36613 Fri May 27 20:43:21 -0700 2005 13 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 169321 Hey folks ... I was hoping for some insight into Napa/Sonoma ... I'm going to be a mindless, wide-eyed, drooling tourist there shortly. So far I've read (here) that Lazy Valley is the coolest thing, and that Domaine Chandon is good for the bubbly ... Your recommends? Fri May 27 20:43:21 -0700 2005 0 ColoradoJo 1 169323 Get this guy to set up a tour for you. Don Ricard is friendly and knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Plus, you don't have to worry about driving. At $65 it's a real bargain. Link: http://www.platypustours.com/ Fri May 27 21:09:21 -0700 2005 169321 0 snackish 2 169332 We could stay anywhere; nothing planned yet. I'm sorta thinking about staying in sonoma and doing the walking tour...? Fri May 27 23:32:31 -0700 2005 169323 0 ColoradoJo 3 169357 I'd love to hear about this walking tour. Sat May 28 12:42:00 -0700 2005 169332 0 Mad 1 169326 It's a big place. Where are you staying? Think hours of driving. Fri May 27 21:43:58 -0700 2005 169321 0 Bruce Frigard 1 169333 Nickel & Nickel Link: http://www.nickelandnickel.com/ Sat May 28 01:14:57 -0700 2005 169321 0 anon 1 169335 Del Dotto has one of the more unique tours, although it's $40 per person. It's a cave tour (~1 hour) where you taste several reds in various barrels, and then you taste the finished wine in the bottle. Link: http://www.deldottovineyards.com/newsite/deldotto-new/ddoh_tours_page.htm Sat May 28 01:45:32 -0700 2005 169321 0 Olivia Benson 2 169389 Silver Rose in Calistoga (I think) does a similar tour with whites, specifically, Chardonnay (and maybe reds, too, I don't remember) for free. The Chronicle website has a review of the winnery. Sat May 28 20:34:10 -0700 2005 169335 0 cc_in_sf 1 169346 What is Lazy Valley??? There's a Lazy CREEK Vineyards, but it's up in the Anderson Valley, near the town of Philo. That's a couple of hours North of Domain Chandon. I've always found the best overall public tour, for those with not much experience, to be at Mondavi. I understand it costs $20 these days, but it's well done and worth it. Better, of course, are the 'by appointment' tours at some of the smaller vineyards, especially later in the summer. We took one at Acorn, in the Sonoma Valley, where we spent an hour or more in the fields, tasting grapes off the vine. Barrel tasting at A. Rafanelli (Sonoma) was great, and they have a small cave area as well (by appointment only). In the Napa area, Jarvis has a cave tour and very good wine. Joseph Phelps has no caves but some of the better wine in the area. Sat May 28 02:34:50 -0700 2005 169321 0 Midlife 1 169410 We just came back from Sonoma/Napa, though we didn't take any tours. While this won't answer your question, if you are just up for tasting and don't care about a tour, hit Ledson in Sonoma ($5 tastings, very cheap) and has a beautiful castle like mansion, and V.Sattui in St Helena has free tastings (probably the only place in the valley that doesn't charge for tastings), a fantastic deli and bbq for picnics (bbq on certain days only). I don't think these two offer tours, but I really enjoyed the tastings there. Sun May 29 01:03:22 -0700 2005 169321 0 KK 1 169435 I had a great time at Hendry. It's a small winery where they spend personal time with you in the tour and sit-down tasting. Wines are not very expensive and the tour/tastings are free. Highly recommended. You just need to set up an appointment. Link: http://www.hendrywines.com/ Sun May 29 16:22:11 -0700 2005 169321 0 B.A. Baracus 1 169590 We just returned from the Napa/Sonoma area & the best tour we did was at Benziger Family Winery...it is north of Sonoma in the Glen Ellen region. Very informative tram tour (with Jack) through the vineyard, then you go in the underground caves & end with tasting 4 wines. All this is $10. per person...they don't take reservations...tours depart every half hour. Beautiful organic farm! Tue May 31 13:46:34 -0700 2005 169321 0 LauraJ. 1 169783 OPUS DOMAINE CARNERROS Vincent Arroyo Casa Nuestra All Napa Valley wineries of different distinct styles. Wed Jun 01 15:43:16 -0700 2005 169321 0 dana 1 169784 Beringer has a nice tour, as they have a long history in the Napa Valley. Beyond tours, I'd recommend the following: Heitz Cellars - free tasting (woohoo!) Chateau Montelena - beautiful pond with gazebo in middle of it Hess Collection - for those into art, they have an art gallery integrated into their structure, which spans several floors Silver Oak - tasting fee of $10 includes a nice cabernet wineglass with a Silver Oak logo, and if you're nice, you can ask for and get second and third refills of their cab.....=-D Wed Jun 01 15:56:20 -0700 2005 169321 0 Eugene Park