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Have you been thinking about going on a wine tour for a while now but are not sure if they are worth the time and money yet? Don’t stress! Check out the blog below and learn why wine tours are 100% worth the money and find out what you are going to learn on your Paso wine tour.
You love to drink wine and you’re in need of a getaway to beautiful California wine country. You know your favorite Paso Robles wines from your grocery store and after a quick search, you come across a blog post that tells you which wineries to visit in Paso Robles. You call your friends and tell them you know where to go and everyone gets excited.
You find a great place to stay, you look at the map and it seems that all the wineries are close together and you start trying to make reservations at wineries.
Then you find out that it’s not always easy to get ahold of your favorite wineries, they’re fully booked or they don’t allow your group size, and before you know it you’ve spent hours trying to book the perfect day in wine country, but haven’t gotten anywhere.
On top of that, you decide to check your Maps for drive times between wineries and realize that Paso Robles is the biggest wine country (AVA) in California, so they’re not actually as close together as they appeared.
Hiring a professional wine tour company would solve all of these problems!
They will help ensure that you make the most of your time in the area, visit wineries that are going to be the best fit for you, help with making all your reservations and provide fun, safe transportation on the day of your tour.
Why should I pay someone to plan wine tasting for me?
It seems like an easy task to plan your day on a Paso Robles tour, you know your favorite wines from your local grocery store, and you read online that those are the wineries you should visit. So why should you pay someone to plan a day in wine country?
Once you start calling those wineries, you realize those popular wineries you’ve heard of booking up very far in advance and have strict rules on group sizes. So getting in might not be so easy.
Also, the fact that you found them in your local grocery store means that there is a good chance it’s one of the bigger production wineries in Paso Robles, so they likely have a bigger marketing budget, making them easier for you to find when searching for places to visit in the area.
Obviously, there is a good reason that these wineries are popular, most of them are beautiful and they have delicious wine, but since you can already get their wines at home, wouldn’t it be cool to also find that hidden gem that you can’t find at home?
Paso Robles has over 200 wineries that you can visit and over 85% of those wineries make less than 8,000 cases and 95% are family-owned. So there are a lot of options and a lot of hidden gems.
Since wine is very personal – the only good wine is the wine that you like to drink! – a local & knowledgeable wine expert can find out what wine styles you like, what experiences you’re looking for and use their knowledge of the region to put together the perfect day that doesn’t require too much driving and helps you find a new best Paso Robles winery.
So, can you plan your own day in Paso Robles Wine Country? Yes.
But when you’re looking to book Paso wine tours it can save you a lot of time and frustration and you’ll usually end up with a better day when you let a local expert plan your day for you.
When choosing your Paso Robles wine tour, you want to make sure that the person who is planning your day is knowledgeable about wine and about the area – including what the local wineries specialize in, what experiences they offer, their current group policies, whether they have food available on-site or permit you to bring it in, and so much more.
At Toast Tours you will have a wine-educated concierge to help with all of this and we include free itinerary planning in all our private wine tours of Paso Robles.
Is a wine tour worth it?
If you have already planned your own Paso Robles tour or are set on the wineries you want to visit, then you might ask why you should book a tour. You can either drive yourself or get a driver (learn more about wine tour transportation options).
Driving yourself, unless a member of your party is not planning to drink, is a risky option. The wines in Paso Robles contain some of the highest alcohol levels in the country due to our long growing season. You quickly risk a DUI or even worse, you put yourself, your friends, and others at risk.
Finding a driver in Paso Robles is a great idea and there are many great options. Since you don’t want to risk a DUI and have decided to pay for a service, you probably don’t want to risk the liability by using a driver that’s not commercially insured.
Luckily in California, it’s very easy to check if they are commercially insured and state licensed by confirming their TCP number. If you hire a driver that drives your personal vehicle, make sure to confirm with your personal insurance that you’ll be covered in case of an accident.
What’s the difference between a wine tour and a driver?
When you have a driver, they bring you safely from point A to point B, which is a service that most local wine tour companies are happy to offer as well. So what’s the added value of a Paso Robles wine tour and what is the difference between transportation with a driver, and a wine tour.
On a Paso wine tour with a knowledgeable tour guide/driver, you will learn more about the history, the farming, the winemaking, and insider stories. A wine tour will make you feel more connected with Paso Robles than you could have ever imagined. You may never look at a glass of wine the same again and you will have made fun memories that will last a lifetime.
If you’ve been on wine tours in other wine regions, you may think you’ve heard it all.
But the truth is that with wine, no one knows it all. It’s very site-specific and there is just too much to know.
Also, Paso Robles is a unique wine country in the United States. Located on the Pacific Plate it was once the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and sits on the thickest deposit of limestone, calcareous shale, and mudstone of any wine country in the United States.
For wine, limestone is considered the Holy Grail of terroir. With only 7% of the Earth’s surface being limestone, it is found in some of the most prestigious wine regions in the world – and this includes Paso Robles.
A knowledgeable guide can teach you how to taste wine properly, and help you learn about your palate and why you like certain wines more than others.
It may even help you the next time you’re in the grocery store and you’re staring at that intimidating aisle of wines or when you’re choosing off a wine list in a restaurant.
Paso Robles is California’s biggest, most diverse, and exciting wine country! There’s so much to see, do & learn – so make the most of your time and let Toast Tours put together your perfect wine country getaway and Paso Robles wine tour.
What would be included in a private Paso Robles wine tour with Toast Tours?
When you book your private tour with Toast Tours, itinerary planning is always included.
Once a date is confirmed, our wine country concierge will work with you to help select the wineries that are going to be the best fit specifically for your group and will help plan your day, including making all your reservations on your behalf.
We work with all the wineries in Paso Robles, so regardless of what you’re looking for – whether you want to tour a vineyard or production facility, enjoy elevated tasting experiences, or visit places with beautiful views and a casual ambiance where you can relax and enjoy time with your friends – they’ll know what spots to recommend based on your wine styles, preferences, and budget.
They can also help you plan the number of stops you’ll visit during the day, where you’re going to have lunch, and whether you’re going to enjoy a picnic at a winery (which Toast Tours can provide) or visit one of the wineries that has a great on-site kitchen.
Each tour picks up directly at your accommodations, and you’ll enjoy a comfortable vehicle stocked with bottled water and plenty of room for you and your friends.
On the tour itself, you’ll have a knowledgeable and professional driver/tour guide to safely drive you to the stops on your planned itinerary and share information with you about Paso Robles, winemaking, and more. They will also help keep you on time as well as carry & safely store your wine purchases.
If you have any questions about how Toast Tours can help plan your perfect wine country getaway, don’t hesitate to reach out today!
