Wanderlust Traveler: Napa Valley and Sonoma County

Storybook Mountain Vineyard

Although I had been thinking about going to Northern California's wine country for several years, it wasn't until an unbelievable airfare deal was advertised on Southwest Airlines that I finally decided plan a trip. Somehow, I was lucky enough to snag an $80 round trip ticket into Oakland. Yes, you read that correctly; this outrageously inexpensive ticket included all associated fees and taxes, so it would have been foolish not to have taken advantage of it.

After deciding to spend four days in Northern California's wine country, I then had the difficult task of choosing which area/city to stay in. Between Napa Valley and Sonoma County there were literally hundreds of options, most of which were quite expensive and more than I wanted to spend. In the end, I settled on Best Western in Rohnert Park as I was able to obtain a great rate ($85 per night) and the fact that it was located halfway between the wine region and the coast, where I planned to spend one day.

My direct Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle arrived in Oakland right on time at 22:35 on Thursday, May 16th. I then proceeded to the airport car rental shuttle bus, which took me straight to the car rental offices. Prior to my trip, I had arranged a car rental through Fox Rent A Car for only $130. As it was quite late by that point (23:00) the car rental company no longer had any more "economy" cars available, so I was upgraded to a Jeep, which was a great surprise! In hindsight, I later realized that the free upgrade was not really "free" as the cost of gas probably ended up being double what it would have been had I had a smaller vehicle.

From the car rental company, it took nearly an hour to reach the hotel. When I walked into the hotel room, I was pleasantly surprised. The room appeared to have been recently remolded, was large and even had a full-sized couch, and included very nice details, such as cherry wood furniture and granite counter tops in the bathroom. It was definitely the nicest Best Western I've ever stayed at! Since it was so late, I headed straight to bed to get some sleep.

My room at Best Western in Rohnert Park.

Day 1 (Friday, May 15th, 2009)

After having gotten in quite late the night before, surprisingly I somehow managed to wake myself up around 8:30. After getting ready, I headed down into the lobby of the hotel as a free continental breakfast was included with the price of my room. Much to my surprise, the breakfast included a large array of items including waffles, fruit, cereal, different sweet breads, and bagels just to name a few. I hadn’t expected such a generous breakfast as the room rate was relatively inexpensive, so I was very pleased!

After quickly eating I headed out and drove to Sonoma, which took about 30 minutes. It was a gorgeous day out with absolutely no clouds in the sky. I immensely enjoyed the passing scenery, which ranged from vast rolling fields to random cows to the ubiquitous vineyards. Everywhere I looked I saw beauty which made it very tempting to pull over and take photos.

I eventually reached charming Sonoma, whose streets were filled with turn of the century homes, small boutiques, and quirky little cafes. In the center of it all was Sonoma Plaza, which was a large park filled with many tall trees and the beautiful city hall situated in the middle. I parked the car for free next to the plaza and walked towards the farmer’s market, which was located a few blocks north of the plaza. I enjoyed my short walk to the market as the warm sun felt wonderfully welcoming on my back.

Sonoma Plaza

Sonoma

Pretty flower in Sonoma.

Sonoma

Store in Sonoma.

Sonoma

Unfortunately, when I reached the market, I was quite disappointed. For some reason, I had expected a large farmer’s market with several rows of stalls, but instead, I was greeted with one row of no more than a dozen stalls. For a city of its size and fame, I had assumed it would have been much larger. I walked down the row, stopping to look at a few of the stalls, but quickly left as there wasn’t much to see.

Sonoma's Farmers Market

From Sonoma, I drove out of the city to Benziger Family Winery. Benziger is located in Glen Ellen on 85 sprawling acres with 360 degree sun exposure. The winery is famous for being the first winery in the area that was certified Biodynamic, which is the highest form of organic farming. In this type of farming no artificial fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides are used, weed control is completed by cultivation and other mechanical methods, pest control is done through soil management, and the fertility of the crops are promoted by using compost and manure, both of which are self-generated from the farm. Of the farm's 85 acres, 45 acres are planted in grapes and the other 40 acres are gardens, insectories, olive groves, wetlands, ponds, riparian areas and forest border areas; it was quite evident that the winery took their Biodynamic certification very seriously.

Benziger Family Winery

Tram ride tour at Benziger Family Winery.

Benziger Family Winery

Luckily, I arrived about five minutes prior to the 12:00 tram ride tour, which cost $15 per person. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and took everyone all over the property including the vineyards, bottling area, caves, and finally the tasting room and gift shop. The tour was extremely interesting and very informative, as it explained not only the history of the winery, but also of the wine making process including the differences in growing and creating red and white wine. At the end of our tour, everyone was led into the tasting room where we were allowed to sample four wines. I tried a reserve chardonnay (which was very smooth), an estate wine called Oonapais (deep red that was too strong for my taste), a delicious muscat canelli, and a red zinfandel. Benziger was a great winery to choose as my first in the region as it was family-run and provided a non-intimidating atmosphere.

Tram tour at Benziger Family Winery.

Benziger Family Winery

Gift shop at Benziger Family Winery.

From Benziger, I headed towards Napa Valley, deciding on a restaurant called BarBerQs for lunch. As I walked into the small restaurant that specializes in Memphis style barbecue, I was surprised to see the very modern and sleek décor, which was not what I had expected to find in a barbecue restaurant. I opted to eat inside versus outside on the patio as it was a little too warm out for my comfort (around 85 degrees). I chose the Smoked Chicken Sandwich and substituted coleslaw for the potato salad. While the service was a little slow, the excellent food more than made up for the wait. While I am not normally a fan of barbecue, I liked the Memphis style as it was cooked in a dry rub spice instead of gooey and thick barbecue sauce. My sandwich was delicious and flavorful and BarBerQs is definitely a place I would eat at again.

BarBerQs

Smoked Chicken Sandwich at BarBerQs.

Afterwards, I drove to Domaine Carneros, which was located just outside of Napa. The sun was absolutely scorching hot at this point, so I quickly headed up the stairs to the tasting area. The gorgeous building was modeled after the Château de la Marquetterie, an 18th century mansion located in Epernay, France. This winery produces dry sparkling wines. I purchased my own sparkling wine sampler, which cost $15 and included three 2 ounce samples of different sparkling wines. As I sat and drank the wine, I enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding vineyards.

Pretty flowers at Domaine Carneros.

Domaine Carneros

View from Domaine Carneros.

From Domaine Carneros, I headed back to Sonoma, in order to reach St. Francis Winery. Along the way, I stopped in Sonoma again for a just a bit so that I could visit a home decorative shop I had seen a few hours before. After spending just a few minutes in the store, I left and continued the drive. As I sat in traffic, it donned on me that it was nearly 17:00 and that there might be a possibility that the winery could close before I arrived. I decided to call the winery, and low and behold, it did in fact close at 17:00. As a result, I decided to turn around and head back to the hotel. I was quite tired anyways and I had a headache, so I figured I would come back on one of the following days.

I relaxed at the hotel for about an hour and I took a nap. I left again at 18:45 as I had 19:30 dinner reservations in Sonoma. Based on the excellent reviews it received from Zagat, I decided to eat at Café La Haye. I arrived just in time for my 19:30 reservation, although I had to wait about ten minutes until a table was available. The interior of the rustic restaurant was tiny, and probably only had about 15 tables or so, but appeared to be filled with many locals who were beaming about their food. Once seated, I ordered the Panko Crusted Chicken Paillard which came with warm arugula-grilled red onion salad, roasted fingerling potatoes, fava beans and salsa verde. As I waited for my food to arrive, I was given awesome service by extremely attentive waiters. Just as described, the food was incredibly delicious and flavorful. For dessert, I ordered the Warm Almond Cake with Maple-Quince Caramel and Whipped Cream. The cake was insanely good; it had a crunchy top with a soft and moist but dense cake that was intensely flavored with almond and topped with real whipped cream; it literally melted in my mouth. For everything, my bill came to $24, which was more than I had wanted to spend, but a good deal for the quality of food. I left feeling full and satisfied after my first day in California’s wine country.

Panko Crusted Chicken Paillard from Cafe La Haye.

Warm Almond Cake with Maple-Quince Caramel from Cafe La Haye.

Day 2 (Saturday, May 16th, 2009)

I woke up late on the second day of my trip, but quickly headed down to the hotel's lobby to eat breakfast in a hurry.

Afterward, I drove to Healdsburg as I had reserved bikes at a company called Wine Country Bikes. I had read that one of the best ways to enjoy and see wine country was to ride through its quiet back roads. Even with the great debacle of the bike ride in San Francisco two years earlier, I thought that this would be a fun experience and crossed my fingers that my second time would be a much less stressful event than the first time around.

When I arrived at the store, it was already quite hot (at least 80 degrees) and it wasn’t even yet 10:00, so I knew it was going to be a scorcher that day. I was fitted with the appropriate sized bike and helmet, given a map with route ideas, and then headed out. Although the road next to the store was a quiet one, I was still quite nervous, especially given my last experience. I got the hang of it fairly quick, but was still freaked out if cars rode past me. The first ½ mile of the ride was slightly stressful as I was on a “busy” road with lots of cars. At one point, I felt myself freaking out and had to get off the bike and walk next to it instead in order to remain calm. Once past this point however, I turned right onto a very quiet back road with very little traffic. I rode down this street for about 2.5 miles, enjoying the mostly level ride with the occasional uphill or downhill interruption. As I rode along, I was rewarded with cool breezes, chirping birds, and the most gorgeous scenery from several dozen vineyards. It was exactly the way I had envisioned wine country to look like, and I was so happy to be able to enjoy it in a leisurely and relaxing pace.

Bike ride through Healdsburg.

Enjoying my bike ride through Healdsburg.

Bike ride through Healdsburg.

About one hour in, I turned around as I only wanted to ride for about two hours total. Coming back ended up taking less time than going out as I was much more comfortable on the bike and was able to ride at higher speeds. Even though it was at least 90 degrees out, had I had more time to allot to this activity, I definitely would have used it and probably would have continued on for at least another hour.

After dropping of my bike, I cooled off for a bit inside the store as I was ridiculously hot. Surprisingly, the store actually had a shower available for customers to use, which I thought was a brilliant idea for all of the sweaty bike riders!

I then got in the car and headed into the downtown area of Healdsburg as I wanted to stop in at a bakery called Downtown Bakery and Creamery that had received great reviews from Zagat. I had to be quick inside, so I placed an order to go and bought a sour cherry pastry, chocolate éclair and a shortbread type cookie filled with chocolate ganache. I ate part of the delectable pastries in the car on the way to Storybook Mountain Vineyard, and they were all quite tasty and delicious.

Desserts for sale at Downtown Bakery and Creamery in Healdsburg.

Goodies from Downtown Bakery and Creamery in Healdsburg.

About 30 minutes after leaving Healdsburg, I reached Storybook Mountain Vineyard, where I had pre-booked a 13:00 tour. The vineyard was perched dramatically into the hillside of the Mayacamas Range with vines covering nearly every square inch. This small family owned and operated winery is well known for their zinfandel. I arrived just as the others in the tour group did and we all waited together for the tour guide to appear. I was surprised to see an older man greet us, who explained that he was the tractor driver, janitor, bill payer, and many other occupations of the winery; obviously, he was the owner. During the one hour tour, he took the group into the vineyards and later into the cellars where he explained in great detail the story of his winery and how he and his wife came to own it. He described the process of making wine and the complicated intricacies that are involved with making high quality wines at a smaller winery. It was incredible to listen to him speak as the passion he had for the wines and his vineyard were clearly evident; you could see the sparkle in his eye when he proudly described the complexities of flavors in his wines.

While inside the impressive and atmospheric caves, I sampled a total of three wines; a zinfandel which was strong but had a smooth and clean taste, and another red and white, of which I can’t remember the names. I had assumed that I would be charged for the tour, but eventually realized that it was free. Many of the other people in the tour bought a bottle or two of wine, so I felt slightly bad when I didn’t but I didn’t like it well enough to spend $30 or $40 on a bottle. Plus, the real reason why I chosen to come to Storybook was the rave reviews it received for its tour; after having experienced the tour myself with the actual winemaker, it was obvious why it was so popular.

Storybook Mountain Vineyard

Afterward, I drove about ten minutes down the road to The Old Faithful Geyser of California. I had read that this natural geyser was impressive, assuming one hadn’t visited Yellowstone National Park before. I thought it sounded interesting, and a welcome reprieve from wine tasting, so I decided to schedule it into my day. Once I walked into the guest shop and saw the entrance fee of $8 per person, I nearly choked, but went ahead and purchased the ticket anyways. Unfortunately, this proved to be a huge waste of my money as the geyser wasn’t at all impressive and definitely not worth the steep entrance fee. I honestly wasn’t quite sure why the fee was so expensive, as there wasn’t much to see aside from the geyser itself, which appeared to spout off about every five minutes. I did manage to find a few pens of farm animals, including some baby goats and llamas. Bottom line; don’t go here unless you want to waste some money as it’s really not worth anyone’s time.

Old Faithful Geyser of California

Next, I drove to Beringer Vineyards, where I planned to do some wine tasting. The vineyard offered tours throughout the day, but having completed two tours over the last 48 hours, I was more inclined to just taste the wine instead. Unfortunately, the tasting cost a whopping $25 per person! I was shocked and turned right around! I don’t care how nice their wines might have been; $25 is way too much for just a sampling! In addition, the heat during my visit was so ridiculously intense that it made it difficult to even walk. Needless to say, I quickly headed out onto my next stop. High prices aside, I did immensely enjoy the beautiful grounds of Beringer Vineyards, especially a gorgeous house called The Rhine House, which was recently renovated and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was absolutely stunning inside and I would have loved to tour all of the rooms, although I didn’t realize they offered a tour of the house until after my visit!

Beringer Vineyards

Rhine House at Beringer Vineyards.

View from Rhine House at Beringer Vineyards.

Rhine House at Beringer Vineyards.

On the way to my next winery, I stopped in for a quick lunch at a well-known local fast food joint called Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, which is now called Gotts. The restaurant looked very similar to a place that is well-known to those from Seattle; Dick’s Hamburgers. The place was packed so I decided to place an order to go and eat in the car. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and french fries, which came to an astonishing $12! I was shocked at their expensive prices; even a simple milk shake cost a ridiculous $4. As I sat outside for nearly 15 minutes waiting for the food to arrive, I figured that the scorching heat had to have been at least 95 degrees; it felt as though I was swimming through the air as I simply walked from the car to the counter. The heat was sweltering and made doing anything outside completely uncomfortable. Fortunately, the food was good but I felt it was too expensive for fast food.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher

For my last winery stop of the day, I drove to Mumm Napa, which is a winery that produces sparkling wines in Rutherford. I arrived about 45 minutes prior to closing and was greeted with long lines of people inside. I soon realized that they were waiting in line for the tasting room, which was only partially staffed with attendants. After waiting in line for about ten minutes, I decided to leave as I didn’t have the patience to wait any longer; it had been a long and hot day. I did however end up buying a small bottle of Cuvée M sparkling wine for $6, which was quite tasty and sweet.

Mumm Napa

I then began the long drive back to my hotel in Rohnert Park, first stopping at the nearby Costco, which was located just down the street from my hotel. Surprisingly, this Costco actually had a garden center, which was awesome and made me quite jealous as it was probably about half the size of a garden center at a place like Lowes or Home Depot!

I eventually made my way back to hotel, where I relaxed for a bit and decided on a place for dinner. I ended up choosing an Italian place in the nearby town of Petaluma called Cucina Paradiso. Petaluma was located only about 15 minutes from Rohnert Park, but when I arrived, I was greeted with a massive street fair and absolutely no where to park. After nearly 15 minutes of driving in circles (as I couldn’t drive onto many of the streets in the central part of town because of the fair) I finally managed to find a free parking garage to park in. Although I arrived late for my 19:30 reservation, the restaurant was able to seat me immediately.

For dinner, I ordered Bruschetta Al Pomodoro for an appetizer and the Pappardelle Con Prosciutto Ed Asparagi (Homemade pasta with prosciutto di Parma, asparagus, and diced tomatoes) as my entree. The bruschetta was excellent and had a great flavor that wasn’t overwhelming on the tomato side (perfect for me!) and my pasta was divine; it was light but extremely flavorful without the heavy cream sauce that my lactose intolerant body despises so much. For dessert, I ordered Spumanti (Italian ice cream). Overall, it was an excellent dinner that was well worth the $30 I spent, even with the slow but attentive service!

Cucina Paradiso

I traveled back to hotel, later enjoying my champagne purchase from Mumm Napa.

Day 3 (Sunday, May 17th, 2009)

On my third full day of the trip, I opted not to eat the breakfast provided by the hotel as I was running late that morning and did not want to waste additional time. I finally headed out around 10:00 and drove southwest towards Point Reyes National Seashore. Instead of devoting another full day to wine country, I thought I would make better use of my time by spending a day at the nearby coast. Conveniently enough, the day I had set aside for the coast just happened to be the hottest day of my trip so it was quite a wise decision as the temperatures were predicted to be around 100 in wine country but 20 degrees cooler at the coast.

I finally arrived at Point Reyes National Seashore about an hour after leaving the hotel. My first stop within the park was the Bear Valley Visitor Center where I picked up a brochure and map and also sat to watch a 15 minute informational video about the park, which gave me a better idea of what I wanted to see.
After leaving, I drove to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, which involved navigating the car through windy rolling hills that appeared to go on forever. As I neared closer to the lighthouse, the landscape changed from a heavily wooded area to vast pastoral fields that were dotted with hundreds of cattle.

When I finally reached the parking lot for the lighthouse, I saw that there was a short walk that was required to complete before actual reaching the lighthouse. Even with the cool ocean breeze, it was still quite warm out and made the walk all the more difficult. Along the walk I of course took many photographs of the beautiful ocean views and of the surrounding countryside, but also paid very close attention to the pretty wild flowers that seemed to grow all along the path. When I looked closely at these flowers, I noticed that they were covered with lots of tiny little lady bugs; when I say lots, I should specify thousands as they were literally everywhere.

Point Reyes National Seashore

Lady bug at Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore

When I finally saw my first glimpse of the lighthouse, I saw before me a massive staircase that led down to the buildings. While I knew that going down the stairs would not be a problem, coming back up would be a nightmare, especially with the blazing sun and heat. I made it down the stairs in no time at all, and spent several minutes admiring and appreciating the lighthouse itself and the vantage point from which I was at. I then proceeded to climb back up, or should I say that I huffed and puffed my way up, having to take many breaks. I was so relieved to finally feel the cool air conditioning in my car that I sat for a moment to relax before I took off again.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Walkway down to Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes National Seashore

Next, I drove back up the same road I had came in on, this time turning left off of the street towards Point Reyes Beach South. I was surprised to feel the large temperature difference from the beach compared to what I had felt at the lighthouse; it had to have been at least 15 degrees cooler thanks to the lovely wind. I walked the long and narrow beach for a while, just simply enjoying the sound of the water as it hit the sand. I also partook in some people watching, especially those who had their dogs with them.

Point Reyes Beach South

Afterward, I got back in the car and drove just a short distance to Drakes Beach. I had read that the water here was much calmer than that of the previous beach. As soon as I arrived in the parking lot, it was immediately obvious that the beach was quite popular with locals as the parking lot was filled with hundreds of cars. I got out and walked the beach for a bit, but quickly turned around once I realized that I was walking upon sand that was charred from recent bonfires. Since I was wearing sandals, I was afraid that the dirty sand would turn my feet black so I opted to go back to the car and instead continue on my way.

Drakes Beach

Next, I headed out of Point Reyes National Seashore and began a very long and curvy drive north to the city of Bodega Bay. By the time I finally reached the city I was nearly car sick from all the hairpin twists and turns. I decided to find a place to eat so that I could get out of the car for a while. I picked a restaurant listed in one of the guidebooks and was fortunate enough to only have to drive just a small distance to reach it. The restaurant was called Sandpiper Restaurant and was described as being a local hangout that served simple but reliable food. As I sat down and read the menu, I was actually impressed by the variety of selection the restaurant had to offer, including many sandwiches, pasta, fish, and a multitude of other dishes. I ended up ordering the risotto with rock shrimp and pancetta. I still wasn’t feeling well at this point so I also requested a Sprite in hopes that it would make me feel better. Luckily, I was also given some bread so I made sure to eat plenty of that which helped in getting rid of the nauseous feeling. When my risotto arrived, it was obvious that it was not a true risotto made with chicken broth over the stove top; however, it was still quite tasty even with the massive amount of cream they had added to the dish.

Risotto from Sandpiper Restaurant.

After finishing my meal I continued the drive north with the goal of reaching Goat Rock State Park. I had read and been told by one of the workers at the bike store in Healdsburg that this particular park was famous for its herd of sea lions that bathe out on the many nearby rocks. Although the park was dramatically gorgeous with its jagged cliffs and rocky seashore, I saw none of the those so called famous sea lions. I was very disappointed and made the best of the situation by enjoying the views. As I was in the midst of doing this, I somehow managed to trip and fall upon the rocks I was standing on, resulting in a minor dent in my camera and an even bigger one to my pride. Initially, while the fall hurt quite a bit, I didn’t think I had hurt myself that seriously. However, after I got back into the car and began the long drive to the hotel, I realized that nearly the entire lower half of my body was aching in extreme pain. I didn’t have any band aids or medicine with me, so I had to make due with the antibacterial hand wipes and Kleenex in an attempt to clean my many wounds. The pain I felt on my legs was excruciating as I am sure that the rocks I fell upon were covered with salt, which only further aggravated the cuts.

Goat Rock State Park

During the drive back, I had to call the restaurant where I had made a reservation at in order to push back the reservation time as there was no way I was going to make it there by 19:30. Luckily, the restaurant had availability for a 20:00 reservation, so I confirmed myself for that time. As the drive progressed the pain in my legs became increasingly worse and I also began to notice that my hand and arm were also throbbing. I made it to the hotel and only had 15 minutes to get ready before my one hour drive to Yountville where the restaurant was located. Needless to say, in my state of pain, this was no easy task as I limped around the room.

I somehow managed to quickly get ready and later reached Bouchon Bistro right before my 20:00 reservation. Bouchon is a French restaurant that has been set up to appear as a Parisian brasserie. The restaurant was created by Thomas Keller, the founder of the famed restaurant French Laundry, which is located in the same town. Since Bouchon had received positive accolades from both Zagat and from a restaurant blog I frequent, I figured it was a great choice especially considering it served my favorite cuisine in the world. The interior of the restaurant was decorated in true Parisian flair, but in a subdued and unpretentious way. It was a restaurant that anyone could feel comfortable in as the environment was extremely inviting and welcoming. Once seated, I decided to order French onion soup as an appetizer, the roast chicken for my entree, and profiteroles for dessert. The soup itself was actually quite disappointing; it tasted as though the base of the stock had at some point been burned. It was not what I was used to French onion tasting like. Thankfully, my entree was a much different story. My roast chicken was incredibly flavorful and had obviously been slow roasted for quite a long time. My dessert of profiteroles was somewhere in between on the taste scale. They were neither disappointing nor fantastic; they were just okay. All in all I spent approximately $70 at the restaurant, tax and tip included. While the food was decent overall, I would not say that it was worth the cost as I had eaten two other dinner meals during the trip that cost much less but tasted a lot better. I left Bouchon and began the long drive back to the hotel.

Bouchon

French Onion Soup at Bouchon.

Roast Chicken from Bouchon

Profiteroles from Bouchon.

Day 4 (Monday, May 18th, 2009)

For my final day in wine country, I had reserved a spot for the 10:00 walking tour of Napa. However, I decided at the last minute to cancel the tour because I was absolutely exhausted and was still in quite a bit of pain from the fall I had taken the day before. Also, I didn't want to spend $20 on a tour I wasn't super interested in, so I thought it was best not to partake.

Instead, I drove to Yountville and went to Bouchon Bakery, which I had seen the night before while eating at Bouchon Bistro for dinner. After walking into the small bakery, I was inundated with dozens of different pastries to choose from. After heavily weighing my decisions, I purchased a croissant, a slice of coffee cake, and a lemon tart. The cake and tart were absolutely lovely and baked to perfection; the croissant on the other hand was not at all impressive nor was it as flaky as it should have been.

Bouchon Bakery

After leaving the bakery, I continued to drive along, eventually reaching Domaine Chandon, a vineyard in Yountville that is known for sparkling wines, but also produces still reds and whites. Before entering the winery, I sat in the car for a bit, enjoying the pastries. While I was in the process of photographing the baked goods I began to notice that my camera was having problems taking photos at certain angles. At the time, I just assumed my camera was being difficult and didn't think much of it.

As I entered the winery, I began to realize that something was seriously wrong with the camera as it stopped taking pictures period. When I sat down for the tasting, I took a closer look and saw that part of the lens had come ajar the day before when I fell on the rocks. Needless to say, I was very upset, especially considering that I had "lost" my expensive lens a few months prior (that's a whole other story!). After fiddling around with the camera for awhile, I finally realized that the only way to use it was to turn it onto the "manual mode". While I was somewhat relived that I had discovered a temporary solution, I was not happy that the lens was damaged and knew that I would be in for a headache trying to get it fixed. As for the wine tasting at Domaine Chandon, the three different sparkling wines I tried were okay but I was too concerned about my camera to really pay much attention to anything else. In terms of the exterior and interior of the building, the winery was very modern looking but had gorgeous grounds that I unfortunately didn't have time to wander around in.

Domaine Chandon

Next, I drove to Sonoma as I had a 14:00 tour scheduled at Gundlach Bundschu Winery. As I drove towards the winery, I decided to cancel the tour as I didn't want to spend the money, especially when I wasn't interested in drinking anymore wine and already had a headache from the few sips I had taken at Domaine Chandon. I felt absolutely terrible for canceling on yet another tour, but at least I gave her a 30 minute warning.

Instead, I walked back through downtown Sonoma as I had wanted to visit the Sonoma State Historic Park. The park is comprised of six sites: the Mission San Francisco Solano, the Presidio of Sonoma or Sonoma Barracks, the Toscano Hotel, the Blue Wing Inn, and La Casa Grande and Lachryma Montissome, the homes of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo who was the Military Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier. Most of the buildings were free to enter and even had volunteer guides staffed inside who provided great information on the history of the buildings.

Sonoma State Historic Park

After learning about some of Sonoma's history at the state park, I was quite hungry and decided to find a place to eat as I figured it would be my last meal before boarding the plane later that day. I chose to eat lunch at The Girl and the Fig based on the high marks it had received from Zagat and many of the guidebooks. I ordered the Top Sirloin Burger, which came with matchstick fries. In addition, I also ordered a side of Potato Galette as it sound quite good. The interior of the restaurant was very attractive with bright colors and French inspired decor. The food was awesome; my burger was the best I had ever eaten and the matchstick fries were super thin and crispy but full of great potato flavor. The galette was quite tasty and had lots of finally minced onions incorporated into the potato mixture, which was very delicious.

The Girl and the Fig

Potato Galette from The Girl and the Fig.

Top Sirloin Burger from The Girl and the Fig.

After my filling and very satisfying meal, I drove past Sonoma in order to reach to St. Francis Winery. The winery was situated in a gorgeous and stunning location and had a beautiful Tuscan inspired building. Fortunately for me, there were very few people in the tasting room when I arrived, so it was a very comfortable experience. The wines were very good, including the reds and I found out that a few of their wines were sold at Costco. After drinking the wine, I went outside and enjoyed the grounds for a bit before leaving.

St. Francis Winery

From St. Francis Winery, I began the drive back to Oakland Airport, but first stopped at the Muir Woods National Monument. As I approached the Bay Area, the beautiful sun gave way to thick clouds, fog, and even a little rain. It was quite shocking to experience such an extreme change in weather in a relatively short period of time and geographical area. From the main highway, I turned off onto a series of smaller roads, many of which were quite windy and made me feel car sick.

When I arrived at the entrance of the park, I was greeted with freezing cold temperatures. As it had been in the 90's back in wine country, I was wearing shorts so it was quite chilly! For some reason, I was not required to pay the entrance fee, which was a nice surprise. Since I only had about 45 minutes, I opted to choose one of the easy trails near the visitor center. While the trees along the trails were large, it was nothing too impressive, especially since I hail from the great Pacific Northwest where large trees are the norm. I could see however how others might be very impressed with the sight of the trees. Towards the end of my short walk, the sun miraculously began to come out from behind the thick layer of fog.

Muir Woods National Monument

Overall, I a wonderful time on this extended weekend getaway. While I am not (and probably never will be) a huge wine person, I discovered on this trip that I do have an interest in wines, especially now that I know much more about the entire wine-making process itself. I am now able to much more fully appreciate the strong and bold flavors in wine, and have an easier time detecting the different flavors. My personal favorite aspect of the trip was the incredible and delicious food that I encountered. There were never any bad food moments, and I believe this can be attributed to the fact that I did a lot of research prior to leaving, selecting about a dozen restaurants that had received great reviews. I would go back to this region again in a heartbeat just for the food alone as it went far beyond all the expectations I had. In addition to the food, I also enjoyed all of the small towns that I visited, especially those in Sonoma County. I would have loved to have spent several hours wandering through the different stores, but there wasn't enough time on this trip for shopping interludes. Luckily for me, this area is less than a two hour flight away from Seattle, so it is definitely doable as a weekend destination, and I am sure I will return again in the coming years.

3 comments:

BbygalApril 6, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Hi,

I came across your blog while researching for a visit Napa / Sonoma. Great photos and nice writing style. I enjoyed reading through your blog.
AnonymousSeptember 9, 2013 at 8:51 AM
Incredible photos! I love Napa Valley. Where do you stay when you go? I have tried the Best Western there, but am open to better or different places. Maybe even a bed and breakfast would be fun.

James | Hotel Napa, CA
TimBowersMarch 13, 2016 at 11:19 PM
We found this weblog very great and we wanna thank you for that. We hope you keep up the great work!
Napa Per Person Tour

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Napa Valley and Sonoma County

3 comments: