When you live in Sonoma County, you’re never lonely for out-of-town visitors. Family, friends, college roommates, even casual acquaintances are all eager to catch up with you and take in all that the region offers.

Now through New Year’s is high season for house guests, with the number of invading out-of-towners larger than the kids’ gift lists. For local hosts, it can be a challenge deciding where to take restless visitors, especially those on a budget. Farm-to-table restaurants and taquerias are a given. Winery tasting rooms? Natch.

Go any direction in Sonoma County, and you will wind up somewhere intriguing. You’re never far from good food, natural beauty and wine tasting. But with so many choices, we’ve creamed off a few foolproof excursions that will fill up a day and make your guests’ stay in Sonoma County more memorable.

Click through the gallery for a four-day itinerary that includes some not-so-obvious explorations of Sonoma County, guaranteed to please your guests as much as you.

Meg McConahey contributed to this article. 

Day 1: Into the Armstrong Woods and to the coast

Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville is a great place to introduce visitors to the natural superlatives of Sonoma County. Magnificent, 1,200-year-old Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known as coastal redwoods, tower in a way that makes humans feel very small and very serene. Redwoods are among the natural wonders of the world and among the planet’s oldest living organisms. And they’re an easy drive from anywhere in the county.

The Armstrong reserve features a 1½-mile, ADA-accessible trail, making this an easy outdoors experience for everyone in your group. Arrive early and with jackets to combat the marine chill. At 7:45 a.m., you’ll find an empty parking lot and the quiet woods, sans Segways and smartphone selfie-taking hordes. By contrast, visitors to Marin’s Muir Woods have to make a reservation.

After an hour among the gentle giants, depart as the parking lot begins to fill. Those arriving have had their breakfast, so now it’s time for yours. Coffee Bazaar in Guerneville provides house-roasted coffee and pastries. Or drive a little farther west, along the Russian River, to Duncans Mills’ Gold Coast Coffee and Bakery.

Founded in 1877, Duncans Mills is a quaint station on the way to the coast from the river towns, with a charming general store and a depot museum next to where the Northwestern Pacific Railroad once ran. If you still have Christmas shopping to do, then Duncans Mills is a good place to browse. Don’t miss Jim Raidl’s Jim and Willies, a real curiosity shop of quirky antiques and curios with a friendly proprietor.

On the road again, continue west. For some sea air and wide-open ocean views to amaze visitors from land-locked places, stop at the Vista Trail in Jenner at the mouth of the Russian River. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some harbor seals.

After watching waves crash in the fresh sea air, you’ll be ready for the drive south on Highway 1 to Bodega Bay. This is the classic Sonoma Coast scene of crashing waves, and trails along the bluff are accessible to most people. Check out the whimsical wind spinners at Candy & Kites, the colorful array of saltwater taffy at Patrick’s and the Japanese prints at Ren Brown Collection Fine Art Gallery.

Start heading inland for a hit of Alfred Hitchcock in the tiny town of Bodega. Snap a “The Birds” selfie outside the old Potter School, immortalized in the scene where schoolchildren run screaming and flailing from their classroom. It’s a private residence, so stay on the road. Then swing by the nearby Saint Teresa of Avila Church, also featured in the film.

You’ll be hungry by now. For lunch, consider the Estero Cafe in Valley Ford just a few minutes’ drive away. The restaurant pays homage to local farmers with its hand-lettered chalkboard menus and homestyle food. Its inventive brunches, sandwiches and salads make it one of the county’s top foodie destinations.

Day 2: Healdsburg for the holidays

Start your day by taking in one of the most spectacular gems of Sonoma County — Lake Sonoma. Then head to Healdsburg (a 10-minute drive) for a leisurely breakfast at Costeaux French Bakery.

Costeaux French Bakery is a frequent winner in baking competitions, and its fresh breads are served in Sonoma restaurants. But not many people know that Costeaux serves great breakfasts and lunches.

After breakfast, let the bookworms and audiophiles in the group browse the fiction, vinyl and CD selection at Levin & Company. Take the stairs to the mezzanine for its collection of local art, jewelry and crafts. Next, visit the antique markets — like Shoffeitt’s Off the Square and Antique Harvest — all within easy walking distance of the plaza.

No Healdsburg visit is complete without a winery stop, or two. Lambert Bridge boasts a tasting room with a large fireplace, making it a cozy place for sipping wines in colder months. The Healdsburg Bubble Bar, nestled in a quaint 1906 Queen Anne Victorian near the plaza, offers a wide assortment of sparkling wines.

As the sun goes down, head to Barndiva for a craft cocktail and dinner, and watch the outdoor lights twinkle over the quirky art on the patio. Don’t miss the eclectic collection of British Cigarette Cards at the Gallery Bar.

Day 3: In search of lost time, and more wine, in Sonoma Valley

Winter is a good time to check out the new museum exhibit in Jack London State Historic Park. Even if it’s too cold or wet to hike, you can take cover in the House of Happy Walls museum dedicated to the great writer and his wife, Charmian.

Right outside the park gate, Benziger Family Winery offers vineyard tram tours that will get you out of the tasting room and among the vines, which have their own sculpted beauty in winter.

Make it an outdoorsy day at Sonoma Botanical Garden, one of Sonoma County’s secret spots. Few travel writers have discovered it, meaning you may have this 20-acre garden of rare Asian plants all to yourself. Easy paths wind past ponds and through dense plantings of trees and shrubs with something of interest in every season. There is a nice gift shop for garden lovers as well as golf cart tours by arrangement for those with mobility problems.

In the town of Sonoma, the walkable square offers places to sip, shop and dine. For celebratory sparkles during the holidays, there’s SIGH Champagne bar. No reservations needed, and they always offer three flights of French, Californian and other tantalizing sparklers. If you have teetotalers or beer drinkers in your party, this is a great tasting room option. They also offer draft beer, regular wine and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as snack-sized bites, both savory and sweet.

Sonoma Plaza offers holiday cheer and attractions for history buffs, from the Sonoma Mission to the barracks and Toscano Hotel, all within two blocks. There’s a big parking lot behind the barracks on First Street East.

When you’re ready for a bite to eat, consider Tasca Tasca (TT Tapas). Tasca stands for tavern or pub in Portugal. Chef Manuel Azevedo offers updated Portuguese tapas with a fresh Sonoma spin. They’re also open late. Or head down Broadway to HopMonk Tavern for bar bites and beer, washed down with live music on the weekends.

Day 4: Petaluma, Sebastopol and a farm-to-table finale in Forestville

The age of Petaluma, settled in the 1850s, might not impress visitors from Europe, but the downtown’s quaint storefronts, heritage homes and retro memorabilia will make even your English uncle or Swedish aunt melt. But first, start with breakfast at Della Fattoria, one of the country’s finest bread bakers, famous for its Meyer lemon rosemary boule. Try the breakfast toast with ricotta cheese, banana slices, toasted pecans and honey.

Downtown, check out the vintage guitars and mandolins at Tall Toad Music and the 1,800 varieties of heirloom seeds at The Seed Bank, owned by Baker Creek, one of the country’s leading purveyors of heirloom seed.

For the afternoon, get behind the wheel and drive the 17 miles to Sebastopol’s The Barlow. Designed to look like old farm industrial buildings — without the dirt and rust — this marketplace is good for browsing. Watch local makers in action at restaurants, wineries, breweries and cideries, and art, jewelry, glass, crafts, design and clothing studios.

If you want to arrange for a farm-to-table grand finale, you could make reservations at Farmhouse Inn’s upscale but surprisingly low-key Michelin-starred restaurant in Forestville. For a more affordable but still delicious option, Farmhouse Inn’s casual eatery Farmstand serves woodfired dishes and pizza.

The post Holiday Guests Coming? Here Are 4 Perfect Sonoma County Day Trips appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

This article was originally published in 2016, 40 years after the installation of “Running Fence.” Christo, who made monumental art around the world, died at 84 on May 31, 2020. Jeanne-Claude, his artistic and life partner, died at 74 on Nov. 18, 2009. 

The hamlet of Valley Ford hasn’t changed much in the last four decades. There’s more traffic, of course: It’s located on scenic Highway 1, and Bodega Bay is just 8 miles to the west. But Dinucci’s Italian Dinners is still there, serving the family-style meals that made its initial reputation more than a century ago.

Local ranchers still come to the Valley Ford Market for coffee and the latest talk on lamb prices and government regulation. And the land itself seems immutable: The rolling pastures broken by eucalyptus windbreaks — speckled with fat sheep and sleek cattle — present a prospect as timeless as the nearby Pacific Ocean.

But something happened here 40 years ago that changed everything. A discreet monument marking that event stands at the Valley Ford post office, a single, corroded metal pole 18 feet high, with a small commemorative plaque at its base. It was at this spot that “Running Fence” came through, completed on Sept. 10, 1976.

If you saw the fence then, you can stand next to the pole now, close your eyes and see it again, with almost shocking clarity. You can understand now that it meant much more than you thought it did at the time of its installation.

Joe Pozzi remembers when a slight-framed man with long hair, massive horn-rimmed glasses and craggy features came to his family’s ranch near Estero de San Antonio. It was in 1972, and Pozzi and his siblings were engaged in the quotidian duty required of anyone involved in a dairy operation: milking the cows.

“We were in the barn and we saw Dad outside talking to this guy,” recalled Pozzi, then a pre-teen. “And when Dad came into the barn, we asked him what was going on, and he said, ‘Oh, some damn hippie wants to build a fence for us. I told him to come back later.’”

That “hippie” was Christo — Christo Vladimirov Javacheff — now hailed as the world’s foremost installation artist and one of the great creative visionaries of the past five decades. While it’s true that he came to the Pozzi ranch to build a fence, it wasn’t as an itinerant laborer hoping to make a few bucks stringing barbed wire.

“Christo was Bulgarian and his English wasn’t that great then, so Dad misunderstood him,” Pozzi said. “But Christo came back with his partner, Jeanne-Claude, and my mom brought out the bread, cheese and salami, like the west county Italian farmers always did when they had visitors. And Christo had this book with him, about something called the hanging curtain at Rifle Gap.”

That was Rifle Gap, Colo., and “Valley Curtain” was a project that Christo and Jeanne-Claude had recently completed, a 200,200-square-foot swath of fabric draped across a steep mountain pass. As everyone ate the antipasti, the Pozzis politely listened to Christo’s proposal. He planned another project, this one for Sonoma and Marin counties, a fence of fabric running sinuously across the land from Highway 101 to the sea. It would be about 25 miles long and almost 20 feet high.

By the end of the visit, Pozzi said, his parents still weren’t completely clear on the concept, but they were sure of one thing: They liked Christo.

“He was incredibly charismatic,” Pozzi said, “but it was more than that. He was genuine. There was a warm human quality to him that you just felt. There was nothing slick or pretentious about him. Ranchers and farmers intuitively sense character in a person. He didn’t get the ‘Running Fence’ built because he sold anybody around here on the idea. They got behind him because they liked and trusted him.”

Christo returned to the Pozzi ranch several times over the next few months, and ultimately formed a deep bond with the family. At the same time, he visited other dairy farmers and ranchers who owned land along his proposed route for the fence. He ate at their tables and drank their wine.

Christo was in no hurry, Pozzi said, as he and Jeanne-Claude seemed to relish the human contact. It was evident they enjoyed immersing themselves in the west county’s agrarian culture.

“Everyone came to understand Christo was an artist, an important artist, and that the ‘Running Fence’ was a major art project,” Pozzi said. “But that wasn’t why he appealed to us. It was more that he shared similar qualities with the agricultural community. It’s something of a paradox. We’re independent, but we also rely on each other, we’re ready to help out at a moment’s notice. And we like to get things done, to conceive a project and then work hard to see it through. Christo had a project that he wanted to get done. He wasn’t going to step on anyone to do it, but it was important to him, and he asked for our help.”

Christo and Jeanne-Claude ultimately enlisted 59 families whose properties fell within the proposed route of the fence. The ranchers and farmers weren’t merely acquiescent, however; they had become committed partisans for the project.

At the same time, news of the fence generated fierce push-back, primarily from environmentalists concerned about impacts on the land, and also from locals who were offended by promotion of the project as “art.” They formed the Committee to Stop the Running Fence, and vowed to send Christo fleeing from Sonoma.

The upshot of the discord was a seemingly endless series of meetings convened by the California Coastal Commission, the Marin County Planning Commission and the Sonoma County Planning Commission. The process was rancorous and dragged on for more than three years.

“I remember at one point somebody declaring that the fence was ‘fascist art,’” said Brian Kahn, then a freshman Sonoma County supervisor who had been newly appointed to fill a vacancy. “I didn’t physically roll my eyes, but I rolled them internally. I was perplexed by the furor. The fence drew all these incredibly intense emotions that — from my perspective, at least — it didn’t warrant. Politics and art don’t mix well, and my bias has always been to let artists do what they want.

“But the fence came along just at a point when land-use policy was the primary matter of concern in the county, and it seemed to galvanize emotions on all sides of the issue. In a way I didn’t realize at the time, it focused people on the landscape and the impact our land-use policies would have on the future of the county.”

But if opponents inveighed furiously against the project at the meetings, supporters — mainly ranchers and dairy farmers — spoke passionately in its favor. Christo seemed utterly serene. He spoke in defense of his art, and his disposition was always sunny; he never seemed worried, or even slightly anxious.

“He said on more than one occasion that the process, all the meetings, the environmental impact studies, were part of his art,” said Barbara Gonnella, owner of the Union Hotel in Occidental and Joe Pozzi’s sister. “And that was the absolute truth. If he hadn’t been able to build the fence in the end, I’m sure he would still have considered the project a success.”

Earlier this year, Gonnella hosted a screening of a film about “Running Fence” that was funded by the Smithsonian Museum of Modern Art. For Gonnella, the documentary had special resonance because it featured one of the last interviews with Jeanne-Claude before her death from a brain aneurysm in 2009.

“By the 1990s, their work was a complete collaboration,” Gonnella said. “It was never just ‘Christo.’ It was always ‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude,’ and to me, that emphasized their connection with each other and humanity at large. Christo’s art is about more than just objects and materials, more about themes, even. It incorporates the landscape and the people on it, and the relationships he builds with those people.

“Our family is still in close contact with him. When our mother died, he was the first person to send flowers. When he’s in the area, he eats at the Union Hotel. My daughter just came back from visiting his latest installation (“The Floating Piers” on Lake Iseo, Italy). He’s still part of our lives. His work still affects us. He still affects us.”

Ultimately, of course, the fence went up. Scores of volunteers laid out the route, sank the posts, strung the cables, hung the fabric. Christo was right there among them, wearing an OSHA-required hard hat, blissfully shouldering his share of the grunt labor.

“I was 13 at the time,” Pozzi said, pointing out the path the fence took across the gentle hills south of Valley Ford, now empty save for grass undulating in the wind and myriad grazing sheep. “I think I was the youngest volunteer on the installation. It was an incredible experience, and then, two weeks after it went up (in 1976), we took it down. Two months later, you couldn’t tell it had been there. But my memory of it is still so vivid. It changed people’s lives, and for the better.”

Dave Steiner, a Sonoma Mountain grape-grower who was appointed to the Sonoma County Planning Commission shortly after the fence went up, said people shouldn’t confuse Christo’s melding of government processes into his art with reflexive acquiescence to official dictates.

“Great artists don’t yield to cultural or political pressures,” Steiner said. “They are naturally subversive, and Christo certainly was in that mold. When the Coastal Commission didn’t grant him a final permit to run his fence into the sea, he did it anyway. He used government to make a point in his work, but in the end, he was happy to defy government. That defiance was part of his work, too. And I think anybody who was around here at that time and had his or her head screwed on straight said, ‘Right on!’ when that happened. The fence was always supposed to run into the sea. The entire project would have been diminished if it had stopped at the shore.”

After serving as a Sonoma County supervisor and the president of the California Fish and Game Commission, Brian Kahn moved to Montana. For a time, he directed the Montana Nature Conservancy. He now devotes himself to journalism, authoring books on environmental policy and field sports, and hosting “Home Ground,” a public-issues radio show broadcast across the intermountain West.

But he still gets back to Sonoma County with some regularity, and for the most part, he’s happy with what he sees.

“Through the mid-’70s, the county was focused on — actually divided by — a proposed general plan,” he said. “It was going to determine whether growth would be contained and orderly, or largely unregulated. The plan finally was adopted in 1978, and I’m convinced the fence was a major factor. It made people think about the land and their relationship to it. And when I drive around the county now, I see that the plan has pretty much held together.

“Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park may have merged more than was intended, but Sonoma Valley, the west county — those landscapes are largely intact, despite all the population pressures. It’s a wonderful thing to see. It’s a tremendous collective accomplishment.”

Indeed, the shift toward popular support of a general plan seemed to coincide with the completion of “Running Fence.” The project not only brought Sonoma County to the attention of the world, it also, somehow, brought the people of Sonoma County together.

“It was strange,” said Gonnella as she sat in the shadowed dining room of the Union Hotel following the lunchtime rush. “Once the fence started going up, once people could drive out and see this miraculous thing unfolding across the land, all the bitterness, all the protests, just kind of — stopped.”

She paused, looking out a window. Her eyes were moist, and when she spoke again, her voice was charged with emotion.

“I was only 17 then,” she said. “I loved living out in the west county. Everybody knew each other, most of the families were from the same region in northern Italy. But when the fence came, I got a sense of something bigger. The way it looked running across the hills, shimmering, changing colors in the light and the wind. I was so young, and it was so — so romantic. So incredibly romantic. I felt like my heart was going to burst.”

Selected Christo Installations

1962 – “Oil Barrels”- Germany

Jeanne-Claude and Christo created a piece in response to the building of the Berlin Wall, blocking off the Rue Visconti in Paris with a wall of oil drums. They convinced police to allow the installation to remain for a few hours.

1972 – “Valley Curtain” – Colorado

An orange curtain made from 200,200 square feet of woven nylon fabric was stretched across Rifle Gap in the Rocky Mountains. An earlier attempt was shredded by wind and rock.

1976 – “Running Fence” – California

1983 – “Surrounded Islands” – Florida

Eleven islands on Biscayne Bay were surrounded with 6.5 million square feet of floating pink woven polypropylene fabric covering the surface of the water and extending out from each island into the bay.

1991 – “The Umbrellas” – the U.S. and Japan

A temporary work realized in two countries at the same time, it was comprised of 3,100 opened umbrellas in Ibaraki (12 miles of them) and on Tejon Pass, along Highway 5, in Southern California (18 miles).

2005 – “The Gates” – New York

More than 7,500 gates made of saffron-colored fabric panels were installed in New York City’s Central Park, a golden river appearing and disappearing through bare tree branches.

2016 – “The Floating Piers” – Italy

From June 18 to July 3, Lake Iseo in Lombardy was partially covered in 62 miles of shimmering yellow fabric, supported by a modular dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes floating on the surface of the water.

The post From the Archives: Memories of Christo’s Running Fence appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Weary, somewhat bleary of the spin-sniff-sip-swallow-or-spit wine tasting experience? These Sonoma and Napa wineries offer a little something extra to pair with your cabernet.

Medieval fortresses and parterre gardens, swimming pools and outdoor art galleries, riding horses and trolleys — there’s plenty of reason to venture outside the tasting room on your next Wine Country trip.

A trip to Germany at Schug Carneros Estate Winery

French, Italian and Spanish accents abound at Sonoma and Napa wineries, so a visit to Walter Schug’s German-styled winery in Carneros is as refreshing as a trocken riesling.

Schug, who died in 2015 at age 80, grew up at Staatsweingut Assmannshausen in Germany’s Rhine Valley. Bit by the winegrowing bug, he eventually made his way to Napa Valley, as winemaker for Joseph Phelps Winery. In 1983, he founded his own winery estate yard in Sonoma Carneros, the production facility and tasting room designed with the peaked roof and timber framing typical in the Rhine. All the original winemaking equipment came from Germany and some of it remains, most strikingly the 669-gallon wood oval aging casks, some of them elaborately carved.

Riesling is no longer in the Schug repertoire, the grape not ideally suited to Sonoma’s sunny climate. Instead, Schug took the pinot noir (spatburgunder) route, adding chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and other varietals to the mix. His children continue the business, with German-American Johannes Scheid the winemaker.

The Cave Tour & Tasting Experience ($75) includes a walk around the property and through the production area and caves, followed by a seated tasting of current-release and Heritage Reserve wines, served with snacks.

602 Bonneau Road, Sonoma, 707-939-9363, schugwinery.com

Outdoor art gallery at The Donum Estate

Wineries have long been places for visitors to view art and photography on the walls of tasting rooms. Sculptures welcome guests at estate entrances and within sight of tasters.

Now, Donum has taken artistic displays well beyond the usual, dotting its 200-acre Carneros estate with 50-some large-scale, open-air sculptures from artists including Ai Weiwei, Keith Haring, Subodh Gupta and Doug Aitken. Adding to the high-end artistry: the tasting area designed by Danish architect David Thulstrup, known for his interior design of world-class Noma restaurant in Copenhagen.

The basic way to enjoy Donum is to book its Carneros Experience ($95), which includes a walking tour of the estate and tastes of its rosé, chardonnay and pinot noir. The Explore Experience ($175) is a two-hour, all-terrain-vehicle tour of the estate and tasting of wines served with seasonal bites and, of course, views of the artwork.

24500 Ramal Road, Sonoma, 707-732-2200, thedonumestate.com

Living history at Buena Vista Winery

Founded in 1857 by Agoston Haraszthy, Buena Vista is the second-oldest winery in California and is often referred to as the oldest premium winery in the state. (The oldest winery in California is D’Agostini Winery, which was founded in 1856.)

Haraszthy, a vivacious and eccentric pioneer, immigrated from Europe in 1840 in search of the good life. Following in the footsteps of the forty-niners, he found the perfect terroir for “purple gold” and, as the self-proclaimed “Count of Buena Vista,” he established a reputation as an experimental vintner, a shrewd businessman and a flamboyant evangelist. (He died as he had lived — dramatically — in an alligator-infested river in the jungles of Nicaragua.)

The legend of Haraszthy and his winery is now recreated by Buena Vista owner Jean-Charles Boisset, a modern-day version of the eccentric count. The best way to get a taste of the winery’s history (and some wine) is to reserve the Barrel Tasting & Winery Tour ($50), which takes visitors on a stroll through the winery grounds and into the Champagne Cellar for a taste of current release wines. Next, the tour continues into the wine caves where guests can sample wine from the barrel.

18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma, 800-926-1266, buenavistawinery.com

Horsing around among the vines at Jack London State Park

They say, “don’t drink and drive,” but can you drink and ride?

At Triple Creek Horse Outfit in Glen Ellen, the riding is sensibly taken care of before the drinking. And what a ride it is. Triple Creek offers guided horseback tours at Jack London State Historic Park in the magical Valley of the Moon. The park features fine riding trails through Jack and Charmian London’s Beauty Ranch, which wind around acres of vineyards, through open oak woodlands and under shady groves of majestic redwoods.

All Triple Creek Horse Outfit rides include a complimentary wine tasting at nearby VJB Cellars in Kenwood. The winery also has a gourmet Italian deli and sells wood-fired pizza, gelato and more. Private rides (one hour to two hours) are $145 to $225 per rider. Questions are best addressed via email at triplecrik@gmail.com. Bookings can be made online.

2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, 707-888-0034, triplecreekhorseoutfit.com

Humming bees and lavender fields at Matanzas Creek Winery

Matanzas Creek Winery in Bennett Valley has been a haven for wine enthusiasts and lavender-lovers since 1991. Guests to the winery can sip sauvignon blanc on a terrace overlooking fields of lilac and amethyst; the soothingly seductive perfumes wafting in the breeze to the hum of bees shifting busily among the blossoms.

The end of June/beginning of July is prime lavender season at Matanzas Creek Winery. The fields are organically farmed and are cut, bundled and hung to barn dry after reaching full bloom. Then the dried blossoms are used in culinary, bath, body and home products sold in the winery’s lavender market.

Tastings (from $35) are by appointment. Picnic tables (with bottle service) can be reserved for two hours ($25 on weekdays; $50 on weekends). Bocce courts can be rented for two hours daily ($20 per person).

6097 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, 707-528-6464, matanzascreek.com

An all-terrain adventure at Chenoweth Wines

Of the more than 400 wineries that call Sonoma County home, the grand estates have a knack for getting all the attention. But when you make the turn onto the retired tractor-lined driveway at Chenoweth Wines, it’s the unpretentious setting that makes you happy you’ve arrived.

With 800 acres of land, from redwoods to vineyards, the Chenoweth estate offers plenty to see. But it’s how you get to see it — buckled into an all-terrain vehicle — that adds even more bragging rights to a busy day of wine tasting.

ATV tours ($125 per person) take about 1 1/2 hours and traverse the Chenoweth ranch, redwood grove and vineyards and make stops for wine tasting outdoors. At tour’s end, guests can stay and enjoy their own picnic in the redwood grove. Tours are limited to eight guests and can be booked by calling 707-829-3367 or emailing joinus@chenowethwines.com.

5550 Harrison Grade Road, Sebastopol, 707-331-2734, chenowethwines.com

A taste of history at Three Sticks Wines

The historic Vallejo-Casteñada Adobe is the longest occupied residence in Sonoma and one of the town’s few remaining buildings from California’s Mexican period.

Constructed in 1842 by Captain Salvador Vallejo (the infamous brother of General Mariano Vallejo), the adobe has been carefully restored by Three Sticks owners Bill and Eva Price, who now house a private tasting room for their Three Sticks wine label in the historic building.

Visitors can tour the adobe and take in its history while tasting a flight of pinots and chardonnays ($65) or finish the experience with a food and wine pairing prepared in partnership with the celebrated chefs at El Dorado Kitchen.

New this season is the Oysters & Chardonnay pairing ($95) that includes a flight of three single vineyard chardonnays and half a dozen oysters on the half shell (three types of oysters). Guests get to learn about terroir (how environmental factors like soil, topography and climate impact the wine) and merroir (how the bivalves’ marine surroundings influence their flavor).

143 W. Spain St., Sonoma, 707-996-3328, threestickswines.com

Cabernet on a cable car, Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley

Lack a designated driver? Think limousine tours are for tourists? Biking and wining a precarious pair? The Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley might just be what you’re looking for.

Built from the blueprints of an 1890s San Francisco cable car, the trolley safely trundles wine enthusiasts on a six-hour ride through Sonoma Valley.

The journey begins at Sonoma Plaza and then makes three stops at local wineries for private tasting experiences (the stops change with the seasons and include wineries such as Ravenswood, Imagery Estate, Paradise Ridge, Gloria Ferrer and B.R. Cohn).

Included in the package is a guide, a boxed lunch, views of the bucolic Wine Country landscape and plenty of bottled water. Daily Sonoma tours begin at 10:15 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. The tour is $125 and reservations can be made online. Tasting fees at the wineries range from $30 to $40 per person.

sonomavalleywinetrolley.com

Wine wonderland at Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Bringing the kids on a wine tasting trip may not seem the best of ideas, that is unless you are destined for Francis Ford Coppola’s winery.

The famous filmmaker’s Geyserville estate is a wonderland with wine: film memorabilia (including Don Corleone’s desk from “The Godfather”) and Oscars are on display; its two swimming pools (3,600 square feet in total) are surrounded by chaise lounges, cabanas and bocce courts; and there is always plenty of wine for the adults.

Seated tastings on the terrace are $40. Bocce courts can be reserved 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday-Monday. ($50 per person, plus tax; available for parties of eight to 24 guests).

Cabana reservations, which is the only way to access the pool, become available on the winery’s website in late spring. (The pool is typically open from mid-June to early October.) It is a popular place to be during summer in Wine Country, so make sure to make your cabana reservations early.

300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville, 707-857-1400, thefamilycoppola.com

Tulips and trees at Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery

Ever experienced a tulip emergency? Healdsburg’s Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery has a tulip hotline set up in the late winter/early spring months for fans eager not to miss the winery’s 10,000 tulips in bloom.

The five-acre winery gardens also feature over 2,000 species of trees and shrubs, a variety of perennials and annuals (the tulips and daffodils take center stage in the spring), waterfalls that flow into fish-filled ponds and bronze sculptures from renowned artists Dennis Smith, Douglas Van Howd and Jane DeDecker.

The Italian/French parterre gardens accentuate classic geometric shapes. The enclosed garden at the front of Villa Fiore (the estate winery) has a parklike setting, its design more relaxed and its emphasis on color and texture.

Take in views of the gardens and surrounding vineyards from the winery’s Sycamore Grove terrace during the Wine & Brunch experience (10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays; $85 per person).

The brunch includes a flight of reserve wines paired with a seasonal, Italian-inspired menu with dishes such as Prosciutto Benedict with roasted potato and estate garden greens; Yannis Sausage & Farm Fresh Egg Strata topped with Valley Ford Estero Gold Cheese; and TCHO Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta for dessert. Advance reservations and prepayments are required (reservations are refundable up to 72 hours prior to visit).

8761 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 707-433-6700, ferrari-carano.com

Portal to the middle ages at Castello di Amorosa

It’s no surprise that some refer to Dario Sattui, a fourth generation vintner and the man behind Castello di Amorosa, as a modern-day Don Quixote.

Some 20 years ago, Sattui began a 15-year quest to build a medieval-style Tuscan castle in Napa Valley as a place to showcase his wines. The result: a 107-room, eight-level, 121,000-square-foot castle complete with drawbridge, secret passageways, torture chamber and tasting rooms.

Seated and standing tastings ($60 and $50) give visitors access to the two main levels of the castle via a self-guided tour (strategically posted QR codes make it easy to learn about the winery at your own pace).

The Diamond Estate Tour & Reserve Wine Tasting ($70) and the Cheese & Charcuterie Wine Pairing Tour ($85) include guided tours that take visitors through the two main levels and also into the production area, underground cellars, torture chamber and armory. Reservations required for all tastings.

4045 St Helena Highway, Calistoga, 707-967-6272, castellodiamorosa.com

Gondola glides to the tune of old English bells at Sterling Vineyards

A one-of-a-kind aerial tram glides you on a 360-degree scenic ride up a tree-covered hill to the winery. Debarking at the summit, visitors can then begin to explore the chalk-white stuccoed, many-verandaed winery. Its architectural inspiration? The Greek villages on the island of Mykonos where Sterling founder, Peter Newton, once lived.

High in the towers at Sterling Vineyards are eight bells that once hung in London’s Church of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-East. When the Anglican church, founded in the Saxon 10th century, was badly damaged by the Great Fire of 1666, it was repaired and a Christopher Wren steeple added. (St. Dunstan’s was much later mortally damaged during the London Blitz in 1941.)

The bells found their way to Calistoga in the 1970s and soon visitors can continue to enjoy the timelessness of their reverberations at Sterling Vineyards.

1111 W. Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, 800-726-6136, sterlingvineyards.com

Linda Murphy and Dana Rebmann contributed to this article. 

The post 12 Unique Winery Experiences in Sonoma and Napa Wine Country appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Catching an outdoor movie beneath the stars is a favorite summer pastime in Sonoma County. After a long pandemic year, great films are finally returning to the big screen. In downtown Santa Rosa, the Metro Chamber and Sonoma Clean Power will present “Movies on the Square” every Wednesday in July, featuring a lineup of family-friendly classics.

Kicking off the event series tonight is “The Princess Bride,” a fairy-tale adventure for all ages. Movies are free to attend and before each movie starts, visitors will be able to enjoy fun activities tailored to each film. A live fencing demonstration will warm up the crowd before “The Princess Bride.” On July 14, there will be an inflatable baseball game before a screening of the 1993 comedy  “The Sandlot.” Then, on July 21, an 80s cover band will set the mood before “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and, on July 28, giant inflatables will make moviegoers feel very small before viewing “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!”

The Movies on the Square event series is part of Santa Rosa’s Open and Out initiative, which aims to welcome visitors back to the downtown area. Other events include live music every Thursday through Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m., various art installations, makers markets, a bartending competition on July 29 and other fun events to come.

“We’ve gotten a great response from the community,” said Cadance Hinkle Allinson, Executive Director of the Santa Rosa Downtown District, about the initiative. “We are happy to be providing a nice fun place for people to come together again.”

Moviegoers can bring their own lawn chair and blankets to Courthouse Square. Takeout food can be ordered from one of the many surrounding restaurants and the event’s main sponsor, Sonoma Clean Power, will be handing out free popcorn to moviegoers. Bayside Church will also be selling popcorn, lemonade and other refreshments.

Movies on the Square is a free event series. Parking is also free after 5 p.m. in all city garages. Music  will kick off the event around 5:30 p.m., followed by the pre-movie activities at 6:30 p.m. The film begins at sunset.

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The pace of the Russian River sets the leisurely tempo of west Sonoma County life. In this laid-back enclave of eccentric cabins, nestled among redwoods and fir-covered hills, you are bound to find your own rhythm. Float down the river with us (and click through the gallery) to discover where to stay, play and dine in relaxed Russian River style.

Getting Here: Access the Russian River area by flying into Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schultz airport, or drive up Highway 1 from San Francisco. If you’re driving, make a few stops along the coast — Stinson Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay. Do some Birds’ watching in Bodega, then ride up the scenic Bohemian Highway.

Settle In: Make Guerneville the jumping off point for your Russian River expedition — the longtime bohemian refuge of Forestville is just a stone’s throw away, as is the “vacation wonderland” of Monte Rio. Guerneville’s comforting early morning fog, the rolling river and its proximity to the Sonoma Coast make the place a dream destination for those wanting to kick back and get pleasantly lost. Guerneville’s colorful collection of residents, its eclectic variation of visitors and varied array of storefronts reflect the archaeology of the town’s recent history: timber town, then hippie haven, then gay retreat and hip getaway.

Camp in style at AutoCamp, Guerneville: Promising “no-fuss” hospitality, AutoCamp’s mid-century modern glamping site features 24 custom Airstream trailers, ten fully equipped luxury tents and a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired pavilion. Guests can enjoy art installations, bocce courts and other outdoor games, along with speciality bikes, canoes and tennis.

Stay in an eco-friendly oasis at Boon Hotel + Spa, Guerneville: Named after owner Crista Luedtke’s canine companion, Boon offers quintessential Guerneville lodgings — a tasteful blend of old and new. The hotel grounds once housed the local mercury miner community; the hotel has gone through a series of transformations since the 1970s. In 2008, Luedtke created an eco-friendly oasis of minimalist modern cottages that promises to “unclutter your mind and allow your body to rest.”

Get five star treatment with a family feel at Farmhouse Inn, Forestville: Run by brother-and-sister team Catherine and Joe Bartolomei, the Farmhouse Inn offers all the warmth and hospitality of a family-owned B&B while providing the high-end services and amenities of a five star luxury hotel. Located just 8 miles east of Guerneville, the inn houses a Michelin-starred restaurant and offers a variety of accommodations, from high-ceiling barn rooms to bungalow-style heritage rooms.

Camp riverside at Johnson’s Beach, Guerneville: Johnson’s Beach, a Sonoma County summer destination for nearly 100 years, offers a variety of rental accommodations: a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom main lodge overlooking the river, or rustic cabins dating to the 1920s. “Urban camping” at the beach is another popular option.

Relax on the Russian River: If your idea of a river experience is strenuous rafting, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Russian River is best enjoyed by lying lazily back in a canoe, kayak or float tube. Bring a beach blanket and stop to savor the sun at one of the many hidden beaches along the river. For rental river requirements and recommendations, visit Burke’s Canoe Trips in Forestville or King’s Sport and Tackle in Guerneville. Beaches along the Russian River include, in west Sonoma County, Steelhead Beach Regional Park in Forestville, Forestville River Access (Mom’s Beach) and Sunset Beach River Park. In Healdsburg, the Veterans Memorial Beach has lifeguards on duty and picnic areas.

Piknik Town Market: Though Big Bottom Market was sold last year and reopened as Piknik Town Market, new owner Margaret van der Veen assured fans that the Market’s world-famous biscuits are still baked daily. The spot also offers salads, sandwiches, gourmet groceries and picnic provisions, including to-go picnic boxes. 16228 Main St., 707-604-7295, pikniktownmarket.com

Enjoy homemade pastries on the patio at Gold Coast Coffee, Duncans Mills: This cozy coffee shop is located in the historic hamlet Duncans Mills (once a stop on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad to Sausalito). Stop in for a cup of their finest house-roasted coffee and pair it with a homemade pastry baked in the cafe’s wood-fired oven (which also bakes great tasting pizza!) and then enjoy breakfast on the deck.

Breakfast at a hidden gem: Cape Fear Cafe in Duncans Mills is on of “the best hidden gem restaurants” in Sonoma County, according to dining editor Heather Irwin. If you’re craving some California cuisine with southern flair for breakfast, we recommend pairing the Charleston Benedict — grilled shrimp and prosciutto, two poached eggs and lemon Hollandaise — with a classic Mimosa.

Have pies and ice cream at Guerneville Bank Club: The restored Guerneville Bank Club (circa 1921) offers an interesting mix of art shows, handcrafted pies, homemade ice cream and home accessories. The pies are baked at Chile Pies Baking Co. in a variety of flavors: strawberry rhubarb, apricot cherry, or the signature chile apple pie. The ice cream is the work of Nimble & Finn’s: flavors include lavender honeycomb and Meyer lemon olive oil with chocolate chunks.

Pick up picnic provisions at Big Bottom Market, Guerneville: An institution on Guerneville’s Main Street, this market offers a mix of vintage and modern sensibilities. Think gourmet deli meets farmer’s market meets modern day general store — add in owner Crista Luedtke’s “lumberjack chic” signature style and you get the picture. This is your one-stop-shop for picnic provisions: from the vintage basket to locally sourced cheeses, breads, meats, wines and brews.

Sip some Russian River Valley wine: The Russian River Valley is known for cool climate pinot noir and chardonnay — favorite wineries to visit include Gary Farrell Winery in Healdsburg (pictured), Ryme Cellars in Forestville (actress Elizabeth Olsen’s favorite spot) and Hartford Family Winery, also in Forestville. Here are 5 more must-visit wineries between Forestville and Sebastopol.

Sip on a cold one at Stumptown: The real gem at this Guerneville brewery, aside from the great beers, is the expansive outdoor deck, overlooking the Russian River. Spend a sunny Saturday sipping on a beer sampler or the “Donkey Punch,” a refreshing hoppy lager with a kick and a thick body. A great pit stop on the way to the river or the coast.

Enjoy bistro fare, California style, at Boon Eat + Drink, Guerneville: A year after opening Boon Hotel + Spa, Crista Luedtke launched this Guerneville bistro which pairs modern California cuisine with Boon’s pared-down decor and minimalist philosophy. The proof of her success can be seen in the lines that form on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

Order cannolis at Canneti Roadhouse Italiana, Forestville: Canneti chef Francesco Torre grew up sampling his grandma Fina’s cooking in the Tuscan coastal town of Massa. Like Grandma Fina, Torres puts a lot of love into every plate he prepares; the locally sourced menu showcases food akin to the rustic variety that he enjoyed in his childhood.

Named after Via de Canetti, a winding rural road in Torres’ childhood Tuscany, Canneti’s decor is roadhouse simple, almost industrial: rough brick walls, farmhouse wood tables and chairs. The ambiance is warm and welcoming, and there’s patio in the back for a relaxed meal beneath the trees.

Browse Guerneville Main Street stores (and side streets): Rustic, renovated and retro storefronts line Guerneville’s Main Street and make it an eclectic shopper’s paradise. Start with a visit to Sonoma Nesting Company to pick up some local treasures for your home, then head on to dime store institution 5 & 10 for cheaper “collectibles” and Second’s First for some vintage clothing.

Go foraging through the Forestville Farmers Market: Starting June 1, every Tuesday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., the Forestville Farmer’s Market livens up the sleepy downtown with local produce, artisanal products, baked goods, arts, crafts, drinks, live music and dancing. A nice place to relax and recharge after a day on the river, sipping on a local brew under the oak trees.

See natural pieces of art at Goat Rock State Beach: Just south of the point where the Russian River meets the Pacific, this Sonoma Coast gem offers the kind of scenic beauty that only the powerful forces of nature can create: wild waves crashing against promontories have carved the rocky coastal landscape into abstract shapes and forms. Among these rugged structures are natural arches formed by the force of water eroding weaker strata of the rock formations.

Watch the sunset at River’s End, Jenner: Finally, as a romantic finale to your Russian River retreat, dine in style where the river meets the sea and watch the sun set on the Western horizon. The website URL for River’s End restaurant and inn is, very suitably, ilovesunsets.com.

Stroll among gentle giants: Avoid Muir Woods’ instagramming tourists by experiencing the majesty of the redwoods in Armstrong Woods’ relatively remote location near Guerneville. Magnificent, 1,200-year-old Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known as coastal redwoods, tower in a way that makes humans feel very small and very serene.

Watch a Civil War redux at Duncan Mills: Each year in July, hundreds of people gather in the Sonoma summer sun to march in itchy wool uniforms. Touted as the largest event of its kind in Northern California, this Duncan Mills extravaganza allows you to watch an authentic Civil War battle reenactment (on a carefully mown battlefield) while enjoying other great vacation attractions in the area. You’re welcome to put down your musket at any time to pick up some provisions at the onsite hot dog shack.

Don your Stetson at the River Rodeo: If you’d prefer watching cowboys wrestling calfs and riding bulls than soldiers marching in the mud, check out the top notch professional Russian River Rodeo held in Duncan Mills June 20-21.

Rainbow Cattle Co.: “The Rainbow,” as locals call it, has been a Guerneville fixture since the late 1970s. The LGBTQ+ community gathering spot is one of only a few Sonoma County bars that remain open until early morning hours, closing at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 16220 Main St., 707-869-0206, queersteer.com

Korbel Champagne Cellars: As the only Champagne producers in the Bay Area since the late 1800s, Korbel has earned a reputation in the county for its old world charm and first-class bubbles. The winery’s Champagne even made it to the table at former president Barack Obama’s inaugural luncheon, a Korbel tradition for presidential inaugurations dating back to the 1980s. Korbel offers free walking tours of its historic museum and cellars, which includes a complimentary Champagne tasting. 13250 River Road, 707-824-7000, korbel.com

Dawn Ranch: This classic river resort reopened Memorial Day weekend after a luxury revamp last year, and already this spring it was named in Esquire’s “41 Best New Hotels in North America and Europe 2024.” 16467 Highway 116, 707-869-0656, dawnranch.com

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After being stopped in its tracks at the onset of the pandemic, the Napa Valley Wine Train is once again inviting wine (and train) enthusiasts to hop on the one-of-a-kind attraction starting Monday.

The train is a popular way to explore Napa wines and cuisine, while taking in the views of the valley’s rolling hills and vineyards. The first experience to be relaunched Monday is the fan-favorite Legacy Tour, which begins with sparkling wine, is accompanied by a four-course gourmet meal and tour of Napa Valley, and ends with a photo opportunity and exclusive tastings at local wineries.

More winery tours and even a Murder Mystery Tour will be opening in mid-June.

To give back to the community after months of pandemic struggles, the Napa Valley Wine Train has partnered with OLE Health to host a temporary vaccination clinic at their train station since mid-April. Additionally, health care workers will be offered complimentary tickets to celebrate the train’s reopening, as a way to thank them for their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

The train’s antique rail cars became a space for dining service in 1989, but the railroad they travel on opened in 1864 as a route to take passengers from south Napa to Calistoga. The 16-car train is one of a few historic passenger trains that are still in operation in the United States. Visit winetrain.com for more information or to reserve your spot.

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This may be Wine Country but the green beer will be flowing on March 17. Click through the above gallery to find out where to party like the Irish this St. Patrick’s Day.

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Upset about the gender pay gap? On Tuesday, April 2, you can raise a glass to hardworking (and underpaid) women around the world during “Un-Happy Hour” at Duke’s Spirited Cocktails in Healdsburg.

The event, co-hosted by the Healdsburg American Association of University Women (AAUW), will highlight the persistent wage discrepancy by offering women patrons a 20 percent discount on drinks. (In 2017, American women earned on average 80 percent of what men earned, according to AAUW, a disparity that gets even greater when you contrast the wages of women of color with those of white men). The Healdsburg happening is part of a nationwide campaign to mark “Equal Pay Day,” the symbolic day up to which the average woman must work in a particular year to catch up with what her male counterpart earned the previous year. (Men are welcome to attend the event, but will not receive discounted drinks.)

In addition to discounted drinks, Duke’s will also serve up a special drinks menu on April 2. Created by Duke co-founders Tara Heffernon and Laura Sanfilippo, it will feature libations produced by women distillers and winemakers. The Ledbetter Punch, for example, will pay homage to Lilly Ledbetter, women’s equality activist and plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (Ledbetter sued Goodyear for gender discrimination, alleging that the company had given her a low salary because of her gender. Her name is attached to the Fair Pay Act of 2009).

In a wine and spirits world long dominated by men, Duke’s Spirited Cocktails is among a number of local establishments that pay tribute to women distillers and bartenders. This past month, they have poured a Wild Women Do cocktail to celebrate Women’s History Month and the launch of the Women’s Cocktail Collective, a collaboration aimed to “elevate and amplify the voices of all women in the industry.” Fifty percent of sales from the drink, which is made with Square One Organic Vodka, Pür Pear Likör, Buddha’s Hand Shrub, and lemon, will be donated to the National Women’s History Museum.

Heffernon and Sanfilippo are also featured in a 2019 Bay Area Bar Women calendar, produced in partnership with Scottish spirits company Edrington. The calendar spotlights women from twelve influential Bay Area bars with the subjects dressed up as influential and inspiring women. Heffernon and Sanfilippo appear in September as paleontologists Annie Alexander and Louise Kellogg.

“So many of the other female bartenders were being powerful and sexy entertainers…We’re Sonoma County farmers and we wanted to portray women connected to the land,” said Heffernon. 

(The calendar is for sale at Duke’s – all proceeds benefit the Helen David Relief Fund for Bartenders Affected by Breast Cancer and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Edrington is matching 100 percent of donations.)

Heffernon, a Healdsburg local, says that creating the Healdsburg bar with her longtime friends has been a dream. In June, it celebrates its three-year anniversary. 

While weekends get crowded at the bar, she says that weeknights are all about the locals. “We get to make nerdy craft cocktails but without the pompousness that can sometimes go along with that. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you order or what you’re wearing or what your day was like – we just want you to come in and feel very, very welcome.”

Equal Pay Day unHappy hour will take place from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at 111 Plaza St. in Healdsburg.

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Let them eat cake! Then let them eat some more cake. Have they eaten enough cake? Celebrating all that is frosted with fondant and perfectly crumbed is the annual Art of Dessert at the Luther Burbank Center on March 30.

This delightfully decadent fundraiser for the Luther Burbank Center’s arts programs features seventeen pastry chefs from the likes of Costeaux French Bakery, Criminal Bakery, Dry Creek Kitchen, Sift Dessert Bar, Oliver’s Markets, Flower and Bloom Cakes, Tomales Bakery, IMA Cake Couture and Your Sweet Expectations competing for a year-long dynasty as the county’s best cake baker.

In a blind tasting, each will submit their best cakes to a panel of celebrity judges (hint: Mark Stark, Charlie Palmer and Dustin Valette and Biteclub) to determine the best in taste, creativity and originality, presentation and overall awesomeness. If you want to sit with a celebrity judge — and really who wouldn’t — you can purchase tickets for their table. It’s for the kids!

The evening whole evening of wine, music and desserts from around the county that’s for one of the best causes in the county. And I’m not just saying that because they’re promising cake. Tickets are $250 per person, details, and tickets at lutherburbankcenter.org.

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