Tour Vin’s Inaugural Newsletter & 2015 Harvest Update

Published on: March 30th, 2015

The Roaming Vine

We are happy to report our inaugural newsletter, The Roaming Vine, debuted this month and received great reviews! In the upcoming issues of the newsletter, we will cover exciting events only known to insiders, including new wine and restaurant venues, as well as hotel and B&B packages offered throughout the year. Sign up for our next edition here (it’s free)! You can also review all of the newsletter online on our website.

We are very interested in hearing from you – what activities would you like to see covered in The Roaming Vine?

2015 Harvest Update

Early bud break and bright yellow mustard blossoms can be seen throughout Napa Valley. These cover crops add essential nutrients needed by the grape vines back into the soil and will be cut back and tilled under, used as food and energy to the vines.

Will harvest be early this year? It’s too soon to tell.

We suggest you begin thinking about a Napa Valley vacation now to confirm a “good seat” at harvest time. Tour Vin provides first class service to our clients and ensures your Napa Valley vacation will be memorable!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin Scouts Out New Venues in Napa Valley!

Published on: February 23rd, 2015

We at Tour Vin pride ourselves in visiting all venues before we recommend them to our clients. This February, we spent a week in Napa exploring new wineries, hotels and restaurants. Here’s what we found!

Wineries: We tasted wines at six different wineries, all offering a unique wine tasting experience.

* Round Pond Estate – Located in Rutherford, this estate is surrounded by vineyards, gardens and orchards where you can enjoy a wine and food pairing, as well as an olive oil tasting. Great views!

* Del Dotto Vineyards – Located in St. Helena, this truly unique Venetian-themed winery offers a wonderful barrel tasting tour in their caves that is like no other. Their grapes are sourced from the well-known areas of Rutherford, Howell Mountain and St. Helena Mountain.

* Ovid Napa Valley – Atop Pritchard Hill, Ovid is known for their small lots of Bordeaux style wines. Their blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot is definitely worth the tricky drive to the top of the mountain.

* Tedeschi Family Winery – A small family style winery in Calistoga, Tedeschi produces old world style wines in the back of their home. As a guest, you are treated to a personalized tour and will learn everything from how to plant the crop to how to hand bottle the wine!

* Keith Webster Cellars – This winery offers a truly unique experience in wine tasting. We were fortunate to sit down with Keith and Chelli to taste Left and Right Bank Bordeaux style wines, as well as their Proprietary Blend. They also reserved space in a local restaurant just for us to enjoy a food and wine pairing.

Dining: We enjoyed two unique dining experiences while in Napa Valley.

* Ciccio – Located in Yountville, Ciccio is a family owned, Italian restaurant that features a dynamic menu of pizzas and Italian entrees all cooked in a wood fire oven. Plan to arrive early for your meal, as they don’t take reservations. The wine list features the excellent wines produced by Altamura Vineyards.

* Atlas Social – The newest restaurant in Napa, Atlas Social is known for their fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Small plates are the way to go here, unless you are in a large party, then order family style platters to share. Enjoy whole chicken, roasted crab, braised beef rib, smoked trout, oysters and, my personal favorite, grilled swordfish. The bar area is expansive, so stop by for a drink!

Hotels/Inns:

* Silverado Resort – If you enjoy golf, the Silverado is the place for you. Located in the middle of the wine country, the resort offers two championship golf courses and, for tennis buffs, there are also 10 tennis courts available only to guests. Newly renovated, the rooms are classy and well appointed.

* Milliken Creek Inn – If inns are your preference, try this location. Settled on the Silverado Trail in Napa and overlooking the Napa River, you will enjoy a five-star experience: great service and first-class style in a private setting. The gourmet breakfast in bed is out of this world. Not to mention, spa treatments and massage therapy are also offered on site.

Tour Vin is unique from other concierge services in that we plan trips to Napa Valley based on our clients’ preferences – no prearranged tours here! We also arrange all extracurricular activities, including hot air balloon rides and bike tours. Need a car service – we can arrange that for you, too!

With summer and fall right around the corner, don’t wait to plan your next trip to Napa Valley. Give us a call today and we can start arranging your excursion!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin – Wine Tasting Tips

Published on: January 27th, 2015

There are many options when it comes to choosing a favorite wine, dining establishment or hotel/B&B. In this blog, we will cover a few wine tasting tips that will enhance your wine experience while travelling through the Napa Valley or at home! Here are some handy tips to keep in mind:

1. Taste as many different wines as possible. Wine making techniques differ from vintner to vintner, so if you don’t like a particular varietal at one winery, give it a try at another. Remember, all Cabernet does not taste the same!
2. Some wines are better with food while some can be enjoyed without food. Give your wine a chance and try both options.
3. Judge your wine after the second or third taste. Your tasting experience can vary depending on what you just ate or drank.
4. Never wash out your glass with water between tastings. Rinse your glass with a small amount of the wine you are about to taste next (swirl in glass, pour it out, then pour your wine).
5. Our tastes change over time. If you didn’t particularly care for a wine varietal last year, try it again this year. It’s fun to compare and contrast!
6. Try a blind tasting at your next party. Cover the bottles with brown bags, take notes and discuss what everyone liked or didn’t like. You may be surprised to see what you’ve chosen!

Remember that when visiting the Napa Valley on your next vacation, it’s the place to experiment and enjoy new approaches to wine tasting. Enjoy and have fun!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin’s 2015 Preview

Published on: December 30th, 2014

There are many exciting events planned in the Napa Valley during 2015 that you really don’t want to miss. We will, of course, keep you updated throughout the year, but here is a sample of events planned for the upcoming year:
• Bottle Rock Napa
• Napa Valley Film Festival
• Flavor! Napa Valley
• Napa Valley Festival del Sole
• Napa Valley Jazz Festival

Also, don’t forget to check out Carpe Diem Wine Bar’s new location in downtown Napa. After the recent earthquake, they relocated to Ox Bow Market Place and will complete their rebuild in early 2015.

Did you hear about the French Laundry’s new payment plan – you can now pay in advance for your dining experience when you book a reservation. What do you think about this? Regardless, you will continue to enjoy great food and wine!

Do you enjoy great musical performances while dining? Check out City Winery Napa! This is a one of a kind performance venue that also offers a great restaurant and wine bar experience.

Finally, don’t forget to submit your entry for our contest to name our inaugural Tour Vin newsletter (click here for more information). A library wine goes to the winner!

Contact us to help plan your next trip to the beautiful Napa Valley!

Happy New Year to all!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa valley Concierge

Win a Bottle of Wine From Tour Vin’s Library Wine Cellar!

Published on: November 25th, 2014

In 2015, Tour Vin will launch its first monthly newsletter featuring Napa Valley wine tasting events, new dining hot spots, unique places to stay and exciting activities usually only known to locals. Tour Vin prides itself on helping Napa Valley vacationers plan their trips based on individual preferences – we only recommend venues we have visited! And yes, we’ve visited many wineries, hotels, B&B’s and restaurants, so there are many options for us to recommend.

Please help us NAME our monthly newsletter! In order to win an exceptional bottle of wine, submit your suggested name through our website www.tourvin.net or email us at ed@tourvin.net by December 31, 2014. Include your name and email address – that’s it! The winner will be announced in January 2015, posted on our Facebook page. All entries will automatically be included on our monthly mailing list.

If there’s a favorite venue you would like Tour Vin to highlight in upcoming newsletters, please also include that information in your email.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. By the way, if you are wondering which red wines will go well with the turkey, stuffing and trimmings, try a Zinfandel or Pinot Noir!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin Wine Tasting in October

Published on: October 29th, 2014

Wine tasting during this year’s Napa Valley Crush was once again amazing! An incredible time was had by all of the Tour Vin guests during a weeklong wine tour in the Napa Valley.

After landing in Oakland, we began our trip with a luncheon at Chez Panisse in Berkley. The food was, of course, outstanding! Our next stop was wine tasting and dinner at the famous Mustards Grill. A special request by one of our guests, this venue offers truly amazing cuisine options and, again, the food was out of this world.

The next few days of the trip included wine tastings at Palmaz Vineyards, Failla Wines, Shafer Vineyards (with an introduction to owner Doug Shafer), Anderson Conn Valley Vineyards, Luna Vineyards, Vineyard 29, Raymond Vineyards, Carter Cellars, Odette, Realm Cellars and Robert Biale Vineyards. One of the most unique wineries we visited was Palmaz. This included a wine and food pairing in addition to a two-hour tour featuring the winery’s state-of-the art, gravitational flow, technological advanced wine making facility.

Our guests were also in for a special treat at Failla Wines. Not only did we meet the winemaker/owner, we were also invited to partake in the food and wine tasting in their caves. Have I yet mentioned the special Ghost Horse wine tasting we also partook in with our host Todd Anderson of Anderson Conn Valley? Another special treat, for sure!

Our group stayed at the North Block Hotel in Yountville – a truly first class hotel. One of our guests took advantage of a midday massage, while others enjoyed a shopping spree in Yountville’s boutiques and shops. We also like to recommend that any stay in Napa Valley include an adventure outing and some of our guests enjoyed a hot air balloon ride with Napa Valley Aloft, capped off with a champagne brunch.

Dining in Napa Valley is always a wonderful experience. We dined at Solbar, Farmstead, Bottega and TORC. Each day, remarkable cuisine rounded out the experience. Tour Vin also visited our favorite bars: 1313 Main and Bounty Hunter Wine Bar – great folks, and the wine and food never fail to please.

We also visited a relatively new venue during the trip. City Winery Napa is a music venue, restaurant, wine bar and winery. While enjoying one of the many concerts offered during the year, you can also enjoy dinner and wine tasting in a very relaxed atmosphere. This new hot spot is a definite must-try!

Napa Valley has so much to offer and Tour Vin visits all the hot spots before we recommend them to you so that we can tailor your trip to your travel, wine tasting and cuisine preferences. Contact us to help plan your next Napa Valley vacation!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin – Creating an Exceptional Napa Valley Experience

Published on: September 26th, 2014

Tour Vin is known for creating wine and food experiences around the preferences of our guests. We ask a lot of questions to determine what you like: what kind of wines do you prefer – classic or boutique; what are your culinary preferences; do you enjoy wine and food pairings for lunch; what type of hotel or B&B do you like best; are spa treatments important to you; would you like to go on a hot air balloon ride or play golf? At Tour Vin, there are no pre-packaged itineraries!

We also pride ourselves on knowing about each venue BEFORE we recommend anything to our clients – we visit them all first!

A group of Tour Vin’s guests from Minnesota recently returned from their Napa Valley vacation and said, “We had the best time in Napa – everything went so smoothly. Thanks so much for all your help!”

Are you ready to plan your trip to the Napa Valley? Check out our website and contact us to help plan your next experience!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin – Napa Recovering from Quake!

Published on: August 28th, 2014

Napa Valley is slowly recovering from a 6.1 earthquake that rattled residents, closed roads, toppled old historic buildings and homes, and destroyed many barrels of wine on August 24. Over the last few days, many of the older structures have been red-tagged and may have to be torn down. It was reported that one winery lost 15,000 cases of wine! Many others, including retail wine shops, also lost wine. Luckily injuries were relatively minimal since the quake struck at 3:20 a.m.

Three days after the quake, I’m hearing “we are open for business!” all around the valley. Some individual wineries may experience inventory shortages due to the quake, but a significant impact on Napa Valley wine is not expected. A number of restaurants and retail establishments in downtown Napa are in the process of cleaning up and waiting to reopen, pending inspection. Many businesses have already reopened, but a few will have to rebuild.

The hardest hit area was within the city of Napa. Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga are all doing quite well. Our advice is to call ahead before making plans – we at Tour Vin are tracking progress each day!

Chris Doran, owner of J Doran Vineyards, sums up the spirit in the valley. “We are no longer looking backwards,” he said. “Now, we move forward. Let’s pull together so we can pull through together!”

Let’s toast to a speedy recovery.

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Tour Vin: From San Francisco to Napa Valley

Published on: August 1st, 2014

If your trip to Napa Valley begins in San Francisco, you’ll find many wine tasting options available to enjoy along the way.

A small group of folks attending a convention in San Francisco recently asked if I knew anyone who could take them to Napa Valley for the day – they had never been to the wine country. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and explained that my company, Tour Vin, specializes in wine country trips to the Napa Valley. That’s all I had to say! “When do we start?” they cheered.

There are many wine tasting options available in San Francisco. I recommend you try these locations: Dogpatch Wineworks, Press Club and the Chateau Montelena Wine Tasting Room (in the Westin St. Francis hotel).

If you’re looking for places to eat in the city, I recently tried the The Slanted Door in the fabulous Ferry Building. This Ferry Building offers multiple food and wine choices – you could make a day of shopping and eating here! Not to mention, the view is out of this world!

So, for their first time in Napa Valley, my guests enjoyed a one-day wine tasting adventure at Silverado Vineyards, then on to Jarvis Winery for a cave tour with wine and cheese pairing. For lunch, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Rutherford Grill.

We enjoyed playing tour guide because that’s we do! Our guests thoroughly enjoyed the experience and asked if we would help plan their next trip to Napa Valley.

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge

Corporate Event Planning by Tour Vin

Published on: June 26th, 2014

Having previously worked in the Financial Services industry, I understand the need to offer off-site corporate programs for executives and key personnel. I planned our public company’s first off-site event, which included golf, wine tasting, entertainment and, of course, business related events. It was the first time key leaders within the organization shared their business strategy, goals and objectives with other senior management personnel.

That being said, Napa Valley offers outstanding venues to combine business and pleasure, allowing participants to interact in a relaxed, professional setting. Reasonable rates for group events at local Napa hotels and meeting spaces designed for the perfect meeting space are plentiful throughout the area.

Are you looking for a nice meeting room with amenities appropriate for senior personnel? Napa offers excellent options. Do you want to treat your key employees to a wine tasting/food pairing in a wine cave? Napa has many places from which you may choose that will create a memorable experience. Are you looking for restaurants that offer great cuisine and excellent wines? Napa is abundant with options for your corporate retreat.

Call Tour Vin today to help plan your off-site getaway, any time of the year. Great destinations in Napa Valley fill up fast!

Ed Pollard

Tour Vin

Napa Valley Concierge