San Diego Wine Country

We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours love this time of year. We are a truly international group, so our holiday memories range from bundling up and playing in the snow to shopping for Christmas presents under a relentless drizzle to merely switching from a spring suit to a full wetsuit before going surfing. There's one thing we can all agree on around here, though – it's one of the best times of the year! This year, winter has hit San Diego hard, bringing rains and chilly temperatures. That means we have the perfect excuse to wear our favorite scarves and curl up on the couch with blankets and our favorite novels. If you don't see what all the fuss about winter is about, let us help. We have some truly tasty ideas for warming up from the inside…

`Tis the season for giving. While we think that nothing is better than the gift of a winery train tour, chauffeured tour, or a beer tasting tour through beautiful San Diego, we also like to give back. In fact, it's one of the things we're most proud of! Did you know that a portion of all of our money made goes to San Diego's underprivileged children and teens, and another portion goes to people struggling with health or financial challenges? So every time you buy a tour, you're not just having a great time, you're also helping out people who need it.   If you prefer to donate directly, here are some of our favorite charities:   Summit4StemCell, tour guide Marti's organization of choice, is part of the Parkinson's Association of San Diego and supports non-embryonic stem cell research in…

San Diego Beer and Wine Tours invites you to join us November 14-18, 2012, for the week-long wine and culinary celebration: San Diego Wine and Food on the Bay's 9th Annual Classic! It's San Diego's premiere event for foodies and oenophiles, and that means we'll be there. Join San Diego Beer and Wine Tours for a great time with star sommeliers, wine makers, beer mavens, and some of the biggest names in the culinary arts. Be sure to stop by and sample the superb local wines by winemaker Tony Tiso of La Serenissima Vineyards, Warner Springs, San Diego (love your wines Tony!) and Bernard Guillas Executive Chef of La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club (mmm…Bernard you keep us coming back for more).   There will also be a taste-off for the "Chef-of-the-Fest" competition and some of San Diego's famous food trucks.  It'll be five days of…

Let’s talk about the top best things to do in San Diego. Utter the words San Diego to a person from out of the area and immediately images of palm trees, beaches and pristine weather fill the imagination. To so many, San Diego means visiting some of the most beautiful beaches in California, but this city has so much more to offer for a holiday getaway or staycation. Great activities abound. You’ve heard of a beach vacation yes, but how about a “beer vacation”? To describe San Diego as a Mecca for craft and micro brews is an understatement. A more accurate description would be: The Land of Fantastic Beer. San Diego’s beer history dates back to 1989, when Karl Strauss opened the area’s first brewpub in over 50 years, and it was only a matter of time until other…

It's September, the time the weather changes and the leaves start to turn (okay, maybe not so much around southern California, but we're practicing poetic license here) and stores sell out of backpacks and notepads. San Diego Beer and Wine Tours are champions of education and learning.  While we celebrate going back to school, whether you're heading off to college or graduate school or sending your kids to kindergarten, we don't think that education needs to stop when you leave the classroom.  We also think that learning should be fun.  In that spirit, we're offering $5 off our San Diego Wine Country Tour or our Beer and Food Walking Tour.  Not only will you be learning the history of San Diego's craft beer and wine, we'll also throw in some brewery and vintner science and before you know it, you'll…

We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours have been giving a lot of love to beer lately. Not that there's anything wrong with that – after all, our fair city is the craft beer capital of the country, and possibly the world, with microbreweries and nanobreweries springing up everywhere like toadstools after a rain. But we want to remember where we came from and give wine the love it deserves, as well. After all, we started out as La Jolla Wine Tours!  Luckily, San Diego isn't just a place you can find all the craft beer you can handle. Thanks to its Mediterranean microclimates and mild winters, it's also a wonderful place to find wines.  “But, SDB&WT,” we hear you say, “where do I begin my journey to becoming a wine aficionado?” Luckily, California has your answer, courtesy of…

We’ve already covered how to dip your toe in the unfamiliar waters of wine if you’re a beer lover. Now if you’re a wine-drinker trying to unravel the mysteries of beer, we can help you! We have consulted the greatest craft beer experts of our time, who by a lucky coincidence work here, at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours, for ways to navigate the seas of San Diego’s craft beer scene with ease. If you love deep, plummy reds like pinots, we think a darker beer with coffee notes will be right up your alley, like Alesmith’s Nautical Nut Brown Ale. (We love this beer!) A stout or a porter, like Rogue’s Chocolate Stout, will also make your palate sing. If you like your wines (reds or whites) really dry, you’ll probably love bitter ales like IPAs. One of…

  Let’s say you’re a beer lover trying to figure out what all the fuss is about wine. We recommend going by the beers you love, of course. The good news is, if you're a microbrew fan you're already well on the way to learning to appreciate the nearly-infinite varieties of wines!   If you love ales or lagers: Try dry white wines such as Napa Valley or Sonoma chardonnays, such as the Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay. The dryness and mouthfeel of the wine will provide a tasty and familiar way to quench your thirst on hot days. If you love bitters or IPAs, you're already learned to that astringency is your friend, so sip on a verdicchio.  Tannins should also be a treat for you, so try a bordeaux on for size. If you love stouts: You want more…

At San Diego Beer and Wine Tours we LOVE good beer and wine.  We also love our pets, but as any vet will tell you, booze and Fluffy don’t mix – no matter how much they want it. Well, until now.  If you want to share your tasting experience with your dog or cat, you can now do so without fear of doing them serious bodily harm.  A company from Seattle has pioneered – wait for it – Bowser Beer. The non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks come in flavors like Beefy Brown Ale and Cock-A-Doodle-Brew. This isn’t the first marriage of pets and potables.  A San Diego company, Doggie Beer Bones, uses recycled grains from homebrewed beer to make baked dog treats. San Diego Beer and Wine Tours loves dogs. There is also a wine on the market for dogs and cats…

San Diego Beer and Wine Tours is off and running to the races!  Are you ready for a day at the racetrack? The rest of San Diego certainly is. Some 45,000 people are expected to head out to the Del Mar race track on opening day.  If you’ve never been, you’re in for a treat: it’s a see-and-be-seen kind of event, where thoroughbreds meet high fashion and haute couture. It’s also the perfect day to sit back with one of San Diego’s finest craft beers or a glass of wine and watch the crowds and their sartorial choices: big hats and short skirts on the women, linens and pinstripes on the men, and bright colors for everybody. San Diego Beer and Wine Tours enjoys a day at the races! What you wear and where you place your bets is totally…