Max Napa Tours

Excellent tour. Great way to see Napa valley, learn about grapes and have some wine. Evan was very gracious and even let us play Canadian music in the car.

We had an amazing tour with Evan for my 40^th birthday! It was absolutely perfect! We loved the wineries and lunch spot Evan chose as well as his company. Thank you Evan for making my birthday and our first trip to napa a wonderful memory! It could not have been any better!

Absolutely fantastic! This is the personalized tour you want to take!
Max picked us up, promptly, at 9am. We did 2 wineries and lunch.
Max is friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Are you going to pay more? Yep, and it’s worth it!
Don’t miss this tour to Sonoma/​Napa!

My friend and I have done numerous wine tours throughout California but nothing compares to the personalized service and fantastic day we had with Evan at Max Napa Tours. We are officially spoiled. Starting with the first call I received from Max to confirm our tour and learn about our wine preferences the team was incredible in tailoring a Northern Sonoma schedule for the day perfectly suited to us — including a special detour first thing so that we could walk through a Redwood grove! Door to door service, sparking clean and extremely comfortable vehicle, fantastic and friendly wineries and great company. Truly, I can’t say enough good things about our entire day. It was perfect. If you have the opportunity to book a tour with Max Napa Tours you will not regret it. But fair warning, you will be so happy and spoiled that going back to a regular bus tour just won’t be an option. I can’t wait to go back out and explore with them again.

This was a great experience for my wife and me. Even though it was a rainy Sunday in Sonoma, Evan made it a great experience! We were paired with 2 other people and he was informative, interactive and a lot of fun! He listened to all of us as he formed a plan for our day and the 4 wineries we visited and had tastings were excellent. The learning that occurred with Evan in the car and at each stop was very fun. He chose a very nice restaurant in Sonoma that was enjoyed by all too. All in all, a great day on a gloomy Sunday! Thanks Evan and thanks Max Napa Tours! I would recommend this experience to anyone wishing to have some fun education in wine country! Besides, is there a better education!!!

My husband and I recently took a private Napa Valley wine tour with Max and it was the best day ever! Our day started with a prompt pick up at our hotel in San Francisco and continued with a comfortable ride up to Napa. During our ride Max took us through the hills of San Francisco, pointing out famous homes (some of our favorite celebrities!), across the Golden Gate Bridge (and stopped to take a beautiful picture of my husband and I!), and provided an extensive amount of interesting information throughout the ride.
When I had first booked our tour with Max, I provided him with the names of some wineries that we were interested in seeing. Additionally, he asked what our favorite wines are. Max did a wonderful job accommodating our requests and picked a couple other wineries based on our preferences. Next time I’ll leave the choosing up to Max because his choices (Cuvaison and The Terraces) were phenomenal! Max also chose a wonderful place for lunch (Ca’Momi) within the city of Napa where we enjoyed some of the best Italian food we’ve ever had.
Max kept track of time throughout the day, making sure that we had enough time to spend at each winery and towards the end of the tour, Max was flexible with the end time, allowing us to enjoy our last winery a little longer than we were supposed to. He even brought us to a shipping post so that we could ship our wine home. On the way home, Max thoroughly answered several questions we had and provided wine and champagne recommendations.
Max truly showed us the beauty of Napa. Not only did we enjoy a wonderful day of wine tasting but we were given the best treatment everywhere we went and walked away from the experience having learned valuable information about San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and wine in general. My husband and I can’t wait to take another tour with Max!

We booked this as a semi private tour but it ended up being just myself, my husband and our 21 year old daughter. What an amazing day Max provided us. Arriving at our hotel right on time, Max drove us through some of the more interesting neighborhoods on our way out over the Golden Gate pointing out the sites as we went by, stopping anytime we asked for pictures. Max was a plethora of knowledge about wine and the San Francisco area; entertaining and educating us on our drive up to the Russian River Valley. Max informed us of each vineyard and stopped at any we thought sounded interesting. This was definitely one of the best days of our vacation; he catered everything around what we wanted. Max even took us someplace where we could have our wine shipped home, cheaper than the vineyards. I have already given Max’s information to several of our friends and told them he was the only one to call. Thank you Max for an amazing day; we’ll see you the next time we’re in town!

This was my second tour with Max Napa Tour and I can’t wait for the next.
Setting up the tour was very easy. I contacted Max via email, he promptly responded (even though it was around the exact same time that he was in the hospital welcoming his new son into the world). Payment was easy and he asked questions to help determine the best adventure for our day.
Evan was our guide for the day and he couldn’t have been more fantastic! We had a combination of both wine-​drinkers and beer-​drinkers, and Evan was able to accommodate everyone. He even found us a double-​rainbow! Everyone at the wineries and breweries greeted us and we never felt any pressure to make large purchases. Evan had made a reservation at a great restaurant that accommodated the two vegetarians in the group and everything was absolutely on point.
Both Evan and Max are SO much more than ‘tour guides’. They immediately feel like friends and treat you as such, making the experience so much better and more memorable. Evan went above and beyond when I left my phone in the car and he even followed-​up via email with suggestions for my next trip to Iceland. Full-​service and more. Again, the title of ‘Tours’ doesn’t even begin to describe the richness that this company provides to all of their customers.

This is our third tour with Max Napa Tours and I have to say they are all so unique I could not rate one better than the other. To this point they are all 5 stars, so look no further than Max Napa Tours.
On this tour I contacted Max via e-​mail in late July and inquiring availability for a particular Sunday in Sept. Max responded in a few hours with a yes and the planning began. Our plan was to have Max pick us up at our hotel in Frisco, take the tour and then have Max drop us at our hotel in Yountville, just north of Napa City. Max knows all the wineries he has taken us to in the past as well as what we like and dislike when it comes to wines as well as tastings.
A few days had passed before hearing from Max again. Max had provided us with a full itinerary which included 3 private tastings as well as time reserved for lunch at The Girl and the Fig, in Sonoma.
Max provided us with a few winery options a along with links to their web sites, to help us in our final decision.
When the big day finally arrived, we were treated at our hotel right on time. It was great to see Max! All our tours were outstanding, as well as lunch.
One additional note, Max and I are both photo enthusiasts and own identical cameras. I jokingly said to Max, «since you know how to use my camera, maybe you could take photo’s during the tours, so for once I will be in some of the pictures.»
Max said «sure thing, I’ll take pictures for you»
I though that was awesome.
One final note, don’t look any further for a Napa Tour! Max is the best.

Absolutely phenomenal; our group could not have asked for a better experience! The booking process was convenient and pain free with Max really taking the time to get to know our groups intentions. Our guide, Evan, was extremely knowledgeable about the area and wine making process. It was apparent the company had taken the time to get to know more smaller/​boutique wineries that offered a much more intimate feel. They took care of booking appointments and were flexible with lunch times, extra stops at bakeries or the post office to mail bottles home. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone!

My best friend and I were treated to a wonderful day with Evan on our very first wine tour, and let me tell you: our next wine tour has a lot to live up to!
We (and another family of 3) visited 4 wineries in Napa to taste their impeccable brands, and grabbed lunch at a very fine Italian bistro. It was such an intimate and amazing experience, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity!
I’m even more thankful to Evan for going above and beyond to make sure our group had a great day. He was very attentive, knowledgeable, patient, funny, and just an overall great guide! He even made a detour just to give us a great photo op of the golden gate bridge!
This is definitely the way to go when it comes to wine tours, and I hope to return again with another group soon!

This wine tour is fantastic! I spent several a days researching and finally came across Max’s wine tours. He was very helpful in scheduling and quick to respond to our pre tour questions. Evan picked us up and led our tour in Sonoma. He was fun and knowledgable. I was a bit worried about touring with 4 others we didn’t know, but everyone was very friendly and Evan made us all feel comfortable. We visited 4 great wineries and had a delicious lunch. It was an amazing day and a fabulous way to spend my 40^th birthday. Thanks Max and Evan! I’ll be back for a Napa tour soon!

Evan was AWESOME!!! He not only took us to great places but he was so fun & knowledgable too! We will definitely recommend all of our friends here! Thank you for making our vacation extra special!!! We can’t wait to book another tour with you in the near future! :)

My wife and I had the pleasure of having Max take us and one other couple to Sonoma. We both agree that this was one of the best travel experiences we’d ever had. Max is both personable and knowledgeable — a unique combination which made the trip memorable.
He had to balance four very particular tastes and did so wonderfully. We would whole heartily recommend he and his company for those who want to visit the wineries but would rather ditch the big bus.

I’m usually leery of tours, but this was awesome. I didn’t want to be on a bus or van, this was the perfect solution. Evan was our guide for the day. He made the trip incredibly interesting and fun. We were fortunate to travel with fellow food and wine lovers.
When I booked this tour, Max followed up the same day to gauge our preferences and see if there were any particular wineries we would like to visit. I didn’t know that much about the Napa wineries, but I was impressed with Inglenook (one of Coppola’s properties) during a quick web search. They took care of the rest of the details, including tasting and lunch reservations. We were also picked up and dropped off at our hotel.
I was impressed with each winery we visited, which ended up being 4 total (or was it 5? I blame the wine), including the winery I requested. Evan was also very helpful with those who needed to ship the wines they purchased.
If you are visiting San Franciscio and want to take a day trip to Napa or Sonoma, these guys are top notch.

Max was able to accommodate my best friend and I on a group tour despite my last minute request. He also asked if there were any particular wineries I wanted to visit even though he had already planned the itinerary for the day. The day turned out perfectly. The tour felt intimate and personal, just as I had hoped. We visited four small wineries and even met the owner and winemakers at a two of the wineries. Max took care of making all of our appointments for the day and our lunch reservation. Max will definitely be my go-​to for tours in the future.

What an excellent trip and tour!
I contacted Max to help me setup a special day for our best friends 20^th anniversary. We wanted to do something a bit different as our group was made up of folks that were interested in wine, but, we also wanted to experience a bit of nature and some of the brewing arts (beer) the region is famous for.
Max’s expert knowledge of the area wove together the perfect trip of stunning natural light hike though a lesser known redwoods area that was absolutely stunning, a small nice winery or two, tour of the wine making process, and we even managed to catch an excellent brewery on the way back to San Francisco which introduced us all to a completely new style of Beer we’ve not had before.
Max’s great fun loving personality and awesome customer service didn’t stop there. On the way to and from the place we were staying Max provided local insights and history, even took a slight detour to show us some sites we were interested in, and before the trip even began he gave insightful restaurant and other activity recommendations that were perfect for our group mix.
Sure we could have hired a designated driver, but, we wouldn’t have saved significantly and traveling with Max as your guide is like traveling with a long familiar friend who knows the area inside and out. When we go back, we’ll definitely call Max for a perfect day in Sonoma or Napa, it’s set the standard for all our trips going forward.
Thank you so much for such a perfect day!

I loved this tour. My husband booked it for my 40^th birthday and we had the best time. Evan was a lot of fun and very knowledgeable. It didn’t feel like a tour at all but like being out with good friends. I was sad when it was over.
All of the wine and food were delicious. Evan knew exactly where to go. We are going home with three bottles and great memories!

Like everyone else that embarks upon a wine tasting tour, I feel I needed to do some major research. During said research, I kept coming back to Max’s tour. While it was the most expensive of the bunch I was looking at, it seemed more like our speed, and something we would enjoy a lot more.
Max’s tour kicked it! I’m so happy I went with him, so much so that we’re planning another trip to San Francisco with friends, and we’ll hire him again. You’ll be introduced to wines that you will instantly make a part of your collection at home. Max will ship wine purchased on the tour to you, but we figured since we had no carry ons, it would be cheaper to fly it back with us for $ 25. All I’ll say about this is… don’t follow our lead taking the Bart to the airport, and wandering all over the city with a case of wine. Take a taxi to the airport!
Our Sonoma tour started off at 9am the day after Labor Day. While this seemed really early, I understand the importance of the time line — and Max and Evan were right on time. Evan just moved to San Francisco, and as a good friend of Max, is now also working at MaxNapaTours. Total bonus for us, we got to hear knowledge of wines from two pros! It turns out that it was just the four of us, my husband, myself, and the two best tour guides in CA, which also meant we got to go anywhere we wanted. My two picks were La Crema and Peterson. Here was our full itinerary:
La Crema Tasting Room
Copain Winery
Diavola Pizzeria
Peterson Winery
Zichichi Winery
Bella Winery
Started off in Healdsburg where we stopped to grab some coffee. La Crema was a tasting room storefront, and since we like their wine, we bought a couple bottles we couldn’t get in IL. This was a very quick stop. Next, we moved onto Copain Winery. This was probably the prettiest winery we went to, and had my favorite wine off the day. We bought some bottles here, and also joined their wine club (there was no pressure at all for this, they didn’t even mention it — we just seriously loved their wine).
For lunch we were taken to Diavola Pizzeria in Geyserville. It was in the 90s that day and didn’t think sitting outside for a picnic lunch would do us well. Diavola is outstanding, had amazing pizza and salads, but this stop-​over did take a bit of time. Here Max ran into the Zichichi’s, who invited us over to their winery.
Onto the Dry Creek area (as I requested), and stopped at Peterson Winery. They were closed that day as they were preparing for the harvest. Max worked his magic, and the next thing we knew, we were doing a tasting with the 2 winemakers (and their wine dog Seamus and 2 wine cats Whitey and Old Red!). Fantastic.
After this we moved onto Zichichi Winery where we had the most fun tasting of the day. We got to taste wine out of the barrels, and ended up buying a mixed case of futures. Can’t wait to get this next year! This is also where I start to get tipsy and begin my wine spilling (crap). Again, Max is prepared for anything and runs to the car to bring me wine-​out. Thanks!!! My husband had a blast here, and met with the winemakers who told him all about the winery, and their past experience. I think I could have left him here for the rest of the day and
he would have been happy.
Last stop was Bella Winery and Wine Caves. Yes wine caves! It was a fun stop, and luckily here I only spilled my water. (embarrassing) They do the tasting in a cave, and this place was by far the busiest of any of the stops we were at that day.
I snoozed on the way back, and my husband chatted with Max and Evan. We arrived back just after 6, and ended a lovely day.
At the end of the day, we ended up with a case of wine, plus more on the way. It really seemed that everyone in Sonoma knows Max, and he was introducing everyone to Evan as we went. With either of these two you can’t go wrong, will have a fantastic time where you’ll be introduced to amazing wines, and will have fun memories!

I visited San Fran about 4 – 5 years ago. Sorry for the late review but better late than never I guess.
Tours were great! We did Napa one day and Sonoma the next. He picked us up in downtown and drove us back after wards. He will pick you up from anywhere in the San Fran area. He took us to a few places that were closed to the public since he was friends of them. I had a blast while I was out there. he also took care of the shipping of the wine for a separate fee. Long story short, we’ll be using him again when we’re out there again.
He also was nice enough to stop at the top of the mountain on the side of the Golden Gate (where you see all the classic shots from) and let us take pictures on the way back. That was awesome!!!
Bottom line; Best money for the value out of all the tours and he can get you to wineries that no other service can.