I saw a note on another thread and I found this entirely intriguing. Up until recently we lived in Walnut Creek, about 45min south of Oakville, and we would go up to wineries & tastings in Napa somewhat frequently. We had always used a service, like Destination Drivers (where a drivers drives your car) or we have rented a professional car for the day. Both services run about $35-$40/hour and for a full-day trip, that is about 8 - 10 hours (which includes an hour up and an hour back). Once you factor in a tip that can push the total close to almost $500 for the day.
For the drivers, most of the time is spent waiting around, so a very large chunck of your total cost is for time when you are not using your car.
What if you exclusively used Uber for a day in the valley? I imagine an Uber up to the valley from the East Bay, or the city for that matter, is about $75 or so. Once you get up to the valley, how good is the uber coverage? Can you find Uber X when you need it?
Not sure if there’s a massive cost savings, but just thought it intriguing that you might be able to save on a car/diver by going the Uber route.
Anyone have any experience or thoughts they can share?
I was just in Napa in June and used uber pretty heavily for “post tasting” activities (i.e. to and from dinner, wine bars, etc.). Prices were extremely reasonable. ~ $10 or 15 got you just about anywhere you wanted to go.
In terms of reliability, had no issues for the most part. There was one night where I was trying to get to dinner (primetime, like 6:30 or 7) and it was surging like crazy. I think it got as high as 4X. So, I called the restaurant, pushed my reservations back 45 minutes, ordered another cocktail at the hotel bar, and waited out the surge. No harm, no foul.
I know you were specifically asking about using uber for tastings, but hopefully this will give you some flavor for the availability and pricing.
Were you using it just around Napa or did you do a Napa to Calistoga/St. Helena, etc…? I’ve heard getting an Uber in Napa is easy but getting one back (post dinner) is more difficult out of St. Helena/Calistoga.
I don’t think there is a critical Uber mass up here, esp. if you are trying to get off the beaten path to do tastings. You might get there, but getting back might be a challenge
There are a lot more Uber’s then there used to be. As an example, I just opened Uber and I am in Rutherford right now. It’s 4:13pm and my current wait time is 2 minutes for a pick up. It shows 3 cars up in St. Helena and 2 in Yountville. None up as far as Calistoga at the moment.
Many drivers are using both Uber and Lyft these days. Those are likely the ones you will have the best luck getting at odd times or locations. Also, for one of your rides do something besides UberX. That driver will likely also be an independent car service & you can get their card & arrange your ride back if you can’t get an Uber ride.
If you are accumulating purchases over your day of tasting, that would be a drawback, since at each stop, you’d have to carry your day’s worth of wine in with you then back out to the car for your next leg. I realize not everyone does this, but it is pretty common to buy a couple of bottles or more at each stop, which adds up pretty quickly.
But I’m sure the savings, as compared to hiring a car all day, would be considerable.
There is a healthy balance between Uber X ride requests, and Uber X cars available in the Napa Valley these days. There are generally three to six cars available in the Napa area and a smaller handful up valley. Even in Calistoga the wait for an X is usually less than 25 minutes and often half that time. Most riders plan accordingly and request cars in advance, so as not to be inconvenienced too much. In St Helena the wait time is generally under 15 minutes and often half that time.
Until Uber is regulated, pays into whatever county you’re in, and treats drivers like employees, red flags for me. I know, wrong thread for politics. But hey, I don’t even take taxis, but Uber have not done San Francisco any favors. We also now have a mayor who has no national profile, and is weak. In New York, Di Blasio has postponed any fight (after an aggressive push back in the media by the big U), and the subsequently being lambasted by his constituents. Disallowed by the French in all of France. Lyft is a better company. Sorry about the thread drift, continue on…
We took a few Ubers while in the Valley last week. A starting point in Carneros was tough - many didn’t want to drive all the way down for a $50 fare to Oakville, so we got a few cancellations when they called to ask what our destination would be. In this case, I used UberBlack (at $100) and had no issues.
In and around Napa, Yountville, Rutherford, and St. Helena - no problems. Cars were quick to respond and arrive.
Getting back to Carneros was not as big of an issue, luckily.
Sounds like Napa has much better coverage than Sonoma. When we were up there, I only saw 4-5 cars around dinnertime on a Thursday/Friday. Ended up going with Taxi.
Anyone had any recent experience using Uber for wine tasting in Napa Valley? I’m going to be there around July 4 and am hoping to use Uber/Lyft for a day of wine tasting. We are staying in Napa so I wouldn’t expect problems getting any there, but does anyone have any recent experience getting cars in Oakville/Rutherford/St. Helena? Thanks in advance!
This is a good point. Many great places to go and taste are off the cell grid.
I’d also imagine the Lyft/Uber charges racking up real quick riding up Howell or Spring Mountain. On that note, I could imagine having to wait 20-30 minutes for a driver if you’re off the valley floor. If you’re doing appointments, it would be a dicey proposition.