Charges for Winery Tours?
 

I know that a lot of the wineries in Napa and Sonoma are charging for tours and tastings. Do they give a discount or free admission for a designated driver or non-drinker? It will just be my husband and I visiting the wineries and I am pregnant, therefore not drinking (maybe a sip here and there). I just don't want to shell out $10 for a tour and tasting when I'm not tasting. Do I have a choice?

You will only have to pay if you taste. You can even split a tasting between 2 people. Most wineries charge between $5-10 to taste about 4 wines and, in most cases, the tasting is free if you make a purchase.
Tours are usually separate and, in most cases, require and appointment.

Tours at the larger wineries are generally free, and there are still a few that don't charge for tastings. Many have gift shops and want visitors to peruse their wares (and buy, too). You can sip all you want; just don't swallow!

The one place I know of that charges for admission is Sterling Vineyards, and that's because you have to buy a ticket to ride the tram up. It's mostly the smaller wineries that require reservations, BTW.

We just tool a winery tour at Beringer in Napa and it cost 4 or 5 doloars a person. The tour consisted of walking theough a cave where they used to store wine and also included 2 free tastings.
We enjoyed walkiung throught he Francis Ford Coppola winery in Napa. The winereies in Sonoma have better views of the countryside, etc.

What you were paying for at Beringer was the tasting after the tour--evidently they've bundled the two so that you pay whether you want to taste or not. Bad form!

travelisfun,

You could try checking the various wineries' web sites to find out which are charging for the tour. I hope Mondavi and Domaine Chandon are not, as both are excellent--and once you've done those, you can just do tastings at the others. One we particularly like is St-Supéry, where you buy a card--good for a lifetime--that allows you to taste as many wines as are offered. At Domaine Carnernos cellars there's a video about the operation in France and in California; afterwards you can seat yourselves on the terrace or indoor tasting room and enjoy an hors d'oeuvre and the sparkling wines, for which the charge is around $5. If you don't want to drink, you don't have to pay.

Mondavi does charge for their tours now. They start at $10 for a 30 minute introduction. Most of these tours were free just a few years ago.

For more info:

http://www.robertmondaviwinery.com/tastings.asp

If you go to Sterling there is a charge because of the tram ride to the top, but I found a coupon online for 50% off.

http://www.silveradotrail.com/incentives.html

Back from our trip 2 days ago.

Some of the wineries had two lists, free tastes of lower priced wines, $5-$10 for the better stuff, and some charged $25 for reserve and "Library" wines (older vintages). Always deductible from purchses (bigger purchases to cancel higher fees) and two people can share one tasting. Turning on the charm can get a free taste of one or two charge wines if you're doing the free tasting, depending on the mood of the server. Check every wine map and advertising mag and card you find in your hotel -- many have coupons for free tastings.

The cost is minimal in view of how little wine would be left to sell if every tourist got a free snootful at every stop!

"The cost is minimal in view of how little wine would be left to sell if every tourist got a free snootful at every stop!"

You obviously have no idea how much wine these wineries produce nor how little it costs to make.

The serious wine drinkers that I know have no problem paying for tastings of better wines.

Some people seem to want to drink wine..as opposed to tasting it. MAny people that might only buy inexpensive at home somehow expect wineries to provide them with free drinks.

I'm very willing to pay for tastings...just as I'm willing to spend a little more for a better bottle of wine at home.

Personally, I was able at some wineries to get tastings of "special wines" after they realized that I was serious about their wines.

Hi, Astrolabe! Look deeply into your computer screen and you will see my cheek, with tongue inside.