I often get asked to help assist with recommendations or itineraries. If guests inquire about a driver, I always recommend Kim Smith who is a local and assists with the itineraries. She’s the best!
However, after recommending a tour through the Bohemian Highway, little did I know how small it would be to the most elaborate of itineraries.
Here is an email our guest sent out to her party who stayed at Sonoma Wine Nest.
Dearest Fellow Travelers,
We are less than a week out from our much anticipated Sonoma vaca. I'm sharing some details so you can check out whatever you want to and build some excitement for the fun to come. The weather forecast looks stinking amazing... 100% perfect for us:)
“The weather forecast looks stinking amazing... 100% perfect for us:)”
Day 1
We will meet up at the Sonoma Wine Nest, in Windsor CA at some point in the afternoon on Monday. Check-in isn't until 4 pm.
Upon arrival in Windsor, we will settle in and perhaps quench our 'long travel day thirst' with some excellent Russian River Brewery draft beer, followed by either a stop at Oliver's market for essentials and a carryout dinner or KC's American Kitchen for a quick dinner then hit Oliver's... before chilling out at our place.
Day 2
After a sound night's sleep and a relaxing morning, we will head out on our self-guided/driving day toward the coast. We are shooting for a 9:30 departure in casual attire (definitely bring along sneakers and [a] windbreaker jacket). We should put together a cooler with snacks and water for our day.
“All in??? Everyone stoked for a wine country adventure???!!!”
First stop is our 10 am tasting with Ryme Cellars in Forestville. These folks are new to us this trip. A husband and wife team Ryan and Megan create some unusual Italian-style wines we thought might be fun to try. They met in Australia at Torbreck Winery. They started RYME in '07 with Aglianico grapes. Affordable wines $25-42 including Vermintinos, Ribolla Gialla, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.
Following the tasting at RYME we will head out west for a brief glimpse of the coast. We haven't settled in on a particular trailhead/viewpoint, but I have some ideas. You'll definitely want a light jacket as the winds are intense out there.
Russian River Vineyards is our landing spot for some lunch and wine. We have a reservation at 2 pm for a table. We can decide what to drink and eat once we settle in there. It's supposed to be a kicked back chill type of venue. They started the vineyard in '08, farmers first, then winemakers. "17 Pinot Noir, Barbera, Syrah, Merlot, Red Blend. Best known for their Pinot Noirs.
“It’s supposed to be a kicked back chill type of venue.”
We can relax there a while and then head into the little town of Forestville to poke in shops and one winery in particular, Jigar is on my hit list. We've had a lovely Pinot Noir of theirs, but never visited them.
We will want to head home, freshen up and dress kind of cute (especially the guys) to head to our upscale dinner at Valette in Healdsburg at 7 pm.
“Rest my fellow friends, rest. The adventure picks up pace from here...”
Day 3
Our first appointment is not until 11 am, so there's time to take a walk, drink a lot of coffee and eat a good breakfast. Our driver Kim will pick us up around 10:30 to head off to our first and very special tasting of the day. Again, we should pack a cooler w snacks/waters...maybe lunch. Some light eats will be available at J Rickards.
J Rickards at 11 am. We have been wine club members here for several years and have shared J Rickard wines with you guys on multiple occasions. In '19 they gave us royal treatment. I'm hopeful for the same this time. We love so many of their wines, usually reds but also appreciate their whites. Very affordable.
“This is a winery we like to recommend...Pedroncelli Winery below...”
Pedroncelli Winery - we met Ed and Julie, the owners on the Danube River cruise. We are members here and have a variety of their wines in our cellar right now. They also took very good care of us in '19 when we visited. We have an appointment at 1:30 PM to tour and taste with them.
For something different, we are going to have our driver Kim run us to Sebastopol for the afternoon. We can walk around The Barlow market and possibly land at Crooked Goat Brewery to listen to music and have a golden beverage. Plenty of options around here for food. Another driver 'Audie' is to pick us up around 8 pm.
Day 4
NAPA, NAPA, NAPA baby!!!
Reveille O-dawn-30!!! Headed to Napa and looking especially super wine country fabulous!!! Kim will pick us up a little after 8 am. We should be ready for a full fun day. It's about an hour and 20 minutes to our first stop. Let's grab the cooler and pack those snacks and the hydrating fluids we will be needing during our escapades.
Our friend (big-time oenophile) offered to arrange our meeting with his friend and Napa winemaker Mike Hirby at Relic Wine Cellars as our introduction to a boutique Napa (Soda Canyon) winery.
Folks, it's pricey over Napa way, so hold onto your hats when your eyes lock on the bottle prices. Holy smokes. Anyway, we will have a visit and tasting with Mike's people at 10 am and then mosey down the hill to his buddies at White Rock Vineyards for a second delicious expensive experience at 12 noon.
For a little change o activity, Kim will roll us outta the canyon and over to downtown Napa to browse the wares and sample tasty morsels at Oxbow Market. And for a finale, we will travel north (toward home!) to the quaint town of Calistoga situated in the valley between two gorgeous mountain ranges. There we will test out our newest wine club perks with a complimentary (because we will be broke by now!) tasting experience at Girard Winery. They are expecting us at 4 pm.
After all this galavanting around on the wrong side of the mountain, Kim will deliver us back to the Sonoma Wine Nest. If we find ourselves with a bad case of the munchies and score an Uber we might be able to slip back into Windsor (just a hop and a skip) for a bite at the very fun Russian River Brewing Company. Let's just SEE how it goes:/
Day 5
Well folks, how are we holding up? Want to go for a vigorous hike? Run a little? Maybe roll out through the neighborhood on the bicycles our hosts left here for us? I'm guessing...maybe just coffee, a bite if you can manage it and a little quiet time. Ibuprofen anyone?
“Well folks, how are we holding up? ”
Kim will once again slip by and snag our very wine country glamorous and likely hungover selves around 10:15... the first appointment not until the late hour of 11 am! Heading south we are. Some new and some familiar stops for us on this fine day.
First stop for an outside tasting experience with Loxton Cellars is likely to be a treat. Chris Loxton the winemaker/owner is an Aussie and as I recall, pretty good looking (that's for Angie!) and makes lovely wine. We visited here on our first trip to Sonoma in '14. I'm hoping for a fun and delicious and Sonoma friendly wine list:)
We will scoot over to a new to us marketplace VBJ Cellars for a bite of lunch with or without tasting/glass of wine, maybe souvenir shopping too. This family has been making wine in this area for a good long while. There's a story about a son (maybe a twin) who wanted to move into the wine business instead of just growing grapes and he passed unexpectedly. The family decided to go for it as a way to memorialize the lost son. These folks are also the proprietors of our evening's restaurant back in Healdsburg... Campo Fina. Nice I-talian folks:)
We have a SUPER INCREDIBLE SPECIAL appointment at 2:45 pm (CANNOT BE LATE) at Kunde Family Winery. We are booked (and paid) on a Mountain Top Tasting experience which includes a tour of the estate by motor...luckily not walking. Reserve wines (extra special) and nice cheese/charcuterie too...so save a little room.
Kim will drop us off at SWN. We can refresh, slap ourselves awake, secure an Uber and blow out to Healdsburg (just a short ride).
Then it's Campo Fina for a lovely Italian patio dinner at 7 pm.
Day 6
We are on our own folks, no Kim to haul us all over creation. We are staying pretty close to home and will do some new and some familiar again today. The first appointment is at 11 am so there's time if you are up to it to hit the trails or at least go for a brisk jaunt through the neighborhood. Eat, coffee up, and pack the cooler. You will want to be turned out on the glamorous side today though not necessarily Napa fancy.
“We can refresh, slap ourselves awake, secure an Uber and blow out to Healdsburg (just a short ride).”
We are starting off with a new player, Nalle (silent e) Winery. Our friend Ed from Pedroncelli thinks a lot of these folks and encouraged us to give them a spot on our dance card. There's some long-time family history with this vineyard, starting back before prohibition in the 1920s. I'm sure they will tell us all about it. Lots of deliciousness on their wine list - Pinot Noir, Cab, Zin. yummmm.
From there we are headed to a good friend's place, Comstock Wines - we met Chris the winemaker and Kelli the owner while on our cruise. We also did some shimmy-shimmy on the dance floor with these guys on that wild trip! Anyway, they are really fun and will show us a good time. Their wines are pretty delicious and the scenery at their place isn't bad either. We will have a 1:30 pm appointment for a seated tasting along with a mezze plate here.
Our VRBO host Richard made an appointment for us with Flowers Winery. I've seen their wine in Wegman's and have read about their very high reviews/awards/recognition in industry publications. It's a fairly new (under this name/management) winery and is supposed to be a lovely setting. This tasting appointment is at 3:30PM. Thank you Claudia and Richard!
If we can manage it, Bravas tapas restaurant has a reservation for us at 7:30PM. It looks delicious if we aren't passed out by dinner time.
Day 6
How's a low-key Sunday ride out in the country sound to you guys and gals? Alternatively, I could propose 4-10 more wineries to visit. Up to you:).
“How’s a low-key Sunday ride out in the country sound to you guys and gals? ”
Claudia, our host helped me come up with a way to step back from all the whining... I mean 'wine-ing' we've been doing and take a different tact for our last full day in Sonoma. Think scenic and charming. If everyone is game, we can head out as soon as we feel like we want/can do it.
She suggested a very quaint place for coffee with an Arabic/Middle-eastern? owned and operated coffee shop, Lightwave Coffee and Kitchen a little ways from the house. Then we continue on a country drive down the Bohemian Highway (yup, that's its name) to a breakfast spot called Howard Station Cafe. There are shops to browse and people to watch around here.
If we want to score some Artisan cheese, there's a place for that, but ultimately we will end up back in Sebastopol near the Barlow for a longer window of time to browse, check out a flea market, whatever you want to do.
We will need to get our 'house in order' this evening as we will leave very early Monday morning. You guys too, right?
Day 7 - Last Day
Boo-hoo!!! Home we go. Safe travels my dears. May your memories be treasured, though foggy in places!
All in??? Everyone stoked for a wine country adventure???!!!
Cheers - XOXOXO,
If you ask me, this itinerary is quite remarkable.
Always know you have a home to come to in Sonoma County.
Cheers!