Napa Private Driver for a Wine Tasting Day

With a Napa private driver, the whole group can taste at each winery while a chauffeur drives between stops. We pick you up anywhere in the Bay Area, follow a route paced to your reservations, wait at each winery and bring you home in the evening. This guide covers how the day works and how to plan it.

A tasting day adds up over several hours and several wineries. The California DMV driver handbook sets the legal limit at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% for drivers 21 and older. The DMV also says that a BAC below the limit does not mean it is safe to drive, and that a driver can be arrested and convicted of DUI even without a BAC measurement, depending on how impaired they are.

The consequences last well past the day. The same handbook says a DUI conviction leads to a suspended or revoked license and a required DUI program, and stays on your driving record for 10 years. The DMV's DUI page adds that for drivers 21 and older, a first offense at 0.08% or more brings a four-month license suspension.

With a chauffeur, the drive home is our job. The group can taste, talk and take its time, and nobody has to sit out the pours to drive.

A Napa wine tour with us follows a simple pattern:

• Pickup anywhere in the Bay Area. We collect you at home, your office or your hotel in San Francisco, the Peninsula, Silicon Valley, Oakland or the East Bay, and drive you door to door.
• A route paced to your tastings. We plan the day along Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail, through Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga, or down to Carneros. You tell us the wineries; we sequence the day, allow for lunch and keep reservations on time.
• The same chauffeur all day. Your chauffeur stays with you for the full day and waits at each stop. Chauffeurs are suited, background-checked and trained for discretion, and they handle the bags and the doors.
• Water and power on board. Chilled water, Wi-Fi and device chargers are in the car between tastings.

Timing matters in Napa. Visit Napa Valley notes that many wineries hold sit-down tastings that start and end at specific times, and that some have permit restrictions that limit how many guests can visit each day. A chauffeur who knows your schedule keeps the gaps between those slots calm.

Our Napa Valley service area page lists the towns and roads we cover.

1. Choose your wineries and book the tastings. Many tasting rooms require a reservation, and Visit Napa Valley says the popular ones fill up weeks in advance. Send us your preferred wineries and times. We help coordinate the timing, and winery bookings are confirmed in your name.
2. Leave room between stops. Visit Napa Valley says most winery experiences take at least 90 minutes, with travel time in between. We suggest building lunch into the middle of the day.
3. Send the final itinerary early. For wine tours, we need the final itinerary at least 5 business days before the day.
4. Know your cancellation window. Sedan and SUV reservations can be cancelled free of charge at least 24 hours before pickup. Sprinter, van, mini coach and coach reservations can be cancelled free of charge at least 1 week before the service date.
5. Get your quote. A wine day is a flat day rate or an hourly reservation, with no metering between stops. Dispatch confirms a flat, all-inclusive quote, usually within the hour, any hour. Most hourly reservations carry a minimum that varies by vehicle class and date. The quote covers the day as booked; changes on the day, such as extra time or added stops, can change the final price. Gratuity is not included and is optional.

Pick the vehicle by the number of people and the bags you bring:

• Two people: the Luxury Sedan (Mercedes-Benz E-Class, 2 passengers, 2 bags) or First Class (Mercedes-Benz S-Class or similar, 2 passengers, 2 bags).
• Up to five: the Luxury SUV (Cadillac Escalade ESV or similar, 5 passengers, 5 bags).
• Up to thirteen: the Luxury Sprinter (Mercedes-Benz high-roof Sprinter van, 13 passengers in individual captain chairs, 13 bags).
• Larger groups: the Mini Coach, or the Motor Coach for up to 56 passengers. Ask dispatch about seating in the Mini Coach for your group.

If you plan to buy wine to take home, mention it when you book so we can size the vehicle. Open alcohol in the vehicle may be restricted or prohibited depending on the vehicle type, passenger age, service type, location and the law, so ask dispatch what applies to your reservation. Smoking and vaping are not allowed in our vehicles.

For how to behave once you reach the tasting room, read our guide to Napa winery etiquette.

Send us your date, pickup address, group size and the wineries you have in mind. Dispatch runs 24/7 and replies with a flat quote before you confirm.

Reserve your car online, or call (888) 491-3088.