Hi,

We currently have a reservation at Jordan Winery on 5/5/08 for the tour. We wlll be in the Healdsburg area for a couple of days and in the Napa area for one.

We want and educational tour that takes us from the grapes coming off the vines to creating the perfect bottle of wine.

Thanks,
Lina

The best "soup to nuts" winery tour we ever had was at the Benziger (not to be confused with "Beringer")winery in Glen Ellen - near Sonoma. They really take pride in their facilities and products, and the tour guide was very informative. They took visitors on a tram ride through the remoter areas of their property.

Enjoy your Wine Country visit!

Textraveler,

I checked out their website and it looks really good.

Thanks for the input.

Linda

Also check out Scramsurg near Calistoga for a great tour/tutorial on sparkling wine.

We found St. Supery very informative.

Robert Mondavi

Another vote for Benziger -- they offer a great ride through the vineyards. We went a few years ago and thought it was especially cooll that they're biodynamic -- so you'll get to hear stuff about how they breed bugs that eat the grape-eating bugs and stuff like that. Plus, their chardonnay is tasty

You'll only need one wine tour IMO, after that its a question of tasting and seeing what you personally like. I know Ferrari Carano in Dry Creek, Healdsburg. gives tours by appointment. Simi Winery has scheduled tours.

Another vote for Benziger. We visited in March and loved the tractor/tram tour through the vineyards with a stop at the caves. The guide was very informative and willing to answer lots of questions.

I loved Benziger, too. Really friendly place. Ferrari is beautiful, if you get up that far be sure to stop if for nothing else than the gardens. I did not like Simi one bit. It was over touristed and they acted like they didn't care if we were there. We left after 5 minutes. You may want to take half a day and just walk to tasting rooms in Healdsburg. GREAT town! Don't miss Rosenblum, yummy wine and a festive place. Where are you staying?

Another vote for Mondavi. It is the very first winery I ever visited (we've been back to Napa/Sonoma several times since then) and it gives you the best explanation of the wine making process. Benziger is also good, but I'd pick Mondavi if you only have time for one tour like that.

Mondavi used to have an extended tour offered, I believe, on Fridays and Sundays. Since the cellar staff was off those days, the guide could take you into places without getting in the way. The tour took about 4 hours and was free.

I don't see it offered anymore on their website and I see that they charge $25 per person for the regular tour which also used to be free.

I know there have been a lot of cut backs there but it's probably still one of the most informative tours to take. The place is also very interesting for its arts and history. They also used to have cooking classes but I don't know if they still do.

You might also consider the tour at Opus One. It's $35 per person but includes a taste of Opus. It's a spectacular winery and is more like a Bordeaux Chateau than most places in California.

We did the tour at Opus. Actually, the only fee is the tasting, but you do need a reservation plenty in advance.It was really interesting, cause it's all done by hand and completely different than any other tour. We loved it!

Hi,

Thanks for the all the information. It will either be Mondavi or Benzinger. I tried calling Benzinger a few times today and kept getting a busy signal
. We are staying at the Madrona Manor in Healdsburg.

You will love Healdsburg! For a "once in a lifetime" meal, you might consider making a reservation at Cyrus - it is an amazing experience.

As for wineries, we loved Jordan (the grounds are astounding and the guide was very informative - she talked about the wine, but also about how Mr. Jordan became involved in the wine business, how he built the winery, etc. . . We all thought that was interesting. ) Cakebread was also a very informative tour, and it involved a sit down hors d'oeuvre and wine tasting in a small group. Not only did we learn about the wine making process, our guide discussed which wines go best with certain foods.

Have fun!