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“A great wine education class. I was amazed by the instructor's wealth of knowledge, the great wines to taste and talk about, and the small, intimate class size. A fun way to learn a lot about wine.”

—Will, Ritchie Creek Vineyards

Sonoma Tour ∼ 1-4 Days

The name 'Sonoma' confuses many people. For starters the name is used to designate three different things: an entire county; a single valley within that county; and a small town within that valley. Sonoma County in general is rather different than the town of Sonoma. Hence it is useful to know what degree of specificity is intended when someone refers to 'Sonoma.'

Sonoma County covers 2,600 sq. miles running from the Pacific coastline on the west, past wealthy Marin County on the south to San Pablo Bay (the northern lobe of San Francisco Bay), then north along the spine of the Mayacamas mountains that look east into Napa Valley, and finally butting up against Mendocino County in the north along a straight line through some pretty rugged, mountainous wilderness. Sonoma County is three and a half times bigger than Napa County, and ten times bigger than Napa Valley, although both Sonoma County and Napa Valley have about the same number of acres of vineyard.

Size has always made Sonoma County seem rustic and rural compared to Napa Valley. The concentration of wineries and tourists in Napa begat a more rapid rise in land values, and a more conspicuous agglomeration of up-market accommodations. The co-operative publicity efforts of Napa wineries created more immediacy and image in the marketplace. But Sonoma County shares equally with Napa Valley one very important asset. Both are extremely convenient for day-trippers from the Bay Area. Most of the major attractions in Sonoma County can be reached from San Francisco by car in less than 75 minutes, at least at times when freeways aren't snarled by commuter traffic.

Sonoma County should be conceptualized as four districts, each with its own personality:

Sonoma Valley

Called Valley of the Moon by local Indian tribes, and Jack London's final resting place, Sonoma Valley is very much Napa Valley's smaller cousin. They are shaped the same way: long, thin triangles, point end in the north, opening onto San Pablo Bay in the south. Geologically they are both pull-apart basins, with flat floors and steep sides. They share the 2,400-2,700 ft Mayacamas mountain range which divides them, and the Carneros viticultural Area fringing the bay. They are both cool and windy in the south, then progressively warmer as one proceeds up-valley. The town of Sonoma, with its 9,000 permanent inhabitants, is in the south end of Sonoma Valley; just as the town of Napa is in the south end of Napa Valley. The two towns are about ten minutes apart by car. Both valleys have been playgrounds for wealthy San Franciscans since the 1880s.

Sonoma Valley is about two miles wide at the town of Sonoma, but less than a half mile wide at its northern end near Santa Rosa. On its west side the valley is separated from the 20-mile wide coastal plain, and from the busy Hwy 101 Corridor, by 2,500 ft Sonoma Mountain. With abrupt mountain slopes on both sides, Sonoma Valley exudes a focused charm. Barely a quarter of the county's grapes are grown here, but a much bigger percentage of the well-known wineries are resident.

The plaza in the town of Sonoma is the centerpiece. It plays host to art, wine, and music festivals all summer long. They're quirky too. Blues wailers far outnumber chamber ensembles. Shorts, sandals, and tank tops are normal attire. For years a band of chickens inhabited the plaza. During festivals they would chase small children to steal picnic tidbits. Finally the city council got tired of complaints from tourist mothers. They removed the chickens, unleashing a five-year campaign by local artists in the form of buttons, posters, and even large oil paintings demanding that the city "Bring Back Our Peckers!"

The immediate environs of Sonoma town can be enjoyably explored on a bicycle, Sonoma Valley Cyclery, (707) 935-3377. This is the area where General Mariano Vallejo vied with Agoston Harazthy for vinous supremacy just after the Gold Rush. Vallejo had arrived as the Spanish military Comandante for Alta California, then remained after the Mexican Revolution removed his military credential during the period when the missions, and their vineyards, were being secularized. He was a breath of civility in an otherwise rapacious era. He planted vines and cork oak trees, and built several important structures including his home Lachryma Montis. Harazthy arrived later shrouded in mystery and in his own (largely fictional) self-promotion. Harazthy had a lot of experience, mostly unsuccessful, with grape growing - perhaps at home in Eastern Europe, but certainly in Wisconsin and in San Mateo south of San Francisco. Although the fathers competed with each other intensely, Harazthy's sons married Vallejo's daughters. As a group they produced the best wines in California during the middle of the 1800s. Harazthy eventually took his entrepreneurial zeal to Nicaragua in pursuit of a rum-making venture. He is reputed to have died there trying to cross an alligator infested stream on a slender tree limb.

East of town are the resurrected remnants of Harazthy's viticultural syndicate. Buena Vista Winery has since moved their large production facility south to the Carneros District, but they retain a pretty tasting room in the original caves. Next door the family home has gone through many incarnations, but now does business as Bartholomew Park Winery. It is named for Frank Bartholomew, who was Chairman of United Press Intl at the end of World War II when he bought at auction in New York, sight unseen, some winery property in Sonoma. He liked the idea, and the price was quite attractive. Imagine his delight, upon inspection, to discovery he owned the oldest existing winery in California -- Buena Vista.

Today Bartholomew Park is operated by nearby Gundlach-Bundschu Winery. Gunnie Bunny, as it is affectionately known to many fans, stands tall in the lore of Sonoma eccentricity. For twenty years, until the late 1990s, Gundlach-Bundschu boasted a triumvirate of twisted principals lead by Marketing Manager nonpariel Jim McCullough and strongly supported by winemaker Lance Cutler and owner Jim Bundschu. McCullough printed Chinese fortunes on their corks. They produced humorous posters every year, including one which is valuable in memorabilia stores today showing a glowing lunar orb over the winery and the three of them, with their pants around their ankles, above the caption, "Valley of the Moon." Their best stunt though, which they never openly admitted for legal reasons, involved riding horseback over to Napa wearing bandanas over their faces, then swinging aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train while it was enroute to St Helena. At gunpoint they forced the patrons to drink Sonoma Valley wine. Ahh, where are those mounted masked men now when the California wine industry could really use one?

Any excursion in and around the town of Sonoma will reveal the pervasive influence of the Sebastiani family. Their name is on the lintels of half the buildings, a legacy of grandfather Auguste who, back in the 1970s, was able to get himself pictured and quoted in the business section of San Francisco newspapers every month - always shown in overalls and a straw hat. His public specialty was cheap, honest wine and a love for avian wildlife. His private specialty was real estate. Anyone who thought they could take advantage of Auguste Sebastiani's country bumpkin demeanor went away licking wounds to their wallet. The family fortunes have not been the same since Auguste died, but the gigantic winery still operates a few blocks east of the plaza.

On the way, stop by Vella Cheese Company. The low, rolling, grassland hills of Sonoma, and reliable precipitation by California standards, have made the region a traditional stronghold for dairy production. There are many artisan cheesemakers in the area, and Ignacio (Ig) Vella is one of the most conveniently located and engaging. When you are in restaurants, look for Humboldt Fog and Laura Chenel goat cheeses too.

Continue northeast up the hill to Ravenswood Winery. Long a cult favorite for wild yeast, head-butting Zinfandels, Ravenswood cashed out a few years ago, and became part of the Constellation (formerly Canandaigua) corporate stable. Their Celtic logo, created in the 1970s by Berkeley artist David Lance Goines (he of the famous Chez Panisse posters), was functionally worth tens of millions of dollars in the transaction. Lots of young local women have it tattooed on peekaboo parts of their bodies. Ravenswood may not be owned by unrepentant hippies anymore, but many of the features which gave them underground appeal are still on display at their Sonoma tasting room.

Many accommodations and dining opportunities are available in the vicinity of town. A visit to the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau website, www.SonomaValley.com, is the easiest way to compare offerings and to make reservations. Noteworthy among the choices are three restaurants and one large resort. Girl & The Fig (707) 938-3634 is a restaurant with a fine wine program built around Rhonish wines. Cafe de Haye (707) 935-5994 is tiny, hard to get into, but probably the best food in town. The Swiss Hotel (707) 938-2884 is an historic restaurant on the Plaza much frequented by locals. Sonoma Mission Inn (800) 862-4945 is an upscale retreat with extensive spa facilities. Massage therapy is a degree course at Sonoma State University, so the whole of Sonoma County is lousy with unemployed masseurs looking to barter services for tangible assets. The cream of the crop are offered freelance employment at Sonoma Mission Inn. The resort's restaurant has a very good local wine list, and a noteworthy ability to make 800 calories look and taste much more appealing than one has any right to expect.

Any trip north (up-valley) could productively start with an appointment at Hanzell Winery. Perched on a little knoll, Hanzell was built in 1952 by James Zellerbach, a paper industry heir who eventually became U.S. Ambassador to Italy. The tiny winery is modeled after Clos Vougeot. It was one of a handful of 'boutique' pioneers who set the stage for the explosion of small California wineries that began in the early 1970s. Pay particular attention to their Chardonnay made in separate one-ton stainless steel fermenters.

The drive up-valley holds many attractions, including 40 wineries. Two stops worth considering, which require appointments, are Carmenet and Adler Fels. Carmenet is high up on the eastern mountainside a few miles north of the town of Sonoma. It is a beautifully situated winery with a cleverly designed circular set of open fermentation tanks and a mobile punch-down machine. A bonus from any visit to Carmenet is the chance to look at their neighbor Monte Rosso Vineyard. Owned by Louis Martini Winery in Napa, Monte Rosso is one of the most prominent vineyard properties in the Sonoma Valley. An educational comparison, which you'll have to do in a restaurant or via purchases in a retail store, would be to taste a Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon from Monte Rosso side-by-side with the same vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon from Laurel Glen Vineyard across the valley on Sonoma Mountain. Laurel Glen gets direct sun in the morning when temperatures are cool. Monte Rosso gets direct sun in the late afternoon when temperatures are hot, a time when Laurel Glen is shaded as the sun sinks behind Sonoma Mountain. To visit Adler Fels is to dip one's toe in a very large pool of creativity. David Coleman had a career as a graphic designer with many wine labels to his credit. His house and winery reflect his adventurous mind. The view is spectacular, and the wines are very good values.

On the way to Adler Fels, a literary diversion would be to stop and picnic at Jack London State Park. There is a nice little market at which to procure supplies in Glen Ellen just down the road from the park's entrance. London is, of course, best known for his adventure stories (eg. White Fang, Call of the Wild, To Build a Fire) written in the first decades of the Twentieth Century. Less well remembered is London's credential as one of America's most outspoken Socialists (The Iron Heel, War of the Classes). This park is the site where London chose to build his first and only grand home, Wolf House. Three years under construction, it burned to the ground the same week he was scheduled to move in - most likely arson on the part of disgruntled former Comrades from his Oakland neighborhood who felt he had abandoned them by becoming a land owner. Within six months London had died of uremic poisoning -- after his house burned, he basically drank himself to death.

Hwy 101 Corridor

Sonoma Valley likes to bill itself as the Gateway to Sonoma County, but that is only true if one has arrived via Napa. Most people coming from San Francisco choose to travel north over the Golden Gate Bridge (as opposed to east over the Bay Bridge). In that case Sonoma Valley is tucked into the southeastern corner of Sonoma County twenty minutes by car from the main route north which runs up the center of the county and contains most of the population.

The towns of Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Windsor have their own provincial charm, and in some instances a considerable amount of colorful history. Speaking generally, however, they are bedroom communities inhabited by folks seeking relief from Bay Area housing prices. These people commute elsewhere for work, and traffic on Hwy 101 south of Santa Rosa can be horrific on weekday mornings and evenings.

Many segments of the wine industry are near to hand, and services such as petrol stations, inexpensive lodging, outlet shopping, country music bars, and fast food can be found in abundance. Hence one could do a lot worse than to establish a base camp somewhere along the Hwy 101 corridor if one were intent upon exploring all of Sonoma County on a series of day-long forays. Because of the traffic along Hwy 101, many wineries have built elaborate hospitality centers there. These places do have their moments, and some of the wineries make excellent wine, but visitors looking for an intimate, personal experience should explore further afield.

Santa Rosa is by far the biggest town in Sonoma County. It is the most convenient jumping off point for trips west to Sebastopol, Forestville, and Guerneville. It is also home to the experimental gardens of Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926), a botanical genius who first proved separate plant genera could be hybridized. He created nearly a thousand new plants including: spineless cactus, white blackberries, an azalea-flowered nectarine, and seedless watermelon. His birthday, March 7th, is celebrated as Arbor Day in California, and a visit to his house and gardens in downtown Santa Rosa (not the Performing Arts Center north of town which also bears his name) is well worth the time (Luther Burbank Home & Gardens, (707) 524-5445).

Northern Sonoma

Using Hwy 101, visitors to Sonoma County can reach Healdsburg from the Golden Gate Bridge almost as fast as they can reach the town of Sonoma (an hour and a quarter versus an hour). Healdsburg sits in the center of the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Chalk Hill, and Russian River wine producing districts. It is slightly beyond the suburban sprawl of the more densely populated corridor to the south, and thus considerably more quaint. It used to be much more rural and down-market than the town of Sonoma, but during the last decade Healdsburg has been invaded by San Franciscans looking for weekend homes with a faintly bucolic flavor. They have brought their innate desire for services with them. So fancier restaurants, gourmet take-out emporiums, and luxury hotels have sprung up rapidly.

Healdsburg represents the dividing line between the cool maritime district of the Santa Rosa Plain and the warm inland district of Alexander Valley. By late afternoon in July through September the temperature differential from five miles south or west of Healdsburg to five miles north or east of the town will be 25?F. Both sections are connected by the Russian River, a significant waterway by California standards, but still only 15-30 yards wide in most places. The river runs south out of Mendocino County, defining the Alexander Valley (another pull apart basin). It makes a U-turn at the south end of the valley to exit through a narrow gorge in the hills right at Healdsburg. The river then runs generally east to the ocean at Jenner. Cool air blows inland off the Pacific throughout the summer. Each afternoon fog comes up the river from the ocean, then remains in place until 9 or 10 o'clock the next morning. That means low lying, westerly areas subject to fog intrusion get 5 to 7 less hours of sunshine most days during the peak ripening months. Hang-time is lengthened, and the effect on wine style is considerable.

Hills block the fog intrusion from Alexander Valley. As a result harvest often starts there by the 20th of August, three weeks earlier than in Russian River districts west of Healdsburg. Cabernet Sauvignon does better in Alexander Valley than Pinot Noir does. Moreover, Alexander Valley Cabernet has a signature chocolate note, and an elevated-pH softness which helps out if the Cabs are being consumed young. Many wineries with public tasting rooms operate in Alexander Valley. Five interesting or unusual visits would be: (1) Hafner, which is only sold through a mailing list; (2) Simi, which is close to town and features a wonderful history; (3) Seghesio, which owns the oldest Sangiovese vines in California;

(4) Trentadue, which delivers a taste of the local Italian immigrant flavor; and (5) Murphy-Goode, whose proprietor Dennis Murphy is a very large grower and one-half of the most prominent local power couple, being married to Katie Wetzel (Alexander Valley Vyds), whose family helped start the American aeronautical industry. The $20 million Jordan Winery is also in Alexander Valley, but appointments are hard to come by.

Immediately north of Healdsburg is the Dry Creek Valley, which seems more entertaining than Alexander Valley because of its more compact size. Although a gaggle of other grapes are grown there, Dry Creek is most famous for its artisanal red Zinfandel, a specialty of the Italian-American community which first formed in this region shortly before the end of the 1800s. Head-pruned Zinfandel vineyards that are more than 60-years-old abound in the district. So it is a wonderful place to discover for yourself that Zinfandel deserves worldwide iconic stature. In the 1990's the price of good Zinfandel tripled. That financial incentive allowed wineries to unleash a major surge in quality. Look for a dense robe of boysenberry intensity overlying a brambly, spicy core and finish. The texture should be mouthfilling, but smooth. Hot and rough may work in the local bars, but those are not characteristics of important Zinfandels.

Dry Creek is dry because the water is impounded behind Warm Springs Dam in Lake Sonoma at the head of the valley. Lake Sonoma is an attractive destination for sports such as fishing and water skiing. Longtime locals tend to be fourth-generation Italian-Americans with significant holding of inherited farmland and community relationships. Bocce ball, pasta dinners, and lots of locally produced red wine are their preferences today, just as they have been for more than a century. These people are likely to be passionate about the aesthetic advantages in winter of 'wagon-wheel' head-pruned vines versus modern trellised vineyards. At the north end of Dry Creek Valley a wonderful visit exemplifying this segment of the region can be made at Preston Winery. Lou Preston consciously cultivates the image of a guy who has spent his entire life sitting on a tractor. No doubt he has spent many enjoyable hours doing just that, but he also has an MBA from Stanford University. Lou not only makes great wine at reasonable prices, he bakes exceptional bread for sale at the winery.

Although it will surely be seen as a controversial position to adopt, I'm inclined to put the third-generation Gallo scions resident in Dry Creek Valley into this same vein. Call it the understatement category. Siblings Matt and Gina Gallo are Julio's grandchildren. Along with their cousin Caroline Bailey, who's in charge of international marketing for the Gallo-Sonoma wines, they represent a distinct departure from the overtly controlling, publicity adverse culture which Ernest Gallo made such a signature of his family company. You have to remember who these thirty-something 'kids' are. They stand to inherit the biggest winery operation in the world! Their family company sells more than a third of the wine made in America! The miracle is that they are not arrogant, drug-adled clowns spending nights filled with ennui and fast cars. The fact is they are open-minded, modest, hard-working, jeans-wearing, highly curious individuals who are making a huge contribution to Sonoma County. True, their project originally brought in earthmovers to sculpt the rolling hills and replace the topsoil at an even depth throughout. But they also are committed to keeping an acre of woodland for each acre of vineyard they plant. That was Julio's idea; not the County's. Gallo-Sonoma makes more than 3 million cases a year. They own 5,000 acres of vineyard in Sonoma County, including Fred McMurray's old ranch very far to the west along the Russian River, and an excitingly cool property they call Two Rock south of the Russian River AVA near Cotati. Yet they only make a tiny portion (a couple percentage points) of what the parent company sells each year. They produce a great many experimental lots in any vintage, and a surprising number of their wines have met with critical acclaim. You will have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a $12 bottle of Zinfandel that's better than their Rancho Zabaco offering.

South and west of Healdsburg is prolific grape country on either side of the Russian River. Explore both sides. Pick up a regional Wine Routes Map at any tasting room because these country roads are confusing. The south and east side of the river is by far the largest. Head for Foppiano Winery and try on their Petite Sirah (pronounced petty Sara by locals). That variety is a traditional companion to Zinfandel in many vineyards. It is the darkest pigmented grape you are likely to ever encounter. Don't spill any on those white trousers you're wearing, Dude. Buy a bottle to have with pepperoni pizza. Foppiano is trying to launch a campaign for their favorite grape called "P.S. I love you."

North and west of the river is a strip of benchlands stretched out along Westside Road. This part of your visit is a command performance. It is bucolic. It has soul. It is rarely busy. It is often fog shrouded. And some of the greatest vineyards in America lie along this route. Basically you are entering progressively deeper and deeper into Pinot Noir country. But other varieties do well too, albeit in a cool climate rendition of their normal style. Vintages matter, and which ones are best depends on what variety you are talking about. Chardonnays can be great. Zinfandels also. Sauvignon Blanc can be brilliant, but it's best here when made in a grassy style. If you only take one stop, take it at neighbors Hop Kiln and Rochioli. Hop Kiln is an interesting architectural illustration of a bygone agricultural era. Rochioli is a jewel in California's crown. Rochioli Vyd has grown the grapes for three Pinot Noirs that won the Sweepstakes Award at the California State Fair. That's three separate wines, made by three separate wineries, in three separate vintages, all judged the very best wine in California. Not good enough for you? They have also won the Sweepstakes Award themselves on two separate occasions with Sauvignon Blanc wines. Big, glitzy, PR-driven, multi-million dollar winery? Nah. Third-generation Italian-American farm family. Used to grow green beans.

Sonoma Coast

The least populated, most romantic, most unique part of Sonoma County is the western third to one-half of the county. That is the part which would have been the Russians' domain when Ft. Ross was their southernmost outpost for taking sea otter pelts in the early 1800's. Once densely forested with redwood trees, the region has been logged over at least twice. Majestic hundred foot tall redwoods three feet in diameter which one can see there now are third-growth trees approximately 75-years-old. The ones that were cut down were 2,000-years-old. Following the Russian River through Guerneville to the mouth of the river at Jenner takes about 45 minutes from Healdsburg. It is a marvelous way to access the true flavor of Sonoma County, because it illustrates both the region's past, and its vinous future. High profile, anxiously awaited vineyards in Sonoma County are the ones being planted closer and closer to the coast. This is becoming the district of the cult Pinot Noir.

Somber and gray during the winter, Guerneville becomes a resort town in summer much beloved by San Francisco's gay population. There are large music festivals, impressive art shows, and rollicking campgrounds. A really good time in the more family oriented genre is to rent a canoe for a few hours of river exploration (Canoes (707) 887-1222). It is safe, different, and a little bit physical. Expect to spend a lot of time in the water. For fun try pricing some of the real estate along the river bank. Then imagine the river flowing 40 ft higher, up around your third floor windows, during the floods that occur over a fortnight two years out of ten.

There are many marvelous wineries to visit in the area between Santa Rosa and the coast. Sonoma-Cutrer makes fine Chardonnays, and boasts two tournament-class croquet courts. Iron Horse makes excellent sparkling wines. Martinelli and Swan both have world-class Zinfandel. Everybody makes at least one Pinot Noir worth looking at. Especially remarkable Pinot Noirs for consideration on local restaurant lists would be: Merry Edwards, Lynmar, Gary Farrell, and Dehlinger. Think twice before passing up one of the Kistler Chardonnays as well. It will be a three-figure expenditure, but unlike many others, this one will be worth it.

Two really good regional choices for dinner with some local flair are River's End (707) 865-2482 in Jenner and the Union Hotel in Occidental. Get a reservation at River's End for an hour before sunset. It is a beautiful spot on a cliff at the mouth of the river, and the sun will go down right outside the window. Have the venison with an old vine Zinfandel from the Santa Rosa Plain. Occidental is a little town in the hills with a couple of different restaurants which have served hundreds of family style Italian dinners to local farmers every night for sixty years. Inexpensive, lots of food, entertaining artifacts on all the walls. No reservations necessary. If you have to wait, get a carafe of the house red and learn to play Liars' Dice in the bar. Everybody else there will already know how. Shouldn't cost you more than about $10 in lost wagers to master the necessary prevarication skills yourself.

North up the rugged Sonoma coastline on Hwy 1 is the State Park at Ft. Ross, an elegant resort calledTimber Cove, great abalone diving (no scuba gear allowed), the funky little lumbering town of Gualala, and a good quality Russian-themed restaurant named St. Orre's. Next stop Mendocino. The drive takes hours, but they are quality hours in the sense of dramatic scenery and contemplative reverie.

South along Hwy 1 is a different experience. It is flatter, more open, dairy country. It is also more accessible to day-trippers and weekend home owners. Hence boutique shops, and craft sellers who harken back to the return-to-the-land movement of the 1960s, populate the small villages which dot the landscape. Rather quickly one comes to Tomales Bay, a long, submerged rift valley along the San Andreas Fault. Technically it is in Marin County, albeit an identically rural section. After an experience in Occidental, you will start to notice there are subtle cultural nuances which differentiate Marin County from Sonoma County. It's a New Age mentality, a more left-leaning political sentiment. But you should ignore all that. Tomales Bay is the home of oyster aquaculture in California. Get yourself a couple dozen Kumomotos, a shucking knife, and a bottle of grassy Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc. Sit on a driftwood log and let your cares blow out to sea. Or stop in any of the seaside restaurants that serve the 7-inch barbequed oysters called 'cowboys.' They're messy, but definitely the way to go if the mere idea of raw oysters makes you at all squeamish.