• California
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Gather family or friends for a memorable and flavor-filled California culinary and wine travel experience handcrafted by CORK & FORK Epicurean Travel. We develop wine-only, culinary-only and blended culinary and wine travel programs from Santa Barbara to Sonoma and all points in between. Some of our very favorite California culinary and wine travel experiences for clients include the following:

• A gourmet winery picnic at a limited-production, family-run winery atop Howell Mountain overlooking the entire Napa Valley

• A chef-led tour of the fabulous Santa Barbara Saturday Farmer’s Market followed by a private cooking lesson and lunch featuring wine pairings and million-dollar views of the Santa Barbara coastline.

• Undiscovered wine experiences in off-the-beaten-path appellations such as the Santa Lucia Highlands, the Russian River, Alexander Valley and the Santa Rita Hills. Meet the winemakers and estate owners, while sampling the exceptional handcrafted wines.

• In scenic Paso Robles on the Central Coast, a morning of artisan food producer visits to an olive estate, an organic farm and a cheesemaker, followed by private tours and tastings at some of the great boutique Rhone producers in the chalky hills of western Paso

• An Epicurean Walking Tour of the old neighborhoods of San Francisco and the foodie-friendly Ferry Building

• A wine blending session and tasting at a custom wine
  facility in San Francisco

• An intimate herb garden walk with the chef of Marinus, the fine dining restaurant at Bernardus Lodge, one of our favorite epicurean-oriented properties anywhere

• A private group cooking lesson in an iconic Napa Valley winery or at one of the finest restaurants in Santa Barbara

Within our California footprint, one will find numerous fine wine appellations including Santa Barbara County, Paso Robles, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County, Santa Cruz Mountains as well as Napa and Sonoma. We enjoy exposing clients to limited production, family-run wineries, many of which are not open to the general public. The key winery visit criteria for us are pretty simple: the finest caliber wine, great people and spectacular or unique settings. Of all of these regions, we must acknowledge that Paso Robles is our favorite wine appellation in the U.S. It’s a small town in the midst of a wine boom (think Napa in the early 1970s). The Paso Rhones, Zins and even some of the Cabs are sensational (Robert Parker thinks so too!), and the focus from East Paso to West Paso is squarely on the wine, as it should be.

From a culinary perspective, the state’s mild climate translates into some of the freshest ingredients available anywhere. Organic farms abound as do artisan producers such as cheesemakers, olive oil producers, artisan bread makers and chocolatiers. We’ll take you behind the scenes from the field to the kitchen and will also help you experience the best restaurants the Golden State has to offer. From north to south, traveling with flavor in California is hard to beat.

Please view our Sample Epicurean Itineraries and contact us so that we may begin the process of handcrafting an exceptional travel experience for you and your group of two or more.