Even though we have been to Sonoma County several times, it never gets old! We just recently visited this past February and were able to experience tons of new wineries and restaurants. We love trying new experiences and learning about the latest happenings in wine country. In this post, I recapped everything we did in Sonoma over the course of four days. If you are planning a trip to Sonoma in the near future, this should serve as a great resource!
Table of Contents
Overview of the Weekend
Wineries Visited:
- Ram’s Gate
- Gloria Ferrer
- Robert Young Winery
- Stonestreet Wines
- Breathless Wines
- Hamel Family Wines
- Sigh Champagne Bar
- Dry Creek Vineyard
- Ridge Vineyards
- Comstock Wines
Breweries Visited:
Restaurants Visited:
- El Molino Central
- SingleThread Farms
- Catelli’s
- Sake ‘O Sushi
- Baci Cafe & Wine Bar
- Dry Creek General Store
- Campo Fina
Where We Stayed:
Other:
Thursday – Carneros
Our first stop on Thursday morning was Ram’s Gate Winery. We had been here once before (in the summertime) and fell in love. We decided it would be fun to re-visit and experience the wine tasting in an indoor setting. Their property is gorgeous and there’s an amazing farmhouse/rustic feel to it.
We didn’t get to experience their outdoor patio since it was February, but it is an amazing patio with a great view overlooking the vineyard. If you visit during a warmer time of year, you must request to sit outside!
Overall, I love their tasting experience because you get to try a couple of different Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. These two varietals are probably what they are best known for, so that is what you will see in their standard tasting. Since it wasn’t too busy, we received some bonus pours from our host. It was nice to branch out and try some of their other varietals. In addition to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, they also make a Pinot Blanc, Syrah and some sparkling wines. Everything we tried during this tasting was top notch. If you are ever in the Carneros area, this winery is a must do!
After sipping on wine on morning, we felt like we needed to grab some food before the next tasting. We stopped at El Molino Central, located just a few miles from the Sonoma Square. We had been here numerous times before and loved it, so we figured we had to stop in again. Their fish tacos and enchiladas verdes are incredible. Also, the guacamole and fresh salsas are a nice appetizer if you are in need of more food. If you are craving authentic Mexican food, look no further than El Molino Central!
Once we finished our yummy lunch, we drove over to Gloria Ferrer Winery for some bubbles. This is another place we have visited several times, mainly because we obsessed their wines and the amazing view overlooking the vineyards. You seriously can’t get a better view in all of Sonoma. We actually joined Gloria Ferrer’s wine club on a previous visit, so our tasting was free. Even though it was February, we still sat outside since it was a sunny day. They also have blankets, so it is possible to sit outside here in cooler months.
We enjoyed a couple glasses of their sparkling wines with some fresh olives and almonds. It was a lovely afternoon on their balcony enjoying the scenery of Sonoma County. If you are looking for a good place to relax with some bubbles, this is the place for you!
After finishing up at Gloria Ferrer, we made the drive up to Healdsburg so we could check-in to our Bed and Breakfast before dinner. We always stay at Bella Villa Messina because the hosts are so hospitable. You get a delicious breakfast every single morning in addition to a cocktail hour at night. We also love it because it is within a mile or two of downtown Healdsburg.
After freshening up a bit, we grabbed an Uber to our dinner location for the evening. We dined at SingleThread Farms, and everything was incredible. This restaurant just earned 3 Michelin Stars from the Michelin Guide, so we knew we would be in for a treat. If you are curious to learn more about our experience, check out this blog post. I recapped our entire evening at SingleThread and even included a picture from each course! It’s a fun read if you like food and wine pairing dinners.
Friday – Alexander Valley
We spent almost all of Friday exploring Alexander Valley, and the weather couldn’t have been better. Alexander Valley is typically one of the warmest valleys in Sonoma County, so it’s a good area to visit if you are coming in the off-season. The mustard seeds were in full bloom during our trip, so we had to stop and take some pictures with the beautiful scenery.
Our first stop for the day was Robert Young Winery’s Scion House. This is a brand new tasting room that overlooks the beautiful vineyards of Alexander Valley. I was amazed at how much land you could see from the top of the tasting room.
We had an amazing tasting experience at the winery, and if you want the full recap, check out my previous blog post linked here. We tasted several amazing wines and it was accompanied by a lovely charcuterie board. The tasting room itself was gorgeous, so you will definitely want to add this winery to your list.
After finishing up at Robert Young, we decided to stay in Alexander Valley and head across the street to Stonestreet. This is a winery we had never visited before, so we didn’t really know what to expect! They had a gorgeous outdoor area and a great view of Alexander Valley. We didn’t do our tasting outside, but it appeared as if they had a few areas for outdoor tastings.
We had a really good tasting at Stonestreet and fell in love with several of their wines. We loved their Cabernet Sauvignon and ended up walking away with a couple bottles. We learned a lot about the winery and were surprised at how much land they owned! The host brought us a map to show us where all of their vineyards were located, and we couldn’t believe how many there were. We are hoping to go back sometime and try their “Mountain Excursion” experience where you get to tour one of the mountain estate vineyards. I can’t even imagine how beautiful it would be up there!
We were pretty hungry by the time we finished our tasting, so we decided to head over to Catelli’s for lunch. This was our first time dining at this restaurant even though our B&B host had told us about it numerous times. We were very close to Geyserville, so we figured it would be the perfect time to stop in.
The Geyserville area is pretty small, but it is super cute. The street had a few different shops and restaurants, so it would be a fun to walk around for an hour or two.
We ended up splitting a salad to start before moving into our main courses. I ordered the lasagna, and I thought it was incredible. It tasted extremely authentic and fresh. I would definitely love to go back here sometime, whether it be for dinner or lunch.
After stuffing our faces at lunch, we made our way back into downtown Healdsburg for our next tasting. Through our research, we found out about Breathless Wines and their sabering experience. I had never tried using a saber (sword) to open a bottle of champagne, so I thought this would be a really unique opportunity. It always looks so cool when someone uses a saber to open a bottle of champagne, so I knew I had to try it out.
After a brief lesson, I was ready to saber the bottle. I was so nervous that I was going to hurt myself or miss the bottle completely. To my surprise, I successfully sabered the bottle on the first try! It was so much fun, and I immediately wanted to buy a saber to take home. Unfortunately, I don’t think they would allow it on the flight home.
The best part about this experience is that we got to drink the sparkling wine from the bottle I sabered. They also bring out potato chips to pair with your bubbles. It was the perfect afternoon relaxing outside with some great wine. I would highly recommend this experience if you are looking for something fun and unique to do in Healdsburg.
We decided to head back to our B&B for cocktail hour after our visit at Breathless. We love visiting with our hosts, Jerry & Harold, so it was nice to catch up with them on the happenings around town. After chatting with them for a bit, we decided to grab some sushi at Sake ‘O. This is one of our favorite places to grab sushi and sashimi in Healdsburg, and we have been numerous times. We love it after a long day of wine tasting because it is super casual, and we can walk right in and feel comfortable. Check it out sometime if you are tired after a long day of wine tasting!
Saturday – Sonoma Valley
We got up a bit earlier Saturday morning so we could make it back down to Sonoma Valley for our 10 AM tasting at Hamel Family Winery. This property was stunning, and I loved the architecture of all the buildings. Our host was wonderful and had so much knowledge about the winery and their winemaking process. He gave us a great in-depth tour of the winery and took us back into their wine caves to explore. Not only did they store several barrels in the wine caves, but they also had some private tasting/library rooms back there.
After a very thorough overview of the winery, we were brought back inside for our tasting. I think Hamel wins for the best indoor tasting room in Sonoma County. They kept it extremely open and bright to preserve the beautiful vineyard view. I was very impressed, and it made for a better tasting experience overall. We also got to sit on their cozy couches next to a fireplace, so it really couldn’t have been a better environment.
Another great part of this tasting experience was the fact that it was paired with fresh ricotta cheese and truffles. They have a chef on-site, and he prepares fresh ricotta and crackers every single day. They had just received a fresh order of truffles from Italy, so of course we opted to add those on as well. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Even if you don’t like wine, go for the cheese!
If you want to learn more about Hamel Family Winery, check out my older blog post that gives a full recap of our visit.
Since we were so close to the Sonoma Square, we decided to check out SIGH for some bubbles. This is a cute little champagne tasting room in downtown Sonoma, and they offer a wide variety of wine flights and wines by the glass. We ordered a couple glasses of champagne at the bar, and it really was the perfect stop after eating all the ricotta at Hamel. I feel like champagne is always so refreshing no matter the time of day or occasion. It’s always the right time to pop a bottle of bubbles!
After our brief stop at SIGH, we decided up make our way to Windsor to check out Russian River Brewing’s newest tasting room. Russian River previously only had a small location in Santa Rosa, but they recently opened a new facility in Windsor. I was shocked to see how big this new place was! They have a restaurant, a beer garden, gift shop, outdoor area, and plenty of production space. We didn’t get to see everything they had to offer because of how large it was.
We decided to enjoy a couple of IPAs and ordered some wings to snack on. The food was actually pretty good, so I would definitely stop in again. One of my favorite beers they make is Pliny the Elder. It’s a Double IPA, so if you love hoppy beer, you would really enjoy the flavor. It’s a great place to check out whether you are a craft beer lover or a just a person looking to take a break from wine.
We decided to make our way back up to downtown Healdsburg after leaving Windsor. We had an early dinner reservation at Baci, but we still had a little time to kill. We ended up grabbing a few more beverages at Bear Republic Brewing and Duke’s Spirited Cocktail Lounge. We definitely had our fair share of alcohol on Saturday! It probably wasn’t the smartest decision on our part, but we made it work.
We finished up the evening with a lovely Italian dinner at Baci, followed by a night of jazz music at Hotel Healdsburg. Our pasta dishes at Baci were incredible, and the cocktails at Hotel Healdsburg were to die for. It was a very fun evening (probably a little too fun).
Sunday – Dry Creek Valley
We kicked off our last day in Sonoma at one of our favorite wineries, Dry Creek Vineyard. We have been club members here for 3 years now, and we love it more every day! The staff are some of the nicest people I have ever met, and all of the wines are amazing. I love that they produce a wide variety of wines including Zinfandel, Bordeaux blends, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, etc. We started out in their Zinfandel Club, but we since have switched to the Bordeaux Lovers Club since we love the bigger red wines.
Dry Creek is the perfect stop for a casual tasting, and you can even bring a little picnic lunch if it’s a nice day outside. They have several tables and benches outside on their lawn, so it’s the perfect place to visit on a summer day.
Our next stop in Dry Creek Valley was Ridge Vineyards. This was a new winery to us, so it was nice to experience some different wines. We loved everything we tried, but our absolute favorites were the Buchignani Carignane and the Monte Bello. The Monte Bello is rated one of the best wines in the world, and is the only wine to have earned a 100 point rating. Of course, we couldn’t walk away without purchasing a bottle for ourselves, so we are now the proud owners of this amazing wine.
We were a little hungry after our tastings, so we made our way over to the Dry Creek General Store for a little lunch. This is the perfect place to stop in for a quick snack or lunch if you are wine tasting in Dry Creek Valley. The general store was established in 1881, and it appears that they have tried to preserve most of the original structure. I think it’s something everyone needs to experience at least once in their life. It’s a staple when visiting Sonoma!
We grabbed a few different thing to snack on including chips, quinoa salad, and a little charcuterie platter. They also serve a wide variety of sandwiches and hot dishes, so you are definitely not limited in your options! One of my favorite parts about the general store is the little dive bar in the back. Unfortunately, the bar is not open for business at the moment, but they are working to get it re-opened ASAP.
Dry Creek General Store is the perfect place to hang out and take a break from wine tastings. We always make it a point to stop here when we are in the area. They also have plenty of outdoor seating. If it’s a nice day, it’s fun to sit outside and take in the scenery of Dry Creek Valley.
After our little lunch break, we made our way over to one last winery in Dry Creek Valley. We decided to check out a newer winery called Comstock Wines. They have a gorgeous new tasting room, and it isn’t very far from downtown Healdsburg. We didn’t know much about it, but one of the other wineries told us to check it out.
Overall, it wasn’t a super memorable experience for us. I think we were a little tired and burnt out from almost four days of wine tastings. I would definitely go back and give this winery another chance because I feel like we didn’t get a great overview. The person pouring our wines didn’t really know anything about the winery, so it was a little challenging to get information. Again, the property was gorgeous and the wines were not bad, but there wasn’t anything that made it unique.
We were so tired of wine after this last tasting, so we made our way back into downtown Healdsburg for a cold beer. It is always so refreshing to have a cocktail or beer after a day of wine tasting!
For dinner, we decided to check out Campo Fina. We hadn’t heard much about this restaurant, but we ended up really liking it. We ordered a bunch of different things including some salad, pizza and pasta. It was a great meal, and we would definitely return on a future trip to Healdsburg.
Overall, we had an amazing trip (as always) and it was fun to try so many new things. Even though we have been to hundreds of wineries, I don’t think we will ever hit them all! It’s such a beautiful place and Sonoma County has so much to offer. If you’ve never experienced the Sonoma side of wine country, give it a try the next time you visit. It’s a little more laid back than Napa and everything’s a little bit cheaper!
Have y’all ever been to any of these wineries in Sonoma? If so, what are some of your favorites? I’d love for you to share some of your favorite Sonoma experiences down in the comments below! Cheers!
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