As a wine country guide, I have the pleasure of meeting a wide variety of people.  Every group is different, but the common denominator is everyone hopes to have a great time.  People who are relaxed, open-minded and curious have the best experience. (The ones who put themselves in my hands for their itinerary are always happy.)

One memorable day was with two ladies in their 70′s. (A daughter of one of the gals’ bought them a surprise tour with me.) Old friends for decades, they had traveled the world together.  This was just a 3-day getaway not far from their homes. They were both shy about their “lack of knowledge” about wine (although one really likes drinking it).

With gentle help from my friends at the wineries, we introduced them to the joy of discovery.  I took them to four places (plus lunch)–a small but well-known boutique winery; a barrel tasting of futures (wine not ready for release); a casinoesque winery with gorgeous grounds, and Sbragia where Ed Sbragia is the winemaker.  (One of the gals likes Beringer wines, so I wanted to introduce them to Beringer’s famous ex-winemaker).

At the end of the day, their enthusiasm for trying new wine had grown by leaps and bounds.  It’s fun to think of them experimenting at home and getting a kick out of it.  As I always say, don’t worry about what you don’t know about wine, learn about the wine you’re drinking.

* I always bring my camera and email the pictures to my guests afterward as a thank you gift.  I took this picture at Ferrari-Carano.  I imagine they will reminisce about their trip every time they open a bottle of wine!