“Wine country” — whether it’s in the Napa Valley in California or the Hudson Valley in New York — gets busy during the summer months. So, this is a particularly timely inquiry…
QUESTION: We are the parents of a very well-mannered 3-year-old daughter, and we’d like to take her along on our vacation this summer. We’ll be going to a lot of wineries in Napa Valley, following some of the suggestions you’ve made. But a few of our wine friends are urging us to leave Makayla at home, saying she’s too young. What do you think?
ANSWER: Even the best-behaved 3-year-old can do a lot of damage in a winery tasting room — purely by accident.
For one thing, most tasting rooms have lots of glass bottles on display; after all, selling wine is their business. Secondly, most Napa Valley wineries also have gift shops that are stocked with breakable items such as glassware and decanters on their shelves. They may not display “You break it, you own it” signs, but that’s because they don’t expect to have toddlers running around.
Our advice: Leave your daughter at home for this trip, and make it up to her with a day at Disneyland.
Tomorrow: We’ll help you plan a wine-focused vacation inland from the California coastal community of Ventura.
Very good article! We will be linking to this particularly great article on our
website. Keep up the great writing.