Best west coast ports for wine tasting tours

[WTTCruising]

Looking for information on best west coast ports to stop at for wine tasting tours? Cruise lines and ships in 2020?

[CruiserBruce]

Every West Coast port you stop at will have wineries, as literally every county in California has wineries, and most everyone in Washington and Oregon do as well.

[WTTCruising]

Thanks, appreciate quick response and Information.

[wheezedr]

While there is wine tasting up and down the coast, especially throughout California, I think the port that lends itself best for a tour and tasting is Santa Barbara.  There are organized tour groups but it would also be easy to rent a car and drive to the Santa Inez valley.  Just don’t overdo the tasting if you do the latter. Monterey has some wineries but not as extensive a variety.  Of course you could always do Napa or Sonoma from SF.   Problem is that you have the potential for a lot more traffic as well as the fact that SF has so many other things available to do in town.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Santa Barbara probably has the best tours in the shortest time. The Santa Ynez wineries are about 45 minutes away.

 

For LA & San Diego you'd have to go to the Temecula Wine Country. That is a little over an hour from San Diego and just under two hours from Los Angeles/Long Beach.

 

From San Francisco you can book Sonoma or Napa Trips. Sonoma is a bit more than an hour away, Napa Valley, about 30-45 minutes more.

 

I think I'd decide if I want a cruise with a little wine tasting, or wine tasting with a little cruise. You could very easily spend 3 nights in the Santa Ynez area before a cruise out of San Pedro or Long Beach or 3 nights in the Temecula area before a cruise out of San Diego.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Obviously, Napa Valley is the primo spot in CA.  Downside is traffic from San Francisco substantially subtracts from your tasting time.  If you can find a cruise that stops in Monterey there are a few wineries close and a great tasting room near fisherman's wharf.  

Santa Barbara has some great wines.  We have never done an actual winery tour.  But, we belong to a wine club that sends us wines from the region and they are wonderful.  Plus, tour time from SB won't be sucking up time from sucking up wine like Napa. 

 

You can forget about LA as there's nothing there. 

 

As pointed out, San Diego has the inland wine country which does have some very nice wines.  Again, just the travel time sucks.

  

However, nobody mentioned the Villa Guadalupe region of Mexico.  Short drive from Ensenada and some very nice wines.  The history will surprise you.  I will try to attach a newsletter from our wine club.  They were marketing some of the wines from the region.  We have visited once and had a very nice time.  I wouldn't do it on my own as street signs in Mexico are optional.  So either take a tour (there are several) or hire an UBER all day wine tour driver, about $40.  

WINE COUNTRY ARTICLE.pdf

 

 

https://wineroutebaja.com/

 

meixco-web-2018.pdf

Edited April 30, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[milolii]

Agree with Santa Barbara as probably the easiest. The traffic in San Francisco can be horrid on  a good day.  We also have events all the time that can tie up traffic.  Marathons, etc.  We got caught in a Marathon  coming up California One a few weeks ago, kicked myself for not checking that out before. That was Monterey. 

 

But if you are embarking/disembarking in San Francisco, then an extra day at Napa/Sanoma could be an option on your own or as a tour.  Please also note the traffic in the wine regions of Napa and/or Sonoma can also be bad on the weekends/holidays. And if “on your own” reservations may be required. I would spend the night in that area as well.  

 

 

Ensanada sounds interesting,  

Has anyone tried Astoria? 

 

Princess has a few advertised as Pacific Coast Wine Cruises. They have  many cruises overall as they also have several ships to reposition to Alaska each year. And the other lines, Royal, NCL and HAL also reposition to Alaska.  HAL also has several ships in Alaska,  Many of the West Coast cruise roll calls have a loyal following. Folks go ever year. 

 

We are on the Grand Princess next year Pacific Northwest in March. Thinking of trying Astoria. 

 

Lefs us know what you decide. 

[ducklite]

On 4/26/2019 at 2:04 PM, WTTCruising said:

Looking for information on best west coast ports to stop at for wine tasting tours? Cruise lines and ships in 2020?

It depends on the type of wines you like.  The wines you'll taste in Seattle are very different from those in Portland which are very different from those in San Francisco and so on.

 

My opinion is that if you are traveling for wine tasting, doing so on a cruise is not the best way to do it.  River cruises in parts of Europe are the notable exception.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Most of the CA port stops will have tasting rooms near the port.  I know Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco do.  Some will be co-op run so you can sample several different vitners in one location.  

[boom_boom]

If you are in Santa Barbara, the "Funk Zone" is an easy walk from where the tender will drop you. At least half a dozen tasting rooms, nice restaurants and shops i the "zone." Also a couple on winery tasting rooms along State Street.