Wine Train

We're not gonna lie – Earth Day is one of our favorite days of the year around here. Since our inception, we've been all about saving the planet.  Just check out some of the information on our carbon-footprint-reducing train tours and our emphasis on buying local! By the way, if you're a beer and wine nut, one of the best things you can do is buy locally.  It's not just that you'll get better beer and wine, even though you will, or feel more connected to the local environment while you sip, even though you are.  No, the best reasons to drink locally is twofold: first, you're supporting our vibrant Californian wine and beer culture and keeping local jobs coming, and second – and this is a biggie –  by directly supporting all the local brews, you're reducing the enormous,…

We generally don’t delve into politics, but we have to take this time to tip our hats to our great state, because it has done something wonderful and once again declared September California Wine Month. You know how we feel about that – that every month should be California Wine Month – but we’re delighted to have more of an opportunity to showcase our wines and the people who love them. We sincerely feel that developing a taste and an understanding of wines leads to a greater appreciation for subtleties in other areas of your life. We are especially happy about the opportunity to talk about the great Wine Country in San Diego. Restaurants throughout the county are getting in on the action too, heading wine tastings and pairing dinners; you can also explore wineries or take a guided tour….

The holiday season is almost over, and 2012 is about to go out with a bang! At San Diego Beer and Wine Tours, we don’t really believe in the standard New Year’s resolutions.  What’s the point of a year filled with thirst and deprivation?  Plus, nobody ever sticks with them.  That’s why we have decided…

It was Thursday November 29, 2012, and Paul Anthony and I were very excited about the evening’s plans. We had signed up for Michael David "Zins of Sin" 6-Course Dinner at Proprietor's Reserve. In fact, we were so looking forward to eating and drinking at one of our favorite San Diego places that we arrived a whole half hour early to the event!  That was a very slow half hour as we waited with anticipatory breath and salivatory glands for an evening we predicted would be full of delightful decadence.  Erin and Michael did not disappoint. Erin impressed our refined palates with dishes she had prepared with perfect precision and a brilliant mind for impeccable wine pairing. We even got to purchase these beautiful wines at a great price. (Being a member of Proprietors Reserve Wine Club has some huge…

`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…

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…

It’s a great day to make soup. Here’s a tasty recipe that’s easy and full of delicious minerals! Yellow Lentil Soup Boil lentils in 3x the water. Turn off stove and let sit 2 hrs. Drain and rinse. Make broth by simmering veggies of choice with water, kombu (dried seaweed), dried mushrooms, garlic, onions, bayleaf, dried herbs such as thyme. Cook the lentils with the broth. Add sweet potato chunks last half hour of cooking. When done add salt, pepper and little curry powder and WeOlive olive oil. Cook for another 10 mins. Serve with warm crusty rye bread and butter and an IPA (my current fav is Lagunitas Hop Stoopid). Join us on a beer and food walking tour and taste some great local IPAs. -Shira Bliss, Lentil Lover

I’m always looking to find a common thread on the secret to a long, healthy life. Well, I found it: DRINK BEER! This story was published a few years back. Yet, it still holds true. Do what you love to do and the youthful health will follow. Working plumber Buster Martin is training for the London marathon. That is simply amazing — 101 years old and training for something that most of us would not even consider doing. He is the current record holder for the world’s oldest 5k, 10k and half marathon. Mr Martin, who has 17 children, started work at Pimlico Plumbers in London three years ago because he was bored. He drank a tankard of ale before signing autographs and chatting to fans near the finish line of the Essex race. Age is no more an obstacle…

“I’m allergic to sulfites in wine.” We often hear that on our tours. According to David Bruce http://www.davidbrucewinery.com Did you know that your body produces sulfites every day? In fact, every 24 hours your body produces sufficient sulfite to require 100 bottles of wine to be so labeled!!! Sulfite production is a normal by-product of most forms of life. It is not surprising to discover that even yeasts produce sulfites! So… Even though wine makers who make wines that are completely organic (i.e. uses no sulfite at all) still may need to label their wine “Contains Sulfites.” Just keep in mind that most wines contain very little sulfite. It is a non-problem for 99.9% of people. Recently, on our wine and food walking tour of La Jolla, our guests enjoyed magnificent wine tastings and food pairings at La Dolce Vita,…