3b. Sonoma County, CA
The wine growing area of Sonoma is far larger and more diverse than Napa.
Ten years ago, Sonoma was still mainly a farming area. They had farmers
while
Napa had viticulturists. They had wine makers while Napa had enologists.
Alas
Sonoma has learned to host the yuppie day trippers that come to see how
much they
can consume.
The main growing areas of Sonoma are Russian River Valley ( Pinot Noir /
Chardonnay ),
Alexander Valley ( Zinfandel /Cabernet ), Sonoma Valley ( Chardonnay /
Zinfandel / Cabernet ),
Dry Creek ( Zinfandel / Sauvignon Blanc ). Some other areas to keep in
mind are Chalk Hill,
Bennett Valley, Carneros, Sonoma Coast, Rockpile, and Knights Valley (
yes it is in Sonoma ).
The towns of interest to you are Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg,
Guernville, Glen Ellen, and
Bodega Bay (eat at the Tides Inn and see if The Birds come back).
US 101 is north-south through the middle of the county. Rt 12 connects
Sonoma and Santa Rosa.
Rt 128 connects Napa, Knights Valley and Alexander Valley up to
Geyserville. Some of the small
back roads can get very crowded on the weekends. Santa Rosa has morning
and afternoon
rush hours so US 101 can get messy.

The wineries
Up Rt 12 to Santa Rosa
Domaine Carneros - Good sparkling wine and Pinot Noir
Cline - Zins and Rhone varities
Viansa - Very nice visit - don't bother with the wines
Ravenswood - Zin Zin and more Zin - Good visit
Gundlach Bundschu - Cabs and good humor. Very good visit
Buena Vista - the original California winery where history was made
Kenwood - good Cab, Chard and nice people. Jack London Cab
Kunde - good Chard, beautiful ageing facility
Chateau St Jean - outstanding visit - great Chards - Cabs. What a CA
winery should be
St Francis - some famous Zins. Overall good visit
Matanzas Creek - Some the best whites to be found in the Valley

Through the Russian River Valley from Healdsburg to Guernville
Armida - Zins famous for one named Poizin
Arista - Chards and Pinot. A really beautiful spot. Don't miss it
Hop Kiln - some interesting red blends - good visit- one to remember
Rochioli - Chards are good and Pinot better - gets crowded
Gary Farrell - Pinot and Chard
Davis Bynum - no River Bend now - the pioneer of the RR area and they
speak Pinot Noir here.
Korbel Sparkling Cellars - surprise everyone and ask to taste their Zins
- . Great location

Looking south from Guernville
Topolas - funky grapes of all kinds - worth the effort- you will
remember them
Hook and Ladder - Cecil DeLoach under a new name
Sonoma Cutrer - was the great Burgundian Chard - now a conglomerate
Carol Shelton - large selection of Zins with a lot of character
Martinelli - Cabs and Jackass Zins and Helen Turley

Around the town of Healdsburg - the center of wine
There are a lot of tasting rooms in town
Rosenblum - Zins of all kinds, no longer run by Kent Rosenblum
Selby - killer Zins
Alderbrook - Cabs
Segsheio - great Zins - ask for Rockpile Zins, Best all around Zin winery

From Healdsburg out Dry Creek Road
David Coffaro - Zin and other reds
Dry Creek Winery - Zins, SBs and a great picnic area
Ferrari-Carano - the show place of the valley, all good wines, a must visit.
Lambert Bridge - always a nice visit, good whites and Zins
A Rafanelli - premier Zins, by appointment only, a must do
Bella - interesting Cabs, good Zin and SB
Quivira - Zins and the best SB in northern CA
Mauritson - outstanding Zins especially the Rockpile, a must do
Dashe Cellars - also good Rockpile Zins

On the North side of Healdsburg
Ridge - has been known to produce the very best Zin
Jordan - famous for Cabs since 1976
Simi - good Chards
Alexander Valley Winery - some interesting Cabs
Mazzocco - Zins worth the visit
Silver Oak - Cab, Cab and Cab
Murphy Goode - good Zins and Cabs. Whites are overdone
Hanna - SBs and Chards are very good

Lodging
MacArthur Place - In Sonoma, near the square, nice smaller hotel
Haydon St. Inn - B&B in Sonoma, good breakfasts
Farmhouse Inn - good B&B in Russian River Valley, great restaurant
Applewood Inn - charming B&B, great breakfasts, very good restaurant
Sonoma Mission Inn - excellent but pricey
Dry Creek Inn/ Best Western - simple, relatively inexpensive, clean and
quiet.
Grape Leaf Inn - nice B&B: fairly quiet, good breakfast, used to host
free wine tastings in the afternoon!
Fountain Grove Inn - north side of Santa Rosa is a wonderful location

Dining:
Mark and Terri Stark now have five or six restaurants in Sonoma
County. They pioneered the small plate or tapas style that is now
very popular in the county. Willi's Wine Bar is the original, Willi's
Seafood, Starks Steak, Monti Seafood and Bravas. Everyone great.
Costeaux French Bakery - great place for a casual breakfast in Healdsburg
Dry Creek Kitchen - upscale California cuisine in Healdsburg, good wine list
The Girl & The Fig - Good but touristy dining on the square in Sonoma
Applewood Inn - Good food as well as lodging
Farmhouse Inn - Ditto
Café La Haye - Fine dining on the Sonoma square
Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar - Every dish about Zinfandel; great wine
list; in Healdsburg
Bistro Ralph - on north side of Healdsburg town square - very good food
at very reasonable prices
Ravenous - should be reopened soon. Very good food at cheap prices
Willi's Wine Bar (north of Santa Rosa) 75 tapas & 75 wines. Spend an
evening with very creative tapas. One of the very best places in Sonoma
Willi's Seafood (Healdsburg) Almost the same as his Wine Bar. Great.
Mixx (Santa Rosa) Good food and great wine list
Kenwood Inn (Sonoma Valley) Half way between Sonoma & Santa Rosa - the
Sonoma County version of Mustards.
LaSalette (Sonoma) Outstanding Continental They also have tapas thanks
to Willi's
Syrah (Santa Rosa) Great California fresh - small dishes also
Mistral (Santa Rosa) Gets better every year. Mediterranean food. Good
wine list

There is also a tradition of lunch at country stores around the
vineyards. Get a sandwich and picnic at a winery. There are three
that stand out as must stops...
Sonoma's Best in Sonoma Valley,
Jimtown Store in Alexander Valley
Dry Creek Country Store in Dry Creek Valley.
A number of wineries also do lunch. Arista advertises Pinot & Paella.
Topolas has a nice restaurant and the food is just as creative as
their wines.
Another must do is the Sonoma Cheese Factory on the Sonoma town
square. It is good for lunch and you will find some great cheeses there.

Helpful websites:
Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley
Russian River Valley Winegrowers
Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance
Carneros Wine Alliance.