On this Napa Valley Wine Country Shuttle Tour, you will visit all of the premier Napa wineries. The Napa Valley Wine Country Shuttle Tour includes a picnic lunch, four winery stops, a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and a 50-minute relaxing Ferry/Bay Cruise back to San Francisco. Taste premier Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs, Pinot Noirs as well as reserve bruts from the best known wineries in Napa. Winery visits include Domaine Chandon (sparkling), Andretti Winery and Rutherford Ranch.

Enjoy a fun filled picnic lunch at V.Sattui in Napa Valley with your tour group. There are cheese, sausage and olive plates as well as meat or vegetarian sandwiches to choose from. After a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot tasting at V. Sattui, walk downstairs to the deli where you can order what you like from a wide selection.

The return trip to San Francisco from Napa Valley during sunset is by ferry. You can go outside or inside the boat during this 50-minute calm boat cruise across the bay catching great views of Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, the city of San Francisco, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge.

Highlights of the The Napa Valley Wine Country Shuttle Tour include:

• Picnic Lunch in Napa Valley
• Ferry/Bay cruise from Napa Valley back to San Francisco
• Scenic tour route (over the Golden Gate Bridge)
• Separate Tour Guide from driver
• Tour narrative with a wine 101 presentation during ride to Napa Valley
• No motor coaches / Brand new shuttles!
• Premier wineries only!

Schedule Details

Departure Dates:

Seasonal
1 February to 30 November, 2008
Sunday to Thursday

Departure Point:

The Ferry Building (out front) on Embarcadero Street, San Francisco

Departure Time:

• Monday to Thursday - 8:30am
• Sunday - 8:15am

Return details:

Tour returns to original point of departure

Hotel Pickup:

Hotel pick-up is not included; however, please provide your hotel details when booking, for the tour operator to keep on record for contact purposes only. If you do not indicate this at the time of booking, you will be required to call and advise them of this information directly. The contact details for the tour operator will be on your voucher once you have a confirmed booking.

Itinerary:

• Start at: The Ferry Building (San Francisco)
• Shuttle Ride over Golden Gate Bridge to Napa Valley
• Domaine Chandon (sparkling wine) - Napa Valley
• Picnic Lunch in Napa Valley 
• V. Sattui - Napa Valley
• Andretti Winery - Napa Valley
• Rutherford Ranch Winery - Silverado Trail, Napa Valley
• Ferry/Bay Cruise to San Francisco - 50 minutes

Start at the San Francisco Ferry Building where you will meet your wine country guide and board the shuttle to Napa Valley going across the Golden Gate Bridge. The famous San Francisco ferry building is home to the ferry plaza farmer's market which is a well done Farmer's Market with plenty of variety and vendors offering delectable treats. The Ferry Building is located on The Embarcadero street at the foot of Market Street. It is the center of the transit hub that connects the surrounding bay area communities to San Francisco.

Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to beautiful Napa Valley and our first winery stop - Domaine Chandon. Your guide will provide historical narrative of the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Ocean and the Marin headlands before an informative wine country 101 narrative. For the ride home, take a Ferry/Bay Cruise back to San Francisco where you will again see the bridge from inside the bay. At this time, the sun will be setting in the backdrop of the bridge while you take pictures from the ferry.

Domaine Chandon will be the sparkling wine stop on the tour. Domaine Chandon will not disappoint during your wine country tour experience. Their tasting room offers a spacious arena to relax and take in the beautiful wine country vista that sits right behind the tasting bar. Domaine Chandon's winery is second-to-none in the wine country. One starts to realize why Napa Valley has more prominent wineries than almost anywhere else in the world after visiting Domaine Chandon.

V. Sattui winery will be the picnic lunch stop. This tour is not just about getting into a shuttle and visiting some wineries and the picnic lunch will give you an opportunity to relax and take in the California Wine Country and some good food with others in your group. Further at V.Sattui they offer the group a wide variety of 6 different wines to taste for only $5 per person. The lunch coupon can be used for your tasting fee if you prefer. You will have 90- minutes to taste and eat lunch outside.

Stop at the beautiful grounds of the small Italian villa of the Andretti Winery in Napa Valley. Andretti winery offers the best in service as they provide a special place in the back yard set behind in front of the vineyards and mountains to taste their Napa Valley wines. They offer four different varitals to try during the tour. What is great about this tour stop is that you can only purchase Andretti wines from the winery. Andretti, by the way, is owned by Mario Andretti - famous Italian Indy 500 race car driver.

Rutherford Ranch Winery on the famous Silverado Trail in Napa Valley produces the best value in premium Napa wines. Using only the most lush, and concentrated fruits of each harvest allows Rutherford Ranch Winery to craft each vintage to prefect balance. Since the mid 1980’s Napa has been home to Rutherford Ranch, allowing them to build a reputation as one of the finest in the region. Originally planed to only grow grapes and sell to others wineries changes as the harvest one year during the mid 1980’s gave way to Rutherford to produce their own estate wines as well as private label wines. At Rutherford Ranch you will get to taste Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (mostly available) as well as ports, merlots and their ever popular Rhianian.

Take a 45-minute bay cruise from Vallejo, California, which is very close to Napa Valley. This is a perfect way to end your wine country tour, because it's a nice and relaxing ride. During the ride, you can go outside and enjoy the amazing views and San Francisco weather. This won't be a typical bay cruise, because you have the opportunity to see picturesque views of well known U.S. landmarks: Alcatraz island, San Francisco City View, The Bay Bridge and The Golden Gate Bridge during the cruise. Your guide will be aboard for additional follow-up questions about Napa Valley and the wineries visited during the tour, as well as any historical highlights of San Francisco.

Tour ends by ferry/bay cruise at the Ferry Building. Here you can go inside and drink the wine you just purchased while over-looking the bay or head back to your hotel. The Ferry Buliding is centrally located to most hotels, especially if your hotel is in Union Square, Financial District or Fisherman's Wharf. Most San Francisco hotels are in those neighborhoods.

Additional Information

Inclusions:

• Expert guide/narration
• Ferry/Bay Cruise tickets
• Free on-board refreshments
• Picnic lunch at V.Sattui Winery
• Tax

Exclusions:

• Tasting fees
• Gratuities (optional)
• Hotel pick up and drop off

Additional Info:

• This tour must be booked at least 48 hours in advance of your travel date
• Confirmation for this tour will be received at time of booking
• The tour uses a 35-passenger heated shuttle with forward-facing seating and large windows. This tour does not use larger motor coach buses and so there are only usually 35 people per tour, as opposed to 60 people on other bus tours. With a separate Tour Guide you will be able to ask questions about anything during the entire tour
• Unfortunately at this time, the shuttles are not able to accommodate those who need handicap access

Local Operator Information:

Complete Operator information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, are included on your Confirmation Voucher. Our Product Managers select only the most experienced and reliable operators in each destination, removing the guesswork for you, and ensuring your peace of mind.

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