The Wine Spectator’s June 15th issue has a feature article entitled “Napa Valley Getaways, a Wine Lover’s Guide to Fit Every Budget.” Well, not every budget as you might imagine. The Wine Spectator’s subscribers assuredly are in income brackets that span from the super rich to the high middle class. I would surmise, there are few wine lovers below this economic bracket that read Wine Spectator on a regular basis.

At the top end, for “those sparing no expense” subscribers, the article makes recommendations of where to stay and dine in the Napa Valley. They mention Auberge du Soleil, Brandesonno, and Meadowood where room rates run from $450 to as much as $8750 a night at Meadowood.

I would imagine that many Wine Spectator readers immediately did as I did and skipped to the budget portion of the Napa guide. I consider myself an expert in this area since we travel often to the Napa Valley and always travel in the budget mode. I think the article missed some important tips that I would like to add. Read the rest of this entry »

You’re getting ready for a getaway to the Napa Valley but the gloom of the economy is making you feel a little guilty about spending so much money. You can save an easy $100 in tasting room fees if you use the right approach. Plot your strategy with some of these ideas.

Number One: If you walk into a tasting room and the fee is $20, get the heck out of there. No winery should charge that much for a tasting no matter how good the wine.

Number Two: Visit wineries that have a tasting fee of $10 or less and combined with a policy where the tasting fee can be applied to a purchase of wine. Encouraging folks to purchase wine by waiving the tasting fee makes good marketing sense. We don’t understand why more Napa Valley wineries do not have this policy. Read the rest of this entry »