youngcouple

We are planning a trip to the San Francisco area for our first wedding anniversary and we want to visit wine country. We are trying to decide between Sonoma Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains wineries. Would it be possible to do both? Or should we pick one or the other? We will probably stay 5-6 days and want to spend a day in SF.
Thanks!

bdklein

Not answering your question, but just giving you another option.

We're doing 3 nights in SF and 3 nights in St Helena (Napa Valley). One of the days where we are based in SF, we will be driving south to visit the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries. We did not want to stay in more than 2 areas (too much packing and unpacking, checking in an out, etc.). Just my opinion.

teaksgirl

We just returned from Napa. So beautiful! We have been to Napa once and Sonoma twice. Sonoma seems more casual, found some amazing wineries. We stayed in Santa Rosa at the Hilton. Perfect location. Paradise Ridge Winery is up the hill, and the Hilton has a very useful book in the rooms to help you decide where you want to go. I would definately choose Sonoma for a lst anniversary! We did 3 nights in Santa Rosa with 2 days of wine tasting..it felt like the right amount of time, but we could have done another day...Had a wonderful dinner at the General's Daughter in the town of Sonoma...pricey, but very special venue. Hope this helps.

Ackislander

We left Napa yesterday morning after five days in the Wine Country, our first trip.

I cannot speak for the Santa Cruz area, but the Napa and Sonoma valleys are both stunningly beautiful and well set up for the wine tourist. For health reasons (Type II diabetes for one of us and migraines for the other) we did not make the wine-tasting rounds, but we did tour Robert Mondavi and had a good tasting there, and we visited several other vineyards known for their beauty.

Both valleys have their charms, every town has its advantages, and the back roads in each county are well worth driving. If you have strong nerves, try Oakville Grade-Trinity Road from Oakville to Glen Ellen. Then go to Jack London State Historical Park.

Yesterday required strong nerves as we drove from Napa to Bodega Bay to Point Reyes National Seashore, then on to the Marin Highlands on twisty CA-1 along the seacliffs. We finished up the touring at Muir Woods, then blasted off for Berkeley where we are right now! Plenty of back and forth with the steering wheel.

Warning to March visitors: we started sneezing as we walked down the jetway, and we haven't stopped. All the tree pollens and many flower pollens are in full force. Are we sorry? No way!

stron

TTess

Yes, you can most certainly do both. Doing both will allow you to see and explore different areas.

cabovacation

I don't think it is worth the effort to visit the Santa Cruz area just to see the wineries. Just my opinion. I know that sounds like a very negative response, and I really think everything is worth seeing overall.

But there is absolutely no comparison between Sonoma/Napa and Santa Cruz. SC has a much smaller number of wineries and the drive is way more difficult (you really cannot drink and drive). It is not a tourist area. The beauty is not about the wineries.

If you come back another time and are going to be going to Monterey anyway, then take a look at the SC area!

Yes it is possible.

No, it is really not worthy of your first precious few days in California. imho

kimamom

We enjoyed 3 days in the Sonoma area this past weekend, we based at the Sonoma Mission Inn and ventured up to Healdsburg, dont miss Gary Farrell in this area, try to have a meal at Cyrus, we also very much enjoyed dinner at the General's Daugther on Fri. night.

We also spent time in Napa and enjoyed Nicholson Ranch and Artesa in this area. RAvenswood, Nicholson Ranch, Ledson, Blackstone and Bartholomew Park were some of our favorites in the Sonoma area, we also loved Imagery! ***kim***

bdklein

cabovacation (and others),

As I stated, we will be visiting the Santa Cruz wineries for 1 day from SF. The reason for this trip is to visit David Bruce Winery. Can you suggest any other wineries, plces to visit, restaurants, specialty food stores in the area or along the way from SF? Not sure if we will be going down the coast and then cutting over, or just going more inland. Thanks in advance.

beth_fitz

I really prefer the Sonoma/Napa area as it a really set up for wine tasting. Santa Cruz wineries are further apart but also nice.

Austin

My vote is for Sonoma and the Russian River area. Didn't care for the hustle and bustle of the main parts of Napa. Our favorite place to stay in the RRV area is www.springhillcabin.com perfect for an anniversary.

montysc

Greetings from Santa Cruz - I can help a bit I think.

We love to visit our local wineries and since you mention wanting to go see David Bruce, can I assume you are into Pinot Noir? If so there are several wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains area to check out.
Most of the wineries are pretty spread out, but that means you don't need to worry about visiting so many! We also really enjoy the RRV and Sonoma Valley areas where there are hundreds of places to choose from, and visit there a few times a year.

For the Santa Cruz Mountains check out David Bruce (as you already mentioned), Savannah Chanelle on Hwy 9 just above of Saratoga (form D.B. wine maker), Thomas Fogarty which is on Skyline Blvd North of the 2 above, Storrs in downtown Santa Cruz, Burrell School Vineyards on Summit Road between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, and there is also Testarossa just above Los Gatos.
Further down the mountains are some great hidden gems like Alfaro, Soquel Vineyards, and Windy Oaks if you want to venture further south...

3.

youngcouple

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I think we will spend most of our time in Sonoma and then maybe do a day trip to the Santa Cruz mountains from SF. Does anyone have any other great suggestions for cabins/secluded places to stay in the Sonoma Valley area? I am not set on a particular town. Would it be better to stay near or in a town? I was thinking it would be romantic to be in a secluded cabin like that Spring Hill one that Austin suggested. Any help?

Kailani

Ridge Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains got a generation of Silicon Valley engineers interested in wine and drinking zinfandel.

http://www.ridgewine.com/

The drive between Santa Cruz and San Francisco is fairly nice both inland and coastal route, and there are great restaurants and activities along the way each way, in Palo Alto/Stanford, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, Pescadero, Half Moon Bay, and more.

TTess

Bonny Doon is a must, youngcouple. https://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/in...FRYoawod_E4MfA You can picnic on their grounds. http://www.bargetto.com/taste_soquel.shtml is another winery you should visit. What a nice trip. Happy anniversary!

cabovacation

OK! If you are coming this way anyway, you have already seen the good choices that you have. I have been to all (at least, almost all) of the wineries in the SC Mtns. It's not that I don't like them, or the area. So have fun! Let us know what you think, will you?


Thanks!

Austin

Young Couple: Our last visit to springhill Cabin (we've been twice) we took River Road to the West and took a day trip up the coast. It was amazing! We stopped in Elk and (ate at Queenies) a little shopping in Mendocino, then you can go back inland (101), and go thru several other vineyard areas like the Alexander Valley, Cloverdale, Healdsburg. It was one of the highlights of our trip. NO, it was THE highlight of our trip!

dariow

I would visit Napa and Sonoma for the wineries and the Santa Cruz Mounatins for the redwoods at Big Basin Park. There are some wineries on the top of Bear Creek Road with a spectacular view of the forest.

In Sonoma, I love Glen Elen Area, Alexander Valley, and Western Road.
Napa in my opinion is a bit touristy.

Both areas are lovely and I am sure you will enjoy both.