Try these links to get you going. I recently read that there are more than 400 wineries in Sonoma County.

http://www.sonoma-county.org/

Some good wines maps and details about the wineries and events. http://www.sonomacounty.com/

Events. http://sonoma.com/events.html

More on wineries. http://www.sonomawine.com/

You're smart to stay away from the Barrell Tasing. The weekends are becoming drunkouts for younger students. I was in Sonoma this year just after the event. The local paper was full of stories about being so drunk they couldn't even stand up.

I've been to a number of Wine Road Events, including the Barrel Tasting, the Wine & Food Affair (three times), and the Winter Wonderland, though it's probably been about four of five years (at that time it was not just a "drunkout for younger students," though I don't know about now). My husband and I were living in neighboring Marin County then. On each occasion, the reason we attended these events was because our dear friends (a married couple) from Los Angeles were attending.

Our friends attend every year and usually invite other friends and family members to join them (all professionals in their forties and fifties). They generally hire a van and driver and split the cost of this with their other wine-loving friends from LA--so no one drinks and drives. (I have noticed that a lot of wineries no longer welcome large groups, though I think they are mostly trying to discourage the young party-hard drinking groups, and not the older moderate drinkers). Several times our friends would--just by chance--bump into other friends, neighbors and work colleagues from LA who had also decided to go up to the wine road.

You pay for admission, get a wristband and then drive on your own to participating wineries. There is no set order of visitations.

I would say our friends are representative of some the folks who attend these events. They love the wine, love the Sonoma wine country landscape, but also enjoy these events as a occasion for getting together and partying with friends--by this, I mean wine-tasting and going to nice restaurants like Dry Creek Kitchen, Zin, and Madrona Manor, not falling-down drunk or getting rowdy.

Our friends work hard at stressful jobs and love getting away to the wine country. (They eventually bought a large home in Healdsburg because they were spending so much time in the area.)

Based on what I have seen most attendees visit a lot of wineries (afterall, this is why they paid for the privilege). Though some folks, like my husband and myself, taste the wine at only a few wineries and mainly tag along to hang out with friends.

I don't recall seeing anyone who was drunk or disorderly--but, again, it has been about four or five years since I have been.

If you want avoid this party scene and the crowds, and just want to taste the wines and get into conversations with those who work at the wineries, I would suggest going up on another occasion. On the other hand, the price of admission includes tastings of wine and appetizers at dozens of wineries. If you were to go up on your own and pay separately for tastings at these wineries, you might pay much more. Also, during the barrel tasting, we got to taste wines that normally wouldn't be available for tasting. It was interesting and fun.

I liked Winter Wonderland the best because there weren't as many people (the weather was cold and rainy when we attended).

I hope this helps a bit.

Thanks D', that is just the kind of information I was looking for.

So glad to be of help.

We just attended the Catalan festival at Gloria Ferrar winery. This is a great winery specific event only with lots of food, wine, the bubbly champagne. There are lots of events from cooking demoes to flamenco dancing to Spanish guitar. Lots of places to sit around and just enjoy the ambiance. It draws lots of locals as well as visitors. Gloria Ferrar also does a lovely Christmas dinner in December. Although its not multiple wineries, Gloria Ferrar puts on some of the best events that the public can go to (beyond just wine club members).

We have enjoyed Winter Wineland - its gotten a little less in variety over the years due to the crowds. There used to be a lot of variety in food and wine; but now a bit less but still enjoyable for the day. Its a great way to get out in January and enjoy your wine by a warm fire as many of the wineries will either have outdoor fires or indoor fires in their fireplaces. It makes it a warm and cozy experience (some years its downright cold - sometimes its been sunny and warm). Just wanted to give you a strong second for this wonderful event that Diamantina wrote about.