(ST. HELENA, CALIF.) – The sky threatened rain as nine people gathered to join Peak Adventures on its special wine tasting trip to Napa Valley on Oct. 15.

The trip, which is offered two to three times a year, is just one of the activities that Peak Adventures offers. Other activities include backpacking trips to Point Reyes, white water rafting trips and bicycle repair classes.

The trip covered wineries along Highway 29, a route that runs through the cities of Napa and St. Helena. Hundreds of wineries line the road, offering no more than a sign naming the winery and another sign stating whether they are open or closed. Those two signs on each winery are all that passing drivers have to try and decide which winery they are going to visit.

Part of the appeal of the wine tasting trip is the opportunity to have someone else picking the wineries to visit, instead of just picking one at random from along the highway.

“I’ve wanted to do wine tasting for a long time,” said Khae Saechao, a senior of economics. “I don’t know what wineries to go to and I don’t want to drive.”

Driving is part of the trip, since alcohol is involved. All of the participants climb into one of Peak Adventures’ large vans and are chauffeured to their destination.

In addition to driving everyone from Sacramento to each winery and back, Peak Adventures provided lunch for everyone on the trip. Vegetarian fare of a cheese tortellini salad, a Caesar salad and varieties of crackers and cheeses helped keep everyone’s energy up as the wine began to kick in. Water was also provided to keep everyone hydrated.

The trip covered four wineries and one park over the course of the day, with the participants getting to chose the last of the four.

Various wines were offered for tasting, with some wineries providing more pours, or choices of what wine to drink, than others.

Even with only four wineries to cover and a lunch in between, one participant was not quite satisfied.

“I feel a little rushed,” Sacramento State alumna Lauren Johnson said.

Even if the atmosphere may have moves too quickly fro some of the participants, each winery has its own specialty to offer.

The Robert Mondavi Winery offered stunning scenery of the mist-cloaked hills rising up beyond the vineyards as well as a warm fire to burn off the morning chill.

The St. Suprey Winery offered a self-guided tour as well as an art gallery. The tasting room was very open, with plenty of light coming in through the large windows.

Beringer Winery, with its huge mansion-like buildings and sculpted gardens, was by far the most crowded, with people reaching over each other in order to get to the tasting counter.

“I like how all of the wineries are different,” Molly Archbold, a senior child development major, said. “Some are big, some small, but there’s a different experience at each one.”

The wine tasting trip is one of the more relaxed activities that Peak Adventures offers, since it requires almost no physical activity.

So why wine tasting?

“I actually don’t know how this trip originated,” said Andrea Baker, one of the trip leaders. “I’ve been (with Peak Adventures) for seven years and it was here before me.”

Jenna Hughes can be reached at [email protected]