I have always been in awe of winemakers.  Amateurs making their own blends is an industry trend, e.g., Crushpad in San Francisco is very successful. Until now, I’ve happily sat on the sidelines (drinking fab wine).

I finally poked my beaker into the bottle so-to-speak at a corporate event where I was VIP Hostess.  The client had already chosen the wineries so I used my insider persuasion to organize the various events, get discounts and keep everyone on schedule.  We started at Ravenswood with Peter Griffith’s Blending Seminar. The guests learned the basics about acidity, sugar and tannins.  I helped translate that into “taste the three wines in front of you, decide what you think about them, then start mixing and tasting until you come up with your favorite”.

The group had a blast. They used every last minute to pour, play and taste.  When the time was up, Peter quickly bottled, corked and even hot waxed each guest’s personal blend to take home.

**(That’s me in the hat.)

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I often get requests from readers to help them with their wine country itinerary. My readers also refer their friends to me.

The places I recommend consistently treat people like welcome guests, offer something more then a belly-up-the-bar wine tasting, make fabulous wine or food, and meet my criteria for a wonderful place to stay overnight (cozy, comfortable luxury).

In ensure that my friends & fans get the same “insider” treatment that I do, I asked my favorite businesses to be part of a very special project,  Alana’s Insider Picks & Tips, Get the Inside Scoop & Save $700.  Each business provided an Insider Pass in my new guidebook.  I added tons of tips to best enjoy a day trip or a vacation in wine country.

Now you can get my recommendations plus Passes to the VIP experiences that I enjoy as an insider.

I can hardly wait to share these fabulous places and adventures with you! Learn more by going to the Guide page.

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Collective tasting rooms offer wines from various vintners in one place.  They can be co-owned by vintners like Family Wineries Tasting Rooms or independently owned like Vintners Collective. They are different from a wine shop that offers tastings in that they represent far fewer vintners.

A bad weather day is the perfect time to visit a collective tasting room.  It’s also fun to drop in when I don’t feel like driving or want to taste wines that I normally can’t access.

Every collective has a theme: some offer rare & pricey wines, some are formal while others are casual.  A good tasting experience, for me, meets the same criteria as a winery tasting.

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Welcome to Ceja (say ha) Wines.  What a lovely ambiance! They have two tasting rooms, in the Carneros appellation (which straddles Napa and Sonoma County) and downtown Napa.  The family is very hands-on. The matriarch, Amelia, cooks, entertains, talks about wine, pours wine…she does it all with an excitement and energy that belies the fact that she has been in the wine business for decades. Her husband, Pedro, and brother-in-law, Armando, head up vineyard management and winemaking.  Daughter, Dalia, and son, Ariel, both work in the family business.  Ariel is especially interested in video as you can see from their web site.

I’ve been to many family-operated wineries but this winery is distinct: I feel their Mexican-rooted hospitality; in fact, it’s a bit like being in a gracious, beautiful home in Mexico. I wanted to sit down for a meal with all of them, listen to stories, eat Amelia’s wonderful food and drink lots of wine.  (Casa Ceja members enjoy these perks.) You can find their wines at restaurants, fine wine shops and online.

Their wines are so well-structured that I enjoy them with and without food.  Their Sauvignon Blanc ($26) and Vino de Casa White ($20) are favorite summer wines at my house; when I offer a selection of whites for my guests, they are first to be emptied.  Amelia has lots of recipes online and I made my own cherry relish to pair with Ceja’s Vino de Casa Red.

TIP: Ceja is extremely well-respected in the professional wine industry.  Famed Critic, Robert Parker is a fan; he has requested their wine at events. The Ceja’s don’t submit their wines to him for rating: because he tastes 75 wines per day in his job, it’s not the best way to experience gentle, structured wines. The same goes for consumers, the more wine we taste in one day, the less we can appreciate what we’re tasting.

Be a VIP with an Insider Pass!

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What makes Rick’s the ideal wine shop & bar?

It has it all…a wine shop with quality selections and advice from Rick; a welcoming energy that invites you to linger; half-glasses and spot-on pricing; cozy enough where you can easily meet people or talk quietly with a friend; wine served in the perfect Riedel Sommeliers glass (untouched by chlorinated water, filtered-only please), carefully chosen top-shelf meats and cheeses sliced in front of you and served with Bremer crackers (because they are sugarless and sugar in crackers “can ruin wine”); stunning photo art and nice people.

If I am going out with a wine or foodie type, I go to Rick’s.  His meticulousness results in an experience that is a perfect pairing in every way.  Go check it out.

Photo is from Gail Pierce Photography

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Do you like to get off the beaten path, away from the touristas?  Cambria, outside of the Paso Robles appellation is half-way between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  4 1/2 hours from the Bay Area, it’s not a day trip.  Cambria is a quiet little village that is a great place to rent a house for a week and go winery-hopping.

Harmony Cellars sits on a ridge just outside of the village.  It is the main attraction in a town called Harmony, population 18.  Harmony has advertised itself as a tourist destination for many years, but honestly, it has seen better days.  The winery, however, is not touristy, quite the opposite.  The family has been there 150 years. (They are part of the population 18.)

Tulip and I loved the staff and I tasted all of their wines. I especially like the reds.  They even have a Port that they serve with a chocolate-covered blueberry.  I bought wine and a sack of the berries! Go visit, it’s a lot of fun.

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This incredible gallery of sculptures and fine wine is located in the Paso Robles region on the California Central Coast.  Paso is hot, so the reds are much more exciting then the whites.  I’ve enjoyed several Paso wines that are Napa quality with lower prices.  As far as taste, the Cabernets are smooth and easy on the palette immediately upon release…no waiting around for years for the wine to settle.  I really picked up on the terroir of the region.  I can taste the farm so-to-speak…soil and vegetation (bell peppers in a cab).  It was exciting.  I wish I could show you all of the fabulous pictures we took, but you must visit yourself and meet the gracious people there.  They warmly welcomed Tulip and were very informative about their wine and their region.

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