Winery News and Events in Sonoma County, California
Just 30 miles north of San Francisco, Sonoma County is one of California’s top food and wine destinations and home to more than 425 wineries ranging from rustic to regal. While visiting this real gem of a destination, get out and enjoy nature by hiking among towering redwoods, cruising along rugged Pacific coastline, and getting to know friendly, quaint small towns.
Or, just sit back and take in all the deliciousness!
Not surprisingly, there are many great things going on in and around the wineries of Sonoma County, California. If you’re planning a trip that includes a visit to any of the Northern California vineyards, the following wineries have plenty of new and exciting happenings to offer!
This article includes information provided by the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.
Jordan’s Rob Davis hands winemaking duties to Maggie Kruse
Considered one of the longest-tenured winemakers in Sonoma County, Rob Davis of Jordan Vineyard and Winery is turning over the lead winemaking and management responsibilities to Maggie Kruse.
Davis, who has worked at Jordan since the inaugural 1976 harvest, is transitioning into the newly created role of winegrower at Jordan. Kruse has worked alongside Davis for the last 13 harvests.
“For family businesses like ours, leadership changes like this only come around two or three times in a century,” said John Jordan, CEO and proprietor of Jordan Vineyard & Winery. “This newly created position will allow Rob to focus entirely on grape growing while letting Maggie take on more leadership responsibility after 13 years of dedication to the company.”
Founded in 1972, Jordan Vineyard & Winery was inspired by the great wine estates of France and the timeless connection between food, wine, and hospitality. The estate includes an iconic chateau, formal dining room, breathtaking views, sustainably farmed vineyards, natural habitat for wildlife, and a garden for the chef’s inventive cuisine. The winery offers a variety of tour and tasting experiences, all of which include food and wine pairing (by appointment only).
Jordan Vineyard & Winery
1474 Alexander Valley Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-431-5250
Capo Creek Winery Offers Unique Pairings
The newest winery on West Dry Creek Road in Sonoma County’s beautiful Dry Creek Valley, Capo Creek Winery is garnering attention for its delicious food and wine pairings led by winemaker, chef, and owner Mary Roy.
The one-hour Flight of the Day tasting experience ($35) features five premium wines with the bite of the day. On the two-hour Ultimate Food & Wine Pairing ($85), Roy presents six courses of food and wine in a unique setting. Or, allow three hours for the Ultimate six-course pairing together with a private tour of the vineyard and wine cave ($135). Even better, join Roy in the kitchen for Cook & Sip ($235 per person, minimum three people), a fun-filled customized experience playing with food and wine. The Flight of the Day is sometimes available to walk-ins, but otherwise reservations are required.
The winery’s logo is a musical “capo” — a clamp fastened across all the strings of a musical instrument — to reflect a return to life’s simplest pleasures, from the clear melodic sounds of songbirds to acoustic guitar strings. Capo Creek Ranch is a peaceful oasis from the hectic pace of everyday life. The winery focuses on nurturing its grapes from infancy into luscious complex wines.
Capo Creek Winery
7171 W. Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-608-8448
Flowers Winery Opens Healdsburg Tasting Room
Taste iconic wines from the Sonoma Coast in the new House of Flowers tasting room, just minutes from downtown Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County.
Founded 30 years ago on a remote location 1,800 feet above the craggy Pacific coastline, Flowers Vineyards & Winery helped define the style of Sonoma Coast wines with terroir-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. However, the remote location made it difficult for wine lovers to visit.
Set within a redwood grove in a renovated 1970s-era winery and gardens, the new House of Flowers tasting room offers high ceilings, skylights, blond cypress walls, a dramatic stairway, and floor-to-ceiling windows that slide open to access the patio, private sun room, and gardens. The tasting room is open daily, with a limited number of walk-in appointments available each day; reservations are required for the full House of Flowers experience.
House of Flowers
Flowers Vineyard & Winery
4025 Westside Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-723-4800
4th Street Cellars Wine Bar Features Artisan Wines
Pull up a chair at the tasting bar or sink into a plush seat near the fireplace at 4th Street Cellars, a family-owned wine tasting lounge and wine bar featuring the handcrafted artisan wines of Bonneau, Egret, and Opal Moon wines.
Located in a century-old storefront in Santa Rosa’s historic Railroad Square district, 4th Street Cellars offers wines in tasting flights or by the glass or bottle. The Bonneau family, with three generations of growers and winemakers, crafts these distinctively classic and elegant wines.
Local musicians perform at 4th Street Cellars on Friday evenings, and it’s easy to order in food from the many nearby Railroad Square restaurants.
4th Street Cellars
127 Fourth St.
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707-806-2779
Meadowcroft Wines Tasting Room Brings The Outside In
A 10-foot interior green wall and grapevines surrounding the private patio are just a few of the striking features in the newly renovated Meadowcroft Wines tasting room in Cornerstone Sonoma, in the southern Sonoma Valley.
The renovations focused on bringing a feel of the outdoors inside, said Tom Meadowcroft, owner and winemaker. The interior boasts new comfortable seating, the group tasting area offers new seating and tables perfect for groups of 12 or more, and the patio includes upgraded furniture and a new standing bar area. In addition to being surrounded by living grapevines, the walls of the private patio are adorned with gorgeous succulent arrangements.
Named one of the Top 100 Wineries of 2019 by Bonforts Wine & Spirits, Meadowcroft crafts vineyard-specific, limited-production wines, expressing both European wine heritage and California creativity. The tasting room offers a variety of experiences, including a stroll through a vineyard and a chance to make your own perfect wine blend.
Meadowcroft Wines
23574 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476
707-934-4090
When my family and I visited California a couple months ago, we enjoyed some of the many outdoor recreation activities and delicious food and wine found all over the state.
We had a great time and highly recommend adding Sonoma County to your travel bucket list if it’s not already there.
Have you visited any of the vineyards and wineries of Sonoma County, California? Share your favorites in a comment below!
I’d like to visit them ALL! I love a good winery and I imagine these are some of the best out there.
There’s 425 of them….the ultimate year-long girls trip!! 🙂
I, myself, do not drink wine but I’ve shared this blog with my mom since she’s looking to do a wine trip up the West Coast. Thanks for all the info!
No need to be a wine drinker to visit the wineries. The food is usually among the BEST to be had.
My husband and I have gone to a few wine and food pairings and have enjoyed them all. These look so enjoyable I might just book tickets for us to go and leave my kids with my brother in San Jose. lol
Yes! Do it and have a great time!
Beautiful places! I wish sooo much I could drink wine! Unfortunately, I have some sort of allergy to it. I start sneezing uncontrollably after half a glass! Still, I would visit Sonoma County because it’s such a beautiful area! Great post! 😉
What! That’s terrible 🙂 You could visit and enjoy all the delicious FOOD!
I bet driving around this area would be so beautiful and such a great experience!
I think just visiting these places would be amazing! They look beautiful.
More than 425 wineries? Wow…that could be so overwhelming. Thankfully, your discernment to highlight some fabulous places is a perfect guide for those traveling to wine country.
I’m not much of a wine drinker but the wineries in Sonoma are beautiful and I love their little stores inside where you find artisan foods to compliment your wine. I’m about the food.
I love a good vineyard. The MeadowCroft Wines tasting room sounds absolutely stunning, with the green wall and vines right there. Now I’m craving a glass of Pinot!
Absolutely love Sonoma. Thanks for these bite-size breakdown of events!
This is definitely on my bucket list! Thanks for the great tips!
The countryside looks so beautiful here! Since I don’t drink, I would spend my time enjoying nature!
Lovely article. It’s on my list to go visit the area. Thank you for the information!
I think maybe my comment didn’t go through so forgive me if its double. I just wanted to say thank you for the info. I’m planning a trip up there and this is helpful!
Wow, all of this sounds amazing. I’m going to share this with my friend who lives in CA.
I have not been to the vineyards and wineries of Sonoma County, California. It would be nice to go. I enjoy learning about the history of the land.
I don’t drink but I would love to visit these places just to see them and eat the food 😉
Looks like a lovely time. Can’t wait to check it out
We were in SF a month ago and had no idea there were over 400 wineries so close by! Too bad I didn’t see this great post before then! Maybe next time : )