If you don’t know it already , I’m a big food and wine lover! This being said, it was impossible to be in California twice in two months for work trips without managing to sneak in a cheeky visit to Napa Valley aka Wine Country, even if it meant going on my own!

Whilst not always the biggest fan of organized tours, opting for a day trip to Sonoma and Napa (& Muir Woods as an added bonus) with Extranomical Tours was the perfect way to get safely to and from wine country (as I intended to taste ALL the wine), meet people, and get a good taste (pun intended) of life in Napa. Having visited wineries all over Europe and South America, I was eager to see if Napa lived up to its hype. Stay tuned to find out..

The day started early at 8am with a full luxury bus full of mom-daughter pairs, friends, couples, and other solo travelers like me, all ready for a fun day! The group was fairly small and intimate, and our guide was extremely animated giving us more information and facts than our brains could soak up so early in the morning!

Some may say that 8:00am is too early to start drinking wine (personally, I disagree), so the first stop en route to wine country was the Muir Woods National Monument, part of the California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area. We set off north of San Francisco crossing the misty Golden Gate Bridge ready for a tough day of wine tasting!

We spent an hour and a bit among the towering, majestic redwood trees. We had just enough time to walk a couple of the popular trails, take some photos and get back on the road. We arrived really early before the crowds so it was a special moment to experience the beauty of the ancient redwoods without any crowds. The entry wasn’t included in the tour, and was a modest $10.

From Muir Woods, we set off for the Mayo Winery in the heart of Sonoma. Mayo, which has been around since 1993, is a small family owned winery producing about 20 types of small batch, single vineyard artisan wines. Whilst unassuming from the outside and not nestled among vineyards, what was special about Mayo compared to the other wineries we visited is its exclusivity - it cannot be bought in any stores, but only at the winery or online. We were given a really informative tour and a tasting of 4 or 5 wines (all included in the tour), that resulted in my new found friendship with their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, which i couldn’t resist buying a bottle of to bring home with me.

From the Mayo Winery, we headed towards Sonoma Plaza where I chose to have lunch at The Girl and the Fig Restaurant serving French/American countryside bistro style food. While very busy and unpretentious, its menu was surprisingly inventive. I figured there was a long wine-filled day ahead and so selected the hearty pork belly sandwich. The pork belly was cooked to perfection with the right balance of crisp, lean and fat, and was laid perfectly on a soft brioche bun with a crunchy slaw and served with French fries and a garlic aioli sauce (paired with a crisp dry glass of Rose, obviously!).

After lunch, we headed towards Napa crossing miles upon miles of vineyards with world-class grapes placed perfectly on California’s golden rolling hills. Our first stop was the Kieu Hoang Winery, the modern feel winery with a cozy wrap around porch, and the prettiest grounds of the day. We had three tastings which went down extremely smoothly from the comfort of their quaint balcony, but didn’t quite match up to the Mayo quality (in my humble opinion).

From there, we finished off a beautiful day at the Cline Winery with its gracious grounds with carp ponds, gardens, and picnic areas, and a very intimate family feeling despite their massive global operations. The friendliness and warmness of the staff made everyone feel so welcomed and relaxed for the last 4 tastings of their organic, delicious white, red and rose varieties.

Altogether, it was a “grape” day matching up to wineries in Italy, Greece, and Argentina! The hour journey back to San Francisco, after a wine-fueled day went surprisingly quickly. The tour at $134 was a very convenient, stress-free, fun, and economical way to explore Napa and Sonoma for the the very first time, with a bonus of Muir Woods. My return, whether it’s with friends or my husband will include a weekend stay with visits to Duckhorn, Opus One, Cakebread, Cuvaison, and others, and will explore the robust culinary scene, including The French Laundry, which is on my bucket list. After my one-day induction, I cannot wait to get back and experience wine country in more depth. If you have a favourite winery, please share!