Wine Country Itinerary Breakdown
Start at: The Ferry Building
Our wine country tour starts at the San Francisco Ferry Building. You will meet your wine country tour guide outside in front. Your tour group and wine country tour guide will all board the shuttle to Napa Valley going across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The famous San Francisco Ferry Building is home to the ferry plaza farmer's market which is a well done Farmer's Market with plenty of variety and vendors offering delectable treats. The Ferry Building is located on The Embarcadero street at the foot of Market Street. It is the center of the transit hub that connects the surrounding bay area communities to San Francisco. Tour starts at 8:30am weekdays, and 8:15am weekends. Check-in is 20 minutes prior. The tour will end at the Ferry Building via Ferry/Bay Cruise.
Drive over Golden Gate Bridge
We will drive over the Golden Gate Bridge on our way to beautiful Napa Valley. Your Tour Guide will provide historical narrative of the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Ocean and the Marin headlands before going into their informative wine country 101 narrative. For the ride home, we take a Ferry/Bay Cruise back to San Francisco where you will again see the bridge from inside the bay. At this time, the sunset or late afternoon sunlight will be in the backdrop of the bridge while you take pictures from the ferry.
Domaine Chandon - Napa Valley
Domaine Chandon will be our sparkling wine stop on the tour. We believe it's important to make sure you have a sparking wine tasting, because they are generally more liked than wine even though they are not as popular. People tend to enjoy sparkling wines more even though as a society, we tend to drink them during celebrations only. Domaine Chandon will not disappoint during your wine country tour experience. 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. One starts to realize why Napa Valley has more prominent wineries than almost anywhere else in the world after visiting Domaine Chandon. See more of Domaine Chandon.
V. Sattui Winery - Napa Valley
V. Sattui winery will be our picnic lunch stop. Here we will treat you to an amazing wine country experience. It's not just about getting into a shuttle and visiting some wineries on this tour. The picnic lunch will give you an opportunity to relax and take in the California Wine Country and some good food with others in your group. Further at V.Sattui they offer our groups a wide variety of 5 different wines to taste for only $5 per person. It should be noted that we will not be rushed for lunch, we will have 90- minutes to taste and eat lunch outside. See more of V.Sattui winery.
Picnic Lunch - Napa Valley
While at V. Sattui winery we will eat at the picnic tables outside. A picnic lunch caps off an amazing wine country experience. The picnic lunch will give you an opportunity to relax and take in the California Wine Country and some good food with others in your group. Each person is given $10 food vouchers for lunch so you can select what you want and bring it to the picnic table. We provide free bottled water on the tour which you can also use for lunch. We recommend buying your favorite bottle of wine that you tasted before lunch to have with your lunch.
Whitehall Winery- Napa Valley
Off of highway 29 sits the prestigious Whitehall winerey. Whitehall Lane was founded in 1979 but the history of the soil cultivation dates back two centuries. In the mid 1800's, Napa Valley settlers were drawn to the deep, loamy soils and ideal climate, planting high quality grape vines at the Whitehall Lane Winery site. A barn constructed in the early 1900's for equipment storage is still used today. In 1979, two brothers started the winery and directed their winemaking efforts successfully to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They named the winery after the road that runs along the south border of the property, Whitehall Lane.
Franciscan - Napa Valley
Franciscan has its roots deeply embedded in the soil of Napa Valley. Founded over three decades ago, wine industry revolutionaries Raymond Duncan and Justin Meyer shaped the winery’s beginnings. In 1985, renowned vintner Agustin Huneeus took over the reins, leading the winery to greatness through innovation and a commitment to small-lot winemaking.
Beautiful Bay Cruise from Napa to SF
As a tour group, we're going to take a 45-minute bay cruise from Vallejo, California, which is very close to Napa Valley. This is a perfect way to end our wine country tour, because it's a nice and relaxing ride. During the ride, you can go outside and enjoy the amazing views and San Francisco weather. This won't be a typical bay cruise, because you have the opportunity to see picturesque views of well known U.S. landmarks: Alcatraz island, San Francisco City View, The Bay Bridge and The Golden Gate Bridge during the cruise. The Ferry/Bay Cruise portion of the tour will surely be one of the most memorable parts of your wine country tour with the Wine Country Tour Shuttle.
Ferry Cruise Drop-off: The Ferry Building
The tour ends by ferry/bay cruise at the Ferry Building. Here you can go inside and visit the gourmet shops while over-looking the bay or head back to your hotel. The Ferry Buliding is centrally located to most hotels, especially if your hotel is in Union Square, Financial District or Fisherman's Wharf. Most San Francisco hotels are in those neighborhoods.
Weekend Note from The Wine Country Tour Shuttle
Our weekend tours (Saturday and Sunday) all start 15 minutes earlier than during the week-- at 8:15am. Please arrive by 8:00am on weekends for check-in.