Sonoma Valley is North of San Francisco, Between Napa and the Coast. We have been up here to explore a few times, but it is on our list along with more of Washington State to start exploring more of. We just recently spent some time here, and we will be adding more stories from our stops, at Gloria Ferrer, Viansa, Corner 103 and more.
Gloria Ferrer
We started the day with some bubbly at Gloria Ferrer in Carneros. The wine, the view, the gardens and the service all started the day off beautifully. We will do a detailed post on our tasting later…for now, just soak in some of the beautiful scenery and bubbles.
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- Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards in Carneros
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- The entrance to Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
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- The view of the Carneros Vineyards from Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Valley
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- Sparkling Flight to start the day at Gloria Ferrer
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- Vineyards over the lavender at Gloria Ferrer
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- The beautiful Tasting room at Gloria Ferrer
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- Chardonnay in the morning at Gloria Ferrer
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- Chardonnay grapes at Gloria Ferrer
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- Sparkling tasting at Gloria Ferrer
Viansa
This is the southern end of Sonoma and we made one more stop in the area at Viansa. The grounds here are beautiful and the views phenomenal. They are committed here to preserving the wetlands habitat that surrounds the vineyards. After soaking up the views, it was time to head into the city of Sonoma.
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- The view of the wetlands from Viansa Vineyard in Carneros
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- Viansa Winery
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- The beautiful property at Viansa Vineyards in Carneros
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- Beautiful urns at Viansa
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- The Tasting room at Viansa
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- Beautiful touches, at the Viansa tasting room
Sonoma Plaza
We had time for a visit to the Sonoma Plaza to relax and watch the ducks and take in some of the art.
At the center of the plaza is the City Hall built in the early 20th century. It was built with all 4 sides identical, so as not to offend any of the merchants and businesses on the surrounding square. It has a beautiful duck pond on the corner where I rested soaked in the calm and enjoyed some of the wonderful large art pieces.
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- Sonoma Plaza with City Hall in the background
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- Ducks on the pod at Sonoma Plaza
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- Buildings on the historic Sonoma Square
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- Art in the Park in Sonoma
Corner 103
Now it was time to head across the street to Corner 103 where we had a 2pm Cheese Experience Scheduled. This is a great way to start a wine trip, they will guide you through a tasting of Corner 103 wines, paired with cheeses and help you to find our what your preferences are. Schedule in advance and allow at least an hour and a half.
(And watch for an in-depth posting on our experience here)
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- Corner 103 Tasting Room in Sonoma
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- The tasting room at Corner 103 in Sonoma
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- The Cheese Experience at Corner 103 in Sonoma
Sonoma – Russian River Valley
We jumped back on the 101 and made our way south to the Russian River Valley and to Balletto Vineyards. In conjunction with Sonoma County.com they have a self guided walking tour where you can learn about the local wildlife, grape varieties, soil types water conservation and see the baseball field built on the property.
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- Balletto Vineyards in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley
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- Veraison in the Pinot Noir at Balletto Vineyard
Sonoma Valley Blog Posts
Episode 6 – The Scenic Route Exploring Sonoma County Wine region
Sonoma This region unlike Napa, its neighbor to the east, does not have an overarching AVA. The landscape and climates are diverse across Sonoma County, allowing for a wide range of different styles and varieties of wine. There are 18 [...]
Sosie Wines – French inspiration in Sonoma County
It’s not unusual for an oenophile to be into French Wine, but Scott MacFiggen and Regina Bustamante who founded Sosie Wines, dove deep into this passion, spending as much time as they could exploring the wines and regions of France. [...]
Selby Old Vine Zin – Day 3 – 12 Days of Wine 2021
We are up to Day 3 of our 12 Days of Wine 2021 Celebration! Today for the first time this season we dip into red wine, beginning with Old Vine Zin from California! Day 3 Selby Winery 2017 Sonoma Country [...]
Monterey to Healdsburg (and beyond) with a stop at Selby Wines – Day 2 The Scenic Route 2021
Monterey to Healdsburg with a stop at Selby Wines Ah, the coast. When you live landlocked in a desert, there is nothing more refreshing than the sound and smell of the ocean. Our trip was set to take us inland, [...]
The Scenic Route 2021 – The Overview
The Scenic Route 2021 After being cooped up for over a year, we were ready to get back out and safely explore, and the Wine Media Conference in Eugene Oregon gave us a reason to head North. Of course we [...]
Celebrating Merlot month with a Selby Merlot from sonoma County
Selby Winery – 100% owned and operated by Susan Selby. Susie founded Selby Winery with her father Dr. David K. Selby in 1994. Her father was a world-renowned spine surgeon who traveled internationally and spent quite a bit of time […]
Pairing with Bubbles – Gloria Ferrer and the amazing Sarah Tracey
It’s the season for bubbles and this past October I was able to do an amazing tasting and pairing event with sparkling wines from Gloria Ferrer at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla Washington. I met Sarah Tracey of […]
Balletto Vineyards in the Russian River Valley
I had a plan, well sort of. It was Day 3 of our Flash tour and Flash tours are pretty busy! We had spent a day in Sonoma and this day was to start in Napa and end up in [...]
Bubbles to start the day – at Gloria Ferrer
So we find ourselves on the Vista Terrace at the beautiful Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards. It's a comfortable morning where the clouds have not yet burned off, so the view is soft and the vines look happy. And it's [...]
Gloria Ferrer – a little history
On our recent trip to the California Coast we had the opportunity to stop for a tasting at Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyard. Located in Carneros, which is the Southern end of Sonoma County Wine Region, this is a sparkling […]
Tempting Spoonfuls: Pairing single bites with glorious wines (On Sale Now on Amazon)!
Tempting Spoonfuls: Pairing single bites with glorious wines
Tempting Spoonfuls, Small bites with wines from around the globe. on sale now on Amazon
Tempting Spoonfuls - small bites paired with wines from around the globe
