Wine Country Driver

Perfect way to experience Napa! Knowledge and super-​friendly service made the day stress-​free.

We just spent the day touring the Russian River Valley with Steven. We booked with him after reading his awesome reviews on Unilocal and they were spot on! We had not been to the wine country before but knew of the various options in and around Sonoma. Steven created an excellent itinerary for us based both on our tastes, and the desired vibe at various wineries. Steven is clearly knowledgeable about the wineries in the Napa/​Sonoma region and we enjoyed his company throughout the day. He drove our rental car and had advised us ahead of time which companies had local offices near our hotel where we could easily add him on as a driver. The whole add-​on process took 3 minutes and we were on our way. He was professional, friendly, punctual, he brought us waters and he picked out an excellent take out spot for a picnic lunch at one of the wineries. We highly recommend Steven and will definitely use him again next time we venture into the wine country.

Steve was awesome!
As soon as we booked him, we knew this was going to be a great experience. We’d told him this was our first trip to Napa Valley, so he sent us a pretty detailed list of wineries and his recommendations. We decided that we would make an appointment for a tour at one vineyard, but we wanted to keep our day open and flexible and just enjoy our time out there.
Steve met us at our B&B and hopped into our rental car with a cooler of water to keep us hydrated between wineries. We drove to the rental company location in town, spent about 3 minutes signing the release, and we set off on our Napa adventure (don’t get too stressed about this part — Steve will walk you through everything).
He is super easy to talk to and we immediately were comfortable with him. We told him some things we liked and what we were looking to get out of the trip, and he recommended a wonderful winery to start off our day, Plump Jack (check it out!). After that, we were off to get to our vineyard tour.
On our way to all of the wineries, Steve would point out places that he thought were interesting, or tell us fun facts about the area or places we passed. And when we would get to each winery, he would walk us to the tasting areas and show us around a bit. It was pretty cool because most of the people there knew him. We were VIP!
After we finished up our vineyard tour, Steve recommended two other wineries to check out, which were also awesome. We ended up pick up a few bottles from each place and assembling our case to ship back home (Steve also recommended a place in town that had good shipping rates).
Steve even helped us with our dinner reservations that night. We told him we were thinking about a few places and he gave us the run down on each one. He knows the area so well and really gives you a fun experience.
All in all, the whole day was perfect, thanks to Steve. His recommendations were spot on and really fun. And he’s a great guy that was really fun to hang out with for the day! I would recommend him to anyone and everyone and we’ll definitely be back again!

I booked Steve for a day in 2011, but I still recommend him to anyone I know visiting Napa. He showed up on time, with a cooler full of ice for our lunch and future wine purchases. We booked our own appointments and built our itinerary, but since we are mostly testers (not as much buyers) he added a few places to keep up going. When it rained, he’d meet us at the door with a giant umbrella. He’d open my car door. He brought us to a beautiful park to have our picnic lunch which had great views of the valley. I think if you use him as a driver and area expert you will have a wonderful and safe (and DUI free) visit to napa.

It didn’t make sense to me to pay for one of those generic wine tours when you can hire Steve for around the same price! He was professional, friendly and very accommodating. He knew the area and suggested wineries based on what we liked. Would definitely recommend his service!

Steve drove us around Napa a couple weeks ago. He’s extremely knowledgeable of the area, professional, and considerate. We will absolutely be calling him again next time we are in town. Thanks for a great day Steve!

Unilocal never disappoints… and this is yet another time that this site led me to an absolute gem! Steve is fantastic. I realized he doesn’t have an unfiltered new (er) review on here so I thought I would post one in hopes that the Unilocal gods that be realize this is a for real review and leave it unfiltered. He is professional, friendly, funny, timely, thoughtful, and I could go on and on. Cost is now $ 30 per hour, and completely worth it! Thinking of getting a driver to make sure you’re safe and legal while enjoying the area? Look no further… and RUN, don’t walk, to his website. You’re gonna wanna book him right NOW! He helped make our trip one of our best long weekends ever. Thank you Steve!

Steve was AMAZING! I feel so lucky I found him online (thanks, Unilocalers)!
He drove us around for a full day in Sonoma. He is so laid back and full of great information about the wineries. He not only told us about the wineries, but he brought us to this amazing little market in Glen Ellen (the Glen Ellen Market, actually), for lunch, and we got some tabouli, couscous, and a panini– all of which were incredible.
This is really the way to see Sonoma (or Napa). It took all of 5 minutes to get Steve added as a driver to our rental car (but I didn’t know any of this until Steve told me – right away, in our emails, he told me what would have to be done, he recommended wineries, he just took care of everything.) And he brought bottled water– which was muchhhh appreciated after all the wine tasting!
Definitely go with him if you can get him!
Also– just as a last note– Steve is incredibly responsive. He always got back to me quickly, which I appreciated very much!

Hiring Steve was a great decision! From the day I booked he was responsive, helpful, and super nice. He gave great winery recommendations and gave me confidence that we would have a great day.
The day of, he was right on time and prepared. He even walked us into each stop to ensure we were taken care of, and every time we were ready to go he would miraculously appear with the car ready to go.
I have toured wine country through limo companies and tour groups, and won’t ever do it again. If I have too many to fit in personal vehicle, I’ll rent a bigger one so that Steve can drive us.
Steve, thanks for everything! You made our day a stress free, great experience.

Steve was awesome! This review is a little delayed– we were in Napa in April 2011– but someone just asked me for a napa driver recommendation and immediately I thought of Steve and how great he was, so I had to log on and give him his well earned props.
Before we even embarked on our trip to wine country, he helped us pick vineyards and prepared an itinerary for us via email based on a couple places that were a «must see» for us and a bunch that he knew were amazing. He picked us up at our hotel in downtown Napa and drove us in our rental car to napa and sonoma for about 7 – 8 hours. We would have stayed out longer but sadly the wineries close around 5pm. He was knowledgeable and reasonably priced, and every single one of his suggestions were spot on– better than our «must sees»! He even picked the perfect mountainside spot for us to have a picnic lunch catered by a delicious gourmet market he recommended.
We will definitely book Steve again when we return to Napa– I wish we were going tomorrow!

Steve is the best!
He picked us up at our B&B to drive our rental car for the day ($ 25/​hr — very reasonable) and helped us round out our winery stops. Steve gave us all kinds of great info about the area and places to see — he even went and got us some amazing Mexican food so we could eat at an outdoor picnic area along the way. We will absolutely call Steve next time we’re in Napa.

We had the pleasure of hiring Steven for two days last week during our anniversary trip to Napa & SF. His local knowledge and skillful driving were really helpful, as this was our first trip to Napa. He’s easy-​going and funny, and we really enjoyed spending time with him. For anyone who might feel a bit awkward about hiring a «driver», don’t, because Steven is really cool and laid back. Not snobbish or put-​offish at all! Balance that with professionalism, and there you have it. A great trip, just what we wanted, just where we wanted to go, and a couple of surprise locations that were definitely hits.
Hire him! He’s totally worth it. :)

Many thanks to Steve for being such a good sport, and a great driver for the two days we used him while we were in Napa this past weekend. It was a girls trip, and we decided to hire a driver to drive our rental car so that we could all drink lots without having to worry! Steve was phenomenal. He showed up right on time, knew exactly where he was going the entire day, and recommended a few wineries that weren’t on our itinerary as well as an awesome lunch stop. My sister had a little too much wine and by the end of the second day was well on her way to the bad side of drunk, but Steve pulled over and let her do her thing. All with a smile! Great guy, and extremely knowledgeable about the area, not to mention extremely affordable. This is a very easy way to tour Napa without the hassle of dealing with a «tour»… I HIGHLY recommend him!

Steven was AWESOME. Had a great day with him. My husband and I enjoyed his knowledge of the area. He introduced us to a few wineries we’d never heard of that were AMAZING.
Thank you!

We hired Steven Gardner with WineCoun​try​Driver​.Com to be our designated driver while touring wineries in the Napa Valley. Steven was prompt, courteous and offered suggestions on how to schedule the wineries we wanted to visit to optimize our time and best plan our route to and from our hotel.
The best part about his service is Steven will drive your vehicle. (If you have a rental car — you will need to make arrangements to add him to your contract in advance.)
Once booked, Steven reviewed our itinerary and made suggestions. He encouraged our group to make appointments in advance. His assistance before our tour — AND throughout our event — was incredibly valuable.
No one in our party had to sit out in order to be the designated driver — with WineCountryDriver — everyone can participate and enjoy the day.

Steve was great! He had great suggestions for places to taste and to picnic. He couldn’t have been nicer for the 2 days he drove us!

This is the way to tour wine country. Steven is punctual, courteous, knowledgeable about the wineries and incredibly affordable. He chauffeurs you around to the wineries in your own rental car so you can drink as much as you want and not have to worry about getting a DUI. Then he drives you back to your hotel.
Steven met us at our hotel right on time. We took a brief detour to the Budget dealership so he could sign on as a driver for our rental car (no extra charge) and then we were on our way to the wineries. We had a few picked out but we also wanted his recommends. And the ones he took us to were top notch.
It was raining off and on that day, so when we were walking out of one winery he was standing outside the door with an umbrella so we wouldn’t get drenched walking to the car. What a gentleman!
Steven was incredibly patient and we never felt rushed. He’s also a native so he knows the area very well and told us a lot about various wineries and the vineyards as we were driving around.
If you are looking for a driver in wine country, I couldn’t recommend Steven enough. This really is the way to go.

I wish there were more stars. Steven was phenomenal. He was right on time to meet us, friendly, chill, and soooo knowledgeable. He had a ton of recommendations and ideas but wasn’t pushy about any of them. We had a relatively good idea about where we wanted to spend the day and he was happy to oblige, filling in the gaps and adding a few highlights. And pointing out cool things like olive trees and snakes and artichoke bushes. =)
We had brought food for a picnic, but had we not, he knew exactly where to stop and where the best picnic spots are. Feel free to go to wine country empty handed with nary a plan, and you can trust Steven to orchestrate the day.
He also gave us some great recommendations for the following day, which ended up being just as much fun as the first (minus, of course, Steve himself).
So yes, the man is friendly, smart, cool, and offers totally reasonable rates. We kind of forgot we’d hired him — it was more like having a friend along who knew everything. He’s the perfect companion for a day in wine country.
Hire the Wine Country Driver for sure.

Want to keep it simple — visit wineries that are off the beaten track, drink wine, and not worry about a designated driver? This is THE way to experience Napa without hiring a limousine.
It’s simple — give him your location, the hours you’d like to hire him (6 hr. minimum), ask for recommendations and a timeline, and get ready for a perfect day in your own car — he’ll drive you!
Not only providing outstanding service and industry insight, his winery recommendations were fantastic. Kuleto Estate Winery (and tasting) was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve ever had. Along with only one other couple, we had the place to ourselves, enjoyed a fantastic tour and received generous pours accompanying unbeatable cheeses. We would have never known about Kuleto if it hadn’t been for Steven!
Wine Country Driver — simply unbeatable!

Fantastic! A must for anyone considering touring Napa and/​or Sonoma. Our weekend in wine country would not have been the same without him!
I am new to wine country. Hundreds of wineries, some snooty, some expensive, some downright amazing, but how is a guy or a couple to choose? Enter Steve, a local who has been driving for the limo companies and is more than welcome to drive you around, in your own car! I did the math, I looked up the numbers, it would have cost me more than $ 500 a day for a cursory tour in a company sedan through Napa and/​or Sonoma for ~6 hours/​day. We were with Steve from 9:30 — 5:30 on Friday AND Saturday; the total came to less than $ 500!!!
Was it worth it? DEFINITLY. Steve knew more about the area than I could have ever gathered from online reviews or personal recommendations, taking me to all the local gems that when I mentioned to other wineries they were flabbergasted I could be so knowledgeable with it being my first time here. We weren’t herded like most unknowing wine country novices, each winery was better than the next, with Steve drawing from his years as a limo driver and resident of the area.
What mattered most was the little things. Remembering water when we had forgot, bringing us a wine box to transport purchases, driving up to the entrance and zipping back the moment we came back; Steve was a real pleasure and a professional to work with. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a memorable Napa/​Sonoma wine tour experience. Thanks Steve!!!