Sonoma Trip Report
 

Thought I would post our trip report for anyone trying to make Sonoma plans. We had a very nice time. We went with another couple. <BR><BR>We flew into Oakland and picked up our Hertz rental, this was the BEST part of our trip - the car came equipped with a navigation computer, we used it over and over navigating thru the wine country and to and from sonoma. (it takes some patience to figure out how it works.) <BR><BR>We stayed at the Renaissance Lodge Sonoma, we were very pleased. The rooms are super nice with a fire place, staff very friendly and helpful, and a steal on priceline at $90 a night. (Many get it at $85)<BR> <BR>First night, Dinner at Caf� La Haye, food was great, reservation essential, service was LOUSY. I think we just had a really bad server, the other seemed good, but ours was terrible, which put a damper on the overall experience there. <BR><BR>Next day Wine Touring On Our Own:<BR><BR>First we had breakfast at the Bear Diner (or something like that) - -AWESOME!! Cheap and HUGE portions...it was the best breakfast I have had in a long time. <BR><BR>1.Mantanzas: would have been nice if the lavender was in bloom, that would be worth the trip, their wine was o.k. but not our favorite, the woman helping us was pushy, they have nice bath products for sale. They comped our wine tasting because we were at the Renaissance? <BR><BR>2.Benziger: Tram Tour, $5 for 45 minutes. We enjoyed this tour, the guide was great and we had one private tasting. They have 3 levels of tasting in the winery itself. One is comp, one is $5, and ons is $10. We did the comp and the $10 - -they had some very good wines, the staff was so friendly. This was a good stop. <BR><BR>While in Glen Ellen we visited the Olive Press for olive oil tasting room. This was great! Yum! We left with our arms full. They were very nice too. <BR><BR>4.Chateau St. Jean: Our FAVORITE stop!! The grounds are so nice! They sell fresh bread, cheeses, etc. We called before leaving home and signed up for their Wine 101 class - $15 per person for 1 hour or so. Christine was great, made us feel very comfortable, and we really felt like we learned so much. But if you are more experienced you may want to try another class. You sample many wines in this class as well. After the class we went over to the estate/reserve room. Awesome!! They have wonderful cabernet among aothers, and the gentleman helping us was GREAT. This stop put us to our limit, so we called it a day!<BR><BR>That night we ate in Napa at the tapas restaurant, i forget the name...ZuZus I think? It was really good! I dont think they take reservations and they were really crowded. <BR><BR>Next day we drove through Napa to do the Cave Tour at Shramsberg. (free) This was pretty cool and informative, however, our group is not much into champagne. We split the tasting ($20) and it was very good. You sit in a private tasting room at tables and they explain it all to you. Most people love this. <BR><BR>From there we drove to Healdsburg and had lunch at The Bear Republic brewery. The beer was good, the food o.k. And the lady next to us got sick everywhere so it kind of killed our appetites. We made the famous stop for ice cream as well, very good!<BR><BR>Someone in our group wanted to stop at Kendal Jackson (Fulton) on the way back to Sonoma - I will make it short - dont waste your time. <BR><BR>Last stop, Ledson Winery, known for their Merlot. This was probably our next favorite. Beautiful building and grounds, full market, and I loved their wine, especially the merlot. Very friendly staff and she let us slide on our fee. <BR><BR>Dinner at Glen Ellen Inn - -the best! the food was wonderful. Service very nice. Atmosphere great. (on the enclosed patio) <BR><BR>Neext day we were off for 2 days in San Fran.<BR><BR>Hope this helps!<BR>Molly

Molly thanks for the trip report. Las Feb (02) we stayed at the Lodge also and enjoyed it very much. We waffled back and forth between Cafe la Haye and Della Santinis but made reservations at Della and had a great dinner with great service. <BR><BR>The rest of your report kind of sums up our trip. We went to Bear Republic for lunch. Crowded but fun, we sat at teh bar though. Stopped at Benzinger and Chateau St Jean whcih was fairly crowded so not too much info about the wines that were poured. Loved the grounds as well. It sounds like you had much better plans with the private tours and such. While we loved Benzinger we thought the staff was very stiff. Had a much better time at Ravenswood right in Sonoma.<BR><BR>Great Report!!!

Molly, is the Renaissance Lodge within walking distance of the plaza? I checked it out on the internet and it looks geat. We were considering the Inn at Sonoma (Four Sisters) - do you know anything about it and the location? Thanks.

Mrsmolly<BR>Thanks for the report. What was wrong with Kendall Jackson? We are going to wine country the end of this month and KJ was on our list.

I don't mean to bash Kendall Jackson, it was just my least favorite by far. There are two locations, we went to the Fulton one. The staff seemed to be very unknowledgeable, and our wine tasting guide drank more than we did! In comparison to the other wineries we visited there was a big difference in our experience. Also many of their wines are readily available. If you have limited time I think there are places that have more to offer. HTH!

The Lodge is quite close to the plaza but I dont think you can walk to it. We did not really walk anywhere as we used the car all the time, parking was readily available, but we were not there at a busy time. While I have heard of the Inn at Sonoma, I dont recall seing it while I was there. Perhaps someone else knows more about it. <BR><BR>We missed Ravenswood! I heard great things about it. We ran out of time. <BR><BR>If you are going during a busy time I highly reccommend checking out the websites of the wineries you want to visit and schedule any of their classes or tours ahead of time so you get more personal attention. In our class at Chateau St. Jean, it was a private class, just us and the wine guide.

&lt;We stayed at the Renaissance Lodge Sonoma, we were very pleased. The rooms are super nice with a fire place, staff very friendly and helpful, and a steal on priceline at $90 a night. (Many get it at $85) &gt;

mrsmolly - did you have a regular room or a cottage room? ;;)

Molly,
Where is &quot;the famous stop for ice cream?&quot; You have me wondering...

Sounds like a fun trip! Just one note to throw in on a must visit winery. We stumbled on this one accidently (we were meaning to stop at Imagery Winery but missed the turn, lucky for us) - Arrowood Winery in Glen Ellen. We stayed for a tasting since we drove up there and wow were we pleased. Every wine we tasted we liked. Come to find out they are named a 5 star winery by Wine Spectator along with the likes of Opus One, Caymus, and others. The tasting room was wonderful and they had a lovely wrap around porch to sit and enjoy your wine that looks over the vineyards. Until next time...

Mrs. Molly,

How did you get the Renaissance Lodge for $90??? Are there some certain parameters to &quot;guarantee&quot; it as your hotel? Thanks in advance for any tips!