SONOMA COUNTY TOWNS FILLED WITH MORE THAN GREAT VINEYARDS
By Jo Clark
Sonoma County in California is next door to its better-known neighbor, Napa. But Sonoma doesn’t hide its light under a bushel. Your greeting by Snoopy and the Gang at the Charles Schultz Airport will put a smile on your face that will still be there when you fly home.
Time spent in Sonoma County rapidly turns into days and weeks. My ten-day visit just scratched the surface of all the fantastic, beautiful, and delicious things there are to do in this county.
Natural Beauty
The area’s stunning natural beauty is spread through 11 state and 60 local parks. Some beaches include part of the Point Reyes National Seashore and the Point Reyes Lighthouse. A total of 67 Sonoma County miles touch the Pacific Ocean.
Rivers cut through Sonoma County, providing water and micro-climates perfect for grape growing. One of the best-known is the Russian River. Sonoma County is home to these three large AVAs (American Viticulture Area)—the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, and 16 others.
Sonoma County Can Quench Your Thirst
Sonoma County is home to 1,800 grape growers with more than 425 wineries that grow 40+ varietals on 62,000 acres spread across 19 AVAs. They produce 6% of all the wines made in California.
Now you know why visiting the Sonoma wineries takes weeks and weeks. I’m an over-achiever, but at four wineries a day, that’s more than 15 weeks to see them all. I’m willing to give it a try!
Sonoma County is home to many American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and diverse terrains, allowing growers to produce over 40 varieties of wine grapes. Whether you enjoy sweet Moscato wines or the bold flavors of Dry Creek Valley old-vine Zinfandel, there’s something for everyone to love.
To navigate this wine-rich region, pick up a WineRoad map or download information from their website. This map of northern Sonoma County serves as an invaluable guide, listing the wineries and the wines each one produces. It also details the days and times wineries are open, saving time and making planning effortless.
Interesting fact: it takes three years from planting vines to picking the first crop of grapes.
Another interesting fact: Sonoma County has a distillery that makes vodka out of grapes! Hanson of Sonoma Distillery makes plain and flavored vodkas. The county has over a dozen distilleries, eight cider houses, and 30 breweries.
Places to Eat in Sonoma County
From French to seafood, Italian to Mexican, and everything in between, Sonoma County is not where you will go hungry. Global influences bring ethnic dishes to tables in Sonoma. A quick Internet search brings up lists of the best 10, 16, 20, or 25 of the hundreds of restaurants in Sonoma County. The names on those lists will be a great addition to the ones in the articles linked below, but asking the locals at wineries will provide another list of names. Try them all; you really can’t go wrong.
Farm-to-table restaurants are popular, and it is reassuring to know your restaurant owner grows and serves the company farm. Fresh ingredients paired with local wines make for memorable meals—meals still fresh in your mind months and months later.
The Epicurean Connection in Sonoma offers cheese-making classes. The half-day class is fun, and you leave with several pounds of ricotta cheese laced with your favorite flavors. We enjoyed cheese and crackers the rest of the week and all the way home on the plane.
Tours of Wine Country
Sonoma’s location just 45 minutes north of San Francisco makes Rides by Me Sidecar tours possible. Jérôme Ribeiro, a San Francisco and wine country tour guide, encourages you to “Take a ride on the wild side(car)!” If you watch his face while he is zipping down vineyard paths, you will see a look of pure bliss. Jérôme is a man who loves his job and loves sharing it with his riders. If you only take one tour of wine country, make this the one.
Where to Stay in Sonoma County
There is a wide range of accommodations. Smaller places with personal touches are my first choice. I especially like that the folks at the front desk aren’t swamped, so they have time to chat with me and give inside tips and advice.
Fortunately, Sonoma County has unique places, and they are listed in the articles linked below.
A Wealth of Information
These articles and podcasts will share the best places to eat, drink, take a cheese-making class, hike, and have fun in Sonoma County.
The Most Exciting Time In Sonoma
Sonoma County’s Healdsburg – Famous For More Than Great Wine
Fall in Love with Santa Rosa, One Taste at a Time
Riding on the Wild Side(car) of Sonoma’s Wine Country
Top 4 Parks to Visit in Sonoma County
Jo Clark is a travel writer and photographer based on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. She has a thirst for knowledge, history, great food, and wine! She does her very best to live up to her podcast title and Instagram handle, “Jo Goes Everywhere!” Follow her there and on her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/HaveGlassWillTravel/ . She is the editor of http://www.RecipesTravelCulture.com
