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First time in SF/Planning a day trip to wineries (Sonoma/Napa)


Josie2
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We are coming to SF late October for four days pre-cruise. We have booked a one day semi-private tour to Muir Woods and wineries. Am so sorry to hear about the fire devastation, and thinking of all those impacted. But... am also looking for any advice from locals. We really want to do this but if its not possible, will look to book something else. Any insight or tips from locals or experts would be welcome. On Trip Advisor people are telling folks to cancel any/all bookings (usually referring to hotels I think) and to stay away from the area.

TIA

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There are so many fires it's hard to keep track, but as far as I can tell none are near Muir Woods, currently. The winery portion will depend on which specific wineries are on the agenda.

 

More important than what's open, I think, will be the traffic. There are so many road closures right now that you can't be sure of getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. However, depending on how late in October you're going, that may not be a problem by the time you get here. Heck, it could be cleared up in the next day or two, for all I know. It depends on where the fires go.

 

My inclination would be to talk to your tour provider. I'm sure these are questions they're getting from everyone. The specifics of their refund policy will probably be of interest, as well. Good luck!

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Having had our fall roadtrip plans impacted at VERY short notice by fires in Oregon (as in despite checking for current locations of fires and that our route was clear, during our morning's drive we were literally overtaken by fire crews who then set up a road block a few miles ahead of us!), I'd be inclined to cancel anything that is refundable right now - at least for the Napa/Sonoma area. Even if your specific wineries remain accessible, undamaged, safe to visit - unless they've got superb filtration for all the air entering the tasting room your samples will have more toasted flavours than usual;-)

 

Muir Woods doesn't seem a likely spot to be impacted, given location and local climate, but it sounds like as a combo tour you couldn't just pick & choose parts of it - does the same company offer other tours that you could swap to? At least have a Plan B ready to go in case of last-minute cancellation or if they're going to take you other places instead of what you want to see. There's more than enough to do in San Francisco for a week, let alone 4 days, without ever leaving the city IMO - while I don't regret our trip to Muir Woods & Napa, I do regret taking it on our first SF visit rather than focusing on the city itself.

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I agree with the previous posts regarding winery’s in the Napa and Sonoma areas. I’d avoid that area for now. Maybe find a different tour that includes Muir Woods but avoids the wine country. If you’d like to visit some wineries consider going east to the Livermore Valley. If I remember, there are at least 5 or more just on South Livermore Ave./Tesla Road alone. I remember seeing Wente Vineyards, Concannon Vineyard, Steven Kent Winery, etc.

 

 

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I agree with the previous posts regarding winery’s in the Napa and Sonoma areas. I’d avoid that area for now. Maybe find a different tour that includes Muir Woods but avoids the wine country. If you’d like to visit some wineries consider going east to the Livermore Valley. If I remember, there are at least 5 or more just on South Livermore Ave./Tesla Road alone. I remember seeing Wente Vineyards, Concannon Vineyard, Steven Kent Winery, etc.

 

 

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Livermore has 50 plus wineries. Here is the wine growers association web site. http://www.lvwine.org It list all the wineries and their hours of tasting.

 

Hope this helps.

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Thanks for input. As we are on organized tours we need to go where tours are offered. So far our tour company says our areas to visit aren’t impacted but we are arranging a back up plan.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Come to Sonoma. The air is clear, the wineries are waiting for you. We've had a rough couple of weeks, but you will be welcome and comfortable here. As so many in the county have been burned out, there may be a problem with hotel accommodations here, but can't think of any other problems.

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