Tour e degustazioni d’eccezione a Sonoma County

Every weekend, it seems, there’s another terrific festival or flat-out party going on in Sonoma County. One of the best comes in March, when Petaluma hosts the California Artisan Cheese Festival, featuring farm and creamery tours, hands-on lessons in cheesemaking, and tastings of local cheese, wine, beer, and cider.

In May, you can feed your appetite for art with open studio tours during the annual Salmon Creek ArtWalk in Bodega Bay. And in June, the annual Beerfest, at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa is your chance to sip some of Northern California’s finest brews and ciders from more than 60 breweries and cideries.

Sonoma County locals haven’t forgotten how to celebrate some of their more humble exports though, or the fact that sometimes you just have to turn up the volume. They celebrate a local apple varietal at August’s Gravenstein Apple Fair with tractor rides and pie eating, and rock out at September’s Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival, held at Johnson's Beach in Guerneville.

All year long, different Sonoma County wine regions hold open houses, such as April’s Passport to Dry Creek Valley, and Taste Alexander Valley in May. For the crown jewel, visit over Labor Day weekend for the Taste of Sonoma, when thousands of guests join chefs, wineries, and artisan food purveyors for three full days of wine tastings, elaborate meals, and the Sonoma County Wine Auction.

Harvest time is one of the best times to visit a winery, to embrace the energy of sorting, stemming, and wine-crafting.

Still, harvest season (early September through mid-November) is a popular time to visit Sonoma County, when you can embrace the energy of sorting, stemming, and wine-crafting—and sometimes even participate in grape stomps. During this time of year, workers converge on the vineyards from dawn to dusk, and tourism is at its peak as well, so take that into consideration when timing your trip. For many wineries, the work actually runs around the clock, with innovators like Jordan Winery in Healdsburg picking fruit through the chilly nights. After all, keeping grapes cold protects their delicate flavors, as well as the pristine skin and pulp.

Some wineries celebrate the season by hosting pre- or post-crush parties with wine tasting, food, and live music. The Dry Creek Valley region hosts a slew of classy tastings and events, such as the Wine and Food Affair, when more than 100 wineries pair special wines with dishes they prepare and serve on-site. To really dive in, Sonoma Valley Crush invites guests to get hands-on over a September weekend at 15 area wineries, with one-of-a-kind, behind-the-scenes looks at every aspect of winemaking, from picking grapes and juicing to fermentation.

During the holiday season, enjoy wine, food, and live music in the courtyard of the Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma as you witness the Lighting of the Snowmen. Also in December, the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens gets in the holiday spirit with spiced tea and other holiday treats. Tour the home, greenhouse and gardens of the famous horticulturalist while it’s decked out in its holiday finest, amidst reveling carolers.

Once considered just a “hippie” town, Sebastopol is now arguably the arts and creative center of West Sonoma County. Its hotspot is The Barlow, a $23.8 million culinary, wine, and arts center that spans 12.5 beautifully landscaped acres. You can explore its wine tasting rooms, craft breweries, art galleries, and even innovative, garage-style restaurants. But Sebastopol still has its earnest hippie soul, so banish any thoughts of chains: All tenants must be locals, making their own products. It’s so producer-driven that even much of the landscaping is edible and used in the restaurants’ food and cocktails.

This is still a small town too, with a downtown area just a few blocks long and a scattering of outlying antique, ranch, and clothing stores where all the owners (and most of the customers) are straight from the neighborhood. Residents are fiercely proud of the offbeat nature of their intimate burg, evidenced by spots like Cali Kind Clothing Co. (known for elaborate tie-dyes) and the California Carnivores nursery, whose wondrous insect-eating plants add flair and function to any home.

Other things to do include taking a stroll down a three-block stretch of Florence Avenue, where you can check out various “trash art” sculptures made from random discarded items by a local team of creatives. Or learn about the history of western Sonoma County at the West County Museum, which is housed in a restored 1917 railway depot.

Otherwise, small-production wineries and vineyards sit amid the maritime-fog-enveloped hillsides here, like Kosta Browne, Iron Horse, Dutton Estate Winery, and Cirq. A day of tasting is like a celebrity tour, sampling the works of big-name but tiny-production vintners such as Paul Hobbs, Merry Edwards, and O’Connell (the latter the winner of the acclaimed 2016 Pinot Cup for its stellar Pinot Noir).

Sebastopol is also where you come for restaurants that offer inventive, handcrafted, and sustainable dining, like Ramen Gaijin and the French-meets-hyperlocal K&L Bistro, where most ingredients are from Sebastopol. Vegetarians and vegans, meanwhile, will love Slice of Life, where such specialties as the Cali Reuben with tempeh and their gluten-free pizza have earned it a faithful following.

On Sunday mornings, be sure to wander the downtown farmers market. The year-round affair held in the sun-dappled Sebastopol Plaza (see the market’s site for a map) is always jazzed up with live music and plenty of prepared foods for noshing. Some of the best growers and food producers set up shop, presenting beautiful fruits, vegetables, flowers, homemade pasta, and artisanal foods. Woodleaf Farm, one of the oldest organic farms in California, has heavenly peaches; and Middleton Farm's strawberries are so sweet, you'll swear they were dipped first in jam. Another item any visitor should keep an eye out for is Gravenstein apples. If you’re visiting during the summer, sample one of these red-speckled beauties while you can; they are much harder to find outside of Sonoma County because their thin skins make them difficult to ship without bruising.

Not long ago, Guerneville was a sleepy forested hideaway best known for spectacular natural wonders like majestic redwood trees and the meandering Russian River. Today, the tiny town 90 miles/145 kilometers north of San Francisco remains one of Sonoma County’s natural jewels and a prime example of the region’s accepting West Coast vibe—but it’s also become a cutting-edge dining destination and burgeoning resort retreat.

Boon hotel + spa, for instance, is an intimate, eco-chic lodging run by local chef-entrepreneur and celebrity Crista Luedtke (she was named Triple Grand Champion on Guy Fieri’s Food Network show Guy’s Grocery Games). Her other local endeavors include farm-to-table bistro Boon eat + drink and the modern Mexican cantina El Barrio, which brings tequila, mezcal, and bourbon to wine country. Luedtke’s culinary empire also includes Big Bottom Market, famous for its biscuits (they’re an Oprah favorite), and the modern Bavarian beer hall Brot.

Despite the fancy food scene, you won’t find fancy attitudes: The town’s heart is still an eclectic mix of atmospheric but convivial taverns, so-tacky-they’re-fun souvenir shops, and quirky art galleries frequented by modern hippie-types looking to escape the big city.

There’s also plenty of flair from the drag queens and alt-lifestylers who’ve made Guerneville their home. For decades, the town has been the San Francisco Bay Area’s LGBTQ getaway, earning it the nickname “the Gay Riviera.” You can always find a party at the landmark Rainbow Cattle Co., where patrons have been living it up since 1979, or the Bar at the R3 Hotel, another longtime favorite.

For romantic lodgings to share with any partner, book a stay at the luxurious, Mission Revival-style Applewood Inn, or dine in its firelight-lit restaurant (the wine list is a stunner). For a down-to-earth stay, Highlands Resort’s wide array of homey cabins and suites provide an “unplugged” approach to relaxation. Just outside town is the Russian River location of Autocamp, a stylish collection of tricked-out Airstream trailers and posh canvas glamping tents. The luxuriously woodsy accommodations offer a photogenic mashup of Mother Nature and retro-chic, sure to blow up your Instagram account.

On summer days, kick back with the locals at Johnson's Beach, a slip of sand beneath Guerneville’s entryway bridge with rentable beach chairs, canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats. Or rent a canoe at Burke’s Canoe Trips—a local classic for decades—then zigzag down the easy-to-paddle Russian River. Any season is perfect for hiking or forest-bathing beneath the canopy of giant redwoods in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, or wandering trails through oak forests and meadows at adjacent Austin Creek State Recreation Area.

To see how down-to-earth Guerneville culture translates into wine, schedule a tasting of certified biodynamic vintages from mountainside Porter-Bass Winery, inhabited by winemaker and earth-child Luke Bass, along with his heritage chickens and adorable canines. Add some indulgence to your day with wine or champagne tasting at Korbel California Champagne, or follow country roads south towards Healdsburg, sampling acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels at countless wineries along the way.