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Halloween is almost here, and another special day is just around the corner: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. In Mexico (and in other countries around the world!) it's a time that families remember their loved ones who have gone with altars and music. But it's not a sad holiday, at all – it's festive and happy, although it's perhaps just a little spooky. Anthropologists have traced the origin of the holiday to a festival for the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead. It included marigolds and whatever things, including food and drink, the deceased person loved the best. If you see flower altars this October 31st and November 1st and 2nd, you'll see photographs, flowers, and sugar skulls and bread to help feed those loved ones in the afterlife. Luckily, like us, the Aztecs also believed…

Halloween is coming, so don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating!  If you want a real treat, though, join us on one of our many craft beer or winery events, such as one of our guided walking tours through San Diego. There are many good reasons to learn about craft beer and local wine, not just because San Diego offers such an exciting array of both, but also because the more we learn about beer and wine, the more we appreciate them!   This month is particularly interesting, especially in light of the great pumpkin beer debates, because the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of pumpkin beer. You see, when the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of what was now called…

We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours would like to take a moment to address a serious issue, and one that is far more common than it should be: breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While everybody knows that cancer in general is a scourge and that breast cancer disproportionately affects women (yes, it affects men too!) what people don't know is how to detect the warning signs early or what they should do once they've discovered something irregular.  The National Breast Cancer Foundation is an excellent resource and guide, as is the national Department of Health and Human Resource's site.   There are also many other websites that provide information or collect donations to spread awareness and do research to prevent breast cancer.  Here are a few: Pink For October, Breast Cancer Awareness, and the Centers…

This week is San Diego Restaurant Week!  It's a magical time of year when all participating restaurants offer deep discounts on a special (and extremely delicious) price-fixe menu. We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours absolutely adore San Diego Restaurant Week, because we think that San Diego's food scene is upcoming, underrated, and filled to the brim with deliciousness. We also love Restaurant Week because we think great wine and beer, which San Diego has in abundance, is well and good, but it lacks a dimension if you don't pair it with tasty food. That's why we feature food and wine and food and beer tours, and why we're such happy champions of Restaurant Week. We think that developing your own palate, whether it's for food, wine, or craft beer, is an essential part of a happy life. Eat,…

We've said this before, again and again, but San Diego's best and most underrated season really is autumn. It's when the leaves on the trees change color, the low sun makes the water in the harbor look extra sparkly, and all the harvest activities are happening! One of our absolute favorite autumn events is Oktoberfest. This Bavarian beer festival was first held to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810, and quickly became a tradition. But you don't have to make a pilgrimage to Bavaria to enjoy Oktoberfest. San Diego, with its glorious craft beer scene, has taken the traditional Oktoberfest and given it a unique regional flair. Best of all, you can find them all over the county, from La Mesa in the east to Encinitas in the northwest, each chock-full of all the best…

That special day is coming up. Your big day. Why not celebrate with us on a beer or wine tour? We will make you proud. Your guests will thoroughly enjoy the festivities we've planned for them. We'll have party favors especially geared towards your celebration. And games and prizes that will highlight the bride and/or groom to be. Not to mention over-the-top fun drinking the best wine, and beer in San Diego! Oh, and did I tell you we have gourmet food on all our tours. Now, we're talking! And if you'd like a top tip on where to get your makeup done, Shira Bliss, owner of San Diego Beer and Wine Tours recommends Rock & Royal Makeup Studio in La Jolla. Mention "SD Beer Wine" for special pricing! Call Kristen 858-456-ROCK(7635) Here's Shira Bliss before her makeover: Here's she…

  Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance – September 11th – is a somber occasion, and one that we wish to treat with respect. It is, of course, the anniversary of the attacks on the United States in 2001, in which nearly three thousand people lost their lives. San Diego Beer and Wine Tours wishes to extend the deepest sympathy to the families of the victims and to those who continue to be affected by the events of 9/11. We hope to do our part to foster a love and hopefully, someday, peace for all of humanity by encouraging common understanding. We feel that can be achieved, in part, through learning about and appreciating different food and drink. For the month of September we will be offering $5 off all tours to commemorate the lives lost…

It's nearly autumn in southern California. The sky turns a particular shade of dusty blue and the heat waves everybody thinks should come in June always arrive in September. It's also a very exciting time of year in the wine industry, because it's harvest time!   We absolutely love harvest time in San Diego anyway, and the fact that we now have a month dedicated to wine makes it that much sweeter. There are special events and grape stomps all over the place! This year's harvest has come a bit early due to warm weather and a huge crop that promises to make 2013 a banner year for California wine. For all your stomping needs across San Diego County: The Julian Grape Stomp Festa takes place on the 7th of September, from 11am to 7pm. Thousands of people show up every year to…

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a day to honor the efforts of American workers. It is a classic American holiday, and a federally-observed day. Labor Day was signed into effect by President Grover Cleveland after brutal violence marred the Pullman Strike in 1894. But although this history is interesting, the real story here is how Labor Day and the labor movements are entwined with the history of wine in the United States. After the Great Depression hit, the wine industry made a comeback during World War II. As more workers returned from war and streamed into agricultural jobs, wages went lower and standards for farmworkers dropped. In 1965, California grape workers, led by United Farm Workers, organized a nonviolent strike, boycotting in vineyards within Kern County and beyond to demand fair treatment. Americans – more than 14…

Sometimes, we hear complaints that southern California doesn't have seasons. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have four seasons here just like nearly anywhere else; all it takes to fully enjoy them is developing an appreciation for the subtle. Which is, of course, a great way to learn to fully enjoy wine, as well.  That's our way of telling you that fall is on its way! In San Diego, you don't see many trees changing color, and frost doesn't begin to pinch at your nose until at least December, but you can tell when autumn gets here. The air is clearer, but with a tinge of smoke from chimneys and faraway forest fires, the sky is a perfect shade of chilly blue, and the grape stomps begin.  Did you know that there are more than 60 wineries in…