ilana25841

DH and DS want to do a wine country/tasting trip (3 days) in October when DS turns 21. I know there are different areas that qualify as wine country.
- What area would you suggest in mid-October?
- As I hunt down airfares- which airports would be practical?
- Suggestions for accommodations for tasteful but budget minded guys (ie- doesn't need to be romantic)?
-Any particular route suggestions? I saw this route on Backroads (too expensive) trip:
Day 1 Sonoma-- where do you fly in to?
Day 2 Bodega Bay
Day 3 Healdsburg
Days 4-6 Yountville
Dry Creek Valley/Alexander Valley, /Calistoga /Yountville/Silverado Trail
IGNORING the day allocation- any thoughts?\
-Any other tips?

Thanks!

happytrailstoyou

Healdsburg is an especially delightful town with a beautiful plaza. We enjoyed perfectly cooked escolar at Bistro Ralph, which is at 109 Plaza Street--next door to Scopa, which was also bustling with happy diners. I would like to have stayed two nights there.

HTTY

MichelleY

I think a 21 year old would prefer a trip to Las Vegas!! WooHoo!!

Fly into SFO, Oakland or even Sacramento. Where ever you can get the best airfare.

Start out on the coast with Bodega, day 1 & 2. Day 3 & 4 healdsburg/Dry Creek/Alexander. Finish up with Sonoma/Yountville/Napa Valley.

Do a search here for trip reports to get ideas. Harvest will be late this year, so you will be there in the thick of it.

ilana25841

Michelle- the wine trip was the 21yo's idea. He knows what he likes. Thank you both for your suggestions.

elnap29

Sacramento Airport (SMF) is an easy, handy airport for the Napa Valley, where we live. It's easy to get the rental car and get in and out. Depending on arrival time, there should not be an issue with traffic. It takes about an hour to make the drive. There are some good places to stay in the city of Napa that are not too expensive (the Avia Hotel, Napa River Inn, or try Priceline for Marriott or Embassey Suites or others). Or, for a little more charm but more rustic, seek out Washington Street Lodging - little cottages within walking distance of everything in Calistoga.
Healdsburg is a nice town also, about a 30 min. drive from Calistoga.

krgystn

Even SJC will work for Napa/Sonoma. It depends on the day and time of day. if you hit rush hours it will be hellish to get there from SFO, OAK and SJC.

There is also a great wine area in Santa Ynez (near Santa Barbara) that would be beautiful in October.

Shanti

If the time and fare work out, SMF would be your best bet for an airport. Oakland, SF, and San Jose would mean increasingly long drives through highly populated areas. Best case scenario would mean more driving for you, but might be worth it if the time and fare were good enough. Worst case scenario would be truly horrible traffic, especially from San Jose.

October is my favorite month in northern California. The weather should be lovely.

razzledazzle

Well, really if the time and airfare work out,
STS (Charles Schultz-Sonoma County Airport)
is the best airport for your locations in
Sonoma County. Puts you right up here !

Depending on your DH & DS are coming from it could work out. If it doesn't, and they are in the rental car after 1:00P PDT, on a weekday, then you can count on a long slog up to Sonoma COunty from any of the larger airports.

This might be a good choice for lodging.
http://www.drycreekinn.com/
From Healdsburg they could tour the Russian River, Dry Creek & Alexander Valleys They could head out to
the coast at Jenner, any of the Sonoma Coast State Beaches
or Bodega Bay. Portuguese Beach, Schoolhouse Beach and North Salmon Creek beach are some of out favorites and are not on the list of closures due to CA state cutbacks.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=451

Here's a recent list of places to dine in and around Healdsburg.
Here's a few of our favorite places to dine in the area
(many are more locally known, a few are loudly advertised)

Non-break the bank,Healdsburg area
Willi's Seafood & Raw Bar
http://www.starkrestaurants.com/willis_seafood.html
Scopa
http://www.scopahealdsburg.com/
I'll squeeze in a great little secret here-
Affronti
http://www.affrontihealdsburg.com/index.htm
Bistro Ralph
http://www.bistroralph.com/
Cena Luna
http://www.cenaluna.com/

Great for lunch ! Just 10 mins. southeast of Geyserville
in the beautiful Alexander Valley, Carrie Brown's
country store with gourmet food-
The Jimtown Store
http://www.jimtown.com/cafe_monthlymenu.aspx

A bit of a drive, but soooooo, worth it!:
In Sebastopol-35 mins. south of Geyserville:
Peter Lowell's
http://www.peterlowells.com/
Northwest of Santa Rosa proper-30 mins. south of Geyserville:
Zazu
http://www.zazurestaurant.com/
Just a tad north of Santa Rosa proper, one of our favorites !
20 mins south of Geyserville:
Willi's Wine Bar
http://www.starkrestaurants.com/willis_winebar.html

A few to Break the Bank:
Madronna Manor
http://www.madronamanor.com/
Serious bank breaking:
Cyrus
http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/

Make those lodging reservations soon, October is "prime time" for us.

R5

boom_boom

You can fly into Santa Rosa on Horizon, but the options others have listed would likely be cheaper,

Also, Dry Creek and Alexander valleys are not anywhere near Yontville, making a long drive to taste from there. Do Dry Creek and Alex valley from Healdsburg.

razzledazzle

Oh, for STS, Alaska/Horizon air is the carrier-
they currently fly between LAX, Las Vegas,
Seattle & Portland, Oregon.

R5

ilana25841

RS- thank you for taking the time to give me so much useful information. And everyone else- I appreciate the airline pointers.

Austin

We have flown to sacramento, San Jose, and in 2 weeks, SFO. We much prefer Sonoma/Russian River to Napa. Personally, I think a 21 year old might prefer Sonoma. If you try staying nearer to the ocean, perhaps a trip up the coast would be a nice diversion one day/morning.

SO glad to hear your DS is aware at this age. My recently turned 20 year old is starting to enjoy wine too and I think in a year or so she might like the trip as well.

DebitNM

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motor_city_girl

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nanabee

If anyone is interesting we just returned from the Napa/Sonoma area.

We spent a total of 6 days.
One day we started in Napa and drove up the highway 29 which is he main street or road. We had brunch at AD HOC http://www.adhocrestaurant.com/
(which is one of the restaurant owned by Keller who also owns the French Laundry). We loved each and every little town. Yountville, St. Helena's, Calistoga, etc. If you want to go to the French Laundry make sure you have three month advance reservations.

We spent another day at the Culinary Institute of America on one of their tours and they also have classes you can sign up for. http://www.ciachef.edu/california/

The Castello di Amorsa was a fun place to visit.
http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/

We also enjoyed a bakery in Calistoga called Calistoga Roastery http://calistogaroastery.com/pages/About-Us.html

We also drove up to Lake Sonoma http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/lake_sonoma/index.html

I also recommend Bodega Bay and a little bit futher on is Pt. Reyes National Park. These are nice litte towns especially in the summer.

motor_city_girl

nanabee, if you only had four days how would you structure your trip? DH and I plan on going mid-June to celebrate our 40th birthdays. It looks like we will be flying in SFO late on 6/15. Plan on staying at the Fairfield Inn near SFO that night and get rental early the next morning. We will have all day on 6/16 - 6/19 to explore. Just trying to nail down towns at this point. Thanks!

nanabee

What we did motor city girl was to stay at a time share exchange in Windsor (which is in the Sonoma County area). This allowed us to spend each day seeing a different part of the Napa & Sonoma County.

One day we spent driving from Windsor over to Napa then up to Calistoga (seeing the little towns of Yountville, St. Helena's, etc.).

Another day we drove up north from our location of Windsor(which is in Sonoma County) thru the small towns of Healdsburg, Geyserville and Cloverdale.

Another day we drove south to Santa Rosa (which is a great town to do some sight seeing and then east to Sebastopol and over to Bodega Bay.

What I didn't realize was that the towns throughout the Napa and Sonoma County are not that far from each other. It took us about 45 minutes to drive from our Time Share in Sonoma over to Napa. Which for southern California's isn't too daunting!

I would be prepared to do some driving each day - as opposed to just being in one location. The towns are all very small (with maybe the exception of the city of Napa) and each one has a different charm.

Hope this helps and maybe others will have some other ideas as well.

MichelleY

Motor city girl: As nanabee advises: Base yourself in one town and take day trips to the others. Healdsburg is a nice base as is Sonoma. But any of the towns are great.

From SFO: Head north on 101, over GG Bridge. Explore coastal areas, Bodega Bay, up the Russian River, see Redwoods and base in Healdsburg. Arrange the rest of your trip by areas: Healdsburg/Dry Creek, Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley/Calistoga.

Keep in mind that you will probably be required a two or three night minimum at most inns or hotels.

Good luck and have a great trip!!

motor_city_girl

Thanks for the help! We are leaning towards the Camilla Inn in Healdsburg for our 4 nights. Got a great vibe from the owner when I called to ask about rates and it seems like she would be a great resources for helping us plan our days.

wanderfully

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