Guerneville – A Secret wine town in the Russian River

Visit Guerneville for wine and other fun activities Guerneville is a sleepy little town on the banks of the Russian River in Sonoma County. The town is 150 years old and, for most of those years, has been a resort and vacation destination for San Francisco and Bay Area residents. In the 1970s, Guerneville became … Read more

Hidden Wine Country Town of Occidental

Healdsburg, Sonoma, Windsor, and Santa Rosa are the hot wine towns of Sonoma County wine country. If you like less hubbub, more solitude, and less wine snobbery, try visiting the town of Occidental.  Occidental is in the Russian River Valley wine appellation, about 30 minutes west of Santa Rosa, CA.  Occidental is secluded, but in … Read more

Geyserville Inn Revamps

Geyserville is a hidden wine town surrounded by wonderful, exciting wineries. Geyserville is the gateway to the vineyards and wineries in the Dry Creek Valley and the Alexander Valley wine appellations. If you are looking to explore this fantastic wine region of Northern Sonoma County, consider the Geyserville Inn for your place to stay. We … Read more

100 Year Old Wineries Near Healdsburg

100 year old wineries healdsburg

This week we recommend four wineries to visit in the Russian River area of Sonoma County, and very near the wonderful wine country town of Healdsburg.

Wine Country Restaurants on Michael Bauer’s 100 Top 100 Restaurants

Ciccio in Yountville

Each year at this time, the San Francisco Chronicle and its food editor Michael Bauer announce “The Top 100 Restaurants.” These are restaurants that are in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area, including the wine country regions of the Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Michael Bauer and his staff dine at a restaurant three … Read more

On the wine walk in Healdsburg

healdsburg wine walk

We were in Healdsburg last Tuesday and Wednesday while El Niño gave us a break between storms. The sun began to play hide-and-seek, starting around noon on Tuesday. With the threat of showers in the forecast, we decided to spend the afternoon on a wine walk in Healdsburg. Our first stop was the Healdsburg Bar & … Read more

MacRostie’s new digs on Westside Road

MacRostie tasting room

MacRostie Winery and Vineyards on Westside Road After 28 years of making very fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Sonoma Valley, Steve MacRostie finally has his dream tasting room and Pinot Noir winemaking facility.  It is a beautiful piece of vineyard property located on scenic Westside Road that runs along the Russian River. There are many beautiful … Read more

Ketcham Estate

Ketcham Estate winery

About Ketcham Estate This is one winery I had never heard until one of our wine friends arranged for us to meet Mark Ketcham and taste his Ketcham Estate wines. Our friend Pat bid on this special wine tasting with Mark Ketcham at a school fundraiser. We are happy she had the winning bid and … Read more

Wine Country Bocce Party

How to plan a wine country Bocce party As we swing into the tourist season in wine country and you plan your next wine country getaway with your friends, think about playing a game or two of Bocce at a winery. This is exactly what we have done once a year for the past ten … Read more

Paradise Ridge Winery Revisited

Paradise Ridge Winery It is always fun to visit Paradise Ridge, a winery off the beaten path in Sonoma County. We purchased another Travelzoo deal, this one for the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa. Just a couple of miles away from the Inn is the Paradise Ridge Winery. This is one of the few wineries … Read more