Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Sonoma Valley in May for one week. We would like to spend two days touring wineries, one day seeing the redwoods, one day of relaxing and shopping, and one day seeing misc. things like gardens. I need some expert advice as neither of us have been.

1. How close is Sonoma Valley to Redwood Natl. Park?

2. We want to do two days of wine tours. One day of more well known wineries and another of smaller, off-the-beaten track ones. Any suggestions of routes/tours?

3. We are interested in gardens, especially Japanese. Are there any authentic/noteworthy ones in the area?

4. We (I especially) would love to get a great massage at a spa. Suggestions of not-too-expensive (maybe the $75-100/hr. range) would be great.

5. Finally--lodging. We would pay around $100-150 a night for B&Bs/Inns. Is it possible to be based in one place/city the entire week with the activities I mentioned? If so, where, and any B&B suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

We stay with relatives when we visit, so I can't help you with the lodging questions. But I do want to recommend J Vineyards of Sonoma. They are a smaller winery with "sparkling wines"--lovely grounds and very tasty selection of wines. They offer food and wine pairing sessions--different packages for different prices. They have a website with more info, but I don't have the address handy.

This is one of our favorite vineyards--

Have a wonderful trip!

The Redwoods national Park is much too far for a day trip. Rather, plan on Muir Woods, Mt. Tam and Muir Beach or Point Reyes for a day. Take a picnic along and relax.

Thanks swimmer and Michael. I figured that out about Redwood Natl. Park--for some reason I thought that was the only place to see them. I will look into your suggestions, Michael.

I have also come across some other ideas that I would love your advice on:

B&Bs/Inns: The Village Inn; Ferngrove; Creekside Inn; Rio Inn (all in Russian River Valley) Do you know and/or recommend any of those or others?

Wineries: Chateau Souverain (the restaurant looks great)and Kendall-Jackson (the gardens look interesting)
Other suggestions please--we love rieslings and dessert wines!

Osmosis Spa
Horseback riding in Armstrong Woods

Please give feedback and give any more suggestions.

Thanks!!

YES on Chateau Souverain and Osmosis. Do the enzyme bath -- it's so bizarre. Make sure to eat lunch at CS and take in the beautiful surroundings. Since you'll be up near the Dry Creek area, try Preston

http://www.prestonvineyards.com/

and Bella

http://www.bellawinery.com/all_beginning.asp

I second the advise for J, as well. They make a bomb Pinot Noir.

Unfortunatley, the wines up here aren't as sweet as your taste reflects (Rieslings and dessert wines). You'll meet some delicious, vanilla-y chards, though!

I love the way people reply so quickly on this website Any suggestions for cheap/fast lunches in the area? Places to get picnic-type food? Baked goods? Hmmm....do I have a sweet tooth or what?

Picnic fixin's at Dry Creek General Store on the corner of Dry Creek and Lambert Bridge Roads. They make yummy sandwiches. We took ours to Preston and ate them in the picnic area. Watch out for hungry kitties.

The town of Sonoma has a very nice square, around which you will find stores (bakeries, grocery stores) where you can pick up items for a picnic.

The only Japanese garden I know in the area is in San Francisco's Golden Gate park. Across from it is the Arboretum. Not far - Conservatory of flowers. Do you plan to visit SF?

Re: Armstrong Redwoods---Yes! It is a lovely hike (not too difficult, gentle climb) through redwoods and up to the sandy landscape above the ocean. I didn't know you could horseback ride there, but that sounds good too. If the trail for the horses doesn't take you to the top, though, you might also want to do the hike.

Another vote for the Chateau Souverain, the restaurant is called The Alexandar Valley Grille, very nice.

We had the prix fixe lunch which was very good and you will receive a wine cork to present to the pourer at the tasting room for a complimentary tasting. They have some very nice whites there! Enjoy the area!

Oh, the lunch consists of a very nice salad, I had the halibut sandwich and for dessert, a trio of mini sorbets, mango, raspberry and chocolate presented very nicely and very colorful. ***kim***

We have only visited one winery in Sonoma Valley, and it is Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa. I would highly recommend it for the lavender gardens. Check to see if they will be in bloom when you are there. (We were there the first week of June and the plants were blooming). What a wonderful smell! We also enjoyed the wines, especially the Sauvignon Blanc.
www.matanzascreek.com
Have a great time!

Thank you, everyone!

There is so much to do in the whole area and it's overwhelming. Glad to hear good impressions of Chateau S.
Tim_and_Liz--Matanzas Creek sounds perfect and we are currently planning for a visit the first week of June. Hiking in Armstrong also sounds like something we'll do.

Now--any suggestions on places to stay? There are so many B&Bs that all look the same to me--any places where you had exceptional experiences would be helpful. We are hoping to spend around $150 a night.

Thanks again!