Aug23
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This weekend has been absolutely amazing and I’m so sad it’s coming to an end. My friend Anna is getting married in May (in Santorini, Greece!!) so we had a bachelorette party this weekend in Sonoma. The house we rented is absolutely incredible and I would definitely recommend it if you ever visit. The owners were really nice to work with too.
After we settled into the house, we headed into town to grab an early dinner at El Dorado Kitchen. We started with truffle fries which were unbelievable – seriously the best fries I’ve ever had. I also had an awesome cocktail with gin, lemongrass, lychee, lime and rosemary. I made up my own entree because I really wanted one of their salads but also really wanted scallops, but I wasn’t too excited about the sides with the scallops entree, so I just had scallops on the side of the asparagus and prosciutto salad. It was all a bit salty together but still awesome.
The next morning we geared up for a day of winery tours. We used Terrific Tours for our driving service, and they were super helpful leading up to the trip, helping us make an itinerary that made sense and hit a good variety of vineyards and tasting rooms. And, our driver helped keep us on track to make it to our appointments when the wine made us much more easy going and distracted. 😉 My friend Meg recommended them to me after she had a great experience on her last Sonoma trip, so that’s two groups of people who can vouch for them. They were also way more affordable than other wine tour/van drivers we emailed.
Our first stop was at Hawkes Wine tasting room. This was my favorite stop of the day; their patio is amazing, I really liked all their wines, and they had an awesome plate of food pairings to try with the wines.
Our next stop was the Larson Family Winery. There was event happening here so it was pretty lively with a DJ, corn hole, and a lot of people. It was really fun.
They had three dogs wandering around the place and this guy totally took advantage of belly rubs from everyone at the winery. That dog has a rough life, living at a winery. 😉
The event ticket came with an oyster, and I won another free oyster upon entry. Lucky me!
These were soooo good. The BBQ oyster was awesome, but the raw one was unbelievable. I still can’t believe I like raw oysters…
Our next stop was Anaba Wines. After being in the sun all morning and not eating lunch, the wine really started to hit us at this point. I’m sure you won’t be able to tell from the pics. 😉
Our final stop was Bouchaine Vineyards. I ended up giving most of my tastings to someone else because I was pretty wined out at that point. But, it was a really pretty spot and a nice, low-key finish to the day.
After the winery tours, we headed back to the house for naps and relaxing before a late dinner at Girl and the Fig. We all loved our meals – the lighting wasn’t great so I didn’t bother to take a picture. (Speaking of pictures, I packed my DSLR across the country so I could take great pictures at the wineries, and then, of course, I left it at the house when we left for our tour. Dang it.)
This morning we went for an easy hike around the house and then drove over to Napa. We didn’t do any winery tours, but spent some time exploring the Oxbow Public Market – amazing food vendors, including a gluten-free bakery and an incredible taco place. It was a great spot to visit to end the weekend. People had to catch flights and hit the road so we said goodbye in the early afternoon. I’m taking the red eye back to NC tonight so I’ve been hanging out with Anna and Paul all afternoon, which has been really nice. Anna and I usually only get to hang out for a couple hours when I visit SF for work, so it’s been great to have some quality time.
It’s been a really lovely weekend — and now I totally want to come back to spend way more time in Sonoma. Anyone want to join me? 😉
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8 responses to “A Weekend in Sonoma”
Looks like the perfect girls trip!
I’m so glad you posted about this! I just moved to California and have been dying to go to Sonoma. You totally just made going to Sonoma that much easier for me!
okay, that might win for best bachelorette party ever! It looks like you all had an absolutely fantastic time.
I love entrées out of various salad and appetizers.you get exactly what you want.
I went to girl and the fitting for lunch a few years ago when we went to Napa. I bought all sorts of fabulous jams and jellies… I also learned that the TSA considers jelly a liquid :/
oo pick me!!
This looks like such an awesome weekend!!
Ahhh what a perfect weekend! I love wine country 🙂
We used Terrific Tours for a wine tour in Sonoma in Mar. & were very happy w/ them as well. It was a work trip (w/ a fun day included). My boss made all kinds of annoying last min. changes to our itinerary, but the driver & scheduler were very accomodating. The van was very comfortable, & our driver was very knowledgeable about wines as well & told us lots of interesting information in between stops.
Wow!! So beautiful there and it looks like you had tons of fun! I’ve only been to San Francisco once before but didn’t have enough time to make it to wine country. If love to go! And if you ever need a travel buddy, I’m always up for a trip!! Lol 😉
That looks fabulous! I’ve never been out there, but we’re headed to Italy this fall so I will get a little taste of a different wine country.