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Winery Tours: From the Not so Cheap to the Cheap to the Cheaper
Here's a mini companion to my earlier post on cheap beer via brewery tours. While brewery tours make me want to take up accordion playing or something, winery tours make me think of fine art. There is a sensuous quality about wineries--an elegance if you will. Like brewery tours, winery tours are a great way to imbibe without spending a lot of money.
When a friend of mine lived near San Francisco we made a trip to Napa Valley on one of my visits. We hit one winery after another. I love the buffet quality of a counter with wine bottles lined up and a server at the ready to take you on a tour ranging from sweetness to musky dry.
Winery tours and tasting fees vary, but so does the extent of what money will buy you as well. For example, the Benziger Family Winery has a Biodynamic Vineyard Wine Tour for $10. Quite a deal of you think about how a tour is a lesson in sustainable agriculture.
Other wineries may charge you for a wine glass that you get to keep like Twomey Wine Cellars. At this winery, for $5 you get a glass and tastes of several wines.
Because the wineries vary in what they charge for tasting and the how to book a tour protocol, check beforehand. The Web site Napa Valley Vintners has a page that lists the wineries with tours and tasting, plus links to each winery's Web site. There's also a map of Napa Valley to help you plan your tour.
I've also wine tasted in Upstate New York and at a winery near Sag Harbor on Long Island. Whenever you see a winery sign, chances are you can have an impromptu wine tasting. My impromptu tastings have been free, except I always buy a bottle to take home.
Filed under: Learning, Food and Drink, United States
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