Wine Country in Winter
 

Good Evening Everyone -

I am considering a California trip in December - say the 26th-31st.

I love SF and would start off with maybe two days there shopping. Then I was looking in to Sonoma (where I have not been). I love spas, gardens (Italian style so they don't have to be blooming) good food and, did I mention, shopping? Obviously good deals abound for Napa in December since it's low season. My wonder is will stores and wineries be open? Will the landscape be attractive? Will this southern girl freeze her tail off?

Any words of advice would be appreciated!

Many winerys will be closed, but many will also be open. Most stores will be open. The best Sonoma County gardens, I think, are at Ferarri-Carano and they are usually closed that week. Domain Chandon at Yountville in the Napa Valley has nice grounds, even in the winter. Calistoga has some nice spas as doesn Sonoma.
I think the vines, minus the leaves are beautful in the winter. It could be wet and foggy, but it can also be very pleasant, you takes your chances with the weather.
Tons of good restaurants in Sonoma, Napa, Healdsburg, Yountville, Kenwood, etc. My pick in Sonoma is the General's Daughter. In Healdsburg it's a place called "Zin", but there are others that some folks just love. Also, The Farmhouse near Forestville is great as both a restaurant and as an inn.

Sonoma and Napa are two different valleys. Are you planning on visiting both?

The General's Daughter has new owners and now is called Estate. The Sonoma Mission Inn is a very nice spa resort in Sonoma where we have enjoyed 4 stays now, the most recent was this past March for 2 nights. In Calistoga, we love the Indian Springs Resort, they have a huge Olympic sized pool there for resort guests that is open until midnight. Have fun! ***kim*** ((f))

I gotta tell you that I went a few winters ago to Napa during your same timeframe (b/w Christmas and New Years), and it was wet, foggy, and darn cold. Couldn't even see the vines because of the fog. That said, we still had a great time. It was nice to be in the warm, cozy tasting rooms while it was freezing outside.

We actually went back this past May and stayed in Sonoma which we really enjoyed. Dinner at El Dorado Kitchen was delicious!

Thanks for the replies!

And sorry to be confusing - I was looking at the Sonoma Mission Inn (which someone mentioned) or the Kenwood Inn. Both of which are in Sonoma, however, I doubt the weather is much different between the two.

I've only been to San Francisco in the winter and loved it. I know I like cities in winter. Heck I love vacation so how bad could any of it be? I think my dollars are just much fewer I'm spending too much time obsessing about making THE BEST of them.

Yes, December is mostly low season in Napa and Sonoma but Christmas week is quite busy. There's lots of tourists then. The wineries will be open except on Christmas Day and most close early on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Here's a tip if you run into valley fog in the winter. Just head up in elevation to the hillside wineries and you will most likely find plenty of sunshine. The higher you go, the warmer it will get. It's a great time to climb Mt. St. Helena. It's also a great time to go out to the coast where it will be clear.

If it rains, there's not much you can do except seek out a warm tasting room or restaurant - preferably with a fireplace. You've got about a 50% chance of finding nice weather. Usually we don't get the big storms until later but a couple of years ago we had one of our all too frequent 100 year floods on New Year's Eve.

But, looking on the bright side, if it rains the temperatures will be in the 40's and 50's - still a lot warmer than most parts of the country at that time of year.