During our Thanksgiving leave in the states Matt and I decided to to the Napa Valley Wine Trolley tour. My family lives one county over from Napa and I have always wanted to go wine tasting at various vineyards across Napa. So we left the toddler with grandparents and headed out for the day for a day of fun!
You can book online here. There are two tours you can choose from: The Classic tour which takes you on four wineries or the Up Valley Tour, which takes you to three wineries. After reading reviews on Tripadvisor, we decided to do the three winery tour because others said they felt rushed with four wineries. I am happy with the decision of the one we went on. The trolley departs from the V Markeyplace in Yountville, CA (between Napa and St. Helena).
If you get there early enough there is a cute little coffee shop attached to the Napa Valley Railway Inn, made from an old rail car. The coffee was was so good on a chilly morning. I would also recommended that if you take the tour when it’s a little cold outside to get to the trolley early. This way you can get an inside seat, as the first stop is about 15-20 minutes away and not all the seats are enclosed on the trolley which can make it quite windy. Towards the end of the trip when you feel hot from all the wine, the wind feels good!
First stop: Castillo di Amorosa
The first winery we went to was “the Castle“. It is the only castle in Napa Valley (obviously!) that was built by Dario Sattui, a fourth generation winemaker. He was obsessed with medieval Tuscan architecture, making that his inspiration for his winery. It is an experience that takes you back in time. The tour includes a tour of the building, including the ever-popular torture chambers, and the wine tasting. This part of the tour set the bar high because all the wines were delicious and you got to taste a lot. If you go with someone else you can each get a different wine and share for each round of the many tastings!
The castle guide told us about the history of the castle, how wine is produced there, and the different types of wines. When tasting the wines we were even offered chocolates that pair well with some of the wines. At the end of the tour/tasting there is time to shop around the gift shop and wander the grounds until the trolley shows back up. We recommend that you buy a bottle there because you cannot find their wine for purchase anywhere else outside of the castle. Total time in the castle is about 2 hours.
Second stop: Beringer Vineyards
Our second stop was at the famous Beringer winery. Almost everyone has heard of Beringer, famous for their white zinfandel. Tastings are not included in this tour, but they give you two tasting room choices. The Old Winery Tasting Room offers their various types of wine selection as well as the gift shop. The other choice was the Reserve Tasting Bar in the Rhine House. This tasting is more expensive, but it allows for you to taste Reserve, Single Vineyard and small case production wines.
We opted for the Old Winery Tasting Room, since we wanted more for our money. After the tasting, we bought a glass of our favorite wine and headed to the picnic area for lunch. Another good thing about this tour is that lunch is included. The lunch consisted of various sandwiches to choose from, sides, and dessert. Once we finished lunch we headed to our last stop.
The Rhine House
Last stop: Markham Vineyards
This winery was a little smaller and not busy at all. We gathered around a large U shaped bar and met our guide. She then took us into the barrel room to talk about their different wines. This was the most un-enjoyable of the wineries. We felt trapped, almost. She talked the entire time, mostly about herself, while we stood there and tried the different wines. We didn’t get pick the wines to taste, there was no where to set our glasses while tasting, and we were standing in a cold room listening to the lady go on about her life story. If it wasn’t for the wine flowing, this tour would’ve killed my major wine buzz. There was not enough time to wander on our own and enjoy the wine. I don’t even remember which ones we tasted because there was no menu for me to reference while tasting. I’m glad this was at the end and I was already tipsy. This vineyard should have been at the beginning to ease you into the day, because it was not as exciting as the others.
My picture taking became less and less after the castle! 
Getting a little bored in this room!
Overall, I think the Napa Valley Wine Trolley is a great tour for Northern California visitors. It’s better than driving yourself all around Napa Valley while drinking, you meet some cool people on your trolley, and you get VIP access to the wineries. Our driver was funny, very knowledgeable of the area, and played good tunes on the 20 minute ride back to V Marketplace, so we tipped him well!
Check out more blogs about our travels here.
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