tour

Halloween is coming, don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating! Did you know the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of great beer. In 1620 the Pilgrims had been at sea for nearly two months and were off-course by the time they sighted land. While they had set a course for the Virginia colony they ended up in New England, and they had a problem—they were running out of beer. This was no small matter—water aboard ship was likely to become brackish and potentially deadly, while beer remained drinkable. When the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of New England, there were pumpkins everywhere. Green pumpkins, blue pumpkins, yellow and pink, and mottled ones littered the ground along with the traditional orange. Their…

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…

If you’re looking for a top-notch hotel in San Francisco/Sausalito we highly recommend The Inn Above Tide. This is a great place to stay when you’re planning on touring the nearby wine country. The scenic vineyards of Sonoma and Napa are just a short drive north. The management at Inn Above Tide go above and beyond the call of duty. We were greeted by generous, kind staff that were more than willing to attend to our needs. Once escorted to our luxurious room we were thrilled with the special tokens of appreciation there to greet us, such as the personalized welcome note and beautiful bottle of local wine. The view of the bay from our room was unparalleled. The cozy fireplace a welcome addition; they even built the fire for us.   The afternoon wine reception in the drawing room was delightful…

Happy Cinco de Mayo! May 5th is a holiday that owes a lot to beer. First and foremost, it’s the day that commemorates the long-shot defeat of well-equipped French forces by the far scrappier Mexican soldiers in 1862, and whether beer was involved at the time is anyone’s guess. Cinco de Mayo, a minor holiday…

Expensive wines aren’t always good wines. Who hasn’t had the experience of being seduced by snappy packaging into paying way too much for a bottle of wine that is, quite frankly, mediocre? The same goes for beer. Even here, in the heart of craft beer country, there are great beers… and then there are duds. This April First, don’t be “fooled” by bad beer and wine in a beautiful glass! How do you learn to tell the difference between what’s pleasing to the palate and what’s just barely palatable? Often, learning which brands are delicious and which to pass on is a matter of trial and error or personal taste, but sometimes people don’t know the signs of a corked wine, especially when it’s being served to them in a restaurant. Here’s a tip – if your wine smells like…

This holiday you and your guests might like a break from turkey or ham. Try this Tasty Fish Dish from Cook Extraordinaire Marti! Holiday Cheers from Shira Bliss, LJWT. Flounder alla Puttanesca with Yukon Gold Fried Potatoes When I cook, which is frequently, I always use whatever ingredients I have on hand.  The word puttanesca…

Beer dinner at PB Ale House 12/8/11 This was an amazing meal with expert food pairings by the chef at PB Ale House.   After being seated next to Karl, clearly a regular based on the number of hugs from the beautiful wait staff, and Ballast Point’s very own sales person Laura Slayter, things got underway quickly.  We were early so PB Ale House offered up a sampler of their own and for the life of me I cannot remember what it was, however it was a tasty start. For the first course we got to dive into BP’s Abandon Ship Smoked Lager. Yum, it was hard to not drink it all before the food pairing arrived, but arrive it did and it paired nicely.  It was a Brioche Monte Cristo with La Quercia Prosciutto and New York White Cheddar…

The November 1 tour was one of those magical experiences for me as a tour guide and I am quite sure that my sentiments were reciprocal among everyone in the group. As soon as I met each couple on the Train platform that glorious, sunny afternoon, it already seemed as if we were all friends. And we hadn’t even begun tasting yet! Among the three couples—Deb and Dennis from Iowa; Krista and Jim from Hermosa Beach; and, Gerry and Leona from Calgary, Alberta, Canada—there were two birthdays to celebrate. Krista did not reveal to Jim where she was taking him this, his, special day and Leona was celebrating one of those birthdays that end in a “0.” We won’t say which one. She and Gerry had received the LJWT Train Tour as a gift from their children, whom, Leona tells,…

Happy Halloween! I’m sure our 9 guests had no idea what they were getting themselves into when a “Witch” met them at the train station shouting “La Jolla Wine Tours!” Instead of running away in fright, our guests were brave and approached their very strange looking tour guide. Fortunately they did, because what a fun…