An Insider's Guide to Sonoma
Going behind the scenes of California's most-diverse wine region
Posted: May 23, 2012 10:00am ET
Sonoma
can't be done in one day. It's a big, rambling county that's twice the size of
its neighbor Napa and has a patchwork of winegrowing regions that would put
any GPS to the test.
I've lived
in Sonoma County for 23 years and have watched it evolve and mature. It has
become more upscale but retains much of its unpolished charm. Traveling the
local wine roads all these years, I'm a veteran tour guide, which came in handy
while we were working on the June 15 cover story for Wine Spectator, "Exploring
Sonoma: An Insider's Guide."
My
colleagues MaryAnn Worobiec, Augustus Weed and I took up the challenge of
gathering the newest and most engaging things to do in Sonoma. It's such a
diverse region that even in 22 pages we could only highlight a few of the
county's many wineries, restaurants, hotels and activities.
We mapped
out day trips to six key American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), each an intimate
exploration built around a particular theme, whether it's history-rich Sonoma
Valley or foggy Russian River Valley and its Pinot Noirs.
Here are a
few highlights:
Fine Dining: Cyrus and Farmhouse Restaurant in recent years have set the standard, but two
veteran dining rooms have upped their game: Madrona Manor and Santé at the
Fairmont Sonoma Mission.
Insider
Dining Gems: Savvy locals have been hanging out at Zazu, Cafe La Haye, Café
Citti and the Girl & the Fig for years, but there are three newish
restaurants to add to the list: Scopa, Peter Lowell's and Terrapin Creek Café.
New on the
Wine Trails: Few wine travelers venture into the true Sonoma Coast, that
remote, mountainous area on the edge of the Pacific. Many top vineyards are
located there but not a single tasting room until Fort Ross Vineyard opened its
doors this summer to the public. It's worth the beautiful drive. An impressive
new addition to Carneros is Ram's Gate Winery, a beautiful modern space
designed by wine country's most famous architect, Howard Backen.
Lights,
Camera, Winery: Francis Ford Coppola doesn't do anything on a small scale. The
film director-vintner reportedly spent $30 million to bring a touch of Vegas
extravagance to Sonoma. In addition to a winery and tasting room, there is a
restaurant and a museum of his movie memorabilia and even a family-friendly
swimming pool.
Maybe
that will whet your appetite for a trip to Sonoma. I'm still discovering new
things after more than two decades.
Don,t forget to mention the Il Diavolo wood fired pizzas in Geyserville are to die for with good, affordable local and Italian wines. They also have kids menu too. This is a favorite when taking out of towners to the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys