Yesterday, we brought you information on several wineries. Tonight, Bostonist will be at the Second Glass Ivy League Wine College, focusing on South African wines. The event is sold out, but we'll review it for you so you know what to expect next time around. In the meantime, you can start planning an August vineyard excursion to the Coastal Wine Trail with our helpful hints.

Westport Rivers Winery, which recently received some press from the Improper Bostonian, sits outside New Bedford off Rt. 128, near Horseneck Beach. The farm is owned and operated by the Russell family, which also founded the eco-friendly Buzzard’s Bay Brewing. Guided tours of the vineyard are held at 1pm and 3pm on weekends, so take the early tour, get your tasting on, then head out to Horseneck Beach for a late-afternoon layout session, or make it a twofer tasting and stop off for a brew at Buzzard’s Bay on Horseneck Road. Grab a dinner of local cod, fried wild shrimp, or “heritage pork” with a side of mac ‘n’ cheese at beachside restaurant The Back Eddy.

While you’re on the “South Coast," you can also opt to explore other area wineries, such as Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth, RI, which has live jazz every Saturday from 1-4pm in their tasting room. Or, if you have a little more money in your pocket, you can purchase tickets ($125) to their annual Feast in the Field celebration on August 9, which includes a tour of the winery and a lavish feast in their barn, paired with wines from Greenvale, Sakonnet and Newport wineries. (Tickets available at www.localwineevents.com.)

Another option for local cuisine is Sakonnet Vineyard in Little Compton, RI, recently named a Yankee Magazine Travel Guide Editor’s Choice, which runs an on-site café serving salads, flatbreads and wines from 11am-4pm. Head there Aug 1-2 to shop the Little Compton Antiques Show, held on the vineyard’s property (tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door; see website for details).

Running Brook Vineyard in North Dartmouth, Mass., was founded by two men, Dr. Pedro Teixeira and his former patient-turned-business-partner Manuel Morais. Both grew up in Portugal, where Morais began grafting for local winemakers at age 13. A visit begins with a turnoff onto the winery’s unpretentious dirt road entrance, and ends at their warehouse-like winery, which also serves as the tasting room. Make it a day with a meal of sausage and seafood at Estrela do Mar, a popular Portuguese restaurant in nearby East Providence that serves the vineyard’s wines.

If you’re too tired (or sauced) to drive back to Boston after a full day of tasting, stay at the on-site B&B at Langworthy Farm Winery, located a half mile from the ocean on 1A in Rhode Island. This small producer just joined the state’s small club of wineries in 2002, when they planted their first grapevines, and only became open to the public in 2005, so the chances are slim that your pretentious wine buddies have been there already.

Winery wisdom contributed by Ryan Rose Weaver.