October 17, 2019: San Francisco – Day One
A group of us from our cruise critic roll call decided to get together and share an excursion with Painted Ladies Tour Company to Sonoma Valley. We visited three wineries (Jacuzzi, Kunde, and Kival Stadt).
Our driver Cyrus was amazing! personable, fun, entertaining, and very accommodating. We also loved his choice of music!
Our group (which included 2 vans and a third from which people spilled into) arranged for pick up and drop off from the cruise ship terminal which was appreciated.
We had a quick drive through of San Francisco including a fun drive down Lombard Street with spectacular views of downtown in the morning sun.
A pit stop at the Golden Gate Bridge was included along the way to our first winery.Our first stop was at the family owned Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. Established in 2007 by Fred Cline as a way of honoring his beloved grandfather Valeriano Jacuzzi who emigrated to the United States in 1907 from Italy. “The building that houses Jacuzzi Family Vineyards and The Olive Press is a tribute to the Jacuzzi family home in Casarsa, Italy.“
Next up was the Kunde family winery – established in 1904. “For over a century, five generations of the Kunde Family have farmed the 1,850 acre estate in the Sonoma Valley – a truly remarkable legacy in the modern age of California winemaking.”
This would be our favourite stop! with special thanks to our amazing Sommelier, “Bob”.
We stopped for lunch at another winery (non-tasting, but you could purchase wine with your meal).
Our final stop was at Kival Stadt, which was our least favourite of the three, but still an interesting experience.
“Since the inaugural 2007 vintage, Kival Stadt strives to create wines of intrigue that maintain a fun and approachable style and challenge the status quo of conventional California wines.”
October 18, 2019: San Francisco – Day Two
For our second day in San Francisco, we decided to stroll on our own at a relaxed pace along the waterfront.
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