Picnic Lunch on this Wine Country Tour

On this California Wine Country Tour Shuttle, you'll visit premier Napa wineries. The tour includes a picnic lunch, winery stops at four strategically selected wineries providing a mix of red, white and sparkling wines, a scenic ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and a 50-minute relaxing ferry/bay cruise back to San Francisco. Price includes a picnic lunch at V. Sattui Winery, ferry/bay cruise tickets and free onboard refreshments. Price does not include tasting fees at the wineries (see Frequently Asked Questions below).

You'll travel to Napa in luxury on a brand new shuttle bus with a separate tour guide and driver. This allows your guide to show you many things about the California Wine Country and also provide a brief "Wine 101" seminar.

It's very common to get to know other people on the tour, so be sure to bring your camera to capture group pictures of the friends you make along the way. The Wine Country Tour Shuttle is one of the most unique tours to Napa Valley from San Francisco.

Itinerary

Your wine country tour starts when you meet your wine country tour guide outside in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building. This famous San Francisco building is home to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market which has plenty of varied vendors offering delectable treats. Your tour group and guide will board the shuttle to Napa Valley, heading across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, you'll be on your way to the beautiful Napa Valley and the first winery stop - Domaine Chandon. Your tour guide will provide historical narrative about the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Ocean and the Marin headlands before going into an informative "Wine Country 101" narrative.

Domaine Chandon

Domaine Chandon is the sparkling wine stop on the tour. Because they are generally more liked than wine - though not as popular - it's important to make sure you have a sparkling wine tasting. People tend to enjoy sparkling wines more even though society tends to drink them only during celebrations. Domaine Chandon will not disappoint you. Their tasting room offers a spacious arena to relax and take in the beautiful wine country vista that sits right behind the tasting bar. Domaine Chandon's winery is second to none in the wine country. After visiting there, you'll realize why Napa Valley has more prominent wineries than almost anywhere else in the world.

V. Sattui

V. Sattui Winery will be your picnic lunch stop and you'll be treated to an amazing wine country experience. V. Sattui offers the tour group 6 different wines to taste for only $5.00 per person. A lunch coupon you'll be issued can be used for your tasting fee, too.

On this leg of the tour, each person is given a $10.00 food voucher for lunch so you can select what you want and bring it to the picnic table. You might want to purchase your favorite bottle of wine or sparkling wine that you tasted during the first part of the tour and enjoy it with your lunch. However, free refreshments will be provided on the tour and you may use them for lunch. The picnic lunch will give you an opportunity to relax and take in the views and some good food with others in your group. You'll lunch at outside picnic tables. Lunch will be prepared while you tour the winery and taste the V. Sattui offerings. Also at V. Sattui, you may be entertained by opera singers who sometimes surprise lunching tourists.

Flora Springs

After lunch, you'll visit the Flora Springs Winery, composed of eight distinct vineyards in Napa Valley purchased over the span of twenty years. The winery is a family endeavor that has been passed along over three generations. Flora Springs uses innovative farming methods and is known for taking risks. They have transformed parts of their vineyards into laboratories where they test how different farming methods affect different grapes.

Andretti

Next stop will be at the beautiful grounds of the small Italian villa of the Andretti Winery. They'll provide a special place in the back yard, set amidst the vineyards and mountains to taste their Napa Valley wines offering four different varitals during the tour. If you wish to purchase Andretti wines, you can only do so from the winery - so it's a special stop. Andretti, by the way, is owned by Mario Andretti - famous Indy 500 race car driver.

Rutherford Ranch

Rutherford Ranch Winery on the famous Silverado Trail in Napa Valley produces the best value in premium Napa wines. By using only the most lush and concentrated fruits of each harvest, Rutherford Ranch is able to craft each vintage to perfect balance. Since the mid 1980s, Rutherford Ranch has called Napa home, and they have built a reputation as one of the finest in the region. Originally planned as a vineyard that would only grow grapes and sell to others, the focus changed during a harvest during the mid 1980s and Rutherford began producing its own estate and private label wines. At Rutherford Ranch you will usually taste Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as well as ports, merlots and their ever popular Rhianian.

Beautiful Bay Cruise from Napa to SF

The perfect way to end your Napa wine country tour is on a nice and relaxing ferry ride back to San Francisco. The tour group will take the 45 minute bay cruise from Vallejo back to the "city by the bay." On the ride, you'll be able to go out on deck and enjoy amazing views. You have the opportunity to see picturesque views of well known U.S. landmarks such as Alcatraz Island, the San Francisco city skyline, the Bay Bridge and The Golden Gate Bridge. Your tour guide will be aboard the ferry cruise to answer any questions about Napa Valley and the wineries you visited during the tour, as well as any historical highlights of San Francisco. The ferry/bay cruise portion of the tour will surely be one of the most memorable parts of this tour.

The tour ends when you disembark at the Ferry Building. There, you can go inside and drink wine you purchased on the tour while overlooking San Francisco Bay, or head back to your hotel. The Ferry Building is centrally located to most hotels, especially if your hotel is in Union Square, the Financial District or near Fisherman's Wharf.

Testimonials

"This tour is incredible! Fantastic wineries with great wines and beautiful venues. The ride from the Ferry Building to Napa was great. My visitors from New York got to see the beautiful scenery on the way to Wine Country and ferry ride back to San Francisco offered another great scenic view. Our tour guide Dean was awesome! He was very knowledgeable about the Wine Country and took the time with everyone to make sure they were having a good time. Great personal touch and appreciated by all. I will recommend this tour to all my family and friends." - Kathryn, Sarah & Janet

"We had a great time on our tour of Napa Valley. Our guide was not only extremely knowledgeable, but also entertaining. He made us feel every bit at home. It was a pleasure to travel with him. Thanks for the great experience!!" - Bill and Del

"My wife and I booked a day tour of this wine country tour shuttle tour and could not stop raving about it during the tour. We loved the wineries, the guide, the picnic lunch and the ferry concept. Way to go!" - Eric & Jenny from Michigan

The Shuttles are Fully Equipped:

• 35 passenger seating
• Large windows
• Comfortable seating
• Free refreshments (bottled water)
• Storage racks
• Easy on/off curbside access
• PA system
• Air-conditioned

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any out-of-pockets expenses?
-The prestigious Napa Valley wineries chosen for this tour do have tasting fees because they pour lots of great quality wines. The tasting fees are optional - meaning you don't have to taste wine at every location. But, the wine tastings offer great value because they sometimes include winery tours, or because wineries often waive the fees if you buy wine there, or because some wineries let you taste up to 6 different wines for the nominal fee. The wine tasting fees are handled uniquely at each stop.

Here is the quick rundown of the optional fees that you will pay directly to the wineries:

-Domain Chandon: $10.00 fee includes an excellent 35-minute winery tour and 3 different tastings - (about 1.5 glasses of sparkling wine).

-V. Sattui Winery: The usual $5.00 fee includes 6 wine tastings (about 2.5 glasses of wine). PLEASE NOTE: Currently V. Sattui is not charging their $5.00 fee.

-Rutherford Ranch: $10.00 fee includes 6 wine tastings (about 2.5 glasses of wine) - and the fee is waived if you purchase wine there!

-Andretti Winery: A $10.00 fee includes 4 tastings (about 2 glasses of wine).

The fees are optional because you simply may not wish to taste that much wine. You're free to skip and not taste at any of the wineries.

Alternate Winery Fees: From time to time, this tour may substitute one or more of these other Napa Valley wineries:

-Signorello Vineyards: $10.00 fee includes 5 different tastings (about 1.75 glasses of wine).

-A&O Winery: $10.00 fee includes 5 different tastings, plus this winery waives fee if you purchase wine there!

-Luna Vineyards: $10.00 fee includes 5 different tastings (your choice Red or White wines) and the fee is waived if you purchase wine there!

-Rutheford Grove: $10.00 fee includes 5 different tastings, plus this winery waives the fee if you purchase wine there!

Which stops are winery tours?
-Tours are included at Domaine Chandon and Singorello (alternate winery). The Domaine Chandon winery tour is 35 minutes. The Singorello tour is shorter because it's a boutique winery, the size of an average home. This tour features the vineyards and in September and October during crush season, you will get to see the process of crushing grapes at Singorello.

Do I need to be 21 years or older to go on the tour?
-No. However you must be 21 or over to taste wine. An adult or guardian may NOT allow you to taste if you're not 21 or older. You can still go on the tour and even into the wineries, but they will check I.D. Please note that the tour guides and check-in person may also ask you for I.D.

How were these wineries selected?
-The goal is to visit the heart of Napa Valley. There you'll be shown the Silverado Trail, as well as the popular Rutherford and Oak Knoll regions of Napa, so the region wineries were carefully selected in order for you to see the entire area and taste grapes from the different viticultures. Rutherford Ranch was selected for its very popular Rhianan and Chardonnay wines and Oakville's Domaine Chandon was chosen for its sparkling wines. Finally, V. Sattui is just a perfect place for a picnic lunch!

How does the picnic lunch work?
-The Napa Valley picnic lunch is at V. Sattui winery. First you have the opportunity to taste six of their variatals for the normal $5.00 fee. V. Sattui reserve wines are available for tasting for $10.00 per person. After the wine tasting, many guests buy a bottle of wine for lunch. The Wine Country Tour Shuttle gives each guest a $10.00 lunch coupon. Grab your wine or complimentary bottled water and head over to the country store and deli area, as well as the olive and cheese bars, to make your lunch selections. While you're selecting your lunch, your tour guide and driver are setting up the picnic table. It's nice to eat as a tour group to get to know one another, but it's not required. You may eat alone if you wish.

Are winery stops subject to change?
-Yes. They can change often. The itinerary changes because of an individual winery's production schedule. Sometimes the winery needs to focus on the production of its wines and simply cannot accommodate tours and tastings for a day or two. When there is a winery stop substitution, every attempt is made to make sure the change is comparable in quality and wine grape varietals.

What are the current alternate wineries?
-A&O winery, Rutherford Grove winery, Signorello Vineyards, Luna Vineyards and Mumm Napa Valley.

This tour does not operate January 1, Thanksgiving Day or December 25.

Tour does not include hotel pick ups. Optional wine tasting fees are not included in the tour price. There is no child rate for this tour. You must be 21 years or older to taste the wine, and ID will be checked. Please reserve online, or call us toll-free at 888-881-3309.