Best Wine Tour in/from Seattle in November
 

I'm trying to decide which wine tour (day trip) to take while in Seattle in November 2010. Here are the three choices I've found:

1. Bon Vivant Wine Tour - Woodinville Wineries Day Tour
From Seattle, 9:30 a.m. -- 4:30 p.m.

Scheduled tour pricing $85 + tax/person,

As home to the beautiful headquarters estate of Chateau Ste Michelle -- Washington’s largest, oldest, and most famous producer of fine wines -- the small town of Woodinville has become a center of the Washington wine industry. Just 25 minutes from Seattle, Woodinville also includes the public facilities of other major producers and a growing number of smaller family-owned wineries, specializing in small-lot premium wines. On the Woodinville day tour, you will visit 1 or 2 of the larger producers as well 3 or 4 smaller, winemaker-owned wineries.

We will pick you up and drop you off at your downtown Seattle hotel or other convenient Seattle meeting place. We will make reservations at an attractive and reasonably priced restaurant and wine bar for you to purchase your lunch in the congenial company of our other tour guests. Check our Tour Schedule to see when Woodinville Day Tours are planned.

2. Bon Vivant Wine Tour - Seattle City Wineries Day Tour
From Seattle, 10:30 a.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Scheduled tour prices -- $85 + tax/person

Wineries right in the city? Tucked away in the Pike Place Market, in a historic brick building, in metal buildings in industrial parks, almost underfoot in a strip mall, in the basement of a home in a quiet residential neighborhood are hidden some of the Seattle area’s most interesting wineries. Their wines are also very noteworthy. You will meet many of the winemakers themselves. We sometimes replace one of the winery visits with a chocolate factory tour and tasting or other gourmet food stop.

We will pick you up and drop you off at your downtown Seattle hotel or other convenient Seattle meeting place. We will arrange a stop at an attractive and reasonably priced restaurant for you to purchase your meal. Check our Tour Schedule to see when Seattle and Suburb Half-Day Tours are planned.

3. Scenic Seattle Tours- Snoqualmie Falls & Winery Tour

Tour lasts approximately 5-6 hours. $75 + Tax/person

If you want to get out of the city and experience nature and the finer things in life then this tour is for you. On this tour you'll see and taste wines at two of the following wineries: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Winery, Silver Lake, Novelty Hill/Januik, or Patterson Cellars. This sightseeing excursion will lead you deep into the rolling Cascade foothills past lush horse ranches and flower farms, to popular Hollywood locations for such famous productions as Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, and The Vanishing.

Scenic single lane rural roads lead you up to the peaceful shadow of Mount Si through the Snoqualmie River Valley to the edge of the breathtaking 270 foot Snoqualmie Falls.
Coasting over both floating bridges on Lake Washington, we take a picturesque ride past the University of Washington, through quaint rural farm lands, lush forests, and charming east side towns.

When the schedule permits we cap off a perfect day with chocolate at an authentic Swiss chocolate factory.

We'll meet you at your hotel about 10:00am

Wineries Visited **
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Columbia Winery
Silver Lake Winery
Novelty Hill Winery
Januik Winery
Patterson Cellars

Seen on the Tour
Snoqualmie Falls
Cascade Views
Snoqualmie Valley/Carnation Dairy Farm
Boehm's Swiss Chalet & Chocolate Factory
Pikes Place Market Dalia Flower Farms
Horse Ranches
Floating Homes
Mt. Si
Twin Peaks Filming Locations

** We always visit at least two wineries, availability subject to change.


So which do you all think is the best? The third "sounds" the best with the waterfalls and all...but then why is it the cheapest?

Thanks!

I'd probably do #2 because it sound like I'd visit smaller wineries and sample wines I'll never find to Costco, Safeway, etc. That, to me is more interesting than the mega wineries such as Columbia and Ste. Michelle.

i would recommend looking at evergreen escapes woodinville wine trail tour. they offer tours with no more than 10 people and generally go to smaller wineries for a more personal experience.

#3 might be less expensive because it's a bigger group? also the wineries on their list are the biggest ones and you only visit 2--which may be fine with you if you're not really serious about wines but just want to get a taste of the area so to speak. it's more of a sightseeing tour with a bit of wine attached.

Yeah I'd describe it as more of a sightseeing mission with wine included.

I'll look into the Evergreen Escapes one, though. I'm doing the Explore Seattle Tour with them my first day there.

One thing to realize with the sightseeing tour is that November brings our absolute worst weather--dark, cold and rainy for sure, and we always have truly torrential rain storms that bring floods, etc. There will definitely be no dahlias growing and it's highly unlikely there will be Cascade views; worse case scenario is that the Snoqualmie Valley, where most of that tour is, will be under water (it often floods about that time). On the plus side Snoqualmie Falls could be huge. This would be a lovely tour in the summer.

Thanks Christy, that is an excellent point.

Unfortunately I'm tagging along to my boyfriend's work trip, so I don't get to choose the time. It seems November is definitely not the best time to visit Seattle. Several of the tours that sounded very appealing to me aren't even offered in November.

I think the other tours that aren't promising great scenery, etc, would still be fun. You don't need good weather to wine taste!

As a local wine enthusiast, who has actually used all 3 mentioned wine tours in the past 5 years, I would recommend Bon Vivant as the best local wine tour and the best value. The winery and waterfall tour offered by Seattle Tours is more a sightseeing tour with a couple of the big wineries than a wine tour. Evergreen Escapes does a nice tour of 4 wineries but it is about 4-5 hours and the price is about $125 per person. Bon Vivant does a 6-7 hour tour with 5 wineries and a lunch stop at a nice Woodinville restaurant. Lunches and winery fees are not inclued in the Bon Vivant tour price of $85, but the Evergreen tour does not have lunch and it's very unlikely that each of you will spend $40 on winery fees during a Woodinville day tour. Bon Vivant does nothing but wine tours; the other two companies mainly do sightseeing and outdoor tours of Seattle, Mt. Rainier, Mt St Helens, the Olympic Peninsula, etc. If you're after a real wine tour -- with great wines. interesting wineries, great winery people, and fascinating information on wine making and grapegrowing, Bon Vivant is the best. If you just want a limited number of wineries and wines rather than a full day, one of the other two would work. But Bon Vivant is the better deal for your money.

Oh, by the way, both Bon Vivant and Evergreen Escapes do small groups -- 10 or fewer. Seattle Tours has much bigger groups on larger buses in the summer, but in November their groups will probably also be small.