Platypus Wine Tours: Napa Valley Tour Review

Platypus Wine Tours: Napa Valley Tour Review

Planning a trip to Napa Valley can get very overwhelming, very quickly. As I began research for this adventure, I discovered right away the endless options of vineyards and wineries that the valley offers, each with their own unique experiences and vibes. The secret is finding the right winery for your specific style and attitude. I’m not going to pretend like I’m a wine connoisseur, so as I was digging through my options, I was looking for wine tastings and tours that incorporated laid-back and friendly wineries versus the biggest names or the fanciest labels.

Saying all that, I was really happy that I stumbled across the Trip Advisor reviews for Platypus Wine Tours and as I read more and more about the tour company, they definitely seemed like the right fit! Everything I saw on the internet confirmed that Platypus does a great job introducing you to hidden treasures in the Valley that you otherwise might have missed on your own. Also, from the attitudes of the reviews, the other tour go’ers definitely seemed like fun/laid-back people to me….I’ll pass on the wine snobs, thanks!

This video, posted on their website is what sealed the deal for me, just look at that!

My experience with Platypus Wine Tours definitely lived up to all my expectations and all the reviews that I read online. There were so many amazing moments, but I will break it down to the 5 favorite things about my Platypus Wine Tour experience.

• Fantastic tour guide: Your tour guide can really make or breaks your experience in Napa. While there is nothing wrong with a more formal, educational program…that just really wasn’t the vibe I was looking for. Our tour guide, Greta, was a joy! She was the perfect combination of interesting facts and knowledge but presented in the most welcoming and unpretentious way possible. She even snuck in an extra stop at a few vineyards that weren’t originally on our agenda so we could see the grounds and take photos!
• Great vibes: Not just with our guide, I felt so at ease with the rest of the group. There was about 12 of us in total and you can tell that Platypus attracts a great crowd! We felt right at home with the other couples, who seemed to be all around the same level of wine knowledge as us…beginner level, but with a thirst to learn!
• Range of wineries: We found out the hard way that not all wine tastings were created equal! They come in a variety of price points, length, quality, and overall experience. What I appreciated out of Greta was that she was very informative and straight-forward about which tastings would be a good bang for our buck. She also planned our day so that we had a good mixture of low-to-medium range costs to ensure those with the smaller budgets could still have a great experience.

• Great investment: From my research, Platypus was neither the cheapest nor (anywhere near) the most experience tour experience in the valley. However, I can say will all confidence that these types of tours are 100% worth the amount that you pay. There is no reason to try and “taste and drive,” you are on vacation after all! On top of the convenience of not having to drive, you learn so much more than you would otherwise and have much more of an enriched experience overall.
• Tudal Winery: Finally, I was so grateful that Greta introduced us to my favorite winery during the entire trip. I even wrote an entire blog post about why they were my favorite, all thanks to Platypus!

If you have any more questions about my experience with Platypus, please let me know and I would be more than happy to give your more specific details. You can comment below or send a tweet to @TravelBlogueras.