The Do's and Don'ts For Visiting Wine Country

If you have ever gone wine tasting then you may have witnessed a faux pas or two by fellow tasting room guests.  If you haven’t well, then shhhhh, it might be you, just kidding.  In our travels and wine tasting adventures, we have seen it all from the most polished  to the “I hope no one saw that” moments and this week we share our tips so you hopefully will never experience the latter.  

Do’s

1.       Invite friends or family. Wine is meant to be shared and CellarPass makes it easy to add guests to your itinerary (just sayin’)

2.       Ask questions. Don’t be shy if you really want to expand your knowledge about wine then speak up.  Your tour guide or tasting room host is eager to share information and educate you on their wines.  Here’s your chance to get all your questions answered- you might be surprised what you will learn.

3.       Plan ahead. Many wineries offer unique tours and tasting, but have limited space. So waiting until you arrive in wine country to pick your wineries to visit may limit your choice of experiences as many of the special tours and tastings require at least 48 hours notice- some even longer depending on demand.

4.       Have a designated driver or hire a driver or car service. There are plenty of options out there to meet just about everyone’s budget and you don’t want your memories of wine country to be the about how nice the police officer at the station was.

5.      Eat. Yes, it seems simple enough, but as you work your way through your selected wineries it can be easy to forget about. Plan to stop for lunch in between wine tastings or select a winery that has picnic ground for you to enjoy and bring a bountiful basket of goodies to share with your friends.  Many wineries also offer catered fare from box lunches to abundant spreads depending on your desires. CellarPass.com even allows you to book reservations with restaurants in Napa, Sonoma and beyond, so check it out.

6.     Drink. Water that is. Be sure to sip water between your tastings to keep hydrated especially on the beautiful summer days. Most people recommend a glass of water for every glass of wine. We recommend way more than that in the summer as it tends to get pretty hot (and humid) in wine country and the best way to make it through the whole day is to keep your fluids up and the hangover monster away.

Don’ts

1.     Don't be Late. Plan to arrive at least 5 minutes early for your tasting or tour.  Your timely arrival will give you time to check in and allow your host to provide you with a memorable experience.  Unless you know the area you are visiting very, very well leave at least 30 minutes between tastings to allow for driving time.  It can easily take 45 minutes or more to get from Calistoga to Napa in the famed Napa Valley.

2.     Don't be a No Show. If you can’t avoid being late or gulp, need to cancel your appointment, have the courtesy to call the winery to let them know. This will allow the winery to take other appointments or at least not rush the other group out the door in preparation of your scheduled visit. The cool thing about CellarPass is that you can cancel in most cases right through your My Account page.

3.      Don't Overbook. Keep your winery visits to no more than 4 wineries per day.  Nothing is worse than being rushed to get through your wine tasting.  Relax and enjoy, that’s what this is all about.

4.     Drink too much.  We understand that you want to have a good time, however, know your limit. If you’re drunk, you can’t appreciate the wines and chances are you’ll annoy those around you too. Many wineries are on the lookout for these sorts of people after lunch and have no problem '86ing you no matter who you are.

5.     Don't forget where you’ve been.  All too often when we meet fellow winery visitors we find out they cannot remember which wineries they visited on a previous trip. Sadly, they almost always really enjoyed the wines they tried, but darn it if they can’t tell us the name.  Keep a note pad or wine journal for your reference.  CellarPass keeps track of your booked wineries, so you don’t have too.  Now, you will have no problem finding the name of that really great winery next time and where you went last. 

6.     Don't be a victim of fashion. Ladies this one is for you. We love our Jimmy Choo’s too, but many wineries are well, surprise…rustic.  Some of the best wineries have gravel roads and non-stiletto friendly environments. Be smart and pack a pair of flats just in case.  You’d hate to turn down an impromptu invitation from the winemaker to do some barrel tasting in the cellar…right???

Did you know that CellarPass is not only a great place to plan your visit to wine country, but you can also view hotel accommodations, restaurant guides and more?