The Dark Side does exist. Our IT/Creative Team refers to the backside of our website as the Content (DisContent?) Section, but I know it to truly be the Dark Side. Wineroad.com- the sunny side that our guests see, is truly the portal to all things Wine Road: all our member wineries, lodgings, new wine releases, lodging specials & lodging availability calendar, Ticket to the Wine Road, Event Tickets, Winter Wineland, Barrel Tasting, A Wine & Food Affair, member and community events and the pertinent and related More Fun Stuff- with our favorite restaurants, wine tours and transportation, shopping, wedding sites, wine shipping companies, recreation (biking, canoeing, ballooning, massaging, gambling), art venues – well you get the idea. We even have a section here called EVEN MORE- get it, More Fun Stuff, Even More? All visitor related information of note- like local chambers of commerce, redwood groves, Charlie Shulz Museum (everyone loves Peanuts!), the Sonoma County Airport (fly direct on Horizon/Alaska- ask about taking cases of wine home on the planes!), the Wine Museum, non-wine museums, the Wine Institute, healdsburgmenus.com- a plethora of insider information and tips.
All this valuable stuff is disseminated without the pesky need to actually speak to a human- I am kidding here, as I love to speak to guests who call us and answer all my emails with, some say, awfully eager (alarming) alacrity, but I have a dear friend who always tells me that the LAST thing she wants to do when planning a trip is to actually speak to a person on the telephone- I nicknamed her Rasputin- but maybe that is just part of the phenomenon of web and e-communications- no more voices. (No, not referring to the ones in my head.)
We have tried to make our wineroad.com site very user friendly- every time we think of something cool to add, we do so and that is when I enter the Dark Side- always reminds me of Alice Through the Looking Glass. For instance, if you want to know what winery has picnicking, you can check by doing an amenity search- ditto wine varietals- categories cascade down when you click on them- go to Wineries and then work with the box in the middle of the page.
And on the Light Side, you see the changes and improvements- we hope. We want to get you started on all you might need- and then you can just click over to Contact and request a free Wine Road map and sign up for our email blasts and newsletters- and click onto Beth or Tracy if you want to drop us an email. Our number is also there- 800.723.6336- we are eager to chat (not quite like Quest- but a different sort of chatting) and help you plan out your visit. We love to hear from you- we can help you plan the perfect getaway along the Wine Road- and then you can avoid the Dark Side. It is always sunny in wineroad.com.