A couple of months ago, Mum and Dad were trying to think of an appropriate 30th birthday present, when I had a brain wave. I was about to find myself in San Francisco for three days on a hectic trip around Cuba and the United States. And, you know, San Francisco is only an hour south of Napa Valley and Sonoma, which is home to near-800 wineries.
WINE TOUR!!!
I’ve spent a LOT of time touring Australia’s various wine regions: McLaren Vale, the Hunter Valley, Barossa, Yarra Valley – so was naturally uber keen to check out some American wine country.
I did a bit of desk research and settled on the Join-In San Francisco to Wine Country Tour run by Napa Valley Wine Country Tours. It seemed like a bit of fun, operated with a small group (we had 13 people on our tour) and is reasonably priced at $99 USD (although that doesn’t include tasting fees or the driver’s tip).
Wine touring out of San Francisco
The morning of our wine tour I was pretty pumped about the prospect of having a few cordials in Napa Valley. So when a big black bus rolled on up at Pier 39, I eagerly jumped aboard. Then had a moment of panic, realising that in my wine excitement I’d boarded a vehicle that looked scarily similar to the kidnapomobile in Pitch Perfect 3.
It wasn’t until we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for a photo opportunity, where our all-American driver Doug introduced himself and poured us a couple of mimosas, that I was confident we hadn’t been abducted. You can’t be a serious kidnapper if you’re handing out croissants and bananas, right?
Always time for a photo opp
The Napa Valley Wine Country Tours ‘bus’ certainly isn’t your average Gray Line. For starters, you’re all sitting facing one another, the seats are ultra luxurious pleather, there’s disco lights and a stripper’s pole. It’s more a crossbreed of a bus and a limo.
On the limo-bus you can also plug in your phone and play music. Brilliant. Although, unfortunately, on our tour, everyone boarded the bus at the Union Square pick-up. So by the time Jude and I got on, we already had a self-appointed DJ who refused to relinquish the decks all day. When Linkin Park’s In The End was played at 8:15am, followed up by some Nickelback and Deep Purple, I knew it was going to be a long day…
Is it a bus? Or is it a limo?
Winery #1: Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Sonoma
The official wine part of the tour kicked off all civilised with a wine tasting at the family vineyard of the folks who invented the spa bath. I learnt why Americans call a hot tub a ‘jacuzzi’ (never understood that), and also the history behind the spa bath and how it came to dominate every season of The Bachelor.
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards has an enormous selection of mostly Italian-varietal wines: reds, whites, sparklings, fortifieds. How on heck you’re supposed to choose only five you want to taste I don’t know. But themz the rulez: a $10pp tasting fee for five wines, that’s waived if you purchase wine. I purchased wine: a fruity Prosecco.
I quite liked this Sonoma winery. The wines were delicious, the olive oil tasting room equally so and the outdoor courtyard overlooking the vines transports you to Italy.
Winery #2: Larson Family Vineyard, Sonoma
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the wines at the next stop: Larson Family Vineyard. They were a little rough, like drinking an uncle’s home brew. But, I liked the setting. Through the cellar door, there’s an outdoor patio with plenty of picnic tables overlooking the vineyard.
Here the tour crew were grouped all together for a private-ish tasting of white and red wines; strangers slowly becoming friends. In particular, Jude and I made friends with two Irish girls visiting San Francisco for the week.
Again, the tasting at Larson Family Vineyard sets you back $10pp for five tastings but is redeemable on purchase. Not that we purchased any wine.
Making friends with the vineyard dog
Winery #3: Madonna Estate Winery, Napa Valley
The third winery stop has nothing to do with actual Madonna we were told. Yet, even without the Material Girl, I really enjoyed our visit to Madonna Estate Winery. The wines here are of quality, and the staff ultra knowledgeable and friendly.
After touring the production facility and tasting half a dozen wines (for another $10pp fee), we headed out into the shady picnic area for lunch, where Doug had laid out a spread of salads and sandwiches.
Image credit: Madonna Estate Winery
Winery #4: Kieu Hoang Winery, Napa Valley
Vietnamese-American billionaire Kieu Hoang made his money in blood products and now toys around with a winery – as you do – specifically interested in the healthy cells in red wine.
I did enjoy the vineyard patio views at our final stop of the day. But, I can’t say I thought too much of the wine or Kieu’s face emblazoned on the bottle – it’s a little too narcissistic for my Australian tastes. Yet, somehow, we left with two bottles of rosé!
We were totally schooled by the whole tasting fee redeemable back on purchase. The wine tastings here cost $20pp (or $35pp for premium wines). So in my wine-fuzzladen head I decided it made more sense to purchase two bottles for our efforts. I was totally forgetting that we were flying back to Australia in three days time and had pre-purchased our duty free allocation of alcohol, so couldn’t bring a drop back into the country.
The rosé was drunk on the rowdy bus ride back to San Francisco, when the stripper’s pole was definitely swung on.
Would I recommend this Napa Valley wine tour?
Absolutely! While some of the wineries weren’t my wine tastes, everywhere we went was really pretty, the tour was well organised and the day was a lot of fun.
Too much fun, if you consider how it ended…
That night, after being dropped back in San Francisco around 5pm and going out for more drinks with our Irish mates, I was faced with a scene straight out of The Hangover.
At 11pm I woke up to what I thought was someone breaking into our hotel room. It wasn’t a burglar, it was Jude – who when I went to sleep was right next to me. But, next thing I know, he’s locked out of the apartment, with no shoes on, having gotten stuck in the staff elevator.
Yep, way too much fun was had on our Sonoma and Napa Valley wine tour – proving Australians should never drink with the Irish.
