Wines of the World: Plan a visit to Sonoma County

Take a treasure hunt through the California paradise of Sonoma County.  Count the 24-Karat wineries as you sip and savor and discover restaurants that are true gems like Cyrus in Healdsburg.

Tourists are more familiar with navigating Napa Valley which really has only two south/north highways, 29 and Silverado Trail. In Sonoma County, there is not much of anything straight. It’s one continuous up, down, and around except when you drive into the towns of Sonoma, Santa Rosa, or Healdsburg. Careful planning and a mapped out schedule or a GPS that talks are ideal. 

In one year well over a million tourists visit Sonoma County spending almost 700 million dollars, so you will not be alone.

Since Sonoma County is at least twice as big as Napa and the wineries are not next door to each other, allot time to find them at a reasonable pace.  Take a trip to the local farmers market, have two meals a day, see two wineries a day, and take a balloon ride in between.  Save the art galleries, horseback rides, and museums for another day, along with a couple more wineries and several more meals.

Enhance the flavor of your trip with a little history of Sonoma County.  It is considered the birthplace of wine in the Golden State since Father Junipero Serra planted a Mission variety grape around the local missions.  The common red wine was necessary for communion services.  The Fathers were later persuaded to switch to better grapes by the Hungarian nobleman, Agoston Haraszthy, whom many consider the father of the California wine industry.  After he moved to Sonoma County in 1857 and became successful as a winemaker, the migrating German, French, and Italian winemakers pushed the price of land from $6 to $150 an acre.

The key to a successful wine tasting day is to learn to spit.  Make notes of your favorites or even better, buy a bottle and enjoy it at the end of your day.

To begin your trip, approach the town of Sonoma from the south and head straight for the town square where the Sonoma Cheese Factory is located.  Tastings are available and a nearly continuous demonstration of cheesemaking is behind glass.  Choose from a variety of wine country products for presents for your staff and friends. 

Eat at The Girl & the Fig, and then drive five minutes to taste famous Ravenswood zinfandels.  Also Buena Vista, the oldest winery in the wine country, has its showplace and tasting room nearby.

Proceed north on 12 to Kenwood Vineyards where the sauvignon blanc is a classic and the merlot is full of fruit flavors.  At Chateau St. Jean the wines are always good, especially the Robert Young Vineyard Chardonnay.  If there is time, make a quick stop at St. Francis across the highway and critique their merlot before having lunch at the nearby Kenwood Restaurant.

After passing through Santa Rosa (a delicious meal can be found at Zazu Restaurant), chose where to stop west of Highway 101 in the Russian River Valley: Hanna, DeLoach, Sonoma-Cutrer, Belvedere, or Rabbit Ridge.  Foppiano, Rodney Strong, and Kendall-Jackson are near the highway.

Savor the wine at the many tasting rooms in Healdsburg, but save time to relax in the plaza to enjoy the abundant vegetation and warmth of the locals and their entrepreneurial attitude. Check in to a cozy inn, Honors Mansion, where you can plan your next day of adventure.

For more information google the Sonoma County Visitors Bureau, Sonoma County Wineries Association, or Sonoma County Vintners.