California Wine Tours and special events abound year round. Enjoy winery lunches, tastings, crush events, seminars, food and wine festivals, winery concerts and vintage wine auctions. Local restaurants feature seasonal cuisine; balloon rides offer spectacular aerial views of the vineyards; bocce ball courts invite cheerful recreation; and winery museums and gardens provide artistic diversions.

Paso Robles wine country balloon tours available at Paso Robles Muncipal Airport. Morning balloon ride photo over Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden by Angela DePaolis ©. Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden is a "MUST SEE" when visitingPaso Robles wine country.

Wine Tour Tips

Caution is advised when planning you California wine country tour or vacation. California is a very large state and there are hundreds of wineries to visit in southern, central and northern California. One and two week vacations are oftentimes best restricted to one or two of our famous wine regions.

An easy way to select which wineries to visit is to browse web sites and promotional materials of trade associations for specific appellations, i.e., Santa Barbara County, Dry Creek Valley, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Lodi, and so on. Choosing wineries according to the varietals they make is another way to narrow the plethora of choices.

Northern California (above San Francisco) includes the famous Napa Valley and Mendocino wine regions. Central California includes the famous Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Monterey wine regions. Southern California includes the San Diego and Temecula wine regions. The Central Valley includes the Amador, Calaveras, Livermore, Clarksburg, Lodi and Sierra wine regions.

As the tourist season abates, tasting room staff can spend more time with individual guests, giving an exclusive experience to professionals, collectors, and budding wine enthusiasts alike. It is an ideal time for wine lovers, and anyone interested in learning more about wine, to visit one of California’s five major wine-producing areas. By exploring a wide variety of wineries, alternating between large, medium and small facilities, experiencing wineries that make still wine and champagne/sparkling wine, and visiting both longtime favorite and new producers, guests can experience the fascinating process of winemaking and the many winery personalities.

Some wineries are open for touring and tasting only by appointment so be sure to call ahead. During harvest, visitors can also call ahead to find out when the grapes will arrive so they can watch the crush.

Limit each day’s excursion to a maximum of three wineries so as to get the full experience at each facility: take a winery tour(s), talk to the tasting room staff to learn more about the wines, browse the gift shops, allow time to eat lunch between winery visits and time to drive between tasting rooms. Most wineries are located in rural areas where roads can be narrow and winding. Additionally, trucks are on the roads at this time of year carrying loads of grapes and moving slowing. Relax and allow yourself plenty of time to take in the scenery.

Schedule appointments and look at maps to learn the driving routes. Visitors often underestimate travel time between one region and another so ask for distance and approximate times when calling ahead. If taking a limo or bus, make sure the winery allows large parties. Determine which wineries are open for public tasting and their business hours. Have a designated driver when possible and also use spit buckets and share tastes as appropriate.