations are needed
Joseph Phelps, nice location and call ahead
Bennet Lane is up in Calistoga, but worth the trip for the wine.

Southern Sonoma
Roche is nice with resonable prices
Gundlach Bundschu - fun place, fun people

If you get up to Healdsburg in northern Sonoma, it's a nice town to stay in with really nice restaurants. I like Mauritson for their Zinfandels, but there are a number of producers with some great Pinot Noirs. Merry Edwards and Rochioli.