May 29, 2008
Sonoma Wine Tasting With Toddler and Baby
I had to ask for advice on going wine tasting with kids. My wife and I used to do it a lot pre-family mostly in the finger lakes, but this was our first time bringing the young kids. Given one of us was going to be the designated driver (not it), and the kids would get very little out of it, was it worth spending a precious day on our short trip to San Francisco to visit wine country?
Out of all our days, I planned this one the most. I knew a full day of wine tasting wasn't going to work, so I had to do some planning. Here was my basic approach.
- Research some wineries that were 'family friendly'.
- Find one activity specifically for the kids
- Combine one winery visit with a picnic lunch
So for my trip to Sonoma, we made a visit to Train Town, ate a picnic lunch at B.R. Cohn, and then visited a couple of other wineries. The Benziger Family Winery, our last stop of the day definitely fit the bill of being family friendly. In addition to tours of the vineyard, kids can play in a small playground while Dad (in my case) can go to the tasting room. In one vineyard I had my son join me in the tasting room to help swirl and sniff. In another, my daughter joined me and just looked cute.
Most of this worked and we had a good day, but not without challenges. All in all, I think it was worth it but be prepared to adjust your itinerary based on your children's needs.
I think is good that children learn about wines and it's not logic that people prohibit that to kids if they late or early will know something about it.
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