When you see cheap tickets to San Francisco in October, just say yes. After spending a few days in San Francisco, we made the 1.5 hour drive to our cute AirBnB in Sonoma. We bought the Sonoma Wine Passport , which offers special deals at a ton of different wineries. Since it was harvest season, you could sneakily eat grapes straight from the vines. I can’t remember how many wineries we visited (See: picture of people teeth), but I remember the best.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery
Coppola is my favorite California wine, so we had to visit. It’s basically why we picked Sonoma over Napa. The estate was beautiful. We could’ve lounged there all day. Movie buffs might enjoy this too because of the memorabilia from the director’s collection including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.
Ty Caton Vineyards
While just a tasting room along Hwy 12, Ty Caton Vineyards should not be skipped by red wine drinkers. By using only estate grown grapes, Ty Caton controls the entire wine making process with a focus sustainability. We loved their wine and were totally disappointed when they told us it’s hard to find outside of Sonoma.
Alexander Valley Vineyards
Known for its Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley Vineyards is a family-owned vineyard built in 1975. Barrel fermentation and aging occur in the 25,000 square foot cave in the hillside next to the tasting room. The best part of this stop is the tour. They let you taste wine straight from the barrel. You could really taste the difference between an American oak and French oak barrels.
Imagery Estate Winery
Claiming to be the cure to “Savignon blah”, Imagery Estates Winery isn’t your traditional wine country tour stop. The winery prides itself on experimenting with new varietals and highlighting the lesser known wine regions. Visitors can try Cinsault, Lagrein or Tannat wines. I enjoyed it for the friendly bartenders and unique feel.
Let’s go to more Vine Yards. Never living that one down. Or that water bottle full of wine.
Check out the other wine regions we’ve visited here. We really like wine.
What wine regions have you visited? Leave a comment with your favorites.