JessTake your pick- Half a day of wine drinking or a full day of wine drinking. On my short but sweet visit to San Francisco, I knew I had to make a day trip to Napa and Sonoma Valley. Visiting wine country was high on my “Top things to do”. This is especially since I live in South Florida and we have about two wineries. I’ve heard and seen pictures of wineries at Napa Valley many times so I definitely wanted to experience it. In preparation to visit Wine Country, I checked online for a quick day trip. With so many options available and becoming slightly overwhelmed, I ended up on Viator. I’ve booked with them before and never had any issues so I decided to book the tour through them. They had several options between a half-day or a day trip to Napa and Sonoma valley-After comparing many I decided on choosing this one.
The day came and I was picked up right outside my hostel in the morning. I was greeted by Chris the tour guide and a couple who was visiting from Europe. The tour guide introduced himself and explained how our day will go and what to expect. He mentioned after the first winery in Sonoma, we will stop at a food hall where we can grab lunch and then set off to the other wineries. Within a few minutes of driving, he made a stop after crossing the Golden Gate bridge. The stop was at H. Dana Bowers Memorial Vista Point where we spent some time taking pictures from the other side of the bridge. After some 10-15 minutes that we were done, we got back onto the van and began the hour-long trip to Wine Country. The time went by pretty quickly as the tour guide would tell us about Wine Country and some of its history.
Our tour included three wineries- Two in Sonoma and one in Napa Valley. One thing the tour guide mentioned was how we would notice the difference between the three wineries. The first winery was located in Sonoma Valley. It was described as a boutique winery and belonged to a man who left the city to make wine. It was a nice and cozy winery that made you feel as if you were in your backyard talking with friends and enjoying a nice glass of wine. After the first winery in Sonoma, we stopped at a food hall where we had lunch and then set off to the other wineries.
The second winery was family owned and by the size and amount of wine barrels they had it was definitely established for several years. Lastly, we arrived to a winery in Napa Valley. We were told it was very luxurious and belonged to a billionaire. From the beginning, you noticed how much land it was and how modern it looked. It was definitely beautiful seeing the rows and rows of vines.
My day trip to Napa and Sonoma Valley was definitely one I would never forget. From learning about the different kinds of wine to the process of making it, I highly recommend any wine lover to take a trip to wine country.