San Francisco Wine Country
San Francisco has been involved in winemaking for many years, and has mature wineries as well as new wineries for your enjoyment. Whether you've ever been to a wine tasting or not, California's Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley regions of wine country is something to see.
Many packaged wine tasting tours have made it so that you do not have to drink and drive or worry at all. Lunch, the trip through several different wineries, and all the wine tasting you can enjoy is available through wine tasting tours. Of course, you're also able to drive to many of them yourselves. Be sure to call ahead if you're not going with the tour as many wineries ask for reservations so that they can make sure your trip is going to be wonderful. Of course, California's state laws do not have room for error; make sure you have a designated driver if you choose to drive to the wineries yourselves.
The winery bus tours and coach tours are available, and there are also many smaller quantity tours available as well. Small SUVs allow for small companionship and smaller groups that because of their size are welcome at some of the smaller wineries that do not take large bus tours. Again, reservations are recommended, and most of them ask you to call at least one week in advance. If it's a spur of the moment winery tour you're looking for, go ahead and call and see if they're available but you probably have better luck grabbing a larger bus tour
When heading out to wine country, take a few minutes and remember that you are going to enjoy wine. Avoid wearing perfume, oils or scents of any kind, so they don't compete with the wines own fragrance and taste. The wine temperature is an important part of its bouquet; hold your wine glass by the stem to avoid changing the temperature it was served at. You've probably heard of cleansing the palate, this basically means eating something bland in between tastings of wine in order to clear your palate so that each taste of new wine is fresh and hasn't been interfered with from the last taste.
If wine drinking is not your thing and it's just not something you'll enjoy it, go along for the ride and you'll be surprised how much to learn about wine, grapes, bottling, and how each winery becomes unique and special due to their grapes and winemaking process. You'll also learn how to store wines, purchase wines for me else, and how best to take care of the wines that have been opened or unopened. You'll also see breathtaking scenery all along Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley.
Whether you're an experienced wine connoisseur, or a novice just enjoying your first taste, San Francisco wine country will offer you an education and experience that can't be beat anywhere else in the world. San Francisco wine is distinct in its flavor as well as its origin, and it's made a name for itself the world over.