We LOVE going out to breakfast, so we started the day in downtown Sonoma at the Sunflower Caffe. This place was adorable - it was slightly cool that morning so we had the entire, very lime green back patio to ourselves. We both got toasts (his savory, mine sweet) that were delicious.
After that we headed off to our first vineyard of the day, Domaine Carneros. Ant's cousins Sabrina and Keith had suggested this one to us. They had enjoyed it on their visit to Napa, and we liked that they specialized in sparking wines, so it was a little different than the other vineyards we planned to visit! This was the only vineyard we crossed into Napa for - it was located right on the main road connecting Sonoma and Napa. We were a little early, so we wasted a few minutes driving down the back roads exploring the vineyards!
Domaine Carneros Chateau is absolutely stunning. All of their tastings are done as table service (prices starting @ $30), so Ant and I got a table along the balcony and enjoyed the views while tasting a flight of their sparkling wine. As we were chatting with our waiter, we mentioned that we typically enjoy reds, and he started telling us that Domaine Carneros specializes in sparkling wines and Pinot Noirs, which we hadn't realized! He had us try a few of their Pinots, which we also loved.
Their wine club was the most user friendly we had seen - so we signed up for their two bottle club. They ship 6 times a year, so every other month we get two bottles sent! You can choose each time before they ship whether you want red or sparkling, which works out great. All winter we've been getting Pinot Noirs, and when our June order ships I'll switch it to sparkling for the summer! It's the best of both worlds. They also don't have a cancellation fee, as long as you get at least three shipments. We're way past that, and don't intend to cancel anytime soon. The bottles are slightly more expensive then what we buy on a regular trip to the package store, but I love taking the guesswork out of it! I know the wine we're going to get is going to be good, and it's a nice reminder of our trip every 8 weeks :)
Once we signed up for the club our waiter brought us a few more of their premium sparkling wines to try, and so we sat for awhile longer enjoying the weather and the view. We spent way more time at Domaine Carneros than we had originally intended, but we didn't have any real plans until our 1pm Hanzell tour, so we just enjoyed relaxing there!
Driving up to Hanzell was a totally different experience! We had to go back through downtown Sonoma, and then way up onto a hillside to get to the vineyard. Their tours & tastings are not free - they have two versions, one that is $45 and one that is $65. Each can hold up to six people, but we ended up having a private tour with just the two of us! The tour took us down into the vineyard in a land rover, and our guide told us all about the history of the property and the vines.
After the tour of the vines, we went down into their wine caves, and learned more about their wine making philosophy and their history. The tour ended with a private tasting in their Heritage Winery. Hanzell has so much history in Sonoma, and with it's location way up on the hill the views overlooking the town were incredible. The wine was significantly more expensive then some of the other vineyards we had been to, but we bought a bottle of chardonnay home with us. If you are looking for a unique and memorable experience while visiting Sonoma, I couldn't recommend Hanzell more highly!
Our last vineyard of the day was Benziger Family Winery. Benziger has been a certified Biodynamic farm since 2000 and their Partners Wine Tour has been voted best winery tour in Sonoma multiple years, so Ant and I decided it was worth checking out! Again, these tours are limited to 8 guests, but Ant and I ended up with another private tour! The benefits of visiting on a Friday I would assume?
This tour gave us a behind the scenes look at their estate vineyard, including the wine caves. The tour included a barrel tasting (which neither of us had done before!) and ended with a tasting of estate wines in the wine cave.
After our final wine tour, we headed back downtown to have dinner at Harvest Moon Cafe. I wish I had pictures of it - they have a beautiful patio that they cover up so it can be used year round (it was still too cool for open air when we were there). They have a highly personalized dinner menu that changes daily, so you are always getting the freshest ingredients! We enjoyed our meal, then headed back to our place. We had a VERY early start the next morning to get back to San Fran!
We absolutely LOVED Sonoma - good wine and good food, what's not to love? Have you been? What vineyards/wineries did you love?
xoxo
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