Planning my trip to Wine Country in California

For the last couple of days I’ve been searching the internet looking for where to go and what to do while I’m in Napa, Sonoma, and Monterey.  I bounce from website to website as I find one leads to another and another and another.  It reaches the point where I have a lot of notes on a lot of paper and it starts to become overwhelming.  At the very least I need a glass of wine.  So let me share some insights with you should you find yourself planning your trip  to California Wine Country.

To help keep me focused as I navigated the maze of websites I referenced two books:

Compass American Guides: California Wine Country, 6^th Edition (paperback), Matt Villano, Sharon Wood, and John Doerper

 

Fodor's In Focus Pocket California Wine Country, 1^st Edition (Paperback), Fodor’s  

Both books listed wineries by region.  For each winery the property was described, what wines they were noted for, and winery tour and tasting information.  Restaurants and places to stay were also included.  I found them concise and very informative.  Area maps were shown on various pages.

However, not all wineries are included in these books. I realized this when a couple of wineries on my preliminary list  (based on wine I enjoy) did not appear. (ie. Orin Swift The Prisoner is one of my favorites and I am anxious to try their new wine Abstract. Orin Swift was not in either book.)

In the end I purchased Compass American Guides: California Wine  Country.  I found the maps in this book easier to read and more informative.  With my book in hand I now navigate the websites with less stress.  

The websites that I am using and finding very useful are:

Wine Enthusiast – www.winemag.com

Wine Spectator – www.winespectator.com

Paso Robles region – www.pasowine.com

Silverado Trail – www.silveradotrail.com

Wine country events – www.winecountrythisweek.com

Wineries, events, food, shopping – www.winecountry.com

Lastly, www.discovercaliforniawine.com  – I am in the process of using this website.  It has a search for wineries and it even lets you  plan your trip. I’m thinking I enter in the wineries and it plans my route, but  I’ll have more on this another day after I play with it.

After I get all the wineries lined up, I will go to their respective websites and find out what tasting information they have  (ie. another winery Conn Creek was not in either book, but on Conn Creek’s website I found they have and AVA Barrel Blending).

I’ve rambled on enough.  I need a glass of wine in order to continue my vacation planning.

So many wineries, so little time!