American Wine Tours: Fascinating and Affordable

Wine tours used to have the reputation of being only for well-heeled connoisseurs. Today’s reality is very different. Some “wine tourists” fit that description, but the vast majority are people from many walks of life who just want a relaxing day in the country with an opportunity to learn a bit about wine and sample it a few feet from where the grapes are grown.

Wine tours also give you a chance to meet people, learn the history of the region and find out how grapes in the field are turned into wine.

No matter where you live in North America, you’re not far from a winery that offers tours. There are wineries in all states, even Alaska and Hawaii, and in most Canadian provinces. The number of wineries is growing fast in areas you might not associate with wine, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The easiest way to get to a winery is usually by car, but public transportation is often available. Most wine tours last less than two hours and range in price from free to about $20 a person.

TASTE THE FUN

When you arrive at a winery, you’re typically met by a guide who begins with a tour of the presses where the grapes are crushed. You next get a look at the vessels where the juice is fermented. These are usually oak casks or large stainless steel tanks that give wineries more control over the aging process. Most guides talk enthusiastically about the way that the winery ages and blends the fermenting juice to produce wine that has its unique flavor and aroma.

Finally, you sample the wine. Your host typically pours a small glass of each of the winery’s major types of wine. You’re not obliged to drink all the wine that’s offered, and there’s a vessel where you can pour out any that you don’t want. Crackers are usually served between samplings so the taste of one wine doesn’t linger in your mouth when it’s time to sample the next.

Items are often for sale as well, including books about wine, corkscrews, coolers and souvenir T-shirts. Bottles of wine are usually for sale at a discount.

If you take a wine tour during harvest time—late August in Florida and later in the year as you go north—many wineries let you take part in stomping the grapes with your bare feet. (That’s how juice was extracted before the introduction of presses.) Don’t be concerned that the foot-stomped juice will end up in a bottle of wine—it’s discarded.

Some of the country’s most interesting wine tours…

Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, New York. Built in 1839, Brotherhood is the oldest operating winery in the US. While many wineries concentrate on one or two types of wine, Brotherhood is unique in its scope, making a wide variety of inexpensive wines, including whites, reds, sherries and a ruby port. Located in the Hudson River Valley, it is about an hour’s drive from New York City.

Information: 845-496-3661, www.brotherhoodwinery.net.

Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina. A tour of the Biltmore Estate—located at the onetime summer home of George Vanderbilt III—is more than a visit to a modern winery. It’s also a unique glimpse into late-19th-century American opulence. Biltmore makes a wide variety of wines, including some that use grapes that originated in California and others that use grapes that are native to the Carolinas.

Information: 800-411-3812, www.biltmore.com.

Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards in Clermont, Florida. Contrary to what you might think, Florida has excellent wineries, and Lakeridge is one of the best. About a half-hour drive west of Orlando, Lakeridge is one of the largest in the state. One of its wines, Southern White, is especially noteworthy and becoming increasingly popular—rich in flavor and slightly sweet.

Information: 800-768-9463, www.lakeridgewinery.com.

Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery in Dahlonega, Georgia. Wolf Mountain is one of 10 wineries along Georgia’s “Wine Highway,” an hour’s drive north of Atlanta. Hardly a year goes by without Wolf Mountain winning a major award from such groups as the American Wine Association, Tasters Guild and the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. A tour of Wolf Mountain lets you see how an award-winning winery operates and also gives you a chance to taste its champion wines, including the 2006 Instinct, a Rhône-style red that’s aged in oak for 10 months, then blended and aged again for four more months.

Information: 706-867-9862, www.wolfmountainvineyards.com.

Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington. The winery won nine awards at this year’s Riverside International Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, California, where wine makers are judged by their peers. The big winner was the winery’s extra-dry sparkling white wine that typically retails for only $13 a bottle. Located in the Columbia Valley, about 15 miles northeast of Seattle, Ste. Michelle makes a wide variety of wines, including red blends, sauvignon blanc, Riesling and several others.

Information: 425-415-3300, www.ste-michelle.com.

Saint Croix Vineyards in Stillwater, Minnesota. Despite its chilly climate, Minnesota has a growing number of wineries, including Saint Croix, about 30 minutes by car from Minneapolis. Saint Croix stands out as one of the most creative wineries in the US. Its products include a rich, red dessert wine infused with the flavor of raspberries and a port made from Zinfandel grapes, giving it a milder flavor than classic imported port.

Information: 651-430-3310, www.scvwines.com.