As you plan your wine adventures, this column could be helpful…….

3 tips for navigating Wine Country without a reservation

Here’s wine reporter Jess Lander:

We published an article on 25 Sonoma County wineries that don’t require a reservation on Wednesday, a counterpart to our June list of walk-in-friendly Napa Valley wineries.

These articles represent a major pendulum swing in Wine Country toward a reservation-only system. When I first moved to Napa in 2010, “reservation” wasn’t even in my vocabulary when it came to wine tasting. My friends and I would simply show up at wineries we heard about or that looked cool from the highway, and I don’t recall ever being turned away. Reservations seemed necessary only for larger groups, or the ultra-exclusive wineries that I couldn’t afford to visit anyway. 

But in recent years, there have been noticeable changes. More wineries began to offer elevated experiences — like ATV vineyard tours and multi-course food pairings — that required advanced booking. Others replaced their tasting bar with tables and fancy lounge furniture in order to host a more intimate (and expensive) seated experience. This limited the number of visitors a winery could host, and therefore reservations were encouraged to guarantee a spot, at least on weekends. 

So prior to 2020, one could argue that Wine Country was already headed in a more exclusive direction that favored reservations over spontaneous walk-ins. The pandemic simply hyper-accelerated it. When wineries were permitted to reopen after the initial lockdowns, they could only do so by appointment. After those restrictions eased up, most wineries chose to keep reservations in place. They found that it was not only easier to schedule staff but that they were also attracting customers who were more likely to buy wine and sign up for the club. 

All of that is understandable from a business perspective, but as a Wine Country local, I miss the flexibility of dropping in at wineries last minute. Whenever friends or family visit, it’s inconvenient to have to curate an itinerary well in advance. And I know I’m not alone in these feelings because many of our readers have reached out to share similar sentiments, which ultimately inspired this pair of articles. 

The change has been so dramatic that compiling these lists was a daunting and challenging task. There were also some interesting findings along the way that I feel will further help you, our readers, successfully navigate this new normal. Here are three takeaways. 

Napa doesn’t make walking in easy.

When working on our Napa Valley list, we found it nearly impossible to get wineries to fully commit to being open to walk-ins. Many of the wineries that made our list do so subtly; their websites, for instance, confusingly state that they are by appointment only. We were also frequently met with noncommittal language — such as “We try our best” — but when asked how likely a party of two could taste without a reservation on a Saturday, we were rarely met with an estimation over 60%. 

When I was out visiting in person, I ran into more ambiguity. One winery told me they can typically accept walk-ins, except when they’re short-staffed, which they were that day. I asked how often they were short-staffed, and they shrugged. 

I imagine part of this resistance stems from Napa County rules. The 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance permits tastings by appointment only. But I never found this rule to be enforced by many wineries until the past couple of years, likely because the county has started cracking down more on permit violations. Still, it was frustrating, as we wanted to provide recommendations that our readers could trust. So, if you’re going to Napa without a plan, you might want to avoid Saturdays, and mornings are your best bet. 

Spontaneity is alive and well in Sonoma.

The Napa experience made me weary as we started to tackle Sonoma, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that dozens of wineries seemed not only willing but eager to accommodate walk-ins. There were so many options that the greatest challenge was whittling the list down — and we still ended up with a whopping 25 spots. On visits, I was repeatedly greeted by warm, enthusiastic and charming hosts who truly brought me back in time to 2010. On the whole, the tasting fees at these wineries were significantly cheaper than in Napa, too. 

I found Dry Creek Valley to be the Sonoma walk-in sweet spot. Famous for old vine Zinfandel, this region loses tourism to its more popular neighbors, like the Russian River, Alexander Valley and downtown Healdsburg. But those in the know are rewarded with some of the most laid-back and bucolic experiences in all of Sonoma County.

It’s a good time to test the walk-in waters.

Throughout my many Wine Country research outings this year, there’s been a common theme: It’s been slow. This isn’t only something I’ve observed while walking into many empty or near-empty tasting rooms, but it’s also a sentiment that many winery staff members have shared with me out loud. We reported on this same issue last summer, and while visitation generally picks up during harvest season, this is still likely a good time to try your luck at getting into wineries last minute that are historically booked up — even on a Saturday. 

Reach Jess Lander: jess.lander@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @jesslander