A Long Weekend in Sonoma…
June 2016
A long weekend filled with wine tasting, biking, spa-ing and lounging by the pool…what could be better? I do not think there is much that could be more glorious than a weekend in Sonoma, California.
The perfect backdrop for this fantastic weekend? The Farmhouse Inn, a boutique resort just south of Healdsburg. After a few days in San Francisco, we escaped the city and made the short drive up to the Russian River Valley with a list of appointments at “off the beaten path” wineries and a mission to relax. Arriving at the Farmhouse, we checked into our understated luxurious room and prepared for our first tasting.
Healdsburg is an adorable town and the restaurants are top notch. With the help of a friend who is a sommelier, we had planned two tastings each day (the Russian River Valley is known for it’s wide range of Pinot Noirs, each one unique thriving on the cool air from the nearby Pacific) with leisurely lunches and sumptuous dinners in between. We also found time to lounge by the pool – with a bottle of chilled white of course!
One of the most fun things we did that weekend was to take a private bike tour, complete with tastings at various vineyards and a beautiful picnic lunch on one of the properties. Biking through vineyards is a beautiful thing and the rolling hills, well-maintained roads and bike-friendly traffic will please even the most serious biking enthusiasts.
Our fantastic guide, Dave, brought along a peddle-assist bike “just in case” and by the end of the tour they had put me on it…apparently I could not keep up after a few tastings and a big lunch. It was actually a fun bike to ride!
Another treat was attending a 4th of July party with a group of wine makers. A woman giving us a tasting at a smaller wine maker’s warehouse spontaneously invited us to her home for the celebration. It was so much fun to talk wine, food and life with these winemakers who brought unmarked bottles of their latest offerings.
As a mentioned previously, Healdsburg is a “foodie mecca.” Most of the restaurants are farm-to-table and the presentations are spectacular. Special mention though for the food at the farmhouse. The three-course breakfast (included if you book through me) was a daily treat and dinner at their Michelin starred farm-to-table was incredible.
We returned home with memories of fabulous meals, delicious wines and a thought that maybe we had joined a few wine clubs! We would not find out how many until the cases started arriving at the house!
If you would like any further information or are ready to plan your escape to Sonoma, please contact Jennifer at 917.741.7409 or [email protected].