I was ready to propose to my girlfriend and I wanted to make sure it was a special moment we would both be able to cherish. So, I booked a private tour for us with a few close friends. It was FANTASTIC!
First, let’s talk about our amazing guide Penny. Her parents should have named her Diamond because she as an absolute GEM of a person! Penny took the time to answer all of my questions (of which I had several) and all of my phone calls (again, there were many) with the utmost courtesy and respect. She handled every detail and kept things going perfectly smooth from start to finish. She gave me the perfect plan to make sure the surprise went off without a hitch. Not only my surprise proposal…Penny helped us BOTH to surprise each other! A DOUBLE proposal that neither of us knew was coming. All this magic orchestrated by the phenomenal Penny, who also had to keep our boisterous friends on track throughout the tour, lol.
Now the tour. It was very nice and would have been wonderful even without the double surprise proposal shenanigans. We were taken to 3 different wineries:
South Coast Winery - great selection, good service, lots of lovely outdoor seating. We took home a bottle of Reisling and a bottle of Gewurztraminer. This winery would be a nice venue for various parties or events. It has a restaurant and hotel but we only explored the wine tasting area and outdoor spaces.
Mount Palomar - some of the best Port and Sherry you will find in CA. The outdoor bar and courtyard are great. The barrel room is gorgeous (that’s where the surprise proposal happened) and would be a great space for party with an atmosphere of rustic elegance. We didn’t have time to explore the outdoor ceremony/reception area but we did take home a bottle of that amazing Sherry.
Callaway Vineyard and Winery - incredible views, very large tasting room, excellent service, and plenty of varietals on offer. We were fairly tipsy by the time we got to this final stop on the tour but it was a lovely place to end the excursion. We took home a bottle of the Bella Rosé for our next brunch.
All in all, this winery tour is top notch. We had a fantastic guide, we were transported everywhere in a sleek Mercedes Sprinter Limo (which was basically an awesome party Limo-Van), we had more tasting tickets than we could possible use that day, and we spent time at 3 gorgeous wineries. 10000/10. Allll the stars for the folks at Little Bus tours, especially the fabulous Penny!!