Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

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JonnyDVM
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Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by JonnyDVM »

Flying to SFO Wednesday, renting a car and heading up to Sonoma after a stop at Muir woods. Our rental is just outside of Windsor. I know there are a wealth of places to eat and multiple wine tasting rooms in Healdsburg. Does anyone have any specific recommendations for this area? Looks like J vineyard and wineries is very close to where we are staying and it's pretty well rated so we may stop there if we have time on our way up. We will be a group of five. Taking a wine tour on Thursday. I'm planning on spending the bulk of the time wine tasting, dining, and floating in the pool.
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davebarnes
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Do some research

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chudder
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by chudder »

A few ideas (I haven't actually done the trapeze class)...

Champagne bar! http://www.sighsonoma.com/

casual breakfast/lunch http://picazocafe.com/menu/

cheese! http://www.vellacheese.com/

incredible Chardonnay! (make reservations) http://www.hanzell.com/

Pinot, Syrah, Rose http://westwoodwine.com/splash.html

Flying trapeze classes.... http://www.trapezepro.com/flying.php
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JonnyDVM
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by JonnyDVM »

I'm no stranger to tripadvisor and Yelp. But Healdsburg/Sonoma in general is kind of unique in the number of choices it has so I wanted to hear if anyone has a favorite.
Last edited by JonnyDVM on Sun Jun 01, 2014 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Grasshopper
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by Grasshopper »

If you have a Visa Signature card this is really nice. http://www.sonomawine.com/visa-signatur ... nery-guide
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JonnyDVM
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by JonnyDVM »

chudder wrote:A few ideas (I haven't actually done the trapeze class)...

Champagne bar! http://www.sighsonoma.com/

casual breakfast/lunch http://picazocafe.com/menu/

cheese! http://www.vellacheese.com/

incredible Chardonnay! (make reservations) http://www.hanzell.com/

Pinot, Syrah, Rose http://westwoodwine.com/splash.html

Flying trapeze classes.... http://www.trapezepro.com/flying.php
Ok cool, I do like Pinot and Syrah. Others in our group like champagne and Chardonnay. I only like thick buttery Chardonnay but I'm interested in seeing hanzell just based on the website. I anticipate being too hungover and stuffed full of cheese to enjoy trapeze classes.
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JonnyDVM
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by JonnyDVM »

Grasshopper wrote:If you have a Visa Signature card this is really nice. http://www.sonomawine.com/visa-signatur ... nery-guide
Unfortunately I'm an AMEX man but maybe someone in our group has one. Thanks for the tip.
Last edited by JonnyDVM on Sun Jun 01, 2014 9:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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billern
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by billern »

If you like beer, there is Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa and Bear Republic in Healdsburg.
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Raybo
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by Raybo »

Korbel outside of Guerneville offers a long list of Champagnes for tasting and it is FREE!
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matjen
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by matjen »

Enjoyed Healdsburg a ton. Spoonbar is great, the Chef was one of the finalists on Top Chef last season...for what that is worth. http://spoonbar.com/
Some Sonoma faves: Bella - http://www.bellawinery.com/home/ and Seghesio - http://www.seghesio.com/VisitUs.aspx
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NightOwl
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by NightOwl »

JonnyDVM wrote:Flying to SFO Wednesday, renting a car and heading up to Sonoma after a stop at Muir woods. Our rental is just outside of Windsor. I know there are a wealth of places to eat and multiple wine tasting rooms in Healdsburg. Does anyone have any specific recommendations for this area? Looks like J vineyard and wineries is very close to where we are staying and it's pretty well rated so we may stop there if we have time on our way up. We will be a group of five. Taking a wine tour on Thursday. I'm planning on spending the bulk of the time wine tasting, dining, and floating in the pool.
Hi JonnyDVM,

Well, this is something that I know way TOO much about; I had to hold myself back! Right off the bat, I will tell you that I am a Pinot Noir enthusiast, and I only halfheartedly taste the whites (pretty much Chardonnay only in Sonoma, though you will occasionally see another varietal). Some of the Sonoma places will serve you an "oaky, buttery Chardonnay," but most will tell you that they don't like the oaky, buttery style, and they will show you the strange-looking concrete "eggs" in which they make their unoaked Chardonnay. Same speech about malolactic fermentation every time! It doesn't matter to me, so I don't keep track of who makes what, but you might want to call ahead and ask them "buttery or no?" regarding their Chards.

Here are a couple of my absolute favorite Pinot producers in Sonoma Country -- many are within about 20 minutes of Windsor. I've broken them down into a few categories -- most of them don't require a reservation, though perhaps a small handful of them do. I've left off the places that are just a huge hassle to get into (though note the Hanzell fees below):

Personal favorites based on the PNs alone:
Merry Edwards -- a little bit of a strange tasting experience, as one doesn't really sit down so much as stand around a table, but the PNs are tremendous
MacPhail -- incredibly nice people, will teach you a lot about the wine and the wine-making process. Great visit atmosphere around a large table right in the center of the wine-making facility. MacPhail sources grapes, so no vineyards to look at, but a beautiful and welcoming building.
Williams Selyem (big facility, lots of vineyards, brief tour of the grounds is fun)

Particularly picturesque (though you can't go wrong anywhere in Sonoma aesthetically):
Lynmar (beautiful tasting room, great Pinots)
Rochioli (also called J. Rochioli) -- overlooks acres of vineyards. Waiting list for their single-vineyard PNs is years long.
Gary Farrell -- another gorgeous tasting room overlooking a large valley. As it happens, Gary Farrell no longer makes Gary Farrell wines, but the Pinots still hold up pretty well IMO.
Hanzell -- Pretty place, and I liked their PN a lot, though as I recall the tasting fee is pretty steep -- like $45 per taster. Have to be pretty into the wines to step up to that.

Consider visiting near lunch time:
Marimar Estates -- offers a tapas lunch accompanying the wine tasting, and I thought the food was very good. Nice veranda. Whites and PNs both excellent here.
Hartford -- has picnic tables where we've stopped for lunch on previous trips. Excellent variety of wines, including a very good Syrah (you won't see very many of these in Sonoma).

Wine cave tour:
Freeman -- if you are into wine caves! PNs also very good.

For a variety of harder-to find varietals (I've never been, but it's been recommended to me several times):
Unti

I hope that helps! Feel free to PM me for more info.

NightOwl
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RebusCannébus
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by RebusCannébus »

If you want to enjoy the scenery:

Take Westside Road out of Healdsburg down to River Rd. Take River Rd. west, stopping at Korbel for a free tasting and tour, and to maybe pick up sandwiches for the road. Head west on River Rd. to Guerneville. If Muir Woods wasn't enough redwoods for you, stop by Armstrong Redwoods Preserve. It's Muir Woods without the hoards. Poke around Guerneville or continue out to the coast. Whether you turn north or south when you reach Hwy 1, you'll be rewarded. If you head north, there's a dramatic and occasionally even hair-raising stretch of road leading up toward Fort Ross State Park. If you head south, the coast is also lovely, with more opportunities to turn out or even get out of the car for photo ops. Bring a jacket, as it will be 30 degrees cooler on the coast in the afternoon than in Windsor/Healdsburg. In Bodega, turn off 1 and drive out to Bodega Head for views and a worthwhile loop trail around the promontory. Continue south on 1 until you hit 12. Turn left and head back east. In the town of Bodega, you can visit the schoolhouse where Hitchcock's The Birds was filmed. A little further down the road, turn left onto Bohemian Highway and pop into Wildflour Bakery. The bread and sticky buns are indescribably good. In fact, if, to get to WIldflour before they close for the day, you were to run this itinerary in reverse, that would make for a fine day, too. Anyway, continue on 12 east through Sebastopol. If you're still feeling scenic, grab 116 north out of Sebastopol to connect back up with River Road in Guerneville, then back up Westside Road to H'burg. Or continue on 12 east to where it meets 101 north in Santa Rosa and head "home" to Windsor.

Another nice drive: About 40 minutes from Healdsburg to Calistoga in the northern Napa Valley via Hwy 128 through the Alexander Valley.

I live here, and this is the kind of thing I'd do on a long Sunday.
Peter
Njwolf
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by Njwolf »

This may not be what you are looking for, but if you like lobster or crab rolls, you must visit New England Lobster Company just outside SFO airport in Burlingame. The rolls are unbelievably amazing!!!!!
MoonOrb
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by MoonOrb »

For a quick lunch in Healdsburg at way less than the cost of the popular places try the family-owned Cousteaux French Bakery.
FeralHamster
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by FeralHamster »

Rodney strong is in healdsburg. Try boon fly cafe, their brunch is great and on the way to sonoma. Make sure you get the donuts!
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carorun
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Re: Heading to Sonoma next week, recommendations please

Post by carorun »

I went to Sonoma about a month ago. You've gotten great recommendations so far, and I second the recommendation for Westwood. Most of the famous wineries are on estates that require driving in between. For that reason, we visited few estates and instead spent a lot of time visiting the wineries in town.

The main town square has several mid-range wineries and restaurants, and the best part is just walking from place to place. I bought a Groupon for R2 (10 min walk from square) and it was an amazing deal, so look into that if the deal is still on. The Enoteca is also really cool. They represent smaller wineries (<1,000 cases/year) so it's a great way to sample new wines on the cheap. By cheap, I mean it was $10 for 6 tastings...and the portions were generous. Hit up The Red Grape for lunch and the chocolate place if you need a breather.
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