My Sonoma Wine Country Travel Guide. Here are all of my favorite restaurants, bakeries, and wineries for this charming city in one place!

Living in San Francisco, one of the most frequent things I get asked is for recommendations for what to do in wine country. My San Francisco friends, as well as people visiting, assume that I have a list of great things to do in Napa Valley ready to share! I actually do have a list that I send to people when they ask, and today I’m going to share it here.

Today I’m going to focus on things to do in Sonoma. Sonoma is super charming and slightly less touristy than Napa. The city itself is absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous roses everywhere, cute cafes and amazing wineries. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re planning a trip to wine country.

For my most recent trip, I convinced Ally to join me for a day of exploring Sonoma. Pat and I are talking about getting rid of our car, so I’ve been testing out Enterprise’s CarShare program. We’re sick of paying for parking, trying to find a parking spot and worrying about upkeep of our fifteen year old beater. So far, it’s been great to use car sharing for things like running errands and grabbing up groceries. Picking up a car and dropping it off is easy and seamless. Literally within three blocks of our house there are three different car options.In addition to compact cars like our cute Fiat, they also have vans and pickups if you need to haul something. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that fuel is included in the trip. 

Because we love exploring outside of San Francisco on weekends, having a car service that can be used for day trips and even overnights is also important to us. I thought a trip to Sonoma would be the perfect test! Ally and I picked up a cute little Fiat for our wine country adventure and headed out of town.

Just a note, this trip was a foodie adventure. Even though I’m sharing some of my favorite Sonoma wineries from past trips in this post, I skipped the wine tasting this time! Always drink responsibly. 🙂

If you want to try Enterprise CarShare for yourself, they are offering an amazing deal for A Side of Sweet readers! Use promo code ‘Blog16‘ to get the fee waved for your first year, a $65 value. The application fee is also waved and you get $20 in driving credits. Click here to get the deal.

Sonoma Wine Country Travel Guide

Sunflower Caffé, located right on the square, is absolutely my favorite Sonoma restaurant for lunch. They have a huge menu of fresh and healthy items from sandwiches to smoothies. Even though their indoor seating options are fairly limited, their huge backyard patio is perfect for dining al fresco.

Sunflower Caffé
421 1st Street West
Sonoma, CA 95476
http://www.sonomasunflower.com/

A blogger trip wouldn’t be complete without ice cream! Sweet Scoops Ice Cream, also located on the Sonoma town square, is always my choice. It’s super cute inside and their ice cream is so good! A waffle cone dipped in chocolate and finished with sprinkles will complete your tasty photo op.

Sweet Scoops Ice Cream
408 1st Street East
Sonoma, CA 95476
http://sweetscoopsicecream.com

Crisp Bake Shop has sweet treats from macarons to scones. They also have a small lunch menu and some savory baked goods as well. The hardest thing is choosing just a few things to indulge in! You have to try their chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt – so good.

Crisp Bake Shop
720 W Napa Street
Sonoma, CA 95476
http://www.crispbakeshop.com/

Sonoma Wineries and Wine Tastings

Viansa Sonoma is one of the most beautiful wineries I’ve ever visited. They have a huge tasting room, and their patio overlooks the wetlands that they have carefully restored. I love the emphasis they put on conservation and their wines are amazing! For more you can check out the full blog post on our visit to Viansa.

Viansa Sonoma Winery
25200 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476
http://www.viansa.com/

Sonoma-Cutrer Winery is an absolute gem. Their Chardonnay wines are internationally known, and for good reason! Their tours are great and their staff is super friendly. One of the things that makes them unique are the croquet fields on the property. I also love that they host a benefit every year for the Bay Area Make-A-Wish foundation, one of my favorite charities. You can also check out the full blog post from our trip to Sonoma-Cutrer.

Sonoma Cutrer Winery
4401 Slusser Road
Windsor, CA 95492
http://www.sonomacutrer.com/

Patz & Hall is my newest Sonoma discovery. Their gorgeous tasting room is warm and welcoming and their wines are amazing. Most of their wines are not distributed in stores or restaurants, so it’s worth a stop to check them out. You can read more about them in this blog post. Check out this savory mushroom galette recipe inspired by their pinot noir! Wine tasting is by appointment only, so make sure you call ahead.

Patz & Hall Winery
21200 8th St East
Sonoma, CA 95476
https://www.patzhall.com/

What am I missing? Do you have any Sonoma favorites that I need to check out?

Thanks to Enterprise CarShare for partnering with me on this post! Use promo code ‘Blog16‘ to get your first year membership free.

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