When you think of California wine country, no doubt it’s Napa that comes to mind. And whilst this fertile narrow valley certainly has its fair share of world-class wineries, Sonoma County – Napa’s sprawling, more bucolic, laid-back neighbour just the other side of the Mayacamas Mountains – is fast stepping into the spotlight. What Napa offers in polish and prestige Sonoma counterbalances with rustic cool and up-and-coming.
Sonoma County
Driving north from the Golden Gate Bridge, California’s Highway 101 catapults you right through Sonoma; turn off towards any one of the county’s beguiling small towns and the road becomes papered on either side by immaculately planted vines, fields of green punctuated with tractors, farms and old barns.
Outside Forestville, in the very centre of Sonoma County, is Farmhouse Inn, run by a characterful American-Italian brother-and-sister act. The 25 rooms and serene spa housed in a former stables are scattered between tulip trees and magnolias, the pathways and pool scented by roses and rosemary bushes.
Here Sonoma’s best vintages are brought to you, with daily afternoon tastings from among 25 local wineries, allowing you to segue hazily to the Farmhouse’s restaurant, once a gay bar with chintz sofas and purple walls – likened to Fawlty Towers by owner Catherine Bartolomei – or to the Farmstand for small plates cooked on a woodfire by the pool.
The road winds north through Russian River Valley to Healdsburg, hippest small town in Sonoma, brimful of charm, its streets lined with shops (Punch for clothes; Jam Jar for presents and knick-knacks), art galleries (Aerena) and contemporary satellite tasting rooms like Lioco.
SingleThread, a Japanese-Sonoma restaurant and inn with five chic rooms (cold-pressed matcha makers; self-flushing bathroom technology) seduces foodies from San Francisco and far beyond. Created by husband-and-wife team Kyle (the chef) and Katina (the farmer) Connaughton, it comprises a farm, shop and open kitchen, where exquisite food is presented by passionate staff. Breakfast – just as intriguing – is served by a firepit on the rooftop with views to the Mayacamas. For something on-the-go, Quail & Condor (great pastries) and Troubadour (sourdough sandwiches) hail from SingleThread alumni, often with queues spilling onto the street.
Nearby wineries worth singling out include Reeve, where the low-key tastings in the shade of old oak trees and outdoor pizza oven are popular with a young, wine-savvy San Fran crowd; and Hanna, which offers a wine-paired picnic with views of the Alexander Valley.
Or recharge in this pocket of northern California’s extraordinary natural beauty, walking among giant coastal redwoods in the Armstrong Natural Reserve, rafting on Russian River, or on the rocky headlands falling away to the big rollers of the Pacific, source of the cooling coastal fogs so beloved by Sonoma’s grapes.
Napa Valley
Whilst its wines might be big and bold, Napa Valley is just 20 miles long and two miles wide, served by a single road running north from Napa town through a clutch of smaller towns to the one-street, hippie-feel Calistoga in the shadow of Mount Helena.
When the road becomes clogged, conjure a more elegant era on the Wine Train. A wine-paired lunch, dinner or afternoon tea is served in mahogany and brass restored Pullman carriages laid with linen, silver and crystal. It's a three hour 36-mile round trip between Napa town and St Helena; or a full day includes tastings at wineries along the way.
Otherwise a day trip might begin around Yountville, where vintner Robert Mondavi first put this valley on the global wine map; attracting a different tribe, ex-record label exec Kashy Khaledi combines a contemporary design-led campus with serious winemaking clout at Ashes & Diamonds. The French Laundry, jewel in Thomas Keller’s crown, is another big draw here, but if a reservation eludes you, head to Ad Hoc + Addendum for buttermilk fried chicken in his diner-style restaurant down the road.
In St Helena, Heitz Cellar is a Napa stalwart, its renowned Cabernets now with a new dynamism, whilst Press restaurant has a cool, industrial, white-painted warehouse feel, made cosy and convivial by the vast fireplace and ceramic green clock transplanted from Union Station in Troy, New York. This is the place for great cocktails at the buzzing bar followed by superb farm-to-fork food, views of the mountains on all sides from picture windows.
ass through Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, where you can take gentle hikes through creeks and Douglas Firs or climb Coyote Peak, to the hot springs of Calistoga, where scorched leaves are the scars of 2020’s wildfires. Here stylish Solage cossets in cottages across 25 acres surrounded by rolling hills, inviting a balance between relaxation (its Bathhouse has private cabanas, five geothermal hot pools, cold plunges, sauna and steam rooms) and revelry, its excellent Mexican Picobar overlooking a large pool, lawn and bocce courts.
