Planning Your Napa Valley or Sonoma Wine Tour

The best tips from our customers and drivers

While our customers use Dryver’s services for everything from bachelor parties to date nights, one of our most popular services over the years has been wine tour transportation—especially for people visiting California wine country! With the sheer number of great wineries in the area, planning a trip to Napa Valley or Sonoma County can be a little overwhelming—so we asked our clients and drivers for their best tips to help you plan the ultimate wine tour.

1) Plan the right number of wineries

On a recent trip to Sonoma, one of our clients, Haley K., visited 5 wineries in one day—and it was a bit too much: “I felt like we were rushing around all over the place to make our reservations, and we didn’t get to just sit and enjoy the scenery,” she says. Rich G. seconds that—”Any more than 3, and it’s really hard to taste the wine!”

The consensus among our drivers and customers seems to be that the ideal winery number per day is 3-4, depending on if you’re doing full vineyard tours or simple wine tastings. Shuler P. recommends one tour in the morning, followed by lunch, and then two tastings in the afternoon for the perfect schedule. No matter how many wineries you decide to visit, keep winery hours in mind: according to Dryver.com driver Louis C., most tasting rooms open at 10 or 11am and close by 5pm.

2) Choose wineries that fit your interests

When we asked for our customers’ favorite wineries, we—unsurprisingly!—got a huge list in response. According to driver Debra D., who’s been a Dryver driver since October, almost every group she’s driven has chosen different wineries. There are a lot to choose from, and you can personalize your experience based on personal taste, past experiences, and your interests. From biodynamic vineyards to exclusive and high end estates to boutique wineries, California wine country has something for everyone.

Some wineries that came up again and again include:

Sonoma

• Benziger Family Winery (Our drivers say: “Offers excellent tours of their biodynamic vineyards”)
• Red Car Tasting Room
• Jacuzzi Family Vineyards
• MacRostie Winery & Vineyards (Customers say: “They’ll meet you in the parking lot with glasses of wine!”)
• Petroni Vineyards
• Iron Horse Vineyards (Customers rave about their sparkling flight)
• Sonoma Coast Vineyards (Customers say: “A quick tasting room to visit on your way to or from the coast”)
• Buena Vista Winery
• Gloria Ferrer Champagne Cave
• Nicholson Ranch

Napa Valley

• Rombauer Vineyards
• Pride Mountain
• CADE Winery (A favorite of both our customers and drivers)
• O’Shaughnessy Estate (Our drivers say: “Our groups absolutely loved the people and the presentation”)
• Del Dotto Vineyards
• Kenzo Estate
• Artesta Vineyards
• Judd’s Hill
• Robert Mondavi (Customers say: “This winery is great for those who want to see how production is handled by a large producer”)
• O’Brien Estate
• V. Sattui
• Castello di Amorosa (This is our driver Darnell H.’s favorite)
• B. Cellars
• Auberge du Soleil
• Domaine Carneros
• Signorello Estate
• Viader Vineyards (Our drivers say: “One of the most striking views”)

3) Get transportation squared away

The last thing you want to worry about while on a wine tour is limiting your wine so you can stay sober to drive. Of course, we’re a little biased—but we think hiring a personal driver is the best way to enjoy wine country. At Dryver, you can hire a private chauffeur to take you to all the wineries on your list in the comfort of your own car, for less than taxis, limos, and car services.

Here’s some of what our customers and drivers said about the benefits of using Dryver for your next wine trip:

• Fully Enjoy the Wines: “Hiring a Dryver means you can drink without worry, and it allows everyone in your group to enjoy the trip and tastings equally.”
• Easy Storage for What You Buy: “Clients often purchase bottles or cases of wine, and their own vehicle is great for transporting and storage.”
• No Worrying About Directions: “Our driver had all the wineries preloaded into his phone, so we didn’t have to worry about directions.”
• More Affordable: “Dryver is great for tours because it takes the cost of private services in Napa and reduces them to reasonable levels—while also allowing the customer to still have protection and comfort while travelling from winery to winery.”
• No Wasted Time: “There was no waiting for our car to show up, stressing out about making our next tasting appointment. Our driver was there waiting for us when we were ready to go.”
• Travel in Comfort, Your Own Way: “Many customers choose to bring their own drinks and snacks for traveling between wineries—having them readily available in their own vehicle is a plus. And, if they are so inclined, they can have their own music. That makes their day that much better.”

In case none of that convinced you, driver Debra D. says, “I had a client state that this was the best trip he'd ever had, that he would never do it any other way again, because he was able to thoroughly enjoy the wine tasting and the scenery of the beautiful Napa Valley.”

4) Don’t forget about food

While some wineries offer small plates or have restaurants attached, food isn’t typically a part of your wine tasting. Whether you bring your own snacks for the car, as mentioned above, or stop by a restaurant, it’s good to include food in your planning so you’re not drinking on an empty stomach. Some of the restaurants our drivers and customers recommend include:

• Farmhouse Inn
• Brix
• Rutherford Grill
• Hog Island Oyster Bar
• Grace's Table
• Farmstead At Long Meadow Ranch

Extra Insider Tips

And last but not least, we’ll leave you with some additional insider tips to help make sure your wine trip goes off without a hitch. Happy wining!

“I would suggest visiting a champagne winery as part of every tour. Carneros for example.”

“Be forewarned that wine tastings aren’t cheap! Most tasting rooms in Napa charge $20-25 per head, sometimes with discounts if a purchase is made. For your fee you usually get 4-5 tastings.”

“Try to make sure that drivers hired are familiar with the area. Our Dryver driver knew his route every day and was superb at knowing what was happening with our schedule, so that I did not have to worry with it. I have actually never had a better driver.”

"If you’re from around Sacramento, while Napa is the big name area for wine, Amador County also has some great wineries. There’s usually no tasting fee, it’s about 40 minutes from Sacramento area, and it’s laid back, friendly, and pretty country.”

“While there are lots of large wineries, consider boutique wineries for extremely personalized visits. In my experience, those visits/tours have lasted a full 1-1.5 hours.”

“Definitely plan your itinerary and make appointments if necessary. It's helpful to provide the driver the names of the wineries ahead of time so that we can have them in the GPS and easily call them up as needed.

“Look for wineries with nice owners—in my experience, these make the best winery tours.”

“We mixed in a little sight-seeing with our winery visits, which made for a nice break. The Armstrong Redwood State Reserve was wonderful—easy to get to and enjoy—and Goat Rock Beach was gorgeous.