Winemaking

Happy Pride from San Diego Beer and Wine Tours! Today and tomorrow, San Diego is holding its annual celebration of diversity: Pride Weekend. Much like our craft beer scene and Comic-Con, it started out a small gathering and turned into something much, much bigger.  Every year, the Pride Parade, festival, and afterparties transform the always-lively San Diego neighborhood of Hillcrest into a gigantic, colorful (and sometimes glittery), and inclusive party. We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours love and respect the differences that keep life interesting. After all, who wants a world just full of Merlots when there are varietals like Albariños, Montepulcianos, and the ever-delightful and spicy Gewürztraminers to try, as well?  And who wants to drink the same bland big brand beers every day when you can try a whole rainbow of craft stouts, pilsners, or  IPAs?…

Somebody get this guy a glass of wine!   We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours love and respect our dads – and yours!  We think that if beer is the mother of civilization, then wine is the father of culture. Its history can be traced at least to 4100 BCE, but wine probably existed far earlier. It has always been around, kind of like your dad.  Speaking of dads, did you know that the Founding Fathers of the United States were oenophiles? Thomas Jefferson had cellar after cellar of wine, and John Adams personally toured Bordeaux.  So, as you can see, fathers and wine (and beer!) all have mutual histories. We want to help you honor your father! That's why we're offering $5 off each ticket on our Fathers Celebration Tours during the month of June. We'll see…

  The signs are already here. Leaves have popped out on the trees, the birds are singing, the sky is blue, and the ocean looks mighty inviting. Soon, summer will be in full swing and all we'll be able to do is lie around in the blazing heat and pant like dogs. We have the perfect antidote to summer misery! What if we told you we had access to air-conditioned transportation to breezy wineries by the sea, where you could sip chilled wine and cold beer while you eat delicious food? And what if we told you that we've been doing it all along? Come beat the summer heat with us. Bring your loved ones this summer* and we’ll treat you to the best local San Diego’s Wineries on our cool Chauffeured Bus Tours or on our famous San Diego…

From left to right: son Ben, daughter RaeAnne, daughter Jade, grandson Coleton, Shira’s mother Malka, daughter Shayna, daughter Leeyah Mother’s Day is a very special time around here. Our very own Shira Bliss is an extraordinary mum, raising five beautiful children of her own, so she understands what mothers go through very well. That’s why we go out of our way to make our Mother’s Day tours very special ones for hardworking moms and their grateful kids. Jean “Shep” Shepherd, the humorist best known for penning and narrating “A Christmas Story,” once famously proclaimed that “beer is the mother of us all.” We agree that beer is a wonderful invention, and one that’s even been credited with helping create civilization. So, what better way to treat your mother on Mother’s Day than to introduce her to the delights of the mother…

  Earth Day is one of our favorite days of the year, but not for the reason you might think. While we love that there's a day dedicated to the planet we all share, we think that every day should be Earth Day. That's why we do the tours we do – it's the only fully “green” winery and beer tour you can find in San Diego.   Our chauffeured tours are no different.  While we're driving you so you can fully enjoy San Diego's great beer and wine, rest assured knowing that our low-emission vehicles help you participate in our environmentally friendly practices. We're also reducing our carbon footprints in another, more subtle way. By showing San Diego the delights of its own vibrant wine, craft beer, and local food scenes, we are helping them buy locally – which…

  We've already mentioned that this is one of our favorite times of year, from the Easter egg hunts to the buds on the trees.  We're also pretty sure we've mentioned wine's particular role in the spring season's rites and rituals, but since Easter (and springtime in general) is all about beginnings, today we're going to talk about the integral role beer has played in human history: helping spark civilization. That's right. Your humble glass of beer isn't just a delight, nor is it a brew reserved for sailors and ruffians (although, really, was it ever?) It's the reason everything, absolutely everything, exists as you know it.  The theory goes thus: ancient Sumerians discovered that they could ferment barley, and were so happy with the results that they retired from their nomadic ways to cultivate it. There was enough enough…

Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. -Robert Frost The weather's warming up, the sun's out, birds are chirping, and the sunburned tourists are arriving. It's springtime, one of our favorite times of year around here! Everything is new again, the cold and damp of winter has passed, and we can't get enough of the daffodils, johnny-jump-ups, and nasturtiums that are making our gardens burst with color. Spring is also a very important time in the wine world. It's when the vines start to wake up and start popping out buds, so we need to either store or drink last year's vintage to clear away room for the new, whether it's a cool flowery riesling, a delicate rosé, or a thick, sweet icewine. It's a very nice ritual, and dare we say, it's far preferable to spring cleaning….

Green beer is okay, but “going green” on one of our train tours is much better! We have barely recovered from Valentine’s Day, but St. Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us. As we adore Ireland with every fiber of our being (that’s where our lovely Shira Bliss is from!) we are happy to share some insider love with you. Now, you could celebrate the old-fashioned way – by pinching people and drinking green beer until you can’t look at anything green for the next month – but why go that route? Celebrate in style. Here are our suggestions. Don’t let its reputation fool you. Ireland is not just a country of craic and Guinness. It is also a land of epicures and microbreweries, which in recent years have started springing up like mushrooms after a rain. Unfortunately, not many Irish…

Happy Mardi Gras! Today is Fat Tuesday, a tradition that hails at least back to medieval Europe, when revelers would slaughter a fatted calf and party the night away before the next day, Ash Wednesday, marked the beginning of Lent. That meant an enormous party as people consumed their best food, beer, and wine to steel themselves for the Lenten fasting season. In some cultures, this time of year is also known as Carnival or Carnaval, which comes from the Latin root "carne," meaning "meat" (there's that fatted calf again.) It also marks the end of winter as it turns the corner into springtime. In New Orleans, which arguably has the best-known festival, people dance in the streets all week long, wearing elaborate masks, beads, or (in some cases) nothing at all, while sipping Hand Grenades or Hurricanes and watching…

It's Groundhog Day! This is the day, so the story goes, that Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his hibernation to check the weather.  If he sees his shadow and skitters back into his burrow, we'll have six more weeks of winter, but if the famous groundhog doesn't get startled, it will be an early spring. (This year, according to Phil, we'll have an early spring.)   San Diegans don't have much to worry about, no matter what the groundhog does.  We're lucky to live somewhere that has beautiful weather, no matter what.  We are, however, fans of the movie "Groundhog Day," in which an increasingly hapless Bill Murray is subjected to the same day again and again until he finally gets it right.   We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours want to help you get it right every day….