California Directory of Fine Wineries

Rating:
Summary: A Toast To The Finest Winery Book Around!
Review: This book has beautiful photography with clear, concise information and descriptions of California's very best wineries. These are the wineries that are not only known for the high quality of their wines but for their beautiful gardens, architecture, tours, tastings, and art exhibits. The format is easy to follow. It features the counties of Napa, Sonoma, and the undiscovered but notable wine country of Mendocino, showing each winery alphabetically. Additional sidebars give phone numbers, driving directions, web sites, hours of operation, and a quick-reference of each facility's wine varieties and specialties. The mix of wineries makes for a unique wine country holiday. Small family-owned cellars are listed as well as the familiar national brands. It's the best book of its kind that I've seen and the only such book found in hardcover. Travel guides don't get much better than this.

Rating:
Summary: too few wineries covered
Review: This is not the book for wine lovers who like to plan trips to Napa and Sonoma. Too many photos, not enough wineries. only 60. the "best" wineries? that's in the eye of the beholder. still looking for an update to "Touring the California Wine Country" which has a short paragraph on each winery and lists them in geographical order.

Rating:
Summary: Review of the California Directory of Fine Wineries
Review: We recently visited the lovely Napa and Sonoma valleys in Northern
California to do some wine tasting. With limited time to spend at each winery, we turned to this new hardcover guide to plan an itinerary. The book's images of each winery by master photographer Robert Holmes are striking; the information and maps are extremely helpful and accurate. Each winery is profiled within a two page spread and includes a convenient sidebar of facts about their specialty wines, tasting fees, tour and special event information, driving directions, and nearby attractions, Armed with winery phone numbers and websites we were able to call ahead to arrange for private, behind-the-scene tours. The book reads like an insiders' guide to this spectacular region. It not only lists the big "must see" destination wineries like Robert Mondavi, Beringer and Chateau St. Jean Winery but also directs readers to numerous little-known and charming family operations-like Raymond Burr Vineyards and Benziger Family Winery-that are well worth a visit. The unifying theme here is that all of the wineries profiled in this book are both recognized for making some of the world's finest wines and for being exceptional visitor destinations. Whether you're planning a trip to Northern California's wine country, as we did, or you just have a love for colorful and unique travel guides, I highly recommend this book. Even after returning home, we continue to use it as a reference of our wonderful trip to the Golden State.