Planning a Napa wine tasting day
A Napa tasting day comes together around 3 things: tastings booked ahead, stops chosen with care, and someone else at the wheel. Here is how to plan each, from the first appointment to the bottles riding home in the trunk.
Book your tastings first
Many Napa wineries ask guests to book tastings ahead. Make those appointments before you settle anything else, because their times give your day its shape.
You choose the wineries and the order; we drive. Bring your list of stops and appointment times, and your chauffeur takes you from one to the next.
How many stops
There is no set number. Each tasting takes the time it takes, and fewer stops leave more of the day for the wine itself and an unhurried lunch.
Grouping your wineries by area and leaving room between appointments keeps the day relaxed rather than rushed.
How long the day runs
Wine tours have a 6-hour minimum, and our wine tours page explains how the day is billed.
Where you start shapes those hours. A day that begins in San Francisco includes the drive up and back, while a day that begins at a Napa hotel starts at the first door.
Where to start the day
From San Francisco or the Peninsula, your chauffeur collects you at home or at your hotel and drives you up to the valley.
Staying in Napa Valley? The day can start in Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga or downtown Napa, wherever you are staying. Flying in for the weekend? SFO to Napa covers the ride from the airport. We also drive guests up from Oakland, and we meet private flights at Napa County Airport (APC), in the private terminal's lobby or, if the airport permits, beside the plane.
Who drives, and in which car
Your chauffeur does, so nobody in your group has to drive, and everyone can enjoy each tasting.
A couple fits a sedan, which seats 2 in the back with a 3rd in front. Up to 6 travel together in an SUV, and up to 14 in the Sprinter, with captain's chairs or lounge seating. Larger groups can book several vehicles.
Bottled water is in every car, which is welcome between tastings.
Wine in the car
Sealed bottles you buy along the way ride in the trunk of any vehicle, so there is nothing to carry from stop to stop.
Opening a bottle on board is allowed only in the Sprinter, for guests 21 and over, who bring their own; we provide the ice and glasses. In sedans and SUVs, bottles stay sealed. The complete rule is in our Terms.
Prefer Sonoma?
Wine tours also run in Sonoma County: the Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander valleys, around Healdsburg and in the town of Sonoma. See our Sonoma County page.
How we can help
When your plan is ready, our wine tours page covers booking the day with a chauffeur, in Napa or Sonoma. For rides into and around the valley, see Napa Valley.
