Sonoma recommendations.

[JimHow]

So a lawyer friend of mine is planning a five day trip to Sonoma.
She asked me for recommendations.
I pretended like I knew what I was talking about.
She and her friend are not leaving til March, so I have a little time.
Let's plan her five day itinerary, should be fun!

[Blanquito]

Ridge Lytton Springs is a must visit. Plus, Geyserville (the town, the vineyard, and the Geyser itself) are all worth a looksee.

Don’t always love the wines, but Dry Creek Valley a s super beautiful and enchanting.

[JoelD]

So a lawyer friend of mine is planning a five day trip to Sonoma.
She asked me for recommendations.
I pretended like I knew what I was talking about.
She and her friend are not leaving til March, so I have a little time.
Let's plan her five day itinerary, should be fun!

Do you know what type of wines she's into? Also how fancy she's looking to get?

[JimHow]

She’s pretty fancy. What are you thinking Joel?

[jal]

What we did a few years ago:
Sebastopol - go to Pax Wines downtown for a tasting and enjoy their wines.
On the drive out, stop at Red Car for a quick tasting.
Book a tasting at Porter Creek, buy a bottle (or 12) of their excellent Syrah, excellent Chardonnay and excellent Pinot Noir
Book a tasting at Chateau St Jean, then buy a bottle and some cheeses from their shop, and picnic on their lawn, they may even have a live band playing.
Make a phone call or send an email to Radio Coteau and ask to visit their small garage operation, Eric Sussman the winemaker is knowledgeable and entertaining.
Take a scenic drive to the Hog Island Oyster Co in Marshall. Sit down and order a dozen delicious raw oysters and then another dozen grilled ones. Wash that down with one of the Chardonnays you got at Porter Creek. Finish with some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery.
Work out all the food and wine with a hike at beautiful Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

If none of the above appeals, tell her to check out this link: https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/vi ... =1&t=97754

[Chateau Vin]

Jal recommended few off beaten paths, which I tremendously enjoyed...Here are his recommendations...He might add few more...

-Radio-coteau is a garagiste producer and they make really good pinots. But need appointment beforehand as it is run by couple of people.

-Porter Creek is also good (pinot and syrah)

My other recommendations would be the following...

-There is another place called DRNK, which is interesting with it’s underground cave setting!! Couple of good wines, but need to call ahead because it’s a 3 person operation

-Merry Edwards is good (especially pinots)

-Ridge ofcourse, as Blanquito mentioned. Their tasting room in Healdsburg (sonoma) also pours their cabs and montebello along with zins

-If interested in Italian varietal wines, head to Viansa, which is atop a hill with fantastic views. It’s on the south end of the county and one can get food and buy italian market place stuff...

[Chateau Vin]

Ok, jal made his presence felt just before I pressed my submit button...

[JoelD]

She’s pretty fancy. What are you thinking Joel?

Tasting at Loyoka on Spring Mountain is amazing. Highly recommend. I believe its 150 a person. You get to taste all 4 vineyards of their current release plus 1 back vintage. Most beautiful tasting room+view out there I think. The wine is legit. Not that I'd pay the current going rate for it though.

If she is a chardonnay drinker, then Kistler is pretty cool. I can't remember but I want to say we tasted at least 8 wines. Similar price.

And if she likes bigger cabs and an insane view of Howell Mountain, then Cade is great for that. Just make sure to do the tasting at the main winery with infinity pool.

[AKR]

I had a bottle of 'county line' chard which is Radio Coteau's 2nd label (well sort of) recently. Pappadoc's son (Jackdaw) worked there for a while as I recall too.

Ch. St. Jean is a nice visit - we were there a while ago. It's kind of like Disneyland in the stagecraft, but they're not making wine on premises any more.

I'd warn your friend about over scheduling, and to budget time for traveling. Traffic on the roads there can have much more cars/delays than one would expect in bucolic wine country.

[Blanquito]

I'd warn your friend about over scheduling, and to budget time for traveling. Traffic on the roads there can have much more cars/delays than one would expect in bucolic wine country.

This. I was pretty amazed at how bad the traffic was on the main highway through Sonoma when I was there in June.

[PghMike]

I know the Napa side much better but spent a little time on the Sonoma side. One thing I'd guess based upon recently being in Napa is that any winery in either valley is requiring reservations. Make sure wherever she goes to reserve in advance.

Alot depends on where she is staying regarding whether any Napa side wineries are within reach. If up in Healdsburg then I'd recommend Rivers Marie and Amici over in Calistoga. Potentially also Theorem and the Spire tasting room in Calistoga as well. If down towards Sonoma, a day trip to Napa itself could lead to Mathiasson, Favia, Truchard. Oxbow market is a nice little public market in Napa if shes into that type of thing.

Traffic wise I believe that cars usually flow north in the morning and south in the afternoon in both Sonoma and Napa. It's usually nice to be going the opposite direction.

For Sonoma Valley restaurants
- Classic but very well known : Girl and the Fig
- High End: Singlethread in Healdsburg, Japanese inspired, every plate was amazing. Three Michelin stars.

[JimHow]

Great stuff thanks, I’ll forward to her.

[Racer Chris]

Mary and I enjoyed eating at Girl and the Fig when we were there in 2010.

[jal]

There's also this:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8136&p=69810&hilit=Porter#p69810

[William P]

On the east side of the foothills there is Loxton. Also Buena Vista is a beautiful old winery. The wines are OK but the setting can't be matched.


Bill

[SF Ed]

Here is what I would recommend:

Stay in Healdsburg. Lots of ability to eat and drink well without driving in the evening. I've never been to SingleThread but have heard great things.

Sonoma is kind of like Napa - the city with the name of the county is the largest town but not particularly beautiful compared with the smaller towns in the county. I wouldn't recommend staying there if Healdsburg is in play.

Traffic should not be a major issue in March, especially outside of Sonoma itself.

The most beautiful area that people haven't been focusing on in this thread is Dry Creek Valley. If your friend is a cyclist it is the best easy cycling in the area and a great way of getting around and visiting wineries. Dry Creek is just outside of Healdsburg.

As to places to stop/taste, few are better than Rochioli for a picnic. Very accessible and well-made wines with a great view of Dry Creek Valley. Rafanelli nearby is a great visit with very good Zin, which is the Dry Creek focus along with Pinot. I'm pretty sure nearly everything worth visiting these days needs a reservation.

Lots of the recommendations here are not that physically close to Sonoma or Sonoma Valley. Make sure your friend either has a desire to drive around the wine country a lot or picks her spots. It might be worth going to Calistoga for the day, but it will be a schlep. Same with Spring Mountain.

SF Ed

[Blanquito]

Don’t always love the wines, but Dry Creek Valley a s super beautiful and enchanting.

Bump. Definitely the most picturesque part of Sonoma I've seen...

Rafanelli is pretty darn good in the Dry Creek AVA, there are some others, and probably some newer producers I haven't heard about.

[Chateau Vin]

I agree that traffic is underestimated in the wine country, but can be easily managed by planning the days of the week (weekday/weekend), the stay and the driving direction. I think the largest town in Sonoma County is Santa Rosa, and last time we visited, we stayed in Santa Rosa. But it was during weekday and it was also raining (rain is not great for sightseeing, but great for tasting). The best option would be to stay in Healdsburg area and drive against the traffic for tasting.

We tried Bird and the bottle restaurant in Santa Rosa, a Farm to table place. The octopus was so good...If interested in mexican, Taqueria Molcajetes is great in Santa Rosa. If in Napa area and interested in a great burger joint, one can try Gott's? (used to be called Taylor's Refresher) in Rutherford. Some of the best burgers I have ever tried are from Taylor's. It's right across Merryvale/Suduri...

As far as Napa area, wine tasting has become highly commercialized, with many tastings running around 50 or even 75 bucks. Although wine tasting is mostly about experience and having a good time, but imagine, for 75 bucks you can buy a bottle or two of great bordeaux. Comparatively, Sonoma is less commercialized and the tasting prices are comparatively modest. If one can find off beaten paths, that's even better in terms of enjoyment, experience and price.

[Blanquito]

Also, it's worth some extra checking about COVID restrictions and limits at a given winery, etc., eg Ridge's Lytton Springs tasting room was outdoors-only when I went in June and it was capped at a small number of parties even though outside, so you needed a reservation (which wasn't the case in the past unless you wanted a VIP tour).

[JimHow]

Good stuff I knew I could count on you guys.

[jal]

Valley Bar and Bottle, a restaurant in Sonoma is co-owned by Jarred Roth, a friend who used to be a sommelier at Riverpark in NYC. Tell your friend to mention my name to him if she goes, the guy is very nice and very wine savvy.

https://www.valleybarandbottle.com/

[Jay Winton]

It's been years but the tasting at Togni on Spring Mountain was a favorite. Girl and the Goat in Sonoma has good food.