7 Wine Country Touring Safety Tips

NAPA, Calif. - June 17, 2013 - PRLog -- A wine tour is by its nature a day spent drinking and driving, or preferably being driven around by a designated driver. Being safe and comfortable is more than luck, it is preparation. As the wine tour season moves into high gear and possible changes in the acceptable levels of blood alcohol levels loom, this is more important than ever. Here are seven tips from expert Wine Country Tour Guides, Ralph & Lahni from Amicis Tours, that will help you plan the most enjoyable day.

1. Start the day with a good breakfast rich in protein and fat. Alcohol is a great digestive for these nutrients, so while the wine will release their energy, the food uses up some of the inebriating effects, thus stretching your tasting endurance. Our favorite pre-wine tasting breakfast is an asparagus omelet with sausage or bacon on the side. Asparagus contains two amino acids that compose the main enzyme that breaks down alcohol (Women naturally make less of this enzyme than men). Meanwhile the eggs and meat provide the dense protein and fat for the alcohol to help digest.

Other than a little buttered toast stay away from high carbohydrate meals all day. Alcohol is sugar pre-digested by yeast. It doesn't take many additional carbs to spike your blood sugar level. That peak will be followed by a crash that makes a person both nervous and woozy, which is not a good condition to be in driving around wine country. If you have a pancake breakfast in the morning plan on taking a nap in the back of the car in the afternoon.

Bring along roasted, unsalted nuts; cashews, almonds, walnut or pecans to snack on between wineries. These are protein and fat rich, avoid the salted nuts since it interferes with the palate. Also avoid peanuts due to the wide spread allergies.

2. Plan out your driving route in advance so you mostly make right hand turns, they are safer. You don't need to know exactly which wineries you are going to visit, just plan the route to bring you by the places you have in mind, even if it is a little roundabout. Remember, Wine Country is farm country with really good restaurants, which means it has narrow, twisting roads, bush obscured signs and drainage ditches big enough to swallow a Prius. Plus, many of the drivers you are sharing the road with are drinking wine,  so drive defensively, take your time because you don't need to rush in Wine Country. Hint: Plan your lunch spot first and then build your route around that.

3. The secret to a good wine tour is how much water you drink, so your best friend is a cooler filled with water bottles. Ideally drink two to four ounces of water for every ounce of wine and you will keep your palate fresh and your brain hydrated. You are diffusing the alcohol throughout your body so even your feet feel good. By flushing some of the alcohol out of your system you are further stretching your tasting endurance. Instead of feeling drunk you will feel physically light and mentally illuminated.

Since most wine tastings are four to five ounces of wine if you consume a bottle of water after each winery you should be fine. Hint: Pack a couple of bottles of natural ginger ale in the cooler to calm the queasy stomach that sometimes comes from combining hot weather, drinking wine and riding in the back seat. Always know who needs the front seat to feel comfortable and put them there.

4. Be comfortable. It takes plenty of sunshine to make good wine so bring your darkest sun glasses and a hat. Bring a non-sleepy anti-histamine. This is farm country so there is lots of pollen, yeast and mold. It may not bother you, but it is better to be prepared. Also, many red wine reactions, headaches, rashes and hives are histamine reactions that you can turn off with an anti-histamine if you come prepared. A strong cup of coffee will do in a pinch. One of the components that makes this area so suitable for wine grapes is the thirty degree temperature range, so dress in layers and bring a jacket.

5. While high heels are fun, remember, this is farm country. If you are going to only the biggest wineries for a countrified bar hop then you should be fine in your platforms, but if you are going to the smaller wineries, or on a cave or vineyard tour flat shoes are smarter. Besides, a sufficient amount of alcohol can make a pair of high heels a pretty unsteady perch so bringing a pair of flats along is smart. For both men and women closed shoes often work better due to gravel roads and walks among the vines, but if it is hot enough then the cooling benefits make it worth the time to occasionally shake a pebble out of your sandals.  

6.  Eat lunch after two wineries, or even one if it is a big, sit down tasting. Many times after two tastings people are feeling great, they have super powers. They are sure they can fit in one more tasting before lunch. That state of mind is exactly when they need an infusion of protein and fat. If instead they do another tasting their energy will plummet, their palate will go numb and they will be drunk and befuddled, napping in the car. That is why you plan your lunch stop first.

7. First and last, have a designated driver, either a volunteer or hired. If they like wine (not everyone does) they can smell it, since much of the experience is in the nose. If you want to drive and taste, then work on your spitting technique at home until you can taste without swallowing, or dribbling on yourself. Most of the taste buds for wine are in the front two thirds of the tongue, so you get a very clear sense of the wine's nature by tasting and spitting, professionals do it all the time. Truthfully, if you drink all that wine it all starts tasting good. Hint: Bring along a small plastic cup so you can spit discretely and not upset the people around you.

But remember, no cheating. DUI laws are draconian and if you drink and drive with a child in the car you bump the crime up to child endangerment, a felony and of course, there is the increased risk of an accident. So, follow these tips and drive like an adult, clear headed, cautious and patient and you will have a fun and safe day in Wine Country.

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Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are Tour Guides, hosts of the TV show Wine Country @ Work, authors of the top selling mobile apps, the Napa Wine Tours, and the Sonoma Winery Tour from Sutro Media, and the numerous books including 'Napa & Sonoma, A Love Affair In Maps'. They are owners of http:www.AmicisTours.com.