Where To Taste and Stay in Sonoma County

Touring & Tasting's Vice President of Business Development, Nancy Burgner, just returned from a trip to Sonoma. Together, we were rhapsodizing over the Bodega Bay Lodge, since she had just returned from her stay there and I had just had a perfect sojourn with my sweetheart at the Lodge between Christmas and New Year's. I've written about the Bodega Bay Lodge before (see post). It was our fifth or sixth vacation at this one-of-a-kind accommodation--a luxury retreat from the world with all the plush amenities to make a stay comfortable, like a gourmet restaurant, top notch spa services, spacious suites, fireplaces, and the like--but located on the edge of Doran Beach and the Bodega Head State Marine Conservation Area.

From its prime location, one has a panoramic view of Bodega Bay and the quiet pools of water in the estuary reflecting the sky. There is a profound sense of calm and peace that envelopes the property. Fresh air blows in from the sea and all cares and stress fall away in the presence of Nature's pristine beauty.


 There's plenty to do besides relax. We often play golf at the ocean view Links at Bodega Harbour, but the ground was sodden with rain that had inundated Northern California during the previous week, so instead, we drove to Spud Point for lovely walks along the paths that front the ocean and along the raised walkway across the harbor where people catch crabs with buckets baited with tuna fish.

At the Spud Point Crab Co., a load of live crabs had just arrived from a fishing boat and customers were already queuing up for their crab-packed sandwiches and tasty clam chowder. We had our picnic on this bench under the cerulean sky--quite a view!


The next day, we drove to the tiny town of Bodega, famous for being the location for Hitchcock's classic thriller "The Birds". The Bodega Country Store has a wall and a display case packed with movie memorabilia.

Their rich crab mac 'n cheese, sprinkled with their signature topping made from oregano, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, is highly recommended! The friendly storekeeper gave us free samples of their New England style chowder and we ogled their smoked salmon--we will definitely return to taste more of their fare. Also, the church and school that were used in the film can be viewed across the street.


A short drive led us to the Joseph Phelps, Freestone Vineyard tasting room where I purchased a bottle of their FogDog Chardonnay which I love for its crisp, pear and citrus flavors, with an edge of minerality.

Of course, we had to go next door to the Wildflour Bakery, which bakes its sinfully delicious breads, scones and biscotti in a wood fired brick oven. There's no skimping on ingredients here. Yes, that is an enormous quantity of butter the baker in the photo is cutting into his scones. Their sticky bun is a foodie's wonderment--an enormous bread made from fresh ground whole grains, packed with dried fruit and slathered in a sweet sticky sauce that tastes like butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. During the last trip with the kids, we devoured one in record time--nom nom.


Nancy had highly recommended the Honor Mansion for our stay in Healdsburg. This stately Victorian on a quiet residential street is rated #1 on TripAdvisor out of all the accommodations in Healdsburg. The lists of awards and accolades is too long to mention here, but I will say that their attention to detail is extraordinary--from candles and aromatic bath salts so one can enjoy one's big soaking tub at leisure (our spacious bathroom had a fireplace, too!) to baskets of tea and hot coffee brought to your room in the morning, even when you have a coffee maker in your well equipped wet bar.


Breakfast is served in the main house, which has with tall ceilings and windows and period furnishings. We felt proprietary about "our" sunny breakfast nook where we partook of the lovely gourmet buffets of fresh baked scones, eggs, breakfast meats, fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurt. Rain prevented us from taking advantage of the four acre grounds and its PGA designed putting green; tennis, basketball, croquet and bocce courts; and pool. But, we took note that this would be a great place to bring the kids, especially as all the sports equipment is on site.


Anyway, I could barely be pried out of the downy four poster bed with European linens. I could easily have spent several days reading in bed, soaking in the tub or sharing a bottle of bubbly in the jacuzzi on our private deck. But, there were meals to pursue, so we made forays into town for food, eating for the first time at Willy's Seafood and loving it so much we returned for dinner. The restaurant features fresh, innovative cuisine stylishly presented. We ate tapas style, sharing plates like clam flatbread, fish tacos and the best warm raspberry crème brûlée I've ever had (and I am particular about my crème brûlée).

The wine list is excellent, particularly for those like us who like to share wines by the glass so we can try more than one wine with a meal. We shared a crisp glass of M. Chapoutier “Belleruche” Côtes du Rhône Rose and round Lambert Bridge Chardonnay.

We stopped for a picnic at the picturesque Dry Creek General Store then visited the distinctive Hop Kiln Winery. The tasting room is housed in the historic buildings built in the 1880's to process hops for beer; they are a California Historic Landmark. A wall of windows looks out onto the duck pond and 248-acre estate planted mostly to the Burgundian varietals of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and there are shelves of gift and food items to peruse, in addition to tasting their portfolio of wines.

The Honor Mansion poured a Mauritson Zinfandel at one of their complimentary wine and cheese hours. The wine enticed us to drop by the Mauritson tasting room on our way out of town. The Mauritson family has been farming in Sonoma for 140 years and they have estate vineyards in Rockpile as well as Chalk Hill, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. They are all great winemaking AVAs, but there is something very special about Rockpile wines. Only 15 producers make wines from Rockpile grapes, since only 160 acres of vineyards are planted in this tiny winegrowing region.

Carol Shelton and Paradise Ridge are two of the other wineries making Rockpile wines, and they, like Mauritson have garnered numerous medals for their terrific wines.

The Rockpile vineyards are between 800 - 2,000 feet in elevation, so they remain mostly above the fog line. The ground has sparse soil and little water, so the grapes grown here need to be tenacious. One benefit is that the climate is moderate and the fruit ripens fully and evenly. The result are wines loaded with fruit and flavor. SFGate writes, "Established in April 2002, the Rockpile AVA (short for American Viticultural Area) in the northwestern corner of Sonoma County is rapidly gaining recognition as the source of some of California's biggest, richest, most intensely flavored Zinfandels, Syrahs and Petite Sirahs."