BIRTHDAY FIRST WINERY VISIT…read more The first time I went for a wine tasting menu was four years ago with a group of hip hop dancers. We visited two wineries in Sonoma. Four years later my sister and her husband organized two wine tasting menus at two wineries in Napa for my birthday. There was a group of relatives that went we us. I am the oldest of all the group as I turned 50. Some say I age as good as wine. There is a saying the longer the wine ages the better it is. Well I found that was partly true when I went to this winery. Two weeks ago Saturday the first winery we visited was Vincent Arroyo Family Winery. The host was Ted. He was very insightful during the wine tasting and tour of the winery. The wine tasting menu was unique as each person only had two glasses. I didn't know how many types of wine we would drink as there's no tasting menu. The first glass we had was a Chardonnay. It was crisp and clean. The second glass was the Sangiovese. It had a smooth taste. I mentioned about the two glasses. Ted stated if you don't like the wine dump it in the grey bucket. I enjoyed my first two glasses of wine. After each glass I put the last drops of each wine in the grey bucket. The third glass was the Zinfandel. The fourth glass was Tempranillo, which is a wine well known in Spain. Ted provided an insight of this wine as it is not well known in Napa, but the Tempranillo is produced here as a tribute to the Spanish heritage of the family of this winery. This wine has a light taste that doesn't mask the flavor of the food you eat. What I enjoyed about Ted is his insights. I mentioned about the longer the wine ages the better. Ted stated if you buy a bottle of wine it has a limit of ten years before the wine goes bad. He explained the reason why Cabernet Sauvignon is popular in Napa because land is expensive you need a wine that helps pay off the land. He provided a tour of the winery where he showed the process of harvesting the grapes, distilling the alcohol, and aging of the wine in the French oak barrels. After the tour we when back to the wine tasting room to taste two types of Cabernet Sauvignon - one darker color with the other clearer color. After tasting the two Cabernet Sauvignons I tasted the Petite Syrah from the Rattlesnake Acres of the winery. Of all the wines I tasted the Petite Syrah was my favorite. Petite Syrah is the wine this winery is known for. I got the Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Acres bottle for my birthday. I mentioned about the Rattlesnake Acres. On that property there are vineyards about 70 years old. So maybe it is not how old the wine is but how old the vineyard that results in a tasty wine. Overall I had eight glasses of wine at Vincent Arroyo Family Winery. I can see myself coming back to this winery again to purchase the Tempranillo and/or Cabernet Sauvignon from the Rattlesnake Acres. The first winery visit of the day was a great way to celebrate my birthday.

Every wine I try here is delicious in its own special way! I have been coming here off and on for…read moreover 15 years and every time I say I need to visit them more regularly. Today's tasting favorites were green and black label petite syrah (I can't remember and my dog is sleeping on my lap and I can't move LOL). I am also a fan of merlot which I have had theirs in past visits. Though we didn't taste any today, I bought some because I know it's going to be delicious! I hate that movie Sideways because of what they did to merlot! I also got some Entrada which they're discontinuing:( but I loved from past visits. I am definitely going to visit more often; at least once a year!

My wife and I went on the Chateau Montelena Estate Walking Tour & Tasting and it was a wonderful…read moreexperience. The Chateau and pond are great spots for photos of your trip to wine country. The majority of the tasting is done while you are outside on the tour hearing about the history of the winery, with the final wines enjoyed in the tasting room. I would have liked more walking and some access to the Chateau or wine processing areas. TWO reasons that I wanted to go to Chateau Montelena. ONE, the Chateau and pond with Chinese bridges and pavilions looked to be a nice place to visit, and it was. TWO, the website had that the tour fee can be credited to a purchase, AND IT WAS. At the time of our trip, we were able to have the two tour fees credited back with purchase of $250 in wine. We got 5 bottles of wine to bring back home and the money for the tour/tasting was credited back. I liked this as at most of the larger wineries/estates, you pay a lot for the tasting and then would need to pay more for the wine. With this credit it was a win/win for you and the winery. Next time I plan to come back from with vineyard tour, and to pick up some more bottles of wine.

Château Montelena is more than just a winery; it's a cornerstone of Napa Valley's wine heritage…read more Its blend of history, stunning scenery, and exceptional wines makes it a must-visit for anyone looking to appreciate the true essence of Napa. If you're planning a visit, consider spending some time exploring the grounds and soaking in the history. Our guide Jady was truly amazing and a pleasure to be around! He was exceptional knowledgeable and his service was impeccable!

we had fun out first full day in Napa, enjoyed Janelle, our hostess/driver for the day! We visited…read more4 boutique wineries with lunch, very nice and perfect for learning about wine making in this region.

This small family winery located in northern end of Calistoga has a beautiful view and great wines…read more It is run by husband and wife team and they host every single tasting group themselves. Tasting experience includes the tour of expansive ground up in the mountain, wine cave, and a picnic. The picnic includes homemade bread, olives, and olive oil (it was so good we bought a bottle) and the entire tasting is so great. Wines are of course all really good! I liked every single wine we tasted and ended up bringing back a few bottles home. More wineries based on views, price, varietals at finevining.com IG @fine.vining Cute for pictures: 4/5 QPR: average price $30-150 Main varietals: Whites, Rosé, Pinot, Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting fee: $75 to taste, waived with a few bottle purchases

Wow what a wonderful wine experience. Tom Eddy is a hidden gem amongst all the commercial giants…read moreof Napa. They are a small operation and the wine tasting experience is more akin to a wonderful little picnic at a friend's home than a carefully scripted sales pitch like most of the other large wineries. We started with a refreshing chilled glass of Sauvignon blanc and a stroll through their beautiful property. It was a joy listening to our hostess Kerry (co owner and wife of Tom Eddy) recall the story of how they started their winery. We took a tour through their wine cave and then looped back to their home. We had some light snacks and tasted several of their wonderful wines. All the wines we tasted were amazing and we left with significantly lighter wallets. They have some "reasonably" priced wines at 25-60 dollars but a large portion of their selection are in the 100+ category. It's not for everyone but if you can swing it, I definitely recommend picking up a couple bottles of their delicious Cabernets. If you want a truly personal and "real" wine tasting experience, check them out.

What an amazing experience!!! Ian was so incredible and super responsive. I researched other…read morecompanies before contacting Windsor Wine Tours and did not receive the warmth and helpfulness that Ian provided. He was able to get a reservation at a very secluded winey which that experience was OUT OF THIS WORLD! We had to pivot a bit on our reservations due to the storm, but Ian was on top of it and worked to get us to visit a new place that was recommended. Ian and WWT will forever be our driver each time we come to the area.

Since I'm not exactly a wine person... I hired Windsor Wine Tours for taking my clients for a…read moreweekend getaway before departing California. They absolutely loved how easy going and knowledgeable of the owner/operator Ian was. Very likely to use this company again for my future business needs!

What a fantastic company. Jason was really great, early to pick us up and super duper…read moreaccommodating. His vehicle was super clean and very comfortable for us five ladies. He made himself widely available to us when he knew Uber and Lyft drivers would be in short supply. He also has many deep winery connections and offered to make reservation, if not already doing so. We will most definitely be using him again doe our next girls weekend getaway! Highly recommend. Thank you Jason!

I live in Sonoma County, so I have been on several wine tours and this is by far the best. Jason,…read morethe owner of Sonoma wine rides is personable professional and very knowledgeable about the wineries. Jason will put together an itinerary for you or you can tell him which wineries you're interested in going to. Every trip includes an individual charcuterie plate for each person to make sure that you have a fabulous time on your trip without overdoing it... I have taken several friends on tours with Sonoma wine rides. Even if you live in the wine country take the time out to do this you'll see parts of Sonoma County but you didn't even know existed and you'll have a great time.

We hired Leonard to be our driver for a girls wine tour day in Napa! He was absolutely spectacular…read moreand will be using him again next time we are in Napa! He was super informative, prompt and helped to ensure we were on schedule the entire day. He had so many wonderful recommendations, too many to get to all in one day so we are excited to come back to Napa soon!!

We were referred to Santa (Leonard) by our hotel staff a month before our trip. We were easily able…read moreto book a reservation with him for when we were going to be here in the Sonoma/Napa area. Since it had been 30 years since we last visited the wine country here, we asked him for recommendations on wineries in Napa that focused on great red wines and were fun to visit. He gave us three to see (Materra, Porter Family, and Sequoia Grove) and we really enjoyed all three. During our drive he was able to give us a lot of information about the Sonoma and Napa areas and explained the changes he has seen having lived here all his life. He was a great guide and my wife and I would highly recommend him as a wine tour guide if you are coming for a visit.

All I can say is Wow!! I had called around and around to find someone to drive us around for my…read morebirthday celebration. I ran into Tom's name from a Sonoma County website along with other names. I called down the list and was shocked at how negative a lot of these people were or how incredibly pricey a lot of the services were. I was super discouraged until I talked to Tom. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and super helpful. He was on time to pick us up and eager to make sure we had a great time. The vehicle we were in was clean and he provided us with tidbits of information about the area along the way as we went to the various wineries. His price was beyond reasonable and was the only one that didn't demand a deposit. I will definitely use him again. He helped make my Birthday a successful and fabulous day!

Wow! Such a great experience and Tom has a great attitude and will help to make your wine country…read moreexperience not only fun but truly memorable. One of a kind guy! You can't go wrong with booking him. Worth every penny and more.

Love Bennett Lane. Jackson was great and was very knowledgeable in our sampling. My favorite is the…read moreMaximus

After finishing at Tamber Bey, we asked the tasting room crew where we should go next, and the…read morerecommendation was Bennett Lane, so off we went! We arrived shortly after they must've opened, so we had the place to ourselves and were seated outside in the garden for our tasting. Since we had a bit of a drive back to where we were staying, we opted to all 3 split one tasting. The scenery was breathtaking, the wines were smooth, and the environment just plain relaxing. Ezra took excellent care of us, and even allowed us to taste something not on the normal menu, which was fell in love with (White Maximus). We were looking forward to having a private chef-made meal in our Airbnb that night, and Ezra was incredibly helpful in giving us recommendations for the wine to pair with our menu. Absolutely great experience!