Sonoma-More Than Wine-A Brief Trip Report
Jun 3rd, 2008 | 04:25 AM
#1
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
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Sonoma-More Than Wine-A Brief Trip Report
The trip was centered around the wedding of my partner's grand niece which took place on 31 May.
Flew from Washington-Dulles non-stop to Oakland on JetBlue. We arrived at IAD about 5:00 AM and used curbside check-in (free!) for the bags; boarding passes were printed out at home.
Through Security in less than five minutes and had plenty of time to grab breakfast stuff at the "Five Guys" located in the mid-field terminal.
JetBlue: an absolutely great flying experience. The plane loaded and left on time. We had paid the additional for the 'extra legroom' seats up front and well worth the money. The cabin crew members were wonderful, friendly, and helpful.
Great in-flight entertainment including XM Radio; individual seatback monitors. Lots of free snacks including REAL cashews...wow..could this be the "future" of flying????
Flight arrived on time and getting out of the Oakland airport was easy, too. Rental car from Hertz and on the way to Sonoma within an hour of arrival.
We had made reservations at the Inn at Sonoma and when we arrived about noon the room was not yet ready (big suprise) so we left the car and walked the two blocks to the "town square" area for a look around and some lunch.
Ate in the rear patio area at the Sunflower Cafe. Great cream of potato soup and chicken salad sandwiches and very FAST service. Weather was perfect in the 70's and cloudless skies.
Browsed the many shops and also stopped into the Sonoma Cheese Factory for some great gelato.
The Inn folks called on my cell that the room was ready and we walked back to check in.
We had a king bed room with balcony on the second floor which was perfect. Room and furnishings in good repair with excellent housekeeping.
Had a nap and then out for a pre-arranged wine tasting with some family members in for the wedding.
More later...
Flew from Washington-Dulles non-stop to Oakland on JetBlue. We arrived at IAD about 5:00 AM and used curbside check-in (free!) for the bags; boarding passes were printed out at home.
Through Security in less than five minutes and had plenty of time to grab breakfast stuff at the "Five Guys" located in the mid-field terminal.
JetBlue: an absolutely great flying experience. The plane loaded and left on time. We had paid the additional for the 'extra legroom' seats up front and well worth the money. The cabin crew members were wonderful, friendly, and helpful.
Great in-flight entertainment including XM Radio; individual seatback monitors. Lots of free snacks including REAL cashews...wow..could this be the "future" of flying????
Flight arrived on time and getting out of the Oakland airport was easy, too. Rental car from Hertz and on the way to Sonoma within an hour of arrival.
We had made reservations at the Inn at Sonoma and when we arrived about noon the room was not yet ready (big suprise) so we left the car and walked the two blocks to the "town square" area for a look around and some lunch.
Ate in the rear patio area at the Sunflower Cafe. Great cream of potato soup and chicken salad sandwiches and very FAST service. Weather was perfect in the 70's and cloudless skies.
Browsed the many shops and also stopped into the Sonoma Cheese Factory for some great gelato.
The Inn folks called on my cell that the room was ready and we walked back to check in.
We had a king bed room with balcony on the second floor which was perfect. Room and furnishings in good repair with excellent housekeeping.
Had a nap and then out for a pre-arranged wine tasting with some family members in for the wedding.
More later...
Jun 3rd, 2008 | 05:34 AM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
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Thanks...I am at work and left my notes such as they are at home so will continue this later on.
We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Inn at Sonoma and appreciated the location. Weather was great throughout and we did a lot of driving around with the convertible top down..always nice.
Lots of flowers in bloom, too.
We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Inn at Sonoma and appreciated the location. Weather was great throughout and we did a lot of driving around with the convertible top down..always nice.
Lots of flowers in bloom, too.
Jun 3rd, 2008 | 03:24 PM
#7
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 17,549
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OK...after returning to the now-ready room and after a nap and a shower we headed off to the Chateau St. jean windery for a private tasting session with some members of the wedding party and the brid and groom.
I hasten to add that we are not in any way, shape, or form "wine snobs" in this household and we have never been to a "tasting" in our lives (and those lives have been rather long by many standards).
I also must tell you that it was not until today that i learned it is illegalto attach a GPS to the windshiled in California but I did it anyway and managed to avoid crashing into all those California drives who were using their cell phones to call 911 and report emergencies while driving...remarkable.
Chateau St. Jean is one of those places that looks like it was in a movie..the long drive up..the vines on both sides, the dramatic hills backdrop...Jane Wyman sweeping out to greet you, etc., etc.
The tasting was interesting and it was explained by the woman sitting next to me that the tastemeister pours the wine into that aerator gadget "in order to remove the bitterness..."
Bitterness??? At THESE prices? Yeah, right. And this woman assured me she "does not drink wine" whatever that meant.
Anyway, we tried about a dozen different ones and then repaired to the gift shop/deli to but crackers, pate, local cheeses, etc. for a little picnic on the grounds. I decided orange Crush was more my speed but the cheese was great as was the setting.
Meanwhile, the opposing family forces are eyeballing the bride and groom and mentally deciding if someone made a mistake or not. Our decision was that the groom is a really great guy and a hunk to boot, and believe me, in this household we KNOW about hunks so'nuf said on that one.
Friday morning...up before the breakfast hour (which started at 8:00 but we wer on the road about 6:30) and headed over to the beach. Drove over to Bodega Bay and from there ventured up the coast to Jenner and on to Fort Ross. Stopped off at Portuguese Beach for some pictures and to admire the view..fantastic.
At Fort Ross we toured the fort itself including the Greek orthodox chapel which i had seen pictures of literally decades ago in a National geographic and had never forgotten. It was interesting to finally set foot inside in person.
Then as far as Stuarts Point where we decided to take a "short cut" over to Geyserville. I knew it was going to be interesting when we passed the sign saying, "No services for the next 47 miles" and this WAS a roadto remember...through what i am sure were redwoods and those wonder eucalyptus trees...the canopy was so dense at times the gps lost the satellite signal. Windy, twisty, one-lane for a lot of the way..no guard rails, hairpin curves...it was GREAT..and just, well...California...those of you who have done this sort of thing know exactly what I mean.
Stooped off briefly in Healdsburg for gas and a bite to eat at a place called Alde's...great hamburger and onion rings and then back to Sonoma.
Shopped for gifts at the Sign of the Bear..kind of a Williams-Sonoma without any chi chi pretense and then back to the Sonoma Cheese Factory for our own FUDGE tasting along with more of their great gelato (it's all the way in the back and turn right.
Saturday...breakfast at the inn and some of the best coffee ever (Taylor Maid). Then off to Port Reyes..stopped off in port reyes Station for some more coffee and a browse around..lots of bicyclists
and motorcyclists out and about enjoying the great scenery.
Port reyes National Seeashore..if there is an "answer" to the moors of Yorkshire this has to be it...wonderfully forbidding with low vegetation some in spectacular bloom as well as a wealth of dairy cows and very few trees except around those periodic "historic" ranches which occupy this territory.
The view from the lighthouse is pretty spectacular, too. All of this came dressed in the usual mist low clouds dampness you expect from these places.
On the way back, stopped off at the Walnut Drive-In in Petaluma for a bite to eat after cruising around the town and taking in some of the wonderfully restored victorian houses.
The wedding itself went off without a hitch outside the St. Francis winery against a spectacular backdrop of hills, vines, and blooming lavender. It was impressive and at the end of the evening we saw the bride and groom off on the start of a honeymoon on the island of Palau (scuba divers).
Sunday was spent driving back to oakland and a dinner with friends in San Francisco at an off-Castro place called Sumi..it was windy and chilly in the city and as dramatic as ever.
Home on Monday and agin with great service on JetBlue.
Overall impressions: the Sonoma countryside is dramatic especially if youenjoy that sort of topography (which ivery much do).
The usual California state of mind laid back atmosphere pretty much wherever we went and the usual very friendly folks, too.
If you're "into" wine then this and the Napa valley next door are the place to be..you could spend MONTHS going from one windery to another.
Sonoma itself I found to be kind of charming with interesting stores and art galleries and a wide variety of places to eat. I can see why people like it as much as they do.
And of course, being a "beach" person there isn't anything like the coast of the Pacific..always great to see and contemplate.
Cheers, folks!
I hasten to add that we are not in any way, shape, or form "wine snobs" in this household and we have never been to a "tasting" in our lives (and those lives have been rather long by many standards).
I also must tell you that it was not until today that i learned it is illegalto attach a GPS to the windshiled in California but I did it anyway and managed to avoid crashing into all those California drives who were using their cell phones to call 911 and report emergencies while driving...remarkable.
Chateau St. Jean is one of those places that looks like it was in a movie..the long drive up..the vines on both sides, the dramatic hills backdrop...Jane Wyman sweeping out to greet you, etc., etc.
The tasting was interesting and it was explained by the woman sitting next to me that the tastemeister pours the wine into that aerator gadget "in order to remove the bitterness..."
Bitterness??? At THESE prices? Yeah, right. And this woman assured me she "does not drink wine" whatever that meant.
Anyway, we tried about a dozen different ones and then repaired to the gift shop/deli to but crackers, pate, local cheeses, etc. for a little picnic on the grounds. I decided orange Crush was more my speed but the cheese was great as was the setting.
Meanwhile, the opposing family forces are eyeballing the bride and groom and mentally deciding if someone made a mistake or not. Our decision was that the groom is a really great guy and a hunk to boot, and believe me, in this household we KNOW about hunks so'nuf said on that one.
Friday morning...up before the breakfast hour (which started at 8:00 but we wer on the road about 6:30) and headed over to the beach. Drove over to Bodega Bay and from there ventured up the coast to Jenner and on to Fort Ross. Stopped off at Portuguese Beach for some pictures and to admire the view..fantastic.
At Fort Ross we toured the fort itself including the Greek orthodox chapel which i had seen pictures of literally decades ago in a National geographic and had never forgotten. It was interesting to finally set foot inside in person.
Then as far as Stuarts Point where we decided to take a "short cut" over to Geyserville. I knew it was going to be interesting when we passed the sign saying, "No services for the next 47 miles" and this WAS a roadto remember...through what i am sure were redwoods and those wonder eucalyptus trees...the canopy was so dense at times the gps lost the satellite signal. Windy, twisty, one-lane for a lot of the way..no guard rails, hairpin curves...it was GREAT..and just, well...California...those of you who have done this sort of thing know exactly what I mean.
Stooped off briefly in Healdsburg for gas and a bite to eat at a place called Alde's...great hamburger and onion rings and then back to Sonoma.
Shopped for gifts at the Sign of the Bear..kind of a Williams-Sonoma without any chi chi pretense and then back to the Sonoma Cheese Factory for our own FUDGE tasting along with more of their great gelato (it's all the way in the back and turn right.
Saturday...breakfast at the inn and some of the best coffee ever (Taylor Maid). Then off to Port Reyes..stopped off in port reyes Station for some more coffee and a browse around..lots of bicyclists
and motorcyclists out and about enjoying the great scenery.
Port reyes National Seeashore..if there is an "answer" to the moors of Yorkshire this has to be it...wonderfully forbidding with low vegetation some in spectacular bloom as well as a wealth of dairy cows and very few trees except around those periodic "historic" ranches which occupy this territory.
The view from the lighthouse is pretty spectacular, too. All of this came dressed in the usual mist low clouds dampness you expect from these places.
On the way back, stopped off at the Walnut Drive-In in Petaluma for a bite to eat after cruising around the town and taking in some of the wonderfully restored victorian houses.
The wedding itself went off without a hitch outside the St. Francis winery against a spectacular backdrop of hills, vines, and blooming lavender. It was impressive and at the end of the evening we saw the bride and groom off on the start of a honeymoon on the island of Palau (scuba divers).
Sunday was spent driving back to oakland and a dinner with friends in San Francisco at an off-Castro place called Sumi..it was windy and chilly in the city and as dramatic as ever.
Home on Monday and agin with great service on JetBlue.
Overall impressions: the Sonoma countryside is dramatic especially if youenjoy that sort of topography (which ivery much do).
The usual California state of mind laid back atmosphere pretty much wherever we went and the usual very friendly folks, too.
If you're "into" wine then this and the Napa valley next door are the place to be..you could spend MONTHS going from one windery to another.
Sonoma itself I found to be kind of charming with interesting stores and art galleries and a wide variety of places to eat. I can see why people like it as much as they do.
And of course, being a "beach" person there isn't anything like the coast of the Pacific..always great to see and contemplate.
Cheers, folks!
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Jun 3rd, 2008 | 03:40 PM
#8
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 19,419
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"Windy, twisty, one-lane for a lot of the way..no guard rails, hairpin curves...it was GREAT..and just, well...California" - yep, this is the road to Fort Ross... and I was there as a back seat driver with my maniac-at-the-wheel son 
You had great time, and I love your report! Where to next?
You had great time, and I love your report! Where to next?
Jun 4th, 2008 | 02:51 PM
#12
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 895
Likes: 0
Ah, that wonderful road out of Mendocino,and down the coastlkine to Sonoma- the Hoosier was so wishing he had his old Porshe!
You have brought back memories of a wonderful vacation. Even Petaluma, where we happened upon a historical tour, of some of the old Victorian houses, and just outside had some of the most delicious strawberries from a roadside stand I've ever eaten.
Time to return!
You have brought back memories of a wonderful vacation. Even Petaluma, where we happened upon a historical tour, of some of the old Victorian houses, and just outside had some of the most delicious strawberries from a roadside stand I've ever eaten.
Time to return!
Jun 4th, 2008 | 04:33 PM
#13
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,713
Likes: 0
Thanks Dukey. That is one of my favorite parts of the world. Last July were were there and drove from Bodega bay allll the way up to Ft. Bragg then over and down to healdsburg. I see where you turned at Stewarts' Point - brave souls. Looks like my kind of road.
