Wine Country Journeys LLC
Wine Country Journeys LLC
Wine Country Journeys LLC
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About
Guided small group wine tasting tours throughout Sonoma County's beautiful Wine Country. Enjoy an unforgettable day while you visit a minimum of four small family owned or boutique wineries in the northern Sonoma wine regions of the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley - up around the historic town of Healdsburg. Our wine educators/guides will introduce you to the wines, wineries, and vineyards of Sonoma County - perfectly blending education with entertainment. Tours stop at a gourmet deli where you may purchase a fresh lunch that we take to the next winery and eat picnic style. We keep our groups small - 8 guests or less and we always cover the tasting fees!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
372 reviews
Excellent
370
Very good
1
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0
brm235
Somerville, MA4 contributions
Dec 2019
Incredible experience with Wine Country Journeys, in particular with Jerry (guide/owner). He was knowledgeable about the area in general, about the wine in particular, as well as the vineyards we were visiting. He picked out great places with delicious and diverse wines, interesting stories, and thoughtful staff. It was a great experience. They were also really flexible with my small group booking last minute and arranged to have us picked up even though we were further away.
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the review! We’re so happy to hear that you had an incredible time on the tour and enjoyed the wineries that were picked. Thanks again for touring with us!
Written January 16, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kristaz11
San Antonio, TX3 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
Jerry was an awesome host with a sense of humor right up our alley. The wineries were interesting and we were all novices and learned so much. We ended up buying about 8-9 bottles of wine total from all four we toured and had no problem sending them on the plane as “baggage” for free in the padded shipping box. Highly suggest this tour!
Written March 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joel K
Washington DC, DC4 contributions
Oct 2012 • Couples
We had a wonderful time with Wine Country Journeys. They are prompt, responsive, affordable and extremely knowledgeable about wine. A small operation that pays lots of attention to the details - its the perfect mix of personable and professional.
We learned all about Dry Creek and the Russian River Valley from Jerry on the way out to our first winery. And once there it was clear all the people that worked at the winery knew and very much liked Jerry. This was the case at all four of the places we toured. Because they are based in the region, WCJ has good relationships with several winemakers and can provide you with a window into California winemaking like few others.
The tour didn't have a big commercial feel, the group wasn't very big, and the content wasn't stale or canned - it was tailored to our likes / dislikes and to and our [admittedly non-expert] knowledge level of wine-making. It felt like we were touring wine country with an expert friend who knew all the right places to go. It was a great experience that I'd gladly repeat.
We learned all about Dry Creek and the Russian River Valley from Jerry on the way out to our first winery. And once there it was clear all the people that worked at the winery knew and very much liked Jerry. This was the case at all four of the places we toured. Because they are based in the region, WCJ has good relationships with several winemakers and can provide you with a window into California winemaking like few others.
The tour didn't have a big commercial feel, the group wasn't very big, and the content wasn't stale or canned - it was tailored to our likes / dislikes and to and our [admittedly non-expert] knowledge level of wine-making. It felt like we were touring wine country with an expert friend who knew all the right places to go. It was a great experience that I'd gladly repeat.
Written October 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
crclk14
California, KY22 contributions
Feb 2012 • Couples
After doing some research and reading others’ reviews, we decided to book a wine tasting tour with Wine Country Journeys and I'm very glad we did. We had such an amazing experience right from the start. Booking the trip with Amanda was very easy. Here are some highlights of the trip:
1. We were picked up from our hotel in San Francisco in a clean 12-passenger van. We didn’t have to drive anywhere!
2. Our tour group was very small (only 8 people) and us and the couple we were traveling with made up made up 4 of those 8 spots. No large shuttles!
3. Jerry, our tour guide, was very personable and knowledgeable of the area and gave us a bit of a guided tour on the way to Sonoma.
4. The wineries we visited were small, family owned and personal. It was great to be able to talk with some of the owners while tasting and hear the history of the winery itself.
5. The tasting fees were included in the price of the tour, which is a huge plus since tasting fees can range from $10-15 per winery.
6. Bottled water was provided to us in the van and our wine purchases were boxed and stored for us.
7. After the 3rd winery, Jerry took us to a local market to pick up snacks for a picnic lunch. We took our lunch to Amista winery where we were greeted with personalized welcome signs on the picnic table.
Jerry returned us to our hotel after we'd toured 5 different wineries! We had such a great experience on this tour. Wine Country Journeys went above and beyond to make our trip enjoyable and Jerry surpassed our expectations as a guide. I would definitely recommend this company to tour Sonoma's wine country.
1. We were picked up from our hotel in San Francisco in a clean 12-passenger van. We didn’t have to drive anywhere!
2. Our tour group was very small (only 8 people) and us and the couple we were traveling with made up made up 4 of those 8 spots. No large shuttles!
3. Jerry, our tour guide, was very personable and knowledgeable of the area and gave us a bit of a guided tour on the way to Sonoma.
4. The wineries we visited were small, family owned and personal. It was great to be able to talk with some of the owners while tasting and hear the history of the winery itself.
5. The tasting fees were included in the price of the tour, which is a huge plus since tasting fees can range from $10-15 per winery.
6. Bottled water was provided to us in the van and our wine purchases were boxed and stored for us.
7. After the 3rd winery, Jerry took us to a local market to pick up snacks for a picnic lunch. We took our lunch to Amista winery where we were greeted with personalized welcome signs on the picnic table.
Jerry returned us to our hotel after we'd toured 5 different wineries! We had such a great experience on this tour. Wine Country Journeys went above and beyond to make our trip enjoyable and Jerry surpassed our expectations as a guide. I would definitely recommend this company to tour Sonoma's wine country.
Written February 21, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicole W
Austin, TX21 contributions
Feb 2012 • Friends
We had an absolute wonderful trip to Sonoma County with Jerry. There was 5 girls and another couple who were great that went out for the day. The ride was comfortable and very flexible. Jerry was great to let us stop and get snacks, etc. :-) We made it to 4 different wineries and felt very pampered that each one was basically a private tasting. At the final destination they even had a nice little surprise for each of us. We truly enjoyed this "journey" and can't wait to do it again. It was the highlight of our girl's trip to San Francisco!!
Nicole from Texas
Nicole from Texas
Written February 17, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christopher M
Boynton Beach, FL7 contributions
Jun 2019
We simply can't say enough great things about Jerry and Amanda at Wine Country Journeys. We have never been to wine country CA, traveling from FL, all we had to go on was online reviews and email communication. I had a few questions prior to booking, and Amanda replied promptly every time, which is saying a great deal considering how busy they are. The first thing to turn me off on a business is lack of responsiveness and Amanda was fantastic. Jerry was our tour guide the day of our event and he was just the BEST. So personable, a great driver (important!), very polite and most of all, knowledgeable. So much so, he could have done a better job than some of the "expert" wine makers we visited.What really comes across is you can tell both he and Amanda have a passion for what they do and a mission to make your experience everything you want it to be. Thank you Jerry and Amanda, our 20 year anniversary celebration/vacation will be even more memorable because of you guys !
Chris/Chris
Chris/Chris
Written June 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for the review! It’s great to hear such nice feedback. We’re glad that we could help make your trip even more memorable!
Written June 26, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Megan L
Ridgewood, NJ42 contributions
Sep 2016 • Couples
My husband and I booked with Jerry and Amanda (again!) and they were just as fantastic as they were the first two times. This time, my in-laws joined, and they LOVED the tour. We visited two wineries that we're members of (one which we requested a re-visit, and WCJ obliged!), and two new wineries (and came home with one new wine club membership). We'll never use another tour in the Sonoma region!
Written December 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We always appreciate your many returns! You guys are the best!
Written January 5, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
gavinssidekick
Frankfort, IL116 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
The Tour Guide Jerry was informative and a all around nice guy. My disappointment came in with the Wineries that were chosen, they took us a hour to get there and an hour to get back, so from a travel perspective, I didn't like us passing all the open wineries just to get to the places Jerry wanted to go. Spent the day and saw 4 wineries, felt we should of been able to see more if we had a van service closer to the wineries. We did like JR winery, now to see all the barrel storage, listen to the story and watch the video on how the storage was constructed was nice. Would of preferred to have wineries with more Pinot's. We were not thrilled with the Van, didn't find it all that comfortable.
Written March 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We strive to provide the best wine country experience for all of our guests. After reading your review, we are sorry you felt your tour was average. You did not contact us directly to share your disappointment, so we are responding to your concerns here. Drive Times: Sonoma County is very large and our company only tours small family owned/boutique wineries in the northern wine regions (Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley). Since we offer pick-ups/drop-offs from our guests lodging as opposed to prearranged meeting locations, guests staying outside of those regions, such as in San Francisco or the town of Sonoma, have longer drive times before/after the tour. We do have approx. pick-up/drop-off times listed by towns on our website as well as an approx. time is provided during the reservation process. We tour a minimum of four wineries from 11-4. Our pick-ups/drop-offs are scheduled so that we arrive at the first winery by 11 and leave the last one around 4, so the drive times do not take away from the amount of time we spend touring the wineries. Winery Selections: Our company has selected about 25 wineries that we feel provide our guests with a wide variety of wines to sample, beautiful vineyards/landscapes and warm hospitality. Wine tasting is about sampling a variety of wines. With individual guests having various favorite wines, we try to take the group to a few vineyards that offer some of the overall favorites as well as exposing them to new wines they might not have tried before. So on our shared group tours the guide is responsible for selecting which of those wineries he feels are the best fit for the overall group on that tour. Vehicles: On our shared group tours we use late model Ford 12-passenger vans that are clean and well maintained. While Ford builds them more for utility then comfort, we have opted to purchase their upgraded models and have custom leather seating. While they are 12-passenger vans, we max our guest count to 8 so that guests have a little more room. In closing, we appreciate you touring with us and we encourage you to call or email us with any other questions or concerns.
Written March 24, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Vacationlover224
Milwaukee, WI4 contributions
May 2014 • Couples
My husband and I booked a tour for our first visit to wine country. We could not have asked for a better day! Jerry took us to some wineries that we would never have found ourselves. He was very knowledgeable and friendly! We had a very relaxing day and had a chance to visit four different wineries. If I am ever in Sonoma again; I would definitely book another tour. I highly recommend this company! Thanks, Jerry!
Written June 1, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WinyDaPu220
Naperville, IL18 contributions
Nov 2012 • Couples
Jerry, the owner of the company, is very friendly, knowledgeable, and personable. It is a small tour at a far better price than all the others. Get to go to small wineries that are off the beaten path and we find better than the large commercial wineries. Lots of personal attention such as making sure we always had water to keep hydrated and prompt pick-up from our hotel. When we come back to San Francisco we will book this tour again! Wine Country Journeys is a top notch day with no worries.
Written November 15, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience