{"id":9431,"date":"2016-02-15T01:53:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T01:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/?p=9431"},"modified":"2019-01-22T03:32:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T03:32:46","slug":"sonoma-valley-wine-country-getaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/sonoma-valley-wine-country-getaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonoma Valley wine country getaway"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sonoma<\/a>
Mustard in February – Vineyard at B.R. Cohn winery in the Sonoma Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our Sonoma Valley wine country getaway – do’s and don’t’s<\/h2>\n

There’s so much to see, do, and explore in this area known as the Valley of the Moon. We just spent three full days exploring the Sonoma Valley wine country. What a treat and delightful way to relax and rejuvenate while enjoying beautiful scenery, fine foods and fantastic wines. We’ve been here several times, and each getaway we find something new and exciting in the world of wine and food.<\/p>\n

We headed over the Golden Gate Bridge, which is always a treat in itself no matter what the weather or other conditions. After driving north for about 30 minutes on Hwy. 101, take the Vallejo turnoff and then head to the Sonoma Raceway and the Carneros Highway. There are several beautiful wineries along this area of the Carneros wine region. Cline Cellars<\/a> and Gloria Ferrer<\/a> are always great wine visits, and we think very visitor friendly. Viansa winery and Jacuzzi (owned by the Cline folks) seem to be more on the touristy side.<\/p>\n

Cornerstone<\/h3>\n

The boutique shopping and garden center\u00a0Cornerstone<\/a> is across from the entrance to the Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards. The Cornerstone Gardens have always been a remarkable attractions, but in May the gardens will be even more so. Sunset Magazine will add the Sunset\u00a0Gardens’ site and will operate their test kitchen there. This will undoubtedly be a significant draw to Cornerstone. There are currently three different tasting rooms to visit. They each have a casual style and a relaxed setting. At the Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge tasting room, we decided to sit and relax on the deck and enjoy a glass of wine. You can also taste the lineup of wines at each tasting room, but enjoying wine by the glass seems to be much more enjoyable than getting small sips of wine and having to listen to the pitch of how excellent and tasty the wines are. Besides the boutique art and other shops, there is a very laid back and comfortable eatery, the Park 121 restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"wine<\/a>
One of three wine tasting bars at Cornerstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sonoma – The Town<\/h3>\n

From Cornerstone, stay on Highway 121 around the bend and head to Highway 12 and the town of Sonoma. There is Sonoma County and there is the town of Sonoma. The city of Sonoma is at the very heart of the Sonoma Valley or, as the Native Americans dubbed it, the Valley of the Moon. The main attraction in Sonoma is\u00a0the Sonoma Plaza<\/a>. Surrounding the Plaza are a plethora of boutique shops, restaurants, hotels, and wine tasting rooms. You could spend your entire getaway of three days just on the Plaza. We don’t recommend that, because there is much to see and do to the north of the town on Highway 12 and on the floor of the great Sonoma Valley.<\/p>\n

\"Sonoma<\/a>
Sonoma City Hall – Sonoma Plaza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lodging in Sonoma<\/h3>\n

\"sonoma-valley-inn\"<\/a>There are plenty of B&B’s and hotels in Sonoma. We stayed at the Sonoma Valley Inn<\/a>\u00a0at 550 Second Street West. It is a Best Western and reasonably priced, very clean and comfortable. Breakfast is included from 7 to 10 am. The Inn has a swimming pool and a fitness center. \u00a0It is also pet-friendly. One can choose from a choice of rooms, standard to a luxury suite. The Sonoma Valley Inn is right across the street from Whole Foods market and is just one block from the Sonoma Plaza. There is no need to jump in your car for dinner. There are plenty of restaurants within easy walking distance. Enjoy that extra glass of wine and leave the car at the Inn. \u00a0Other recommended \u00a0lodging in Sonoma<\/a><\/p>\n

Dining in Sonoma<\/h3>\n

We have a list of\u00a0recommended\u00a0Sonoma Valley restaurants<\/a> for you to check out. We dined at a new restaurant, the Sonoma Grille. The food was delicious, and the prices were moderate. \u00a0The Sonoma Grille has a perfect wine menu. I love it when the wine list at a restaurant is priced reasonably and has a lot of good choices. \u00a0My only knock on the Sonoma Grille was the crowd noise. I rate it very noisy. \u00a0We also enjoyed the Red Grape. The Red Grape is mostly a pizza joint and more family oriented. The Pizza is delicious and the fact that the restaurant has been there 13 years is a testament to their pizza and reasonable prices.<\/p>\n

Tasting Rooms & Wineries<\/h3>\n

In and around the Plaza, there are\u00a025 wine tasting rooms<\/a>. We stopped in on\u00a0three tasting rooms on our visit. \u00a0We visited Walt Wines, Pangloss, and Passaggio. Walt Wines has<\/p>\n

\"Walt<\/a>
Janelle and Joe at the Walt Tasting Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

outdoor seating and delicious Pinot Noir wines. \u00a0Pangloss has a very inviting tasting room; it’s like sitting in a huge living room with comfortable furniture. \u00a0In Sonoma,\u00a0but away from the Plaza, we love visiting the Buena Vista winery and Gundlach Bundschu winery. There is so much California wine history in these two wineries! They are among the oldest wineries in California. \u00a0Along Highway 12 heading north are many beautiful wineries. These are full-fledged working wineries with vineyards, cellars and barrel rooms. Most of these wineries offer tours and picnicking in addition to a set of wine tasting choices. Our\u00a0recommended list of wineries on Highway 12<\/a>. The highlight of our\u00a0Sonoma wine country getaway was a wine and food pairing at the St. Francis Winery<\/a>. What a delicious treat and what a terrific way to learn about matching wine with food. \u00a0Our full report on the St. Francis wine and food pairing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"St<\/a>
Pan Seared Day Boat Scallop paired with St. Francis Sauvignon Blanc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley are within an hour’s driving time from San Francisco or Oakland. No matter what the time of the year, the Sonoma Valley has much to offer for wine country visitors. See more about the Sonoma Valley and its wineries – Sonoma Valley Wine Country<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Sonoma Valley wine country getaway – do’s and don’t’s There’s so much to see, do, and explore in this area known as the Valley of the Moon. We just spent three full days exploring the Sonoma Valley wine country. What a treat and delightful way to relax and rejuvenate while enjoying beautiful scenery, fine … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[436],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1885],"authors":[{"term_id":1885,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"joe","display_name":"Joe Becerra","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Joe-Becerra.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Joe-Becerra.jpg"},"first_name":"Joe","last_name":"Becerra","user_url":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com","description":"Joe Becerra has been traveling to wine country and enjoying wine since 1965. He is a retired educator, and now have the time the opportunity to share his wine travel experiences through this Website."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9431"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13879,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431\/revisions\/13879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9431"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winecountrygetaways.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}