My Napa Guide

My husband and I planned a very special day for my birthday – a big milestone one – but I’m not telling which. After driving all the way from Houston, Tx and spending a not so great couple of days in South Lake Tahoe, the Napa tour that Dave planned turned out to be the highlight of our trip, and my year! We spent several days of back-​and-​forth phone calls and e-​mails prior to our trip e-​mails with all of our preferences. We have a Pomeranian that we wanted to take on tour with us. Dave was great with Sassy; not many tour companies will be so accommodating. He helped us find pet friendly wineries in Napa (there are many if you sit out on the Patio for your tasting) and made reservations for us for tastings and a special lunch on the patio so we could have Sassy with us. He was so knowledgeable about the area having grown up there, history of Napa, and all the wineries so between stops, we got a great education and had so much fun. His wife even works in the wine industry, so he’s totally committed to sharing all about Napa. He has the perfect personality – very laid back, but professional, and totally efficient with the planning and set up. We even managed to squeeze in an olive oil tasting – which was a fun experience too! All in all, a great birthday, and the best way to have a personalized Napa experience!

If you are looking for a fantastic visit to the Napa Valley I would highly recommend David as your personal concierge. His knowledge of the Wine, Vineyards, Cuisine and the community is «spot on» and his presence helps to enrich your overall experience. He takes the time to personally understand your interests and leverages that to customize a fantastic day (s). He gets involved in your day by helping to expand your knowledge while at the same time allowing you space to savor the wines in your own personal time. He was instrumental in getting us into some of the smaller, more intimate vineyards where most people would not think to visit. Thanks David for a great tour and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

My husband and I had only one afternoon to spend in Napa to wine taste. This was our first visit and because of our time crunch we decided to look for a driver to take us around Napa. David one of the owners knows wine country. More impressive was how personable he was and how well he knew wine tasting schedules and how to manage several into our time schedule. David set up our wine tastings and cave tour and when we arrived at our hotel our driver Myles was waiting. He was professional yet laid back, friendly and so knowledgable. Wish we lived closer, I would use My Napa Guide again and recommend you let know one else plan your Wine country tour but My Napa Guide! Awesome experience and service!!!

My wife and I spent 2 days with David as he took us around Napa and Sonoma. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY suggest you let David plan your entire itinerary. Once we gave him our wine preferences, he made some suggestions of a couple of very small, appointment only wineries we had never heard of in addition to a couple of the big ones we wanted to see. The small ones ended up being not only the best experience but also the best wine and we would have missed them without David’s suggestion!
His knowledge of the area is incredible as he grew up and worked in Napa. He actually had us looking forward to the drives as he would tell us stories about wine, the history of wine and the history of Napa/​Sonoma. I am still blown away by how much I learned in two days.
The lunches he scheduled for us were amazing. Do not visit Napa without eating at Auberge!
I would absolutely recommend David to take care of me and/​or anyone else I know without thinking twice. Great job David and I can’t wait to come back!

Last year was our first trip to Napa, and first experience with Dave and My Napa Guide. We had an amazing time with 2 other couples and couldn’t wait to come back. When we started planning our second trip with to Napa with friends who had never been before, the first thing we did was book another day visiting wineries with Dave. Of course, it was outstanding. He provided excellent suggestions for wineries ahead of time AND booked all of the winery reservations for us — which was a fantastic service. It took all the stress out of planning and we knew we would be in great hands.
Not only did Dave pick us up at the Westin and educate us about the various wineries and varieties of wines throughout the day, he provided outstanding service with a personal touch. We felt like we were getting a tour of Napa from a close friend… if we had friends that knew everything about wine. We can’t wait to plan our next trip back to Napa and when we do we’re gonna call Dave!

A friend from HS recently got married in Napa and some girlfriends and I decided to make a mini-​vacation out of it and schedule a full day wine touring as well. Unfortunately I got a nasty cold the day before we flew out so I didn’t taste any of the wines, but it was still an amazing day largely thanks to David Velazquez of My Napa Guide.
My friend had done the arrangements in advance and worked with David to tell him what we were looking for — there was some back and forth because we wanted to change some of the wineries and also fit some more in. David was very accommodating and responsive. He is very knowledgeable about the area (being a Napa native) and told us about the history of the region as well as some of the processes that go into winemaking. He chose a diverse set of wineries so we felt we got the full Napa experience. He also was very friendly but was happy to let us sit on our own during the wine tastings until he came to collect us. He also very nicely brought bottles of water with him for our picnic lunch (which we got from a deli that he recommended and were able to take to one of the wineries).
At the end of the evening (close to 7) most of the wineries were closing for the day but some of my friends still wanted to explore more. He was able to find a place that let us sit outside with a bottle for another hour (past their normal closing time) to have a relaxing end of the day. Finally, he was extremely patient and good humored about the copious amounts of singing in the car on the way home!
I would highly recommend this service to anyone wanting to use a designated driver at Napa. Since I ended up not drinking at first I was wondering if it would be a waste of money (aside from the fact that I really didn’t feel like driving) but David was as much of a tour guide as a DD and he really went out of the day to make the day special.

Wine tours in Napa Valley are overwhelming. Period. When my husband and I visited Napa for the first time recently, I didn’t have a clue how to go about selecting the best wineries to visit. After visiting the concierge in our hotel, I learned about My Napa Guide. We spoke with David, one of the owners, and told him what our preferences were. The next morning we embarked on our preplanned tour, stopping for a bit at Dean and DeLuca to pick up a few things for our picnic lunch. While driving between wineries, David educated us on the various types of grapes and why the Napa and Sonoma Valleys are so beneficial for wine production. The wineries he selected were unique, each providing a different view of the wine making industry. Our tour at lunch time took us to a cave tour. After the tour was complete, we had our picnic lunch overlooking the beautiful Napa/​Sonoma area. Although David had four tours selected, we decided on taking our time and going to three, so that we could fully enjoy each location. I was very happy with the service we received, and I would gladly tour with David and My Napa Guide again.

Katie and I recently traveled to Napa Valley where we had the good fortune of meeting David from My Napa Guide. David was our ‘full experience Napa guide’ and helped us create a magical day. David not only helped us by providing safe transportation from our hotel, to each of the wineries and back (with a brief stop-​over at Oakville Grocery for a delightful lunch!), but more than that he really provided a wonderful Napa experience. While we enjoyed our tastings and exploration of the grounds and caves at the various vineyards, David documented the day through photos he later gave us. Being a native to Napa he was knowledgeable about the area, wine and wineries and was able to help plan the perfect day for us that included our wish list coupled with some ‘insider tips.’ We enjoyed our experience immensely and would not hesitate to give David the highest marks and recommend him to anyone.
Kyle