Napa/Sonoma

Any brides familiar with Napa and Sonoma? We've just booked three B&Bs there for our honeymoon, and though I have been to San Francisco a few times and am acquainted with the touristy stuff in the city, I don't know the wine country at all.

Any recommendations on restaurants (other than The French Laundry, which is my dream meal), places to go, things to see, good wineries to visit (there's a million--how do you choose?) would be great. I know we're planning to visit COPIA (the center for food, wine and the performing arts), the Charles Schulz museum (as FH is a HUGE Peanuts fan), and most likely the wine train. Any 'out-of-the-way, non-touristy' things would be helpful.

Thanks!

Have a great time! My fiance and I went there two years ago and had an awesome time! I would definintely go to Sterling Vineyards. To quote one guy we ran into at the Sterling parking lot, 'it's Disneyworld for adults. You go up the lift sober and come down drunk!' And if you check online, you may be able to get a 2 for 1 coupon. We are lushes so we really didn't do much but drink there. There are two main roads and some places you don't even need an appointment to go in. If you do want to go to Opus 1, make your appointment now. They fill up quickly so they suggest you book far in advance. We loved Quintessa, Frog's Leap, and this small vineyard that was on the way back to our B & B. Which B&B are you staying at? Also, eat your b'fast at the B&Bs. It'll tide you over and keep you sober until lunch. Also, if you want to save money, pack a lunch. There's a gourmet deli on the main road that charges $7-$10 for a sandwich but it's far cheaper than the restaurants! FM me if you want more info.

We've been to Sonoma a few times...and I'd avoid the Thistle Dew Inn as a B&B...the owners are weeeeird.....
Be sure to hit Landmark in Sonoma (and play bocce ball while sipping wine in their gorgeous garden), visit the Ledson Winery (which is in this immense castle-like building), and pack a picnic lunch from Sonoma Jack's or Viansa's grocery in Sonoma, pick up some wine, and have a romantic picnic at the winery of your choice--but be careful: many places in Napa will scold you and tell you that you cannot picnic; pretty much everywhere you go in Sonoma (in our experiences) let you enjoy your picnic! (Just be sure you're drinking their wine at the winery you picnic at!)
Also, Domaine Chandon and Gloria Ferrer are wonderful places to enjoy sparkling wine. Enjoy!

Thanks for the recommendations. There are so many wineries, we need to pick and choose 'cause we only have a few days.

Someone in my office mentioned Calistoga too--they have mudbaths, right? Don't know if FH would go for that, but I am ALL for the mud! We're staying at the Gables Inn in Santa Rosa and the Candlelight Inn in Napa.

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Posted by ginny26

We've been to Sonoma a few times...and I'd avoid the Thistle Dew Inn as a B&B...the owners are weeeeird.....

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LOL! I was looking at the Thistle Dew as one of the inns--glad I trusted my instincts and kept looking! BTW, exactly HOW are they weird?

i'm a huge wine person and dh took me to sonoma two years ago for my bday before we were even engaged. we had the best time. we even took our dog because it is so dog friendly out there.

i am partial to smaller wineries because i think you can still taste the love in their wines as opposed to the big commercialized wineries.

like someone else mentioned, i also really enjoyed gloria ferrer. we actually rang in our first wedded new year with their DELICIOUS Brut Rose.

Imagery was really cool because they have all this crazy artwork everywhere and I think that most of their wines are named after certain works of art.

Of all the places we went to, Valley of the Moon had the BEEESSSSSST Pinot Noir (my favorite wine). It was a small place but I brought back about 6 bottles of their Pinot Noir.

good luck! you'll love it.

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Posted by Audreygirl

i'm a huge wine person and dh took me to sonoma two years ago for my bday before we were even engaged. we had the best time. we even took our dog because it is so dog friendly out there.

i am partial to smaller wineries because i think you can still taste the love in their wines as opposed to the big commercialized wineries.

like someone else mentioned, i also really enjoyed gloria ferrer. we actually rang in our first wedded new year with their DELICIOUS Brut Rose.

Imagery was really cool because they have all this crazy artwork everywhere and I think that most of their wines are named after certain works of art.

Of all the places we went to, Valley of the Moon had the BEEESSSSSST Pinot Noir (my favorite wine). It was a small place but I brought back about 6 bottles of their Pinot Noir.

good luck! you'll love it.

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I agree with you on the smaller wineries! We did Beringer and liked it and then went to Mondavi and weren't impressed by the atmosphere so left without a tour or tasting. We went to four smaller wineries after that and had great experiences. My favorite were Silver Oak and Stags Leap. It's a great opportunity to try expensive wines at a great price.

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Posted by ali120206

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Posted by Audreygirl

i'm a huge wine person and dh took me to sonoma two years ago for my bday before we were even engaged. we had the best time. we even took our dog because it is so dog friendly out there.

i am partial to smaller wineries because i think you can still taste the love in their wines as opposed to the big commercialized wineries.

like someone else mentioned, i also really enjoyed gloria ferrer. we actually rang in our first wedded new year with their DELICIOUS Brut Rose.

Imagery was really cool because they have all this crazy artwork everywhere and I think that most of their wines are named after certain works of art.

Of all the places we went to, Valley of the Moon had the BEEESSSSSST Pinot Noir (my favorite wine). It was a small place but I brought back about 6 bottles of their Pinot Noir.

good luck! you'll love it.

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I agree with you on the smaller wineries! We did Beringer and liked it and then went to Mondavi and weren't impressed by the atmosphere so left without a tour or tasting. We went to four smaller wineries after that and had great experiences. My favorite were Silver Oak and Stags Leap. It's a great opportunity to try expensive wines at a great price.

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Same with us. We walked into about 3 big wineries just to see and ended up walking out without trying anything. Also, a lot of the big ones were dog UNfriendly, so we gladly took our pup (and business) elsewhere.

We also liked Stags Leap.

At the Thistle Dew, the owners are very....quiet, in a strange way...we went into the living room for appetizers, and although we were trying to make conversation, they just kind of STARED at us and hardly said a word. It was rather awkward...we ended up only going to the breakfast once because it was so awkward!! LOL