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Tour Vin – Planning Your Next Visit

Published on: May 27th, 2025

As the high season in Wine Country approaches, it is time to plan your next visit to Napa and Sonoma! In this month’s blog, Tour Vin highlights some of the upcoming events you do not want to miss.

Napa

Calistoga Depot—Live music Friday through Sunday, all summer long, which
includes excellent food and adult beverages.

Taste Napa—The CIA & Oxbow Market Foodie and Tour offered every day! Includes a
tour through CIA and tastings at the Oxbow. Reservations required.

Chappellet Vineyard and Winery—June 28, July 26 and August 30. Summer sunset
series offering live music, wine and wood fired pizza.

Garden to Table Cooking Class at Silverado Resort—July 12, August 16 and September 20. Hands-on class starting with harvesting fresh ingredients from the garden.

Wellness and Wine—August 10 at Shadybrook Estate Winery that includes yoga in the
vineyards and wine tasting with brunch bites.

Hands on Harvest Party—September 13. Yep, you actually harvest and stomp grapes,
enjoy a chef prepared lunch near the vineyard and, of course, conclude with a wine
tasting of their select wines!

Sonoma

Healdsburg 27th Annual Jazz Festival—June 12-22. On Tuesdays in the Plaza, enjoy
cool jazz, country and rockabilly music while indulging in food and drink from local vendors.

Sonoma County Fairgrounds Country Music Festival—June 27-29. Twenty Country
artists, food and adult beverages. Wear your best country outfit!

Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon—July 20.

Sonoma Annual Lobster Feed—August 8. Featuring Landmark Vineyards select wines.
Start off with a reception that includes cheese, charcuterie and a wine tasting. You will
then move on to a wonderful lobster dinner, live music and, of course, more wine!

Wine Country has much to offer this time of year, so don’t wait to plan your upcoming
wine vacation!

Cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Wine Country Concierge

Tour Vin – Wine Country Holiday Happenings

Published on: November 29th, 2022

The holiday season is upon us, and Napa Valley has gone all out in creating festive activities for the whole family. We would like to share some of these special events with you so you can begin to plan your wine country vacation!

December and early-January activities to get on your calendar include:

Santa Train Jolly Journeys: During the month of December, Napa Valley Wine Train rides include a special holiday menu, snacks for the kids and, of course, wine!

Nickel & Nickel Winery Holiday Group Tour and Tasting: Available during December, go behind the scenes of the winemaking journey during this festive holiday walking tour, and be treated to single vineyard wines paired with cheese and accoutrements.

Breakfast with Santa: Here, the youngsters can enjoy a great breakfast with Santa at the Silverado Resort & Spa. Available Saturday, December 3, 10 and 17.

Merryvale Vineyards Annual Holiday Dinner: On December 10, a special sit-down dinner crafted by Chef Nash of Tre Posti will be paired with Merryvale library wines throughout the evening. Dinner will end with a live band to dance the night away!

Carneros Resort and Spa New Years Eve Celebration: Guests can enjoy special chef station cuisine prepared by Executive Chef Jeffrey Jake and complemented by an open bar. After a wonderful dinner, dancing will go on until midnight to ring in the new year!

There are many other holiday activities over the next couple of months so contact us for more details.

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season – cheers!

Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Wine Country Concierge

Tour Vin – Super Bowl Activities in Napa Valley

Published on: December 9th, 2015

Wondering how to spice up your Super Bowl experience? Make a trip to the Napa Valley to take advantage of the fun events and activites created around this annual event! Many hotels and resorts are offering weeklong packages (February 1-7) that you won’t want to miss. Here are a few examples:

• Auberge Du Soleil – One night stay, complimentary snacks, wine tasting, bar samplers, a $100 resort credit and a 10% discount on massage services
• Meritage Resort & Spa – Resort credit and wine tastings for two
• Silverado Resort – 25% off room rates, a $50 resort credit and tasting passes for two
• Carneros Inn – 10% discount off room rates
• Napa River Inn – $50 gift card for lunch or dinner

While you’re in Napa Valley, why not consider a hot air balloon ride, a barrel blending class, a cooking class, an olive oil tasting or a ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train? And, of course, don’t forget the wine tastings and the great restaurants!

Contact us to help set up your weeklong Napa Valley experience!

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