Hello everyone

Wine Tasting at Chateau Mtelena

I just finished a great tour with some nice folks from Sacramento. It was a glorious Sunday with lot of sunshine, mustard grass in full bloom in the vineyard. We visited Château Mtelena, Bennett Lane, Lava Vines and had a cave tour at Clos Pegase.

The cooler weather and near empty wineries make this a great time to visit!

Be sure to visit our Hotels and Inns Page for special package and preferred rates for Getaway guests

PS thank you Château de Vie for the great referral

More Photos here!

Winter has arrived in Wine Country, but there are still great ways to take advantage of the beauty of  of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.  Check out our Hidden Wineries Van Tour, where you will have a private guide chaffeur you to the best small hidden wineries.  Your guide will customize the route and wineries to your specific tastes.

Winter is also an exciting time for us here at Getaway Adventures because we know the beautiful spring season is ahead, and we know the Russian River will be ready for our fun and adventurous kayaking tours!

Keep checking back online for new tours as well as great deals and discounts throughout the year.  We hope to see you on tour with us soon!

Getting ready to solve Traffic Jam as a group

We were lucky to work with a great group staying at the Villagio Inn & Spa doing some teambuilding activities on December 1 & 2.

On the first day we did Group Juggle, working on group communication, thinking outside of the box, and finding team leaders.  The group had a great time being outside and letting loose for a little while in between meetings.  It was incredible, because each group came up with a unique solution to the problem, and each group had a fun time doing it.

On our second day of team building we did an activity called Traffic Jam.  We stayed inside because of the brisk weather (the first cold day of the year…yesterday was sunny and beautiufl!) and today’s challenge focused on thinking about patterns, working together, and trying different methods of coming up with a solution.  Some groups used trial and error, some worked out the problem on paper before trying it live, and some groups discussed different methods.

Overall all of the participants had a great time and were able to learn about their own communication and problem-solving styles as well as the most effective ways for the group to interact as a unit.  The facilitators had a great time too!

November days are some of my most favorite of the whole year.  The leaves are turning, the air is clear and the light is amazing.  I find that more locals populate the tours in November. Maybe the month of November scares away people from locales with worse weather than we have out here, and draws those that know better.  I had two couples today, one from San Francisco and one from Santa Rosa.  The day was fantastic, and we bonded quickly.  It was often hard to focus on the wine sometimes with conversation flowing so effortlessly from one topic to another.     Another winner of a day.

-Ken

Mt. St. Helena behind the vineyards

Hanging out with the wine barrels

Taking a break from winetasting

Even though the mornings have turned quite cool, these fall days are still stunning.  The group was six today.  Two from Michigan, two from Indiana and two from New Hampshire.  Cycling down the backroads of Calistoga the vines put on quite a show.  The leaves on the zinfandel vines are turning as deep of a purple as the wine, and the syrah leaves are a lime green tinged with red.  We meandered, mingled and made merry and time flew by as always.

Paddling on the Class 1 Russian River

Paddle down the warm Russian River. Steel Head Beach to Odd Fellows Road about 3 hrs of Kayaking.

The fall is such a beautiful time to be on the river.  The trees are turning color painting water color pictures in the deep blue water.  Blue Herons greeted us and and bid us farewell like gate keepers to this magical river.  We glided peacefully on our kayaks and shared lots of laughter.  We had the perfect day!

We went out to Armstrong Redwoods for lunch and everyone hiked the trail on the valley floor surrounded by giant redwoods Now that is truly awesome!

-Mary Carmen

Lunch time on a Getaway Adventures Tours yumm

What a glorious day!

Weather was fantastic and the fall colors are starting to really kick in. We had a spirited group staying at the Calistoga Ranch and kept a pretty good pace as we biked up the Silverado Trail. From there to our 1st winery, Bennet Lane Winery, and their incredible Maximus collection of wines.  We had a great lunch there and then cycled over to Summers Winery where we lucked out and saw the crush in progress. Grapes being process and pumped into tanks.

Calistoga never looked better as the fall sun lights up the Palisades and caressed our faces. Back the Calistoga Ranch by 4 pm and that’s a great day!

Grapes are coming in fast and furiously to beat the fast approaching rains. Everywhere you see the 1/2 ton white bins that are used to carry harvested grapes. Recently on a Pedal N Paddle, we tasted juice right out of the fermenting bin, the wine maker literally dipping his  wine glass in the for a sweet and bubbly concoction. This was at Cahill winery in the Green Valley appellation, Sonoma’s up and coming appellation with the new generation of wine makers making their mark. From Cahill we went on to Iron Horse and Russian River Vineyards before launching down the warm Russian River 2 hours Class 1 kayak adventure..

A view of the Dry Creek Valley

It’s wonderful to ride through the Wine Country with people who truly enjoy biking and can’t imagine a better way to experience this beautiful area!  Today’s tour was led by Mary Carmen, and she had a wonderful time with her two guests from Boston.  Their favorite wineries were Bella and Preston, but the whole Dry Creek appellation won their hearts!

A beautiful Napa Valley day!

The day began under a beautiful blue sky with the temperature climbing by the minute.  We got in an early long ride to beat the heat before we did our first tasting at Frank Family.  Our guests really enjoyed the wines, having a private tasting with Tim from Frank Family, and humor provided by guides Dave and Ken.

After the first tasting it was time to do some more riding, so we headed north to our next stop at Lava Vine.  Christy and Mike, who run the tasting room, do a great job pouring wine.  Before the tasting we visited with the lamb (see picture below) and drank some much needed water.  The guests again enjoyed both the wines and the great service at this small winery.

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