Wine, after Redwoods: Muir Woods, Armstrong Grove

Tour Highlights

• An hour or more for strolling among 30-story, ancient redwood trees
• Tastings at 2 (maybe 3) beautiful wineries
• Gourmet Lunch from a deli or at a great restaurant
• Optional Educational tour by winery experts demonstrating how fine wines are made, or a cooking demonstration at the CIA or a free tasting of artisanal olive oils…you choose
• Multi-Day Tour Option: Stay overnight in Wine Country, or travel daily from San Francisco/nearby for 2 or 3 days. This option allows for more visits to wineries, more great meals, a balloon ride, mud bath and massage, cooking class, bicycling along country lanes, hiking in hillside forests, exploring Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg...so many ways to re/create.

 A FREQUENT ITINERARY
      We cross the Golden Gate Bridge, travel up the flanks of Mt. Tamalpais and down a serpentine two-lane road leading us to Muir Woods Redwood Forest. You take whatever time you want (usually an hour) to walk leisurely along a creek, into a rare preserve of majestic ancient trees. Driving back out of the canyon and on to the interstate, we reach Wine Country by lunchtime. You may prefer to order a quick meal from a gourmet deli or savor a more relaxed lunch at a memorable restaurant. If it's your first visit to Wine Country, we can begin the afternoon with an educational tour into the vineyards, wine-making facilities and aging caves of a "green," family-owned winery in historic Sonoma Valley. Afterwards we can go over to Napa Valley for tastings at perhaps 2 more wineries—or some other gustatory activity of interest—while enjoying spectacular scenery.

     ​For some, driving an extra hour (on a relatively flat, straight highway) to Armstrong Grove  outside the hippie town of Guerneville...offering a different kind of enchantment than Muir Woods. Afterwards we can stay in the Russian River region for tastings of great pinot noirs and champagnes., or travel back to San Francisco via scenic Napa Valley...perhaps with a stop or two for tastings. ​​

       ​Why Tour with Us?  Because limos are expensive (check the "tax" + other extra fees) and in them you're not positioned to see the scenery to advantage. Big buses marry you to a hurried crowd. And who wants to be the designated driver trying to find one winery in 900? On weekends and in summer the main highways around Napa and Sonoma can back up for miles. We know the scenic backroads, with their less-frequented wineries boasting excellent wines and offering private tours. Don't worry…you'll see the famous establishments too. Enjoy good, healthy food, whether at a gourmet deli with panoramic view, the CIA cooking school, or one of the region's outstanding restaurants. We put what you're observing in its historical context, respond to your questions, and help you remember that you're on vacation…minimizing your stress, maximizing your pleasure.