2 Day itinerary of Sonoma Valley Wine Country for those who enjoy beer & wine. We'll cover the best stops to make for a quick stay in Santa Rosa, California.
We are wrapping up our California Road Trip in Santa Rosa, California, the heart of Sonoma Valley.
To read more about the rest of our California Road Trip to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, see the links at the bottom of this post.
We like to start our vacations with lots of adventures and wind our trip down with some slower paced days. What better place to slow down than Wine Country!
We chose Sonoma Valley for a few reasons: I’d been to Napa Valley before, it‘s known to be more casual, the wineries are typically cheaper and last but not least, there are actually a lot of breweries in Sonoma Valley (because you can only drink so much wine before you call it a night!)
Again, I’m just going to list out the places we stopped categorized by theme:
Sonoma Valley Breweries
Moksa Brewery
Before we got to Sonoma Valley, we made a pit stop at Moksa Brewery in Rocklin, CA. The area wasn't memorable, but we absolutely loved the brewery! We had heard great things about their Barrel Aged Stouts, but unfortunately they only had member-only bottles available. So we got a big ole flight and everything lived up to the hype!
Russian River Brewery
Russian River Brewing Co is home of Pliney the Younger & Pliney the Elder! We hadn't had either before we visited, but now we can say we got our share of Pliney the Elder plus more to take home! They also have a new location so be sure to stop at both locations, we found out about the new location too late in our trip to visit, so we'll definitely have to go back!
Lagunitas
Yes, they sold out, but Lagunitas was some of the first craft beers that got us into craft beer so we had to check them out! We were surprised at how original looking the taproom & beer garden was. It wasn't new & shiny, it was just laid back & fun! I'd kind of recommend the tour, it was definitely an experience, I won't give it away so you'll just have to experience it for yourself.
Crooked Goat Brewing
Head over to Stebastopol to check out The Barlow and stop at Crooked Goat Brewing for a beer. The Barlow is an outdoor market featuring local food, beer, wines & crafts! We had no idea this area would be so cool!
Sonoma Valley Wineries
It’s important to do a little research when planning out winery stops. These are things we keep an eye out for:
Hours of Operation
Reservations needed
Tours vs Tasting Room options
Food or if outside food is allowed
Viansa Sonoma Winery
”Come for the wine, stay for the views“
Located at the Gateway of Wine Country, Viansa Winery is situated on a hilltop with breathtaking views of its vineyard and beautiful surroundings. We could have spent hours here, but made it just in time before they closed. I was a little nervous how close we were cutting it, but they welcomed us with friendly service and delicious wine!
Matanzas Creek Winery
When researching wineries in Sonoma, the first thing I looked for was the scenery and ambiance. What stood out about Matanzas Creek Winery was the lavender fields! If you know me, I'm obsessed with lavender so this was an easy choice and it turned out to be even more magical than the pictures! Be warned: this is an Instagrammers heaven, the ones with professional photographers. They also had my favorite wine of all the wineries we visited!
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens
I wanted to visit lesser known wineries and throw in one that was recognizable. It surprised me to learn that Kendall-Jackson is still a family owned winery with how big their distribution is. The garden and outdoor area was beautiful with a huge lawn to relax in under the trees. The wine was good, but not as memorable as the others.
We had planned to visit more wineries, but because of the early business hours of 10-5pm, we decided to change things up and try out some of the breweries in the area as well..
Sonoma Valley Restaurants
In & Out Burger
Ok In & Out Burger is not a restaurant, but it's a must stop! Try something on their secret menu like loaded fries!
Russian River Brewing
In contrast to our breweries in MN, Russian River Brewing's original brewery downtown has more of a restaurant vibe with killer pizza!
The Barlow
The Barlow is a 12-acre outdoor market in Sebastopol, California featuring local food, wine, beer, spirits and crafts made onsite by Sonoma County artisans.
Thanks for reading about our trip to Sonoma Valley & finishing our California Road Trip Itinerary!
We hope this has inspired a trip out West!
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