Platypus Wine Tours

We went with Platypus Tours for a day of wine tasting in Napa Valley and it was such a blast! Our guide, Tessa, was not only super knowledgeable but also super friendly, which made the whole experience even better.

We had a great group of guests on the tour with us, and we had so much fun getting to know them throughout the day. Tessa took us to three awesome family-owned wineries where we got to try some amazing wines and even snagged some great deals. Plus, at each of the wineries, if you bought bottles, they waived the tasting fee, which was a sweet bonus.

If you're looking for a fun and memorable wine tasting experience in Napa, we definitely recommend Platypus Tours. We're already planning our next girls' trip back!

We returned from Healdsburg last month for a reunion with my friends from graduate school. We use platypus tours for a one day excursion. Gary was extremely punctual and kept us on track. While we were at one winery, he also went back to our Airbnb to pick up my friend. I really appreciated that gesture; Gary was the one who suggested it when you hurt our situation.

I also like how platypus tours, has a very generous cancellation policy. They also do not charge you until the day of the event. They are also very open and honest about the recommended tipping.

It was so nice to have a driver for our winery day after realizing that it is very difficult to get a Uber/Lyft in the Russian river area due to poor cell phone coverage and not many drivers.

I love that they pick you up at your hotel or bed-and-breakfast, and there is no driving because they drop you off as well. Stephen was such a delight, so friendly and knowledgeable always giving little tidbits of information on the drive.
Beautiful vineyards, great wine and an opportunity to meet new people ! we would definitely look them up next time. We are in Napa!!

I really enjoyed our Platypus wine tour in Sonoma! We had used Platypus a few years earlier in Napa and had such a great experience- we came back. First our tour guide was very nice - Brian. He picked 3 lovely wineries for us to try. Lunch was delicious and actually went with our tasting. My feedback is to have a little more of a speech prepared with expectations of the day, more knowledge to share about the region, and finally we were told platypus had never been to the last winery - I wish platypus had previewed and researched all the wineries before taking us. The last was my least favorite, Ty Caton was my favorite. Also make sure there's a place for people to sit at the wineries if they like, the first one we stood for 90 min straight. Otherwise so much fun! Thanks Brian.

The tour was great! My friend and I really enjoyed the three unique wineries selected for our tour. The host handpicked wineries in different areas and proceeded a great experience. The tour included a lunch and it was filling and times well in between our tastings.

From start to finish, Platypus Wine Tours was fantastic. Our guide was Peter Healy and he was excellent. He got along really well with our group. He was knowledgeable about wine, winemaking, and the Sonoma County wineries. A lot of his knowledge was self-taught. I could tell he had a genuine interest in wine and enjoyed being a guide. It made our experience that much better. Along with educating us about wine and the area, Peter told us good stories, was punctual, and got us to all of our destinations safely. If you're looking for a wine tour, I highly recommend Platypus. And Peter in particular, if you can get him.

As I posted pictures and videos of our tour on social media, I had friends back on the East Coast telling me that they (1) had gone on a Platypus tour and had a great time too and (2) had gone to Loxton Cellars - one of the stops on our tour and my personal favorite - and loved it.

Peter showed up early to our rental house in Penngrove. He texted to let us know he had arrived and that there was no rush. This is one thing I liked about Platypus. The tour was laid back and the schedule was flexible. We never felt rushed. We could take our time and really enjoy each stop. Peter arrived in a nice, clean, Mercedes van. The van was just for our group of six. This was a small, private, group tour, which was another thing I liked.

Our tour took place on an ordinary Friday and was laid out roughly as follows:

Stop 1. 11:00am-12:30pm: Loxton Cellars (https://www.yelp.com/biz/loxton-cellars-glen-ellen-2)
Stop 2. 1:00pm-2:30pm: Mayo Family Winery (https://www.yelp.com/biz/mayo-family-winery-glen-ellen)
Stop 3. 3:00pm-4:30pm: Lasseter Family Winery (https://www.yelp.com/biz/lasseter-family-winery-glen-ellen)

All of these wineries are located in Glen Ellen.

Along with this Yelp review for Platypus, I reviewed each of the wineries we visited. As mentioned above, Loxton was my favorite. I think if we took a group vote, Loxton would win. Had we planned a wine tour ourselves, I'm not sure a small winery like Loxton would have even been on our radar. This is another reason you should choose Platypus Wine Tours - they will lead you directly to true gems like Loxton Cellars.

You can read more about my thoughts on Loxton on their Yelp page, but the basic gist of it is not only did the Loxton wines taste terrific, but I loved the humble, intimate, wine-tasting experience there and the "mom and pop" feel of the business. It was unlike many other wineries I had toured in Sonoma and Napa Valleys up to that point. I had been more accustomed to the bigger-name wineries like our last stop, Lasseter Family Winery. Lasseter is backed by John Lasseter, former Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios executive. In contrast, Loxton is owned and operated by a former experimental physicist and research scientist, Chris Loxton, who was there working on the grounds and getting his hands dirty during our visit.

Platypus provided boxed lunches during our second stop at Mayo Family Winery. I believe our group's organizer was able to customize some of the lunch options. For example, we subbed in potato chips for quinoa for our side. We had sandwiches, fruit (blueberries, raspberries), Aussie Bites (healthy snacks), and bottled water.

I think Lasseter was our second-favorite stop. Lasseter was actually a fill-in for our third stop because of a construction conflict. I didn't catch the itinerary before the switch happened to see where Platypus would have taken us instead. Perhaps it was another smaller winery like Loxton and Mayo.

The tasting fees were $20 per person at Loxton (waived with wine purchase), $20 per person at Mayo, and $40 per person at Lasseter. Lasseter was double the cost and it showed in terms of the tasting presentation (e.g., materials, design) and the grounds and facilities (nicer and more high-end). For Platypus, our group of six paid an hourly rate of $115 per hour for six hours plus $138 gratuity for $828 total.

my daughter was in town and wanted to go to Napa. We are usually go to Napa and go to the V. Sattui get a bottle of wine and get some food from the deli. But I wanted this day to be different and really experience Napa for wine tasting. I didn't want to drive under the influence looked for different options and found a small group tour through Viator. I didn't have a place where I can be picked up because we didn't stay in any of the hotels since we are local. I contacted Platypus and they suggested that I park in downtown. We were picked up with a shuttle and drove around 3 different wineries. A totally awesome experience from 1030 am to 5pm. The small group was small enough that you get to know people and their love for wine.

I still talk about it until today and have informed my friends from out of town that if they want to do a Napa tour, we should do a winetasting tour with platypus. We had a gal in our group that actually have done this tour six times because she loves platypus so much.

We toured with platypus years ago and we came back to them. Our guide, Jason, took great care of us. He selected great wineries with different vibes and stories. Jason set a great tone of having fun and encouraging us to ask questions. He knows the valley and pointed out great spots as we made our way from one stop to the next.

Finally, I'm here to spill the tea on this long-overdue review! I booked a group tour for my sister's birthday bash, and oh boy, it was a blast! Our tour guide, Chris, was an absolute legend! He shared tons of cool facts about Napa, and get this - he was a total pro at snapping pics for us!

Chris's expertise on the road and at the wineries was on point! My parents absolutely adored him and couldn't stop raving about his awesomeness! When I called to book the tour, their customer service was top-notch too - they had it all under control!

The best part? The shuttle picks you up at your hotel and drops you back too! So convenient! Just make sure to check if they pick up at your hotel on their website.

We hit up 3 wineries - so much fun! And guess what? At the 2nd winery Platypus treated us to a scrumptious lunch! It was sooo good! I seriously enjoyed every bit of this tour, and I can't recommend them enough! They took amazing care of my family for the whole day!

Cheers to this fantastic experience! Thank you for making my sister's birthday unforgettable! You guys rock!

We had a wonderful experience with Platypus Tours during a bachelorette party in Sonoma. Planning was so easy - they helped us plan our itinerary and made sure we thought through every little detail. The trip was seamless, and our tour guide, Army, was a saint! Would absolutely use again and recommend!