California Offers A Huge Range Of Winery Tours To Choose From

California is now known as wine country and produces some of the finest wines, not just in the USA, but in the world. And with the growing popularity of wines as compared to hard liquors, more and more people are trying to find out more about wines. One of the best ways to do this is by taking a winery tour. Whether you are a beginner in the field of wine drinking or an experienced hand who knows the subject well, a winery tour is sure to offer a lot of fun as well as a chance to improve on your knowledge of wines. Perhaps the most convenient place to look for winery tours is in California, where there are many wine growing regions, all well know, but all offering a different experience in regard to the types of wines produced.

The Leading Winery Tour Destinations of California

13 may be an unlucky number for some, but not when it comes to California wines. The state has 13 major wine growing regions and you will find winery tours cover as many or as few as you have time to visit. The 13 wine growing counties are:

Gold Country
Lodi
Livermore
Mendocino
Monterey
Napa Valley
Oregon
San Luis Obispo
Satan Barbara
Santa Cruz
Sonoma
Temecula
Virginia

While Napa Valley and Sonoma winery tours are the best known, that does not mean that the other wines growing areas of the state are not worth visiting. In fact, the less well known regions often offer the most rewarding winery tour experience, as it is in these places that you will be able to really be able to see how the smaller wineries operate and gain a better understanding of both the wine growing process as well as what makes a good wine – and that is the real reason behind a winery tour.

While the larger vineyards of Napa and Sonoma welcome visitors, because of their size and the commercial constraints placed on them by their very size, winery tours often tend to be somewhat mechanical in nature – you are on a tight schedule with little time for individual interaction with the people involved in crating the wine.
A winery tour to a smaller vineyard is a much more personal experience and usually allows you to spend more time with the people involved so that you can not only have your questions answered but also benefit from their insights on the subject of wines.

You don’t need to become a wine expert, but understanding what you are drinking can add a great deal of pleasure to the experience.