These designated drivers will keep you safe no matter how many tastings you tackle.
Planning a trip to Napa or Sonoma Counties to vineyard hop can be a great time until you realize that you have to figure out how to get around. If you’re in a group, you can enlist a member to be a Sober Sally and drive everyone but if no one’s willing to be the hero, then you can’t really force the issue. You could try and hail an Uber or Lyft to take you from place to place, but that can get pricey fast. Beyond that, cell service can be spotty at best in some parts of the region so there’s no guarantee you’d even be able to connect with someone.
Luckily, a number of different services have popped up to take people from vineyard to vineyard, keeping them secure, happy, and ideally even a little more hydrated. You might have to plan ahead to make it work, but the result will be worth it. These eight guided adventures will get you around wine country safely no matter how many glasses you might sample along the way.
Go From City-to-Vineyard in a Black Car
If you don’t mind splashing out, there’s no swankier way to get around wine country than in a chauffeured black car. Blacklane’s City-To-Vineyard service offers transfers between the San Francisco airport and Napa or Sonoma, as well as hourly service should you want to book a driver for a day. You’ll be shuttled around either in a stylish sedan or a luxury van and have access to things like in-car phone charging and wi-fi. The drivers are always on-site so you’ll never have to wait around for someone to pick you up and the price you’ll pay is also set in advance, so you won’t have to worry about stumbling into some surge pricing situation with an app.
Continue Reading Article After Our Video
Recommended Fodor’s Video
Roll Up in a Party Bus
If you’re traveling with a large group, consider hiring a party bus. California Wine Tours has over 100 vehicles in its fleet, including a number of party buses. While the company is happy to take you on whatever itinerary you’ve thought through and brought with you, they’re also able to craft a wine tour for you, should the idea of navigating which of the region’s more than 500 wineries to try out overwhelm. In business since 1986, the company also has good relationships with several smaller and more out-of-the-way winemakers, meaning you’ll be able to book an even more intimate tasting experience.
Catch a Cable Car
San Francisco might be known for its cable cars but there’s a way to take one in Napa too. The Napa Valley Wine Trolley company uses decommissioned bay area trolleys to take visitors on two different wine tours: The Napa Valley Classic and the Up Valley Castle Tour. Running about $125 a person, the six-hour tours include stops at three wineries and a family-style lunch. You’ll also have a guide for the whole affair, and along the way, you’ll not only get to see beautiful vistas and lovely vineyards from the car’s open-air seating but you’ll also hear about the region’s history, absorb some local trivia, and even get a bit of a wine education. Maybe if you’re extra nice, the driver will even let you ring the bell.
Putter Around in a Tuk-Tuk
Maybe you’re in wine country or a romantic getaway or you’re meeting up with a few old friends from college. Laces And Limos offers private tuk-tuk tours of Napa Valley leaving daily from the Archer Hotel. The fully electric motorbike seats up to six people, depending on how close you want to get, and the company offers a few different options for tours, depending on how involved you want to get. The Napa Wine Safari is $250 a person and lasts up to six hours, taking guests on a backroad scenic wine tour before stopping at several wineries and offering up a private chef-made lunch “with a view.” The Just Us 2 tour is basically the same itinerary but runs $695 for two people. Don’t want to commit to a full day? For $189 a person, there’s a half-day option, which includes one vineyard stop and a lunch among the vines.
Feel the Wind in Your Hair in the World’s Only Tandem Sidecars
For those looking to cruise around vineyards in style, you might want to think about a sidecar tour. Sidecar Tours’ cyclists can take two guests in a tandem motorcycle sidecar, offering what it says is “the most fun [guests have] ever had on three wheels.” The company operates all over California, too, taking guests into the fields and up and down rows of grapes not just in Napa and Sonoma counties but also in Temecula, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. The 2.5-hour tour costs $160 a person and features stops at two wineries plus an experienced and knowledgeable driver.
Capture the Spirit of the ‘60s in a VW Bus
Allow yourself to be transported back in time with the Painted Ladies Wine Country Tour, which loads passengers into a restored (but original) Volkswagen bus and transports them all over the Sonoma Valley. Loading passengers up in San Francisco at Fisherman’s Wharf, the bus takes guests over the Golden Gate Bridge before swinging up to Sonoma County for a little wine tasting. You’ll stop at three vineyards, snagging a light lunch of Italian cheese and salumi along the way. There’s even a sweet treat to end the day: A locally sourced, artisan-made chocolate truffle delivered to you by your trained and certified tour guide. Here’s hoping they blast the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane along the way.
All Aboard the Wine Train
You can’t really argue with the elegance and singularity of the Napa Valley Wine Train experience. Hop on board a fully-restored 1915 Pullman rail car and ride the steam-powered train throughout the area’s breathtaking landscape. There are 14 different curated experiences you can choose from, from the 6-hour Legacy Experience to shorter 2.5-hour dinner trips. All the options include some sort of food, whether it’s afternoon tea or a 7-course tasting menu, but you’ll get to stop at different wineries along the tracks depending on which trip you choose.
Cruise in the Comfort of Your Own Car
Do you love riding in the comfort of your own car? Hire someone to be a sober chauffeur with Dryver, an hourly service that lets you have a DD without forcing you to figure out some complicated rental situation. With rates starting at $34.95 an hour, your wine tour driver will meet you at your house or hotel and then drive you from winery to winery at your own pace. You can hit up as many stops as you want and if you like the driver, you can even “favorite” them, meaning you’ll be able to hire them again the next time you’re in town. With Dryver, you’ll have ultimate control over the whole situation, from when you leave to where you go, and what’s on the radio to where you set the temperature.
