Curator’s statement
Visits to wine regions make for classic girls' trips! My friends and I met for a long California weekend in Sonoma and Napa and enjoyed the perfect mix of togetherness through wine tastings, incredible meals and breathtaking scenery. Here’s our itinerary for a bit of inspiration. Note: We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and enjoyed drinks and snacks by the fire pits at our hotel. Then we were refreshed and ready the next day to kick off our wine-soaked weekend!
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Day 1: Thursday
B. Wise Tasting Lounge
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a bit of pool time (or spa) at the hotel. We stayed at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, which is a lovely blend of historic and posh.
Pre-book your wine tastings at:
B.Wise Vineyard’s Tasting Lounge in Kenwood
Three Fat Guys Winery: My favorite winery in Sonoma! They bring the fun and great wine.
Have dinner at The Girl & the Fig on Sonoma Plaza.
Day 2: Friday
Scribe Winery in Sonoma
Eat breakfast at the hotel.
Today’s wine tastings, all in Sonoma:
Gundlach Bundschu
Scribe Winery: Tastings are for wine club (SVS) members only; book either the Hacienda Tasting or the Knoll Picnic (I’ve done both!), which comes with delicious garden snacks.
Domaine Carneros: Yes, this is a big-production, tourist-heavy, Disneyland-type winery … but bubbles! at a Chateau! overlooking wine country! Worth it.
Have dinner at La Salette in Sonoma.
Day 3: Saturday
Schramsberg Vineyards in Calistoga
Another breakfast at the hotel — start early; it’s going to be a marathon day.
Meet your driver from Wine Tour Drivers for a day trip to Napa Valley. Today’s wine tastings:
Schramsberg Vineyards in Calistoga: more bubbles! Founded in 1862, it’s one of the oldest vineyards in California
Elizabeth Spencer Winery in Rutherford
Have lunch at Mustard’s Grill, a Napa institution!
Afternoon wine tasting at Peju Winery in Rutherford
After your driver returns you to Sonoma, have dinner at El Dorado Kitchen on the square.
Day 4: Sunday
The iconic Golden Gate Bridge view from Battery Spencer
After departing your hotel, have a delicious brunch at Verano Cafe in Sonoma.
On the way back to the airport (if flying out of SFO):
Stop in Sausalito to shop, eat or admire the scenic view of San Francisco Bay
See the sequoia and redwood trees at Muir Woods
Drive to the Golden Gate Viewpoint at Battery Spencer and/or hike the Marin Headlands
Return to the airport for your flight home.
Need to know
My advice: Always pre-book your wine tastings and restaurant reservations (or let me help!). While some of the wineries or tasting rooms in Sonoma and Napa are casual and open for walk-ins, the most popular destinations will book up — even weeks in advance.
Also, buy a wine suitcase! If you buy wine onsite, you can have the winery or hotel concierge mail it for you (which we did for almost more than the wine cost us). Now, you might be buying multiple cases — and I offer much respect. For lesser purchases though, it would have been more convenient to use a wine suitcase, which is retrofitted with foam inserts to hold up to 10 bottles, and check it at the airport.
How to get there
All of us were traveling from the East Coast in the US, so it was most convenient to fly into San Francisco (SFO) airport. However, you can also arrive via Sacramento (SMF), Oakland (OAK) or even Sonoma County (STS). From SFO, you should rent a car and drive about an hour north of the city (over the Golden Gate Bridge if you can!) to reach Sonoma. I’m partial to staying in Sonoma, which is a bit quieter and more affordable than its sister valley, Napa. However, it’s easy to visit both in the same trip.
How to get around
We rented a car, which worked for us when taking wine tours and dinners near our hotel in Sonoma. You could also use Uber or Lyft. For a longer day out across the mountain in Napa Valley, we hired a driver (who used our rental car!) from Wine Tour Drivers. They also do custom, guided tours, but I just provided them with our own schedule.
Travel Advisor
Whitney Kendall
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For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Sonoma page.