AAA Colorado ~ EnCompass Magazine

It may be the most visited agricultural area in the country. Every year, millions of wine lovers make the pilgrimage to the grape-growing region of California's Napa and Sonoma counties. Here, an hour's drive northeast of San Francisco, over 38,000 acres of vineyards feed nearly 400 wineries.

Some are owned by corporations and pack their products out by the truckload. Others are family-run operations with volumes so small, the entire output is sold only at the winery. All but the tiniest feature tasting rooms where for a $5-10 fee, visitors can sample a variety of varietals and buy those appellations they find appealing. It's a great way to discover vintages not otherwise available.

There are two ways to sample the Napa-Sonoma wine country — do it yourself or go with a pro. DIY aficionados get to drive through the area, stopping at any winery that looks interesting. Guidebooks can direct intrepid tasters to the more out-of-the-way operations.

A potentially more interesting way to explore the wine country is to take a tour with guides who know the premier places to go and can impart inside information about the region. Unfortunately, most tours go out in vans or buses, utilitarian modes of transport with the panache of a pancake. There are, however, options. For those who crave a tasting tour with far more flair, here are some tempting alternatives.

Cabernet by carriage

One stylish way to tour the wine country is by horse-drawn carriage. Pepper and Duke, a pair of Percherons owned by the Flying Horse Carriage Company, pull a wagonette through Sonoma's Alexander Valley. The clop of hooves provides a rhythmic cadence on a seven-mile loop through the vineyards.

"Even if people show up carrying stress from their jobs and lives, by the end of the tour they'll be relaxed," says teamster Bret LeRolland. "They're around these two big horses, my one-ton Buddhas, which exude this really calming vibe."

The half-day journey visits four boutique wineries on a route that meanders up quiet roads and through vineyards. If the fruit is ripe, passengers can reach out and pluck samples straight off the vine. A picnic lunch comes served at a winery under a sprawling oak tree. Guests can buy a bottle of wine to enjoy while gazing at a valley that LeRolland suggests looks like a Monet painting. The feeling is one of beauty-bound camaraderie and revelry.

"It all works in concert," says LeRolland. "I think the presence of the horses moving at a slow pace through the environment is pretty fantastic. Of course, the wines are great, too."

Blush by bike

For those preferring to pedal to wine peddlers, Napa Valley Bike Tours offers two-wheel "Ride, Wine and Dine" excursions. The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with participants fitted to their choice of bikes. One guide leads a pack of up to 10 cyclists while a second follows behind in a van that carries repair parts, hauls purchases and provides a lift for anyone needing a rest. The land is flat and the speed leisurely.

The tours visit small boutique establishments chosen for their ambience. The first arrives after three to five easy miles. A second one follows not far beyond. At the third, a deli lunch is served. It's then on to the fourth and back to the shop. The open-air environment allows riders to absorb the nature of Napa.

"You can smell the eucalyptus trees, lavender and rosemary that grow abundantly around here," says owner Brad Dropping. "You can feel the warmth of the sun and the cooling breeze. You can use all your senses to really appreciate Napa Valley."

Pinot by Packard

One of the classiest ways to tour the wine country is to hire a private limo and leave the driving to a chauffeur. When it comes to winsome wheels, few can beat the classic '47 Packard convertibles offered by Antique Tours Limousine Service.

"I find the cars, restore them and customize them a little," says owner Tab Borge. "They have modern engines and transmissions, CD players, pullout ice chests and little mood lights for night if we're doing dinner runs. Whenever we pull into a winery, we get a lot of people checking them out."

Six passengers can sit in the back on two bench seats that face each other. A seventh can ride up front beside the driver. Tours run five to six hours and include three or four wineries. Borge, who has a background in viticulture, arranges itineraries to fit the tasting temptations of his clients.

"A lot of people don't get a chance to ride in a classic car and then to boot, it's a big convertible," explains Borge. "We've built our business up with custom tours where people walk away with experiences that last a lifetime. From my standpoint that is the coolest thing, but I'm around these cars all the time."

Riesling by rail

An excellent way to sample wine is to pair it with food, and the most scenic means for doing that is in a moving restaurant. To that end, the Napa Valley Wine Train offers three-hour lunch and dinner jaunts on 18 miles of track through the heart of Napa Valley.

"We operate like a cruise ship on rails," brags marketing manager Erica Ercolano. "It's not a ride. It's a gourmet dining excursion."

The engine is a 1950-era diesel converted to run on compressed natural gas. Two of the three restaurants, the Silverado Trail and the Gourmet Express, occupy 1915-1917 Pullman dining and lounge cars. The glass-wrapped Champagne Vista Dome dates to around 1950. All have been renovated with modern air-conditioning and plumbing added.

Food onboard is cooked to order. One restaurant features a la carte fare while the other two serve three- to five-course meal packages. The train totes 100 varieties of wine with about 30-40 available for sampling in the tasting car. Reviving the decadence of yesteryear, passengers can drink and dine in sumptuous surroundings while watching vineyards slowly pass by.

"Most people have not traveled by elegant rail," says Ercolano. "The coolest thing is just stepping back in time and relaxing. It's something we just don't do."

Chardonnay by chopper

While most tours travel by land, the ultimate way to experience this sprawling grape-growing region is by air. On a Wine Country Helicopters excursion, distances shrink, routes straighten and views become sky high. "Many of the tours we do are so unique, they can only be done by helicopter because of the places we go," claims owner-pilot Wayne Lackey.

Each trip is a private charter, custom crafted to fit passenger desires. A typical day includes four stops and lasts around seven hours. Visits often include small, out-of-the-way wineries where the chopper may land in the front yard, and guests can sip and quip with the owner over a kitchen table.

"If you like a wine and you can get it at home, I'm not going to take you there because that doesn't make any sense," Lackey explains.

One of his more popular options is to visit a winery in each of four different counties — Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino. Passengers get an eagle's-eye view of the varied geography and taste the difference terrain makes in growing grapes.

"It makes me feel good when I take people on these tours and they come away beaming," Lackey says. "I can't think of one couple who's left here where we weren't all hugging at the end of the trip."

Dan Leeth is a freelance writer and wine lover from Aurora. With his in-laws living a mere two hours from Napa, he now enjoys an added incentive for grape escapes.


If you go . . .

	The four-hour Flying Horse Carriage Company trips leave at 12:30 p.m. daily from Healdsburg, 56 miles from downtown Napa. Cost is $125, which includes lunch and tasting fees. The normal maximum is six persons per trip, and the season runs from May 1 through November 30. 707-849-8989, www.flyinghorse.org. The six-hour Napa Valley Bike Tour trips, which run 365 days per year, begin in Yountville, nine miles north of downtown Napa. Cost of $115 includes lunch. Tasting fees of $5-10 per winery are extra. 707-944-2953, www.napavalleybiketours.com. Antique Tours Limousine Service tours typically begin at 10:30 a.m. and return between 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cost is $110-130 per hour (five hour minimum) plus a one-time fuel charge of $25. An optional picnic-basket lunch runs $25 per person. 707-226-9227, www.antiquetours.net. The Napa Valley Wine Train offers daily luncheon and dinner trips. Cost varies from $49.50 for a la carte to $150 for the five-course dinner, with featured wines included. 800-427-4124, www.winetrain.com. The choppers from Wine Country Helicopters hold up to six people. Tours are designed to order, with prices determined by flight times and itinerary. The Four County Tour runs about $4,400. 707-226-8470, www.winecountryhelicopters.com.

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