Napa winery tour that doesn't require walking? (Eldery person in our group)
 

Hello! I'm visiting the Napa Valley and Sonoma area in November 2015 with my family, and we are staying in Sonoma. There will be 6 adults in our group (3 of us are in our 30's, and 3 of us are seniors ages 65+).

One elderly person in our group can't physically do a lot of walking (he is ok to walk a couple of blocks, but not much farther). Can anyone tell me which wineries in Napa and Sonoma have tours that don't require much walking?? I'm looking for specific wineries, not the bigger tour shuttles that take you between wineries.

I know I read something somewhere about one winery that offers a small little mini shuttle that takes you around only within their winery. But I can't remember which one that was!

Is he ok with staying in the tasting room loading up while the rest of you putter around? If so, you may be as well off looking for places with top tasting rooms.

I'm sure the major wineries (Chandon, Mondavi, Jacuzzi, etc.) can arrange trams or scooters or wheelchairs. If you do go with a wine tour company (I'm a big fan of letting the tour company do all the driving!), I would bet they can accommodate mobility-challenged guests without hassle.

I really enjoyed the tram tour of the vineyards and production facilities at the Benziger winery in Glen Ellen:

http://www.benziger.com/

The wines are quite wonderful as well.

That's a good idea to call ahead to the wineries that we plan to visit and see if they offer any kind of scooter for mobility-challenged guests. Once we decide which wineries we are visiting, I will call them ahead of time.

rjw_lgb - the Benziger tour is exactly what I was looking for! The tram will allow all of us to tour the winery together, without having to do a lot of standing or walking :) Thanks

Kunde in Sonoma has a wonderful tour of their winery via shuttle bus. The views are great; makes 3 or 4 stops including a hilltop site to drink wine.

Bonus tip: Just south of St. Helena is a restaurant called Tra Vigne -- they make homemade mozzarella to order and it is to die for. You can just order it in the bar area with a glass of wine (or whatever).

mn: Glad to help. Benziger's whole biodynamic production process is fascinating. They basically make organic wine in as natural and holistic a method as possible. Instead of pesticides, they use beneficial insects to take care of destructive bugs; they have a beautiful patch of specific flowers in the middle of the vineyard that attracts the good insects. You will have to report back on how it went; I've never been up to Napa or Sonoma in November (our Napa trip was in September, while our Sonoma trip was in April-- both times it was quite hot and absolutely gorgeous).

Napa/Sonoma is truly magical! You should definitely visit Sterling vineyard, Kuleto Vineyard, Swanson, and Reverie winery. All of these wineries are off the beaten path and truly wonderful/extremely special wineries!

You will only need to go on one tour. The rest of your time will be spent in tasting rooms. Winery tours are pretty much all alike in the end. I think Preston Winery on West Dry Creek in Healdsburg is exceptional. Very small boutique winery. Easy access to the tasting room for your challenged walker, plus delicious home made breads, and fresh pressed olive oil. In Healdsburg, there are tasting rooms all around the downtown Plaza. The plaza itself is a lovely park where people who are tired of tasting can sit and read a book, or just watch the people go by.

1) confirm with the elderly that he or she will use a wheelchair, not all of them are happy about it.

2) if a motorized chair, can the user safely get around people and objects (sharp corners) without prior training, or s/he using it already at home?

3) calling a winery, ask if everything is accessible, or stairs involved