The Guide Needed a Be(h)ringer Microphone or I Needed to be Drunk
Written: Nov 20 '04 (Updated Nov 20 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A beautiful estate; worth a stop if you are passing it just to look.
Cons: Crowded; couldn't hear the guide, a canned speech.
The Bottom Line: This was a canned tour. It was crowded; difficult to hear the tour guide and not one I would go to again.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Beringer Vineyards |
On a Wednesday in late June 2004 after we had a wonderful tour of Hanzell Vineyards we visited Beringer Vineyards.
Details:
I called around for winery tours thinking it would be a fun day for our 3 adult children who were with us. Beringer wines are very well known so I thought the differences between the two vineyards made sense. As a comparison Hanzell Vineyards produces about 3,000 cases annually. Beringer produces around 11,000,000 cases a year.
I made a reservation on the phone for a 1-hour tour and was told it was $15.00 a person. I remember this so well because we had dinner plans back in San Francisco so we timed it making 3:00pm reservations figuring we could get back by 6:30. When we arrived there not only was no reservation for us but we were told that there was no 1 hour tour at 3:00 but there was a 30 minute tour for $5.00 a person. We were told the 1 and one half hour tour I thought we were taking was 1 hour, would cost $18.00 and was at 3:30.
Beringer Vineyards is the oldest continuously operating winery in Napa Valley and the first to offer public tours. They have a variety of tours including the one we went on called “Introducing Beringer.”
Others include the “Historic District Tour” which is a 1 hour tour at 10:30am and 3:30pm daily. This tour focuses on the Beringer estate, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an Historic District in 2001. Guests will explore the wine-aging caves and gravity-flow winery from 1876, the landmark Rhine House completed in 1884, and other architectural aspects of the property. A tasting of three wines that are only available at the winery follows. Reservations are recommended with a 20 person maximum. It costs $18.00 and requires a lot of walking.
The Vintage Legacy Tour takes place at 1:00pm and is 1 and one half hours long. This costs $30 and requires a lot of walking. You will start with a glass of their wine in Beringer's St. Helena Home Vineyard, which was part of the original estate in 1875, and then go to the Old Stone Winery for a barrel tasting of a pre-release wine in the caves. This is followed by a tasting of three current-release wines. Reservations are recommended. There is a 12 person maximum for this tour and is for over 21-year olds.
There are Wine & Cheese Seminar November through May. They are about 1 hour long. There is a 12 person maximum and costs $30. Using techniques developed by Beringer Culinary Director, Jerry Comfort, this sit-down seminar shows the basic principles behind pairing wine and cheese. Tasting includes four Beringer wines and four artisinal cheeses.
May 30 – October 23 Beringer Vineyards is open daily (except Christmas, New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving) from 10:00am-6:00pm and from October 24 – May 29 they close at 5:00pm.
Beringer Vineyards is located at 2000 Main Street, Street in Helena, California. The phone number is 707-963-4812.
My thoughts and experiences:
This tour could not have been more different than that at Hanzell! The tour we took is called "Introducing Beringer" Tour and Tasting. We took the 30 minute tour. There are no age restrictions on this one and reservations are not necessary.
The Beringer grounds are beautiful. Although our tour didn’t talk about the architectural buildings on the Beringer estate just looking around and walking around them was nice. You will have free reign of the entire estate but you won’t be able to go into the buildings. It was a beautiful day so we spent some time outside sitting under one of the many umbrella covered tables on the property. The buildings are historical landmarks and although it was quite silly in retrospect I have a picture of a building I didn’t even go into. Groups are larger than 15 people with a 35 person maximum. Now this is according to the literature. I didn’t count the number of people in this tour but I would guess there were closer to 50. (Note- my notes say I thought at the time there were about 25 people.) Time has made the number grow because in retrospect reconstructing the day made me think there were a lot more than 25 people. It is possible that there were only 25 but the rooms were small and half that number would have been more comfortable.) In many areas it was just plain crowded and uncomfortable to be standing and really not being able to hear or see the tour guide.
I have nothing against babies but I guess they are exempt from the 21 and over rule. Have a baby cry with 50 people and the tour guide across the room was frustrating. I snuck Hanna in (Our Pomeranian – we were told dogs weren’t allowed). She was in a bag and never made a peep unlike the children there. This is called a traditional historic tour. We were taken through the old-winery and caves where we saw where the wine is kept. One of the original tanks is on display and it is beautiful. There is an engraved design on the front it it. A couple of open huge barrels on their side are on display as well. I am sure they are there for the purpose people were using them for and that is to sit in them and have your picture taken.
The tour guide's speech was “canned.” It was a speech he says over and over and over again. There were no opportunities to ask him questions. Occasionally someone in our tour would and the guide quickly answered. It was clear he wasn’t all that happy to have this job. After this short 15-minute tour we were taken into the wine tasting room which was set up like a bar. In fact it was a bar. We were squashed into a small room and wine was put on the counter. Anyone who wanted who could get to the counter took wine. My kids got me some but I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Of course from there to no one’s surprise in order to get out we had to go through the gift shop. Admittedly there were some wonderful items here and we ended up buying wine to bring to our dinner host that evening.
More information about this experience:
You will start by parking at the free lot and go to the Carriage House where you will either buy tour tickets or go on a self-guided tour which is restricted to designated area. I wasn't all that impressed with the Carriage House though some think it looks historic. It isn't. It was built 3 years ago. From there as we did you will go into the Old Stone Cellars and Caves. This is a beautiful building with a third floor cupola. It was started in 1876. This is where the wine is stored.
The Rhine House will be your last stop. This is where we tasted wine at the wine bar. The gift shop is here as well. This is an even more beautiful building finished in 1884 with outside stonework, stained glass windows and paneling. It is really impressive.
Note the Leaning Oak- (which is not part of a tour) an over 200-year old tree. In honor of this tree Beringer introduced the line of wines called Leaning Oak.
Also on the property but not open to the public is the Hudson House built around 1850. It was Jacob Beringer's home. It is now the Culinary Arts Center.
There is a handicap accessible route which will be shown to you on the map you are given.
Jo’s final thoughts:
I am glad we had the opportunity to go to Hanzell Vineyards because the Beringer tour was very disappointing but what do you expect for $5.00, half an hour and a canned speech. I suppose for those of you who want to see a huge winery and one with beautiful architecture and a famous name you may enjoy this. I did not.
I would never recommend it to anyone nor would I go back to Beringer to tour their facilities even if I were going on a longer one that cost more money. Perhaps if we hadn’t gone to Hanzell I would feel differently and say I would like to try a longer more expensive tour but I can’t say that so 2 stars.
Please feel free to leave me a question or comment.
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Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Never
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