Help With Winery Choice for Day Trip Sonoma Area
 

We will be leaving SF on Saturday morning and spending the night in Mendocino. Would like to visit a winery along the way. We are not big wine drinkers but are interested in taking a tour of the vineyards and learning about the wine making process. Would prefer an older chateau type place with some history. Have also read about the DryCreek Store and would like to include a stop there. If time allows would also like to visit other wineries. Any ideas and/or routes so we are not back tracking.

Ravenswood was our favorite. They have beautiful wines they don't sell in stores.

Don't go to Valley of the Moon for a tour. They advertise them, but don't really like to give them. We got a huffy private tour from somebody who knew almost nothing. Rather than tell us that they were short-handed in the tasting room, they took us on a tour and complained about it. If they would have told us that they didn't have enough people to work, we wouldn't have asked to go!

The Gloria-Ferrer champagne cave tour was very interesting.
We bought a bottle to give our sister on her wedding.
We drank a bottle too.

You might like seeing the Buena Vista Winery, established in 1857. Oldest winery in California with a lot of history.

Gundlach Bundschu is a nice place to spend some time. The wines are nice and the grounds are gorgeous, with picnic areas and a small lake there. Sebastiani is near there , also. Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))