Touring & Other Transportation Services

Wine Country Marketing & Promotions (WCM&P) offers very special tours in Napa and Sonoma County Counties. Whether you are a first-timer to the two counties or an experienced traveling connoisseur, WCM&P tours are an unforgettable experiences.

More info: Phone: 707-299-9548 To make reservations text @ 707-299-9548 or e-mail at winecountrypromo@aol.com

Our founder, John M. Olney, leads our professional, knowledgeable and personable guides on your Wine Country excursion. Mr. Olney is an acknowledge historian on the creation of the magnificent wineries first built in the 1860s through the addition of the most modern and newest large and small wineries dotting the country side of both counties. He sits on the 10-person Nominating Committee and is one of the 45 voting members of the California Vintners Hall of Fame sponsored by and housed at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone complex, St. Helena, California.

Mr. Olney has been published on Suite 101, Napa Valley Register and the St. Helena Star. He writes on the history of founding members (1903) of the Napa Elks Lodge and about wine tastings & tours throughout the Bay Area for WCM&P web sites. You may examine Mr. Olney’s credentials by clicking here for his biography, http://twccwcmp.blogspot.com/2007/12/john-m.html , and click here to access stories and articles written by Mr. Olney, http://thewinecntryclub.blogspot.com/2007/09/articles-written-by-our-founder-john.html .

To provide a sense of Mr. Olney's personalized tours, you can travel along with him as he recently provided to some garment industry folks one of which is a friend of our John Naab andn his wife Adrianne Love. " Jewel is a Jewel!" This tour follows the end of this introduction

Then you can see him giving a personal tour to a group of pending college graduates by clicking here ->> Birthday Party Tasting Tour

During your tour, you can enjoy a delicious lunch at one of the most talked about cafés or restaurants located throughout the counties. WCM&P can also advise you about your evening dining possibilities following the conclusion of your winery tours.

WCM&P has established a personal rapport with many of the wineries and winery personnel, as Mr. Olney once worked in the tasting room and provided tours to winery visitors and VIPs at Mumm Napa, Silverado Vineyards and Andretti. Mr. Olney is also well familiar with the golf industry of the Wine Country as he once worked in the Pro Shops of Napa Golf Course and Chimney Golf Course and organized and coordinated golf tournaments.

You can be assured to receive first class treatment by Mr. Olney and his well trained guides. The goal of WCM&P is for you to experience the genuine warm hospitality from our customer service representatives to ensure your memories of your visit are only the best!

Mr. Olney has designed wine tour packages focused on Napa Valley winegrowers which he believes will particularly appeal to the wine consumer who has already acquired an experienced palate and now seeks a deeper knowledge of the history of the development of these outstanding wineries while enjoying the great wines of Napa Valley.

Mr. Olney has also designed wine tour packages which will provide the wine taster with the opportunity to better understand the multiple line approach to a mixed house of wines made to the full range of palates as well as budgets. Mr. Olney will work with you on developing your own desired winery tour selections in which you request him as your tour guide. Please refer to our Fee Charge Chart for the special costs and terms associated to all of our Wine Country Marketing & Promotions tours.

The well trained staff of WCM&P can also arrange the following specials:

• Winery cave tours & dining


• Group & individual tours to wineries of your choice


• Private tasting at very exclusive winegrower facilities


• SF Bay Area tours

CALL US AT 707-299-9548 OR YOU CAN E-MAIL US AT: winecountrypromo@aol.com AND WE'LL DISCUSS YOUR DESIRES TO TOUR WINE COUNTRY AND THE BAY AREA.

A JEWEL IN NAPA VALLEY

By John Olney
August 30, 2008, all rights reserved, Wine Country Marketing and Promotions,

1325 Imola West, #409, Napa, CA Phone: 707-299-9548
Web site: www.twccwcmp.blogspot.com E-mail: winecountrypromo@aol.com

At the request of John Naab and Adrianne Love, on Sunday, August 17, 2008, I escorted their friends around Napa Valley for a little wine tasting, site seeing and lunch. The group included: Massimo Gareri, Jewel Di Paolo, Jennifer Liang and Savio Au (Shown from left to right below) Simply click on the pictures for enlargements.

They got a little lost coming to Napa from San Francisco, but not too badly. I suggested we meet at COPIA which has been tilted “The America Center for Wine Food and the Arts.” However, due to a lack of any serious attendance by local residents and out of area tourists, COPIA has had to drastically cut back on expenses. The first are of cuts was in the arts, followed by the food programs.

I walked them around the first floor area and they were not very impressed with what they experienced. There were only about 40-50 people milling around the displays, wine dispensing machines, the gift shop and the restaurant. They had seen enough so we moved on to our first winery - Silverado Vineyards located along Silverado Trail near the city line between Napa and Yountville.

I drove my car and they followed in theirs. I called them on the cell phone to provide tidbits on buildings, etc. as we drove north on the Trail. Jewel translated into Italian for Massimo and Jennifer translated in Chinese for Savio. This system worked quite well.

Our first stop is pictured below at the main entryway to the tasting room.

We then proceeded into the tasting room where I found Tom, who I worked with when I was employed at this winery back in 2000.

That’s me in the center being the ham that I am! We’re on the deck outside the tasting room looking north towards Mt. St. Helena which is above the head of Savio on the left.

From Silverado Vineyards I took the party to a site that very few tourists ever visit, but which I feel is very important since it commemorates the site where the first Caucasian settler, George C. Yount, who received the first Mexican Land Grant, established his home in Napa County. The town was originally named Sebastopol” but later was changed to “Yountville” about six years after Yount passed away.

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Here is a blowup of the plaque:

We then left for the next winery at which I also had been employed.

Jewel couldn’t wait to get to this winery and taste the bubbly.

Then it was off to lunch at Rutherford Gill (a.k.a. Houston’s chain)

Boy, were they all very hungry! And where did they put all that food?

As we conversed during our late lunch, I found out that Jennifer lives in my hometown of San Leandro, California, located across the bay from San Francisco. So we compared notes on streets, restaurants and bars that I knew about when growing up in the town and I found most of the bars & restaurants were either gone or she just didn’t know anything about them.

As it was getting late and they all had to return to San Francisco we said our goodbye’s at the Grill. Believe me, this was a great group to be out touring with and I look forward to being with them again.

Just some general snaps:

----------BRIDGET NOLAN’S BIRTHDAY & ------WINE TASTING PARTY

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The day began about 10 am at the home of Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd located just a few home lots away from the gorgeous Silverado Resort and Country Club in the eastern hills outside of the city of Napa. Bill’s wife, Mary, and her two daughters Georgia and Bridget Gann Dodd were busily preparing a picnic lunch for the party of six college students organized to celebrate the 22 birthday of Bridget Nolan. Already at the house were two of the three young men, Stevo Ostrow and Elliot Hayes, who escort the girls on the wine tasting outing. The last young man to join the group, Greg Mason Green would join the group along the tasting trail. Bridget Gann would wait for Greg to come up from Berkeley and then she and Greg would travel up valley to join the others.

To accommodate the party of six, Bill contacted Wine Country Marketing and Promotions and asked its founder, John Olney -who Bill has known for a number years - to design a full day’s activities for the group and drive them safely around tasting wine. The plan was to use two cars to transport the group from winery to winery.

The First Stop - Andretti Winery

Below, Georgia Gann flanked by Stevo Ostrow (left) and Elliot Hayes in the entry parking lot at famed race car drive Mario Andretti‘s Winery. (CLICK ON PHOTO's FOR ENLARGEMENT)

Back in the mid 1980s this site was know as Mallard Winery, owned by a hippie-like couple who conducted their business out of typical two story California Ranch style home with an out buildings and small rental home. In 1996, Mario and his partner, Joe Antonini, former Chairman of the Board of K-Mart, found the property available and purchased it with the thought in mind to remodel the complex to look as close as possible to Mario’s home in Montona, Italy when he was growing up.

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Birthday girl Bridget joins the others under the archway entry in front of the courtyard fountain that leads to the tasting room.

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The tasting room was filled with quite a large crowd of people such that Bridget’s gang was unable to squeeze up to the tasting bar. The party reviewed the tasting menu and saw that they were going to have a wait before they could experience the wines and finally elected to move on to the next itinery stop.

The Second Stop -
Silverado Vineyards & Winery

Next on the wine tasting schedule was the winery constructed by the widow of Walt Disney, Lillian, her daughter Diane and her husband Ron Miller. Mr. Miller is a former football star at USC and the L.A. Rams, and head of Disney Studio products.


<<<-- The fountain and stairway entry leading to the tasting room

BELOW: The tasting bar .

The three purchased the third vineyards planted in what would become the famous Stag’s Leap Appellation District which were originally planted by Harold Sees of the candy production fame.

<<<-- Birthday girl Bridget and Greg experience the wonderful aroma associated to the massive barrel storage rooms. Below: The fabulous view from the tasting deck with Mayacamas mountain range on the left leading to Calistoga and Mt St. Helena, the highest peak in Napa County

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Off to the Third Stop - Mumm Napa

Time for some bubbly is a serene setting on the deck overlooking vineyard land of the Rutherford Bench viticulture area.

<<< - Wait staff sets up the glasses and identifying mats. Below: The six different bubbles are ready for tasting.

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Let the tasting begin, and begin and…..

Now they are ready to take the 45 minute tour and learn how the sparkle develops in the wine.
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Below: After the tour they view the Ansel Adams photography collection and the Mustard Festival Photo Contest selections before exiting the winery and heading back for more tasting.

At the beginning of the tour Elliot had answered a prize question correctly and their tour guide pours their reward.

Meanwhile their other driver is working his way back from the Dodd’s home bringing the other Bridget and Greg up to Mumm to join the birthday party and tasting.


Finally Bridget Gann and Greg Mason Green arrive on scene.


A finale tasting with all six of the birthday party together enjoying a good time with their tour guide and then it’s off to picnic lunch.




Off to Lunch - The Fourth Stop

Jst a short drive northwest off of White Sculpture Springs Road is Crane Park named after one of the earliest settles in St. Helena who developed a large vineyard and winery. He donated much of his land to the city and part of that donation is the site of a large park named in his honor. Another portion of the donated property contains the St. Helena High School.


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Franciscan Vineyards & Winery - Stop #5

Although Bridget Gann works at Franciscan, she lets an on duty tasting room staff member give some background on this fabulous winery before Bridget takes over and gives the group a walking tour of her employment facilities. Then they sit in the courtyard and enjoy some well spent time together as for some of them their graduation from college nears.

It’s not always easy to get six people ready for a posed picture in front of the massive entry way fountain at Franciscan


BUT, TIME PEVAILS and they come together!







STOP SIX - RUBICON

The final winery to be visited is one of the oldest and most gracious stone wineries in the nation. Build in 1879 the Captain of the great Alaska Commercial Company fleet of seal hide sailing ships, Gustave Ferninand Niebaum purchased the vineyards and small winery named “Inglenook,” which loosely translates into something similar to “beautiful corner.” Niebaum retained the name. He completed construction of the winery some eight years later in 1887. While the construction was on-going he and his five partners amassed fortunes from their exclusive hunting rights gained after Alaska was sold by the Russians to the USA.

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Movie mogul Francis Ford Coppola, over a period of 15 years, meticulously re-established the entire estate depicted in this drawing displayed above many doorways as you walk through the complex.

The girls take a minute and reflect on their friendship.

And the boys contemplate their next Executive Officer responsibilities in the business world

With a staircase like this, how could one not gather the beauty of these young women and capture their moment?







The sun begins to fall and the wine tasting journey draws to an end.
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SPECIAL NOTE FROM WINE COUNTRY MARKETING & PROMOTIONS

We could only hope that all our clients would be as much fun and enjoyable as this group of simply great young men and women. My co-host/driver, Larry Cancelose, and I thank Mr. & Mrs. Bill Dodd for giving us the honor to escort these great youth of tomorrow around our Napa Valley. Best wishes in all their future endeavors.

signed: John M. Olney, Founder