April is a great time to visit wine country, with Spring in full swing and the vineyards coming to life with new growth. While wine tasting is certainly a highlight of any trip to wine country, there are plenty of other fun things to do in April besides sipping vino. Easter is April 9th, and … Read more
Healdsburg, Sonoma, Windsor, and Santa Rosa are the hot wine towns of Sonoma County wine country. If you like less hubbub, more solitude, and less wine snobbery, try visiting the town of Occidental. Occidental is in the Russian River Valley wine appellation, about 30 minutes west of Santa Rosa, CA. Occidental is secluded, but in … Read more
It is the Napa Valley at its best for the tourist. Start making your plans now to watch the most exciting show in the world of wine.
First Time to Napa Valley: Must Do Activities We often get emails from first-time travelers to the Napa Valley asking advice for where to go or what “must activities” to include in their trip. Here is our list of what we think first-time visitors to the Napa Valley should consider doing. These activities don’t just … Read more
We always like to stay within walking distance of fine restaurants and shopping. We like to enjoy our wine with dinner so we either walk or take a cab. We don’t drink and drive. The centers of the towns of Napa, Yountville, and Calistoga are giving the traveler many choices for lodging within a short distance of many restaurants.
One of the busiest weekends the entire year in the Napa Valley is Thanksgiving weekend. Family and friends from out of town are likely not to be traveling home until Sunday and one of the many things to do in the San Francisco Bay Area is visit the Napa Valley wine country.
Do you like a certain wine varietal of red or white wine that is your favorite? Why not base your wine country travels on your preferred wine grape. Here is a list of the top wine varietals and where to find these wines in wine country. Hit the tasting rooms that specialize in these varietals. Collect your … Read more
Wine Tasting and Wine Hiking – Picchetti Winery Here is a nice idea, combine an outing of wine tasting with a day of hiking. This can be done at the Picchetti Winery located in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Cupertino. The Picchetti Winery is located on land owned by the Peninsula Open Space and is … Read more
This is a guest post by H. Bruce Smith who runs Dry Creek Valley Wine Tours. Bruce suggested that I did not have enough consumer information on WineCountryGetaways.com about the Van-based wine tours vs Limos. Upon review I agreed with Bruce and asked him to provide us with a comparison. There are many benefits to … Read more
At the recent Wine Bloggers Conference in the Santa Barbara Wine Country, a small group of bloggers enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Bridlewood Estate Winery in the Santa Ynez AVA. The entrance to the winery is impressive, with its Spanish Mission style of architecture. Our Apple Basket lunch of local sandwiches and salads was … Read more