When we planned this trip we obviously had no idea we would be caught in the wildfires. But, we could not believe how perfect it worked out to have Sonoma as our very next destination. The girls and I got dressed for a nice day out which was a welcome break from our hiking clothes. Lily loves wearing dresses so she was very excited to pick her outfit this morning. All the wineries closed by 5pm and we wanted to have enough time at each. We left the campsite at 9am to be at our first stop, St. Francis Winery, right when they opened at 10am. When Adam was preparing for our time here he researched the wineries and identified three that seemed to be very family friendly. While St. Francis didn’t have anything specific for the kids their reviews touted them as very welcoming to families and having exceptional wine so it was a no brainer to put them on our list.
Their tasting room had a wonderful selection of giftware. I loved walking around and checking everything out. I found a cheese knife to purchase that will be a great addition to my serving ware back home. One of the very nice women helped us with our tasting. She had suggested the option of sharing a tasting. Since it was so early and Adam was driving we thought that would be a smart plan. She offered the girls little cans of grape juice and gave them each a few skinny breadsticks. Now that they were all set we focused on selecting what to taste. We decided to try their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rose’, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We really enjoyed everything we tried.
Just past their tasting room they had a gorgeous patio that was surrounded by their lovely gardens. Once we finished we spent some time enjoying the scenic view and the girls did gymnastics on the lawn.
We decided to purchase a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of their Chardonnay and were on our way. We made the short drive to our next stop, Landmark Vineyards. Adam selected this winery because he saw on their website they offered horse drawn carriage rides around their winery. When we walked into their tasting room we all noticed the spectacular mural on the back wall and the rustic, lodge feel with the wooden ceiling and floors.
We inquired about the carriage rides and were disappointed to learn they only offer these on Saturdays. Since today was Thursday we would miss it. Even without the ride the girls were happy to be here. They found the bocce court and stayed outside playing on the court while Adam and I went inside to have our tasting.
This was a smaller winery producing less varieties of wine than St. Francis. Their tasting was already figured out for you. We shared this one too. While we were tasting we took a break to check on the girls. They were keeping themselves busy and having a great time so we came back in and finished up. We felt like carrying around 2 bottles of wine was our limit so we did not purchase any bottles here. They had a small selection of meats, cheeses, olives and such. I noticed a pack of hand crafted lemon biscuit cookies in their selection and we purchased it. They also had a spectacular patio with their gardens and bocce court. Adam and I sat and enjoyed the view while the girls continued to play. We called them over and gave them each a cookie. Adam and I shared one.
We stayed here a little while longer before continuing on to Benziger Family Winery.
Adam selected this one because they offered guided tours of their winery. By this point it was about 12:30 and we were all starting to get hungry. When we went to buy our tour tickets the next time available was 2pm. We decided it was worth it to stay here and wait. They had some picnic tables on their property we thought would be perfect. Inside their tasting room they had a gift shop with a selection of food. We selected meats, cheeses and a box of crackers to share.
When we finished we explored the grounds and exhibit signs telling us a little about this property as we waited for our tour. While we were doing this we got to meet and pet the winery dog. They were telling us the dog just recently finished it’s first photo shoot for next edition of The Wine Dogs book.
Around 1:50 they asked everyone for our tour to gather. We sat on the tram that was connected to the back of a tractor. Before leaving the driver asked everyone where they were from. Again, we realized what a small world we live in. He had just gotten back from a trip back east to attend his niece’s college graduation in PA. When we asked him which college, he replied with Muhlenberg, where I am a graduate. The tram tour took us through their gorgeous grounds and our dynamic driver was sharing lots of interesting information with us. We were able to see the different sections of grapes and learned they carefully chose where to place each variety, depending on sunlight needed, drainage, etc.
When we were in the middle of the vineyard we all got off the tram and learned about their biodynamic farming practices including an onsite insectary. There was a long bar table set up right here too and all the adults had our first tasting in this picturesque location.
As we continued on the tram learning about the winery and grounds we made our way to the next stops. First was to learn about crushing and fermentation. Then to their manmade cave system. They store their wine barrels inside of the cave because the temperature remains constant in the mid 60’s.
The tour ended in their tasting room and Adam and I finished the tasting in here. They gave the girls cups of grape juice to enjoy. The girls then had fun looking around their very cool gift shop. Lily found a book and took this time to read.
We left here pretty quickly when we were finished because we wanted to make it over to Imagery Winery before they closed at 4:30. When we bought the tour tickets at Benziger it included a tasting for each of us at their sister winery, Imagery. At Imagery we had about 30 minutes until they closed so we went right to the bar to get started.
There was a very nice couple enjoying their tasting next to us along with their super sweet Saint Bernard. The girls were immediately drawn to this dog and spent the time giving it love.
The woman behind the counter let them know the winery had a saint Bernard behind the bar too. In between tastings I took them over to see this second beautiful dog, which was featured on the current cover of the Wine Dogs book.
Imagery also followed suit with having gorgeous grounds and amazing flowers and trees to see. We stayed here until they closed and that concluded our winery tours for the day.
We went into the center of town in Sonoma to see if we could find a place to eat dinner. It was very cute with lots of restaurants and stores. While we walked around we noticed the Taste of the Himalayas restaurant with outdoor seating. We all agreed this would be the perfect spot.
As we were waiting for our food the girls were dancing in the courtyard and a gentleman noticed them and came up to talk. He asked if they had seen the ducks across the street yet. We didn’t know there was a pond across the street and we were very happy he mentioned it to us. Once we were done we headed right over to check it out. We loved watching the ducks in this beautiful pond. Ella noticed a turtle on a rock and we spent some time observing him before he dove into the water. Then we noticed a group of baby ducks and watched as they played together in the water swimming about while the mama duck stayed close by. In the grassy park bordering the pond the girls found some trees to explore and climb. It started to get dark and we walked back to the truck to drive home for the night.
