Uncategorized

Conscious stewardship of our environment and resources is something that many vinters and growers in Napa take quite seriously. As spring begins to show her first signs around the valley we are privileged to witness lovely reminders of these efforts that not only ensure the long term survival of our wine producing valley but also add visual beauty and create memorable experiences for those visiting Napa and opting for a wine tour before the vines are in all their glory.

Complementary Crops/Companion Planting

As I type this post the gentle hills and valleys of Napa are adorned by a deep shade of yellow as Mustard plants flower and growers wait in eager expectation to till the plants back into the soil in order to replenish nitrogen. In addition to nitrogen fixing cover crops often seen between the pruned vineyards during the winter and early spring also serve to reduce erosion and increase water retention. While vineyards might be perceived as a monoculture, these crops hold the key for sustainability and as an added bonus they saturate our gorgeous fields with the unexpected gift of unseasonal color.

Replacing Tractors with Sheep

Remaining sustainable is both an art and a science born of great creativity and love for the land. In many vineyards from January to March travelers will enjoy the view of wonderful herds of sheep replacing mowers and diligently grazing on invasive weeds that rob the vines from valuable nutrients. Quietly in herds of about 200 sheep per acre and accompanied by their shepherd and shepherd dogs the sheep do their job reducing the environmental pollution caused by tractors and mowers and adding tremendous beauty to the landscape.

Hello Owls!

Many vineyards certified by napagreen.org have teamed up to establish owl conservation programs. The introduction of man-made owl friendly birdhouses has resulted in a significant improvement in the management of rodents known to damage the crops by eating buds, fruits and roots. These gentle creatures add a wonderful charm to our summer nights in Napa valley by saturating the air with their song.

The Vineyard Puppy

For hundreds of years vineyards around the world have benefited greatly from the services of our canine companions. For Napa vinters and growers the contribution of vineyard dogs is essential to the survival of the vines. California has an almost non-existent hunting culture, which has resulted in a heavy deer population that can cause irreparable losses to a vintage. Dogs of shepherding and hunting breeds keep the deer at bay and add uniqueness and personality to each of the wineries. Such joy to be greeted by a tail-wagging pup each time we visit our partner wineries.

Are you passionate about green practices? Would you like us to plan an all-green Napa touring itinerary?

Just let us know. Our team of concierges will make it happen.

Your concierge for sustainable Napa Valley wine tasting tours,

Javy

Daffodils and Tulips in bloom have begun to announce the arrival of spring in Napa and with it the visions of wonderfully romantic culinary experiences. If you love the outdoors this might be expressed in the form of a picnic. If instead you are a gourmand Napa has tremendous gastronomical treasures just waiting to be discovered.

Picnicking in Napa

At its very core Napa is a farming community and as such the focus remains production .For this reason, not every winery has a permit or the facilities suitable for picnicking. Having said that we have been able to scout and identify lovely wineries with picnic friendly facilities and wonderful libations to pair with your outdoor meal.

If you are just crossing the bay to enjoy a day in Napa you can bring along your favorites along with that lovely Longanberger picnic basket you received as a wedding present. If instead you arrived to wine country by plane there is no need to fret. At Napa Private Tours we want you to experience Napa and Sonoma to their fullest extent, and we can help you recreate a house-made gourmet picnic basket and all!

On request, our culinary team will put together carefully executed picnic baskets that take advantage of seasonal locally sourced items and match them to your personal taste. A picnic basket might include a cheese platter, assorted organic fruits, artisan chocolate and locally roasted nuts. If instead, you wish to enjoy the classic pleasures of a sandwich we have endless options. Our favorites include:

Italiano

Mortadella. Salami, pickled cucumbers Dijon mustard and provolone cheese.

Barcelona

Six month Manchego, Serrano, garlic alioli micro greens and herb infused olive oil on crusty bread.

House

Turkey, avocado, Havarti cheese, butter lettuce & house-made Chipotle alioli.

If you have special dietary requirements we have what it takes to accommodate. Just give us your vision of a perfect picnic and we will do all the work.

While our concierge is best equipped to design a picnic-inclusive itinerary that matches your wine preferences we wanted to give you a sneak peek of some of our favorite wineries to enjoy your spread:

Regency

Fontanella

Ehlers estate

Rombauer

Pride Mountain

Rutherford hill

Reverie

If dining al fresco is not your cup of tea, or the weather is simply not cooperating let our concierge help you secure reservations in some of the most magical must-taste stops for foodies visiting Napa. Here is a sampling of lovely Napa restaurants that we enjoy and recommend. Our concierge is often able to secure reservations at highly desirable restaurants with short notice. We are in the business of making your Napa dreams become a reality.

Oxbow market

Redd

Mustards

Auberge

Farmstead

Solbar

Generally speaking Picnicking is far more efficient if your goal is to visit and enjoy the highest number of wineries in a single day. An itinerary with a picnic will allow you to conduct leisurely wine tasting in two locations during the morning with a casual picnic hosted in your second winery followed by two additional wineries. If instead you opt to have a lunch at a local restaurant most of our guest find that two morning wineries and one winery after lunch results in the perfect pacing to make your experience in Napa and Sonoma one that you will always remember.

Hospitably Yours,

Javy

As key executive roles have become more diverse as far as gender, ethnicity and background, certain traditional activities associated with corporate entertaining have had to evolve in order to become more inclusive and provide a social setting that is pleasant, safe conducive to bonding and friendly to conversations & negotiations.

If you are faced with the need to entertain a small to medium group with diverse individuals and you want to avoid embarrassing faux pas it would smart to select an activity that all participants can enjoy regardless of age, gender, training, language, culture of fitness level. Only 9.6% of the total U.S. population plays golf. Out of this group over 75% are males. If you are planning to entertain a client or group of clients consider an executive wine tour in Napa as a friendly and inclusive alternative.

Quick Learning Curve

Wine tasting is sophisticated but not complicated. Participants need not to be enologists to joyfully engage in a wine tasting experience. If the participants have never visited wineries with a few quick tips from our concierges they will be ready to fully enjoy the experience.

Conversation-Conducive

Just like golf the pace of wine tasting tours is calmed and provides many quiet and private settings where executives can conduct business in a relaxed fashion that allows for strong relationship building.

Napa Private Tours intentionally selects the roads less traveled to provide executive visitors with a scenic experience while allowing for leisurely conversation in our luxury fleet.

Comfortable & Inclusive

When it comes to wine tasting and Napa Valley touring everyone is a winner. In contrast to golf those participating need not to be concerned with refining their game or afraid of the embarrassment of a poorly played game. For those hosting international clients there is the added advantage of not imposing as far as the need to bring equipment or dress with specialized sports gear.

Customized & Strategic

At Napa Private Tours we specialize in creating custom itineraries aimed at helping you achieve your business and leisure goals. In tandem with your concierge we can design a trip that allows sufficient driving time between wineries to facilitate business discussions in transit. In addition to well-planned itineraries we can help you select culinary jewels that are business friendly with wonderful quiet spots to chat at your leisure and technology to support your event such as Wi-Fi and access to outlets to charge your gadgets.

Still Want to Golf?

If you are certain everyone in your group knows and enjoys a good round of golf we can help you make arrangements. Just ask

Your host,

Javy

If you are planning a trip to Napa there are many decisions to be made. From selecting iconic & luxurious lodging to the hundred dollar questions. Should & can we bring the kiddos?

The Pros

I am lucky enough to have several friends with outstanding little ones being raised to be world travelers and exposed to endless adventures and experiences. Generally speaking these small ones are challenged to grow in culture, knowledge and diplomacy. The parent-child conversations are oftentimes didactic in nature and the flow of knowledge is something to behold. In fact, recently I had the honor of hosting a couple of young professors from an Ivy League institution along with their two elementary school-aged little girls. As we drove both mom and dad provided the girls with endless facts about viticulture, the history of California and nature in general. Eavesdropping was delightful to say the least. These little ones were equipped well by their parents. Backpacks full of games and activities along with tools such as digital cameras aimed at keeping their mind and hearts busy made their trip to Napa memorable and child appropriate.

As for us once the parents informed us of the upcoming arrival of our little guests we designed an itinerary by carefully including wineries with more family oriented features and avoiding venues more suited for all adult activities. Additionally we tailored our guest amenities to include child-friendly snacks and finally we made sure to suggest activities such as air balloon rides to provide the family with something to remember for years to come.

The Cons

Every coin has two sides and as much as we are able to tailor fantastic trips for families visiting Napa, we have also learned that even with the best of planning sometimes including children can present unique challenges for parents and hinder the freedom to fully enjoy the array of experiences Napa has to offer.

In many wineries you are likely to conduct walking tours in uneven terrain where strollers may become problematic. A day of wine tasting is an experience of the senses that demands a balance between relaxation and the ability to engage all your senses, if you attention is divided it will diminish your enjoyment of what Napa has to offer.

Napa is considered one of the top romantic destinations in the world. Many honeymooners, anniversary celebrants and lovers come to Napa seeking magic and solace. Sometimes in an effort to create a family adventure, and if something goes just slightly wrong and we end up with a little one experiencing a meltdown we may just be robbing our fellow visitor from having the idyllic setting they so coveted when they planned their Napa getaway.

The Scoop

If at the end of the day you decide to make it a family trip engaging a concierge level tour operator is probably one of the wisest moves you will ever make. We can help you handpick wineries best suited for your needs and you will have the freedom to enjoy a few adult libations while we drive for you and we make sure everyone in the family has a safe journey across wine country.

If you are staying at one of the finer lodging venues such as Bardessono don’t hesitate to ask concierge to help you arrange a local vetted babysitter. By engaging the services of a professional you will gift yourself and your spouse with a few hours of undivided attention and romance.

Bring grandma and grandpa and make a plan to divide and conquer. While they enjoy a day at the bay visiting museums, aquariums and other child-friendly adventures just a short drive away from Napa we can whisk you away and help you discover the newest and trendiest wineries in Napa and Sonoma

I buy my wines based on a pretty label! That was the first thing that my friend J said during a wine dinner she hosted for a few of us, her friends. Her comment was not surprising in light of J’s status as a newcomer to the world of wine. Curious to learn more about her methodology I proceeded to pour another glass of wine and as the tone of the evening became more festive J finally confessed. Her label system was simple and straightforward adding no value to the quality of her wines but certainly setting the stage for fun conversation pieces and awesome gifting opportunities. You see, J makes her wine purchases using a theme-based method.  For her last Western get together J selected wines with labels featuring horses!

Most of us know a vintage is the year in which the grape for a particular wine was harvested. (if a viticulture area displays a vintage year in the label 95% of the grapes should have been harvested on that year) Specific climatic variations influence the quality of the crop in areas such as acidity, sugar content, fruit size and volume of productivity. As we go deeper into our understanding of vintages we will be able to identify nuances associated with a vintage that will impact our purchasing decision. For us in Napa, vintages 2010 and 2011 presented some challenges and 2012 and 2013  were ideal growing conditions resulting in exceptional wines. As we enter 2014 many wineries will release amazing limited production wines from these vintages.

Winery Name

While many of the wineries in Napa produce exclusively from their vineyards some source their grapes from other regions in order to increase production and perhaps in some cases cut costs. Knowing the specific practices of each winery by becoming familiar with their wine production culture will equip you to make a better and smarter purchasing decision. With larger better-known wineries it will also serve as a sort of guarantee of consistency in process.

Grape Variety

Combining a variety of grapes often makes more economical wines. Finer more flavor-profile specific wines are the result of single origin varietals that are selected for their complexity in flavors PH and sugar content that results in specific flavor profiles that define the wine. Here in Napa to be able to include a grape variety in the label you have to have 75% or more of the kind of grape additionally 75% of it has to come from the labeled appellation of origin. Some of the most common varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel but many viticulturists have introduced less traditional varieties including Shiraz, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Viognier, Pinot Grigio and even Albarino. With a huge variation in terrain and endless microclimates it is a tremendous adventure to see the variations in flavor happening within the same varieties and as wine makers apply their legendary expertise, which is both art and science, one cannot help it but be deeply humbled by the amazing results.

A.V.A-American Viticultural Area

This is the area where the grapes were grown. An A.V.A is a geographical area with a set of climate and soil characteristics conducive to wine growing. These areas are defined on the request of wine producers and controlled and assigned by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. For a wine to display an A.V.A. at least 75% of the grapes utilized in the production of the wine must have originated from the assigned region. An A.V.A is very different from the European appellations and they do not limit the type of grape, process of vinification or crop yield. In Napa we have 16 distinct A.V.As.