Best Itinerary for a Winter Day Trip to Sonoma County

Today I want to share my itinerary for a day trip to Sonoma County in winter. The cooler months are a great time to visit Northern California’s wine country, not least because there are fewer crowds in the tasting rooms, the summer heat is blissfully absent, and there’s beautiful scenery to behold. I’m here now and I can’t wait to show you the highlights. I’ve included a map, too.

Sonoma County Winter Travel

Sonoma County is one of the most popular places to go wine tasting in California. People from all over the world flock to its vineyards in the warmer months, hopping from winery to winery, tasting room to cellar door.

But a lot of people wonder if it’s worth visiting Sonoma in the winter. The grape harvest has long since taken place, the vines are brown and bare, and the famous Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels are maturing in their barrels. Is there anything going on?

There is. Locals and savvy visitors know that winter is one of the best times to visit Sonoma County. It’s easier to get reservations at popular tasting rooms and restaurants, the weather is mild, the vibrant yellow mustard flowers bloom in the early part of the year, and everything feels more relaxed.

If you’re in the area during the holidays, there are a lot of seasonal highlights as well. From Christmas lights and trees in Healdsburg to special events and decorations throughout the county, it’s a fun time to visit.

Accommodation can be more reasonably priced in winter, too. As with neighboring Napa, Sonoma is infamous for expensive hotels. But the cooler months bring a drop in prices along with a drop in temperatures. If you want to turn your day trip into an overnight stay, this is the perfect time to do it.

I spent a beautiful winter getaway at the Grape Leaf Inn in Healdsburg once, and I loved it. If you want to follow in my footsteps, you can book a room here. If you want more ideas, you can take a look at range of places to stay in Sonoma County here.

Winter Day Trip to Sonoma Valley

If you’re just looking to take a day trip to Sonoma Valley in the winter, there are a lot of places you can visit. This time my other half, The Pup, and I are visiting three wineries, exploring local towns, and eating at a number of beloved local spots. If you want a guided tour, you can see options and book one here.

Breakfast in Healdsburg

After an just over an hour’s drive from San Francisco, the first stop on our Sonoma day trip itinerary is Quail & Condor. This local spot has been named one of the best bakeries in the United States by The New York Times, and we come here whenever we can.

There’s a line out the door when we arrive at 10am on a Saturday morning (there always is), but it moves quickly. Soon we’re letting our taste buds be tempted by a range of baked goods. From classics to unique creations, they have it all.

We buy a plain croissant and a ham and cheese one, then sit outside to enjoy them in the winter sun. They’re every bit as good as we’ve come to expect the viennoiserie selection at Quail & Condor to be, and we leave ready for the next stop on our itinerary.

Ridge Vineyards

A short drive brings us to Ridge Vineyards – Lytton Springs in Dry Creek Valley. This winery is the Sonoma sibling of the famous Ridge Vineyards on Montebello Road in Cupertino. Its modern tasting room is surrounded by picturesque fields full of old vines that date back to the early 20th century. Between the rows, bright yellow mustard flowers bloom.

We’ve pre-booked, and we’re seated at an outdoor table on the terrace to enjoy the Lytton Springs Estate Vineyard Tasting. There are four wines from their estate vineyards in Sonoma County and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the list. Conveniently, our server has a few extra ones open for us to try as well.

The first three wines are Zinfandels, and the last is a classic Cabernet Sauvignon. As we sip and savor them, our sever tells us about the wines and the history of the vineyards around us.

It’s fun to be able to taste right at the source, not to mention take in the scenery as we do. When we’re done, we buy some bottles to take home, then hit the road for the next stop.

Lunch

We continue our winter day trip to Sonoma County with lunch in Geyserville. This small town is known for its historic Old West shopfronts, famous restaurants, and abundance of tasting rooms.

We’re here to have lunch at Corner Project Ales & Eats, a casual brewpub founded by two brothers. This place is known for having good food and live music, and we’ve heard great things about both.

We order a plate of sliders and a bowl of mac and cheese at the counter, then settle in outside to enjoy our lunch. Serendipitously, we run into two of our local friends here. We have fun catching up with them and their dog as we eat.

Geyserville

After lunch we take a walk around Geyserville. We pass beloved restaurants like Catelli’s and Diavola, both of which we’ve enjoyed on previous trips to Sonoma County. We also pop our heads into several tasting rooms, admiring the decor and making mental notes to come back in the future.

Silver Oak

The next stop on our itinerary is Alexander Valley. This part of Sonoma County is often overlooked, but there are great wineries here. One of them is Silver Oak, a place that’s famous for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Located just 10 minutes east of downtown Healdsburg, its LEED-certified tasting room feels like it’s a million miles away from civilization. The building is sleek and contemporary, and the surroundings are quiet and peaceful. The vineyard views are hard to beat, too.

We settle in for a tasting at an outdoor table with sweeping panoramas. After sampling a range of Sonoma and Napa cabs, we head inside to a special bottle-lined cellar to try one of Silver Oak’s library wines. It’s a great way to cap off our experience.

Medlock Ames

After buying a couple bottles to take home from Silver Oak, we continue our winter day trip to Sonoma with a tasting at Medlock Ames. It’s only a few minutes away, but it feels completely different.

The tasting room is housed in a refurbished 1920s gas station, and there’s a pretty garden outside. Its small and intimate, and we love the atmosphere. Funny enough, the friends we ran into at lunch were just here (they love it so much they’re wine club members), and we’re seated at the same table they were.

We tuck into a cheese plate we’ve pre-ordered, and we enjoy a taste of Medlock Ames’s sparkling wine before continuing with the rest of the Signature Tasting flight. It consists of a range of red wines, including a Merlot, a Cabernet Franc, and two Cabernet Sauvignons. They’re all from estate vineyards on the winery’s nearby Bell Mountain Ranch.

We love the wines as much as the service and atmosphere, and we could stay for the rest of the day. But dinner calls, so we buy a few bottles and continue on our way.

Dinner

There are lots of places to eat nearby, but we’re in the mood for one of our favorites. It’s worth the 50-minute drive to the town of Sonoma to eat at El Molino Central (plus it’s kind of on the way back to San Francisco). This casual Mexican place has great food and a big outdoor dining area.

We order heaping plates of tacos and settle in at a table behind the restaurant. Every seat is full, and there’s a buzzing atmosphere. The food is as delicious as ever, and we’re glad we’ve made the trip.

Sonoma Valley in the Winter

Dinner at El Molino Central is a great way to finish our day trip to Sonoma. As we drive back to San Francisco on traffic-free roads and wide-open highways (another thing that might not have happened in summer), we vow to make our winter visits to California’s wine country a regular occurrence. To that end, we’re heading back this weekend.

Sonoma Day Trip Itinerary Map

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