Things to do in Wine Country
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Adobe Barracks
Downtown Sonoma was once the capital of a rogue nation, and though Sonoma Plaza looks stately with its stone mission revival City Hall (1906–08), it gets plenty lively during balmy summer nights. See where Sonoma settlers surprised Mexican soldiers in 1850 and declared an independent Bear Flag Republic at the Adobe Barracks.
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BR Cohn
Picnic like a rock star at BR Cohn, whose founder Bruce Cohn managed ’70s superband the Doobie Brothers before moving onto organic olive oils, his Doobie Red Bordeaux blend, and throwing an annual November benefit concert amid the vineyards and olive groves.
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Mission Solano San Francisco
Across the street from the Adobe Barracks, adobe Mission Solano San Francisco was founded in 1823 and once included 10,000 acres farmed by 900 conscripted Native Californian workers; the East Spain St wing remains largely intact, with a reconstructed chapel.
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Vineyards Inn Bar & Grill
If you try only one Wine Country burger, make it the Jake Steak: a half-pound of succulent certified-organic chuck on ciabatta. Seafood is fresh, wild and line-caught, and most produce comes from chef Esteban’s certified-organic and biodynamic Rose Ranch.
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Wellington
West off Hwy 12, many of Sonoma Valley’s best buys await at Wellington winery, where under $30 gets you hazelnutty white port or award-winning, white-peppery zins produced by 100-year-old vines that miraculously survived Prohibition.
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Kenwood Inn & Spa
For true decadence, Kenwood Inn & Spa offers complimentary bubbly with ‘vinotherapy’ antioxidant red-wine body wraps ($175 for 80 minutes) that go straight to your head. Spa treatments start from $125.
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El Dorado Kitchen
Biodynamic salads and gargantuan pastrami sandwiches with parmesan-dusted truffle fries are big enough to split in this sunny corner kitchenette, but get your own soft-serve ice cream topped with BR Cohn olive oil and sea salt.
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Farmers Markets
Downtown Sonoma was once the capital of a rogue nation, and though Sonoma Plaza looks stately with its chic boutiques. The plaza gets plenty lively on summer nights and farmers' market days.
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Morton’s Warm Springs
Northwest of downtown Napa is Morton’s Warm Springs, long believed to have healing properties by native Wappo, with three geothermal mineral pools, hiking trails, volleyball nets and BBQ facilities.
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Bartholomew Park Winery
Bartholomew Park Winery, is a 400-acre preserve with vineyards originally cultivated in 1857 and now certified organic, yielding citrus-sunshine Sauvignon Blanc and smoky-midnight Merlot.
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Benziger
At Demeter-certified biodynamic behemoth Benziger educational tram tours explain environmentally savvy, esoteric winegrowing methods that yield sensational truffled-cranberry cabs.
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Jack London Historic State Park
Up Hwy 12, obey the call of the wild at Jack London State Historic Park, where adventure-novelist Jack London moved in 1910 to build his dream house – which burned on the eve of completion in 1913. His widow built the house that now stands as a museum to London. Miles of hiking trails (some open to mountain bikes) weave through 1400 hilltop acres; an easy 2-mile loop meanders to a lake, great for picnicking.
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Kaz Winery
Veer off Hwy 12 near Kenwood for offbeat, organically grown, cult-favorite wines, poured inside a barn.
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Gundlach-Bundschu Winery
West of downtown, Gundlach-Bundschu dates to 1858 and looks like a storybook castle. Winemakers craft legendary Tempranillo and signature Riesling and Gewürztraminer. GunBun also operates nearby Bartholomew Park Winery, a 400-acre preserve with vineyards cultivated in 1857, now certified organic, yielding citrusy Sauvignon Blanc and smoky Merlot.
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Wine Exchange of Sonoma
Come for the wine, but stay for the four microbrews on draft in the speakeasy-style rear tasting bar, plus another 250 beers ‘at last count’ along the wall.
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Sebastiani Theatre
Sonoma’s single-screen art deco movie palace spots Oscar contenders early and runs them longer than multiplexes, along with film festivals, concerts and musicals.
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Triple Creek Horse Outfit
Hike to the lake to overlook London's pristine 129-acre farmstead, ride through fragrant redwood groves with Triple Creek Horse Outfit.
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Fig Cafe & Winebar
Sonoma's take on comfort food: organic salads, Sonoma duck cassoulet and free corkage on Sonoma wines, in a convivial room with vaulted wooden ceilings.
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Cafe La Haye
This tiny bistro, with open kitchen, creates earthy New American dishes from ingredients sourced within 60 miles. Reservations essential.
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Red Grape
Thin-crust pizza with local cheeses, plus small-production Sonoma wines.
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Sonoma Market
Superior grocery-store deli with hot-pressed panini and picnic fixings.
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Vintners' Collective
Inside a former 19th-century brothel, VC represents 20 high-end boutique wineries too small to have their own tasting rooms.
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Ubuntu
The Michelin-starred seasonal, vegetarian menu features wonders from the kitchen garden, satisfying hearty eaters with four-to-five inspired small plates, and eco-savvy drinkers with 100-plus sustainably produced wines.
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Twenty Rows
Downtown Napa's only working winery crafts light-on-the-palate Cabernet Sauvignon for a mere $20 a bottle.
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Sonoma Plaza Square
Downtown Sonoma was once the capital of a rogue nation. Today's plaza – the state's largest town square – looks stately with chic boutiques, historical buildings and stone visitor cen-ter, but it gets lively during summer evenings and farmers markets.
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