Who are the Top Wine Tour Drivers in Napa?

Each year, Simply Driven drives hundreds of wine tour guests throughout Napa County, and we honestly do our best to match them with the wineries and experiences they are looking for. Believe it or not, there are times when our company is simply not a good fit for guests—be it group size, vehicle needs, availability or other needs that we simply can’t meet.

Because of this, many times over the years, tour guests have asked us to give our reviews and ratings of Napa wine tour services that they should consider. As you might expect, this is a hard question to answer, mainly because there are lots of great tour operators here and they each have a unique personality.

This being said, if we were to mention some of the main wine tour companies in Napa that have managed to stick around and provide a good service, a few to make the list (in no particular order) would be:

• DC Transportation: Dave Cortes was bringing me guests back when I managed Quintessa. He has a great reputation with high end clients and has added a sprinter van to his small fleet, so he can handle slightly larger groups.
• Verve Napa Valley: T. Beller over at Verve has been curating wine country experiences since 2012. They have a small fleet of vehicles and can scale up for larger corporate groups while keeping the small curated feel.
• Waken Wine Tours: Corey is a very boutique operator with one vehicle. If your group is seven or fewer people and he’s available, it might be a good fit.
• Access Napa Valley: Kevin Macway is also a boutique operator with one vehicle. Kevin hasn’t been doing wine tours too long but that’s because he had a 20 year career at The French Laundry… no guarantee of a reservation if you use him.
• Platypus: Breaking from the boutique operators, Platypus fits into the join in tour category. Guests pay a fixed fee for a seat on a small bus with other groups and their tours typically include a family style lunch. Because it’s a group tour, there won’t be as much flexibility in winery selections.

Although I could mention many more wine tour operators in Napa, this list of five deserves mentioning, especially if you find our designated driver service doesn’t meet your needs. As always, we encourage everyone who is going to spend a day wine tasting to use a driver of some sort… even if it’s your uncle John that doesn’t like wine.

If you’re reading this article, it’s safe to assume you’re planning a Napa wine tour. You may want to read our guide to Getting Around Napa and Sonoma where we break down the different transportation options available to visitors.

Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear from you and hope you enjoy your next visit. Cheers!