Last week I was lucky enough to head to the west coast for one of my best friends weddings (hi mr. & mrs. goodman!!). MM and I wanted to make the most of the long flight from NYC to Cali so we extended our stay and spent time in Somona, San Fran and then LA.

Here’s a little peek at our time in Sonoma!

Upon landing at SFO at 10am, we immediately picked up a rental and headed for wine country. By noon we were at our first winery, Gundloch Bundschu. Because it’s the off-season, we had plenty of personal attention. They gave us tips on where to go for the rest of our time in Somona and gave us free tasting cards for nearby wineries (if you’re headed to wine country, always ask for free tasting cards, who knew you could pay nothing to taste all the delicious wine!).

Next we headed to Kunde which was just okay. It was huge and a bit impersonal. Then it was time for lunch so we headed into town to El Dorado Kitchen. Woah, this meal was so good. We shared the mushroom flat-bread, pork tacos and truffle fries and I had a glass of sparkling wine because when in wine country you are required to have wine all day every day (that’s a rule, right?). On a sunny day, head here for lunch and sit outside.

We then stopped by our hotel, The Healdsburg Inn which we found on Hotel Tonight. It was the perfect combination of a well-kept hotel and cozy bed and breakfast. Our room was big with a fireplace and patio plus there is a complimentary happy hour and breakfast. I’d recommend staying here.

Before dinner we visited the Williamson Wines tasting room for a pre-dinner drink and the experience was excellent. Each wine was paired with a different cheese to enhance the flavor (& with our tasting card, all free!)

We went to Partake for dinner where they are known for their food & wine pairing. We shared one tasting menu since we had been indulging all day and there was plenty of food (and PLENTY of wine to go around). For dessert we had what they call the “bowl of cereal” which is a fancy take on Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so unique.

On our way back to San Fran we stopped at J Winery and Rodney Strong Winery and then went to Russian River Brewing Co in Santa Rosa (to take a break from wine) for lunch and got the 18 beer tasting flight which is just ridiculous. We only took a taste of each since we were driving but seriously, 18 beers to taste? Insane.

It was a quick trip to Sonoma but so great. Despite it being the off-season, we lucked out with sunny skies and 70 degree weather. Tomorrow I’ll give you a taste of what we did in San Fran!