Emily was a five-star tour guide for our walking tour of Healdsburg. I love good stories, great wine and awesome people - we got all three in spades thanks to Emily from Wine Country Walking Tours. This tour is as much about Healdsburg as it is about wine. We started with a visit to a local bakery whose ovens were used to bake the world’s largest pumpkin pie. Next we moseyed to Thumbprint wines - a very unique winery with a memorable origin story involving a glitter pen explosion.
Next we visited Williamson wines. Ask for George. You MUST HAVE GEORGE!!! We loved this places, the wine, and most importantly George’s wine presentation and stories. Remember George! Next we did a palette cleansing at Russian River Tea Company - think locally owned Teavana before Starbucks bought them. This was great as we were able to buy some great teas and confections for out non-drinking friends. Finally we ended at Rockpile Winery and sampled a variety of Zinfandels with smoked chicken from Kinsmoke BBQ. Four hours well spent in one of the loveliest towns on earth.
What I liked:
1) The wine and food pairings. I’m a foodie, but a novice when it comes to wine. I enjoy it when someone says “here, try this food with this wine.”
2) The stories. I collect stories. It’s all about the human experience, and Emily has some of the best stories ever. Ask her about the Church Ladies Charlie’s Angels posse from Texas. You can’t make this stuff up.
3) The people. This is by far the best part. I don’t know if you’ll be avale to get Emily and George on your tour, but you’ll be a happy camper if you do. Emily gave us good stories and great recommendations. And while we wished she had had more people on her tour so that she could benefit from more tips, we really appreciated the personal tour and connecting we got from this serendipitous private tour.
Note: I love food more than wine. I like wines that make food taste good. I recommend this tour for anyone who enjoys food, wine, stories or people or all of the above.
Cheers!