Seeking less expensive wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma
 

I'm planning a 3-day trip through the California wine country in May and I'm shocked as some of the prices for wine tastings at the well-known wineries. We'll be visiting Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, with a perhaps a an afternoon in Anderson Valley. Can anyone recommend a few scenic wineries with reasonable prices. We enjoy quality wines, but we're not particular about the type of wine. Any help would be appreciated!

There are lots of wineries in Napa and Sonoma and they all seem to charge between $10 - $15 for tasting. If you buy a bottle of wine the tasting fee is usually not charged. If you take Hwy 12 North out of Napa or South out of Santa Rosa you will find more wineries then you can visit in a day. Kenwood and Saint Francis are my favorites. Since I live in Santa Rosa I should warn you about the homeless in Santa Rosa and Napa. Know who's walking behind you and lock your car doors.

We've found that the wineries further out from the popular tourist areas usually charge less for tastings. There are scores of small wineries that have reasonable tasting fees. Useful winery maps can be found for both Napa and Sonoma. Anderson Valley is very rural and beautiful.

Go to the little town of Geyserville (1/2 hour north of Healdsburg). There is a tasting room for Ramazzotti wine, my favorite wine in the world. You walk through Mercury's tasting room (Ramazzotti is off to the left of that first room). Their people are super friendly. I think tasting is ten bucks, but free if you buy a bottle. From their Chardonnay to Barbera to Sangiovese to Zinfandel (and many more), the wines are all top notch. Have fun.

Ramazzotti Wines

((H))

Kenwood and St. Francis are both on our list! Thanks for the warning to watch our backs in Santa Rosa. We haven't been to the area before. Really appreciate your rescponse

Thanks! We have a map that lists just about every winery in the area. It's very overwhelming. Looks like there are lots of wineries north of Healdsburg, so we'll try some of those tool