Customer Testimonial: Dana’s Story

Occasionally we like to share stories of our happy customers who had a particularly good time on one of our Join-In, Private or Wedding Package Tours that are just too good to keep to ourselves, and so they wind up here on our blog.

Dana and Michael booked our Blended Bliss Wedding Wine Tour Package last January as part of their special wine country wedding experience for themselves and their guests. Here’s Dana’s story:

“We had a 10am ceremony in Napa followed by a lunch reception at 11am served family style with long tables at Farmstead Restaurant. After lunch we were picked up by Platypus Tours at Rancho Caymus Inn at 2pm. Most of our guests were staying at the hotel, so this was the most convenient pick-up location. We had 28 people taking the tour with us in two Platypus limo buses.

I visited Napa with friends a few years before and the concierge at The Hilton recommended Platypus Tours to us for a wine tour. We booked a tour and had an absolute blast. The tour was fun, interactive, informative, and a great way to get to know Napa and Sonoma from a local without having to drive.

When we were planning our wedding we wanted to give the same kind of experience to those friends and family who came to celebrate with us on our wedding day. Many of them had never been to Napa before, and we wanted to make sure they had a fun experience with great smaller wineries and fun people. I checked the Platypus website and they offered private tours. I called and spoke with Jenny. She was informative, helpful, friendly, and a huge help in arranging a wonderful experience for our wedding afternoon. She handled every detail flawlessly and even jumped in to save the day when some last-minute issues arose. She is a gem.

On the day we visited three great wineries – Hill Wine Company, Failla, and Frank Family Vineyards. Michael’s aunt lives in Napa, so we visit her 2-3 times a year. Frank Family is one of our FAVORITES in the valley. They are so nice, the wine is delicious, and it’s such a gorgeous setting. They have a wonderful and informative talk as they pour their wines and you really feel like family by the time you leave. We requested ending our tour with them, and as usual we had a blast. Our group took home quite a bit of their wine!

Hill Wines and Failla were chosen by Jenny after she asked me lots of questions about the wants, needs, likes and price expectations of our guests. Michael and I had not experienced these wineries before, but both were phenomenal. We really enjoyed the house and grounds tour at Hill Wine Co, as well as the great explanations of their wine-making processes. Failla took us into their underground caves and did a fun tasting and tour combination underground. We had a lot of fun with both of these wineries, and we took home lots of their wine too!

The two buses initially diverged at the beginning of the tour, one to Failla and one to Hill Company, and then swapped. We all ended up together at Frank Family at the end of the tour as planned. Both groups reported their tour guides (Alison and Army) had fun, entertaining stories, answered questions, gave some great information about the area and wine growing, and were generally fun people.

Our Platypus Wine Tour was a fantastic addition to a wonderful wedding weekend spent with friends and family. We got to experience Napa in a fun way that really made our wedding afternoon unique and memorable. I’d highly recommend booking a private group tour with Platypus for anyone planning a wedding, family reunion, group vacation, or other group outing in Napa or Sonoma. We’ve also recommended Platypus’ Join-In Tours to our friends, who booked a tour in mid-February. It is a great way to see Napa and get a memorable and fun experience.”

Thanks Dana! If you would like more information about our various wine tours, or specifically the Blended Bliss Wedding Wine Tour Package, please call (707) 253-2723 or visit our website. And if you have a great Platypus Wine Tours story to share as well, let us know. We’d love to hear from you!