^TM

Touring Napa wine country has always presented a small problem. Who drives? After sipping vintages at a just a couple of wineries, no one is fit to take the wheel, and it's no fun to be on a weekend getaway and be the designated driver, or as a friend says "the dizzy nekked driver." Now there is a new option: you can float on a yacht through the wine country on the Petaluma and Napa Rivers, then take a private bus to wineries. This permits you to sip on the yacht, sip on the bus, and sip at the wineries with no problem. You also see private art estates and get special access and treatment at the wineries. Arriving by yacht is like pulling up at a restaurant in a Lamborghini-people notice. The three-night weekend cruise on the 21-passenger Safari Quest yacht departs the San Francisco waterfront on a Friday afternoon and returns early Monday morning.

Boarding the boxy motor yacht from Pier 40, we stepped down into a salon with a bar counter straight ahead covered with canap�s and a crew ready to pour champagne all around. Built-in seating with soft cushions lined the walls, teak ran in racing stripes along the walls, and brass winked from every angle. In the open space were a few overstuffed modern chairs. The dining room was to the right , and in between, a wooden stairway led up to the top deck.

Soon the boat slipped away from the dock, skirted the Golden Gate Bridge and headed north. Up on the top deck we all lifted a glass of champagne as the afternoon light turned the receding city to gold. The craft passed through the Raccoon Straits to San Pablo Bay and entered the Petaluma River. Once you leave San Francisco Bay there are rolling hills and agricultural land.

Later, at the small town harbor at Petaluma, the yacht motored in quietly and tied up, looking like a sophisticated city sister to the small working fishermen's boats nearby. It was a short stroll into town, with its Victorian houses, B&Bs, banks, and shops, all built during the glory days when Petaluma was the chicken capital of the world and boasted the first chicken veterinary hospital.

Dinner was served on board at tables covered in white linens. Chef Gary Trupiano, serves local veal, beef and seafood, and uses local tomatoes, figs and cheeses. After dinner, we did a little star gazing from the top deck then retired to our cabins. Our Admiral's Stateroom on the second level was quiet, with sliding glass doors and natural fiber bed covers on two very soft beds, and a video system. The bathroom was large, with a shower and a marble basin.

The next day the sun rose over the tiny harbor as ducks quacked below our window. After breakfast we drove to the di Rosa Preserve: Art and Nature, on a former grape-growing estate that showcases the art collection of owner Rene di Rosa, who has collected Bay Area artists' work for more than 40 years. Driving in past grape vineyards and rolling meadows, we saw bright metal cows standing in a lake, and near the house (now one of the galleries) the sculpture of a grandmother in a print dress stood in the garden admiring the roses. Of four galleries full of art, my favorite piece was David Best's "Rhinocar," a 1976 Oldsmobile covered with bottle caps, golf balls, baby dolls, antique tools, fur and old toys, with the head of an real rhino for a hood ornament.

Then it was on to Shug cellars, famous for their pinot noirs. After a tour of the tasting room in an English half-timbered building, winemaster and owner Walter Shug led us to the cool dark cave where a formal lunch was set up. A 1997 Shug Chardonnay, Carneros was just one wine served with the smoked pie pumpkin soup for starters, and a wonderfully spicy 1996 Schug Pinot Noir, Heritage Reserve was among wines offered with the main course of pork lion with raisin onion-marmalade. The patrician-looking Shug spoke informally as if to a small group of friends, explaining about the wine business and how it has been entwined with California politics from the beginning.

Returning to Petaluma we wandered through the countless antique stores and antique malls in historic buildings. You could take a historic walking tour with a costumed guide if you chose. Instead I dropped into Dom Ivana, a maker of herbal lotions and cosmetics, and ordered some body lotion scented with ginger and bergamot.. Passengers could also take the yacht's Zodiac or the bikes for a spin.

Nightly on every cruise a winemaker hosts a wine-tasting on board, and you're welcome to ask anything about wine you may have missed during the day.. A favorite is Arel Wente, who tells her remarkable life story in casual conversation. Pushing off in the evening, depending on the tides, the boat cruises down river and anchors however far it gets, often in San Pablo Bay. We were all so involved with wine sampling and conversation we didn't notice where we stopped.

Sunday morning I woke up early when it was still dark, and went downstairs to read. The steady hum of the engine was like the purring of a large mechanical cat, as the boat moved steadily through the water. A few lights blinked in houses a good distance from the river. The water looked dark and deep, but it was probably only a few feet at this point, since neither the Napa nor the Petaluma gets very deep.

We were moving up the Napa River, and we soon docked right in the middle of the town of Napa as people stared.. We rode the Mercedes bus up a winding road and arrived at mountainside Chappellet Vineyards early in the morning, and were led by the winemaker on a vineyard walk between rows, to taste grapes right from the vine and gaze out over the valley. (Photo Winemaker in Vineyard) After a half-hour of free time to shop and stroll in St. Helena, this year's yacht guests will then be driven to La Familia, a private Mondavi vineyard picnic area. in the mountains for a gourmet picnic lunch. In the early afternoon there is time to stroll the small-town streets of Napa, or take out one of the boat's kayaks and paddle down the river, which skirts the town.

By late afternoon it was time to start back to San Francisco, and we floated slowly downstream , toasting the sunset, anchoring near Sausalito, where the yacht spent the night. After Captain Travis Stephen's farewell Captain's Dinner, there was more wine tasting, a lot of laughter and a good soak in the top-deck hot tub, gazing at the stars. In the morning, by the time we sat down to breakfast, the boat was moving towards the city, and guests kept leaping up to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Angel's Island come into view. By 9 a.m. we were tied up at the dock, refreshed, completely sober and ready to drive again.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Safari Quest offers 13 wine country sailings from October 6 to November 17. The three-night Wine Country Getaway cruise described above starts at $1,395 per person. The four-night Essence of the Wine Country weekday cruise runs Monday to Friday, and adds the Matanzas Creek Winery, a visit to the classical frescoed home of famous muralist Carlo Marchiori, which is not usually open to the public, a tour of Clos Pegase winery, a stop in Calistoga, and a private tasting at Trefethen. Prices begin at $1,795. For information and reservations, call (888) 862-8881. Web site is www.amsafari.com.

Back to TravelLady Magazine