wineries and other activities

Going to sonoma/napa the first wk of October, and staying at the Sheraton in Petaluma. My husband and I are looking for good places in eat, wineries to tour and possibly pick grapes! I%26#39;ve heard of hot air balloon rides and bike tours. We%26#39;ll be renting a car and staying 4 days. Any suggestions?

wineries and other activities

From Petaluma, definitely visit Sonoma and its town square.

There is an excellent winery with a view on the drive there....

Viansa - Winery and Italian Marketplace http://www.viansa.com/

The town square of Sonoma - historic (where California Bear Flag Republic started), shops, olive oil and wine tasting, and a good restaurant Girl and the Fig)

http://www.thegirlandthefig.com/

www.bestinsonoma.com/cheese_history.htm

Then continue and enjoy Benzinger - they start up a tractor and take you out to the fields....

http://www.benziger.com/

and also Jack London State Park is close by

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=478

and then continue to Kenwood area for more wineries..

http://www.sonomavalley.com/html/wineries.php

On the way back to Petaluma drive down Highway 101 and possibly stop in Santa Rosa Railroad Square for dinner.

http://www.railroadsquare.net/

***************************************************

For the bike tour, recommend Healdsburg Westside Road.

http://winecountrybikes.com/Day%20Tours.htm

The road here is delightful to ride....and they are mostly smaller wineries so great to ride your bike to....

***************************************************

For the balloon ride, suggest Napa

http://www.balloonrides.com/

And then tour some of the larger wineries such as Niebaum-Coppola, Beringer, Sterling, V. Sattui, Domaine Chandon, Mondavi for a tour...

possibly having a picnic Lunch (V. Sattui) and then enjoy one of the excellent Napa Restaurants (anything from French Laundry to Celadon in Napa and 20-25 of being of worldclass quality....Good to decide what you like to eat and then ask for recommendations on the site. Napa is the place to pay the big bucks for a great meal.)

In Napa, I would also check out if any events are going on....

a good source to do that is:

napavalley.com/special_interest/…jul.html

I would recommend if there is an event at COPIA to enjoy that and perhaps lunch at Julia%26#39;s Kitchen.

If you want to taste wine out of the barrel (and both these places serve good quality wine) suggest Del Dotto

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/ or Pine Ridge Winery

http://www.pineridgewinery.com/. They are sort of expensive $40/$35 dollars however Pine Ridge for example spends a full hour with you explaining the wine industry, growing, tasting processes and how wine matures from barrell to bottle.

They also serve excellent wines (both barrell and bottle.)

***************************************************

Also enjoy some of the other excellent sites in the area:

Healdsburg Area - Armstrong Redwoods State Park

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450

Wonderful Sonoma Beaches

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451

and Bodega Bay (made famous for Alfred Hitchcock%26#39;s the Birds)

http://www.bodegabay.com/index.shtml

for an excellent family style Italian dinner, try Union Hotel in

Occidental. http://www.unionhotel.com/

***************************************************

In Napa area, COPIA and Napa Valley Museum are nice.

http://www.napavalleymuseum.org/

and if you want to see animals, both Marineworld and

the local and fun attraction Safari West http://www.safariwest.com/ is a real hoot.

There are also shopping areas in all these places, with the best discount shopping mall area being close to Napa Vacaville

www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp…

**************************************************

Locally to Petaluma, Muir Woods is also nice.

Other fun factory tours close by is Budweiser Beer Tour (serves boutique beers as well as the more traditional) and also the Jelly Bean Factory.

http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/calif.htm

…about.com/cs/sanfrancisco/a/jellybelly.htm

*************************************************

If you%26#39;re outdoors, also consider kayaking or canoing in the Russian River area.....http://www.russianriver.com/.

And of course if you are into Mud Baths, Calisoga is great for that napavalley.com/regions/calistoga/spas.html

followed by lunch or dinner at Brennan%26#39;s Gril in Calistoga....

*************************************************

Check for wine tasting coupons and suggestions from others.

The area is delightful....so much to do, you%26#39;ll have a fabulous time.

wineries and other activities

Thanks for the info! Do you recommend any champagne wineries or interactive places? Napa seems far from petaluma, what is the best route to and from?

For sparkling wine, definitely visit Gloria Ferrer (www.gloriaferrer.com) which is located off Hwy #121 in the Carneros Valley, so. of the town of Sonoma--and it%26#39;s closer to Petaluma than Napa is. They also make some very nice Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Anyone know of any red zinfandel wineries that are good? My husband%26#39;s favorite!

If by chance you%26#39;ll be venturing out to the Dry Creek Valley which is pretty much SE of Healdsburg, some of the outstanding Zins are grown there. My favorites: Philip Staley, Teldeschi and Roshambo. Roshambo%26#39;s 2001 Taylor Vineyards Zin is the BEST I ever tasted! Also a visit to very picturesque Lake Sonoma Winery will reward you with a taste of their ';old vine'; Zins which are excellent.

Hi there! If you%26#39;re a zin fan, check out the wine at Ledson. It%26#39;s a gorgeous castle, very friendly people and their wine is pretty exclusive to their winery and restaurant, The Harmony Club, located in the plaza. We had a glass of their zin with dinner and just had to purchase some at the winery. I think you will enjoy them. There is also a nice boutique shope there where you can purchase picnic items. Enjoy the wine country! :)

My favorite for Zins is Ravenswood. It%26#39;s in Sonoma. The staff is great and they are very helpful in answering questions. They had several zins to taste and they grow grapes in other areas of CA so they have zins from grapes grown in Amador county as well as sonoma.

mini, thanks for the detailed post. I%26#39;ve printed it to keep. Just starting to plan a wine country trip.