Fabulous Winter Getaway to Wine Country Itinerary

Take in gardens and artwork in Sonoma, stop by Glen Ellen for oysters and elegance, blend your own wine in Santa Rosa, and get cultural at a world-class performance venue.

Morning Warm Up

Start your weekend off in Sonoma, a pretty little town that oozes Wine Country chic and laid-back luxury any time of year. Choose your favorite pastries and baked goods, as well as sandwiches and more at Basque Boulangerie Café, or get an omelette, scramble, eggs Benedict, or other traditional American breakfast items at Sunflower Caffe. 

Cool Beauty

If the sun’s already peeking out, head to Cornerstone Sonoma, with its ever-changing series of gardens that makes for a scenic morning amble. 

International designers have dreamed up more than a dozen installations with themes as varied as “the Garden of Contrast,” “The Garden of Visceral Serenity,” and “Mediterranean Meadow.” 

The gardens open for self-guided tours at 10 a.m., and you’ll want to save time after your stroll to explore on-site home and garden shops, galleries, and wine tasting venues. Cornerstone is also the home of the Sunset Magazine Outdoor Kitchen and Test Gardens, offering inspiration to home cooks and gardeners. From the end of November and through December, Cornerstone will get extra festive with a French-style Winter Circus, and carolers.

For a morning indoors, get colorful at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. The eclectic museum has been known to feature everyone from little-known local artists to giants such as Picasso and Rodin.

Small Town, Big Eats

From Sonoma, take Highway 12 West for about 15 minutes and get yourself to Glen Ellen—a tiny town that packs a culinary wallop—in time for lunch. The Saloon at The Jack London Lodge offers great wine country comfort food on a creekside patio, or for something a bit more exotic, turn up the heat with Indian-Nepalese-fusion fare at Yeti.

Sip, Savor, Blend

Stomachs lined and taste buds awakened, it’s time for a real taste of Wine Country. If you feel like sticking around the Sonoma Valley area after lunch, you have your pick of wineries to choose from. 

Go wine tasting at and near the Sonoma Plaza, around the charming village of Glen Ellen, and at the north end of the valley in the community of Kenwood.

Area wineries really warm up in the winter. Landmark Vineyards in Kenwood is as renowned for its cozy atmosphere as it is for its stellar Chardonnay.

A bit further north, in Santa Rosa, turn a winter’s day indoors into a special occasion at DeLoach Vineyards. DeLoach’s “MFS” (My Finest Selection) experience lets you play winemaker for the day; you’ll finish the afternoon with a bottle you’ve blended and with your own custom-designed label for (reservation required).

Dinner and a Show

Sonoma County has two world-class venues where you can settle in for an evening of culture. The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa stages performances by everyone from rock bands to classical orchestras, celebrated comedians to dance companies. And at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, customized acoustics and warm, modern design make an evening at the symphony a night to remember.

For dinner before your show at the Luther Burbank Center, eat like you’re family at the Kin Windsor restaurant in Windsor, or see what’s on the seasonal menu the acclaimed John Ash & Co. restaurant just a stone’s throw away from the Luther Burbank Center.

Just north of Rohnert Park on Highway 101, Santa Rosa’s charming downtown district offers lots more options for cozy, elegant dining. Try Stark’s Steak & Seafood for hearty, sophisticated food around a dining room fireplace. A few minutes away in the town’s artsy SOFA (South A Street) art district, Spinster Sisters receives rave reviews for its clever and creative food.

Wind Down

After a show at the Green Music Center, make yourself at home at the Gables Wine Country Inn. This enormous Victorian with fireplaces and claw-foot tubs in nearly every room waits just a few minutes away on Petaluma Hill Road.

From the Luther Burbank Center, it’s a two-minute drive to the luxurious Vintners Resort.  Or head 10 minutes along River Road, and you’ll find a long porch with vineyard views and several rooms with fireplaces at the more intimate Raford Inn.

Soar above the vineyards, ice skate with Snoopy, watch out for whales, dine on Dungeness, and warm up by a fireplace.

Rise & Dine

We take breakfast very seriously in Sonoma County, so make today’s count by spending the morning at one of our local institutions.

In Santa Rosa, Hank’s Creekside Restaurant is a standby for well done, no-fuss food like eggs benedict, blueberry pancakes, and customizable scrambles. Try for a table overlooking the Santa Rosa Creek, which often rushes along nicely in the winter months.

In downtown Santa Rosa, Dierk’s Parkside Café has a huge following for its modern twists on classic comfort food. Think homemade cinnamon rolls grilled up like French toast, scrambled eggs with Sonoma duck confit, and local vegetable hash with goat cheese and pesto. (You’ll find a second location, Dierk’s Midtown Café, in midtown Santa Rosa).

Such Great Heights

Even in the winter, Sonoma County often enjoys a sunny, cool climate, so invigorate your morning by getting outdoors. For an iconic wine country splurge, skip breakfast and book an early-morning hot air balloon ride out of Santa Rosa. There are two local companies waiting to give you a bird’s-eye view of the vineyards, crop fields, and mountains the area’s famous for.

If you’d rather spend the morning gazing up than looking down, try an easy walk through Armstrong Redwoods. Peace and tranquility reign supreme in this hundred-acre-plus redwood reserve in Guerneville, southwest of Healdsburg and northwest of Santa Rosa.

Happiness is a Warm Puppy

If you’d prefer to spend the morning indoors—or if your inner child is alive and well—don’t miss the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. The man behind Snoopy and Charlie Brown called Santa Rosa home, and the museum that bears his name today is the best place in the world to admire his work. The museum makes it easy and fun to track the evolution of Schulz’s comics, learn about the art of cartooning, and get to know the whole Peanuts gang a little better.

Next door to the museum, Snoopy’s Home Ice recreates the feel of a Swiss chalet right here in Wine Country. Stop in for a morning skate, or warm up with a hot chocolate at the attached Warm Puppy Café, where a “Reserved” sign sits eternally at Schulz’s favorite table.

In the mood for a more leisurely morning? Not to worry: you can sleep in and still have time to enjoy a perfect afternoon at the Sonoma Coast.

Way out West

As you head west towards the coast via Highway 12 and the Bodega Highway, it’s worth taking a slight detour along the Bohemian Highway for a stop in Occidental. This quaint little town feels as if little has changed since the 19^th century.

The Union Hotel Restaurant has been anchoring Occidental’s Main Street since 1879. Lunch here means homemade minestrone and the world’s greatest breadsticks, fresh lasagna, and pesto pizzas. Enjoy your meal in the main dining room, complete with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and Chianti-bottle candles, or pull up a stool next to the locals at the old-school bar.

The Howard Station Café, just a few steps down the road, is the perfect stop for a lighter lunch, serving sandwiches, burgers, soups, and salads in a neighborhood setting. Be sure to bring cash, as no plastic is accepted.

On the Look Out

Winter on the Sonoma Coast generally means three things: clear, brisk weather; whales; and Dungeness crab. From Occidental, make the 25-minute drive out to Bodega Bay and you’ll have your choice of all three.

Each year, from January to May, blue and grey whales cruise down the Sonoma coastline on their way south to Baja California. You can often spot them on their epic migration from the Ocean Overlook at Bodega Head, one of Sonoma County’s top spots for whale watching. To maximize your chances of spotting a giant, you can also reserve places on a chartered whale watching tour leaving from Bodega Bay.

Of course, you don’t have to get out on the water to enjoy the Sonoma Coast’s legendary scenery. Popular hiking trails, like the Kortum Trail between Shell Beach and Blind Beach, are perfect for easy bluff-top walks with sensational ocean views along the way.

The trails at Bodega Head are also easily accessible and relatively flat, making them perfect for a quick stroll. While winter weather on the Sonoma coast is often mild, it can get quite windy, so make sure you dress in layers. Or, feel free to stay in the car—a drive north on the Coast Highway affords panoramic views of the Pacific right from your window.

Seasonal Specialty

Now, about that crab: Dungeness crab season in Sonoma County starts in November, and you’ll find the much-loved crustaceans on dinner menus all over the coast throughout the winter. In Bodega Bay, the Bay View Restaurant at the Inn at the Tides, the Lucas Wharf Restaurant & Bar, and Drakes Sonoma Coast restaurant at the Bodega Bay Lodge all serve local Dungeness in warm, inviting dining rooms.

You can also go right to the source and pick up live, freshly caught crab at the Spud Point Crab Co. (Of course, if you can’t wait to try this seasonal specialty, you can order up crab sandwiches or crab cakes to eat on-site until 5 p.m. daily). There’s also Fisherman’s Cove, part bait-and-tackle shop and part deli, for crab rolls and oysters plus Lagunitas beer on tap.

Fireside Night Cap

Our coastal temperatures drop at night, giving you a perfect excuse to settle in front of the fire with a glass of something warming. Drakes Fireside Lounge (next to Drakes Sonoma Coast restaurant at Bodega Bay Lodge) is the perfect escape. Relax with a glass of Sonoma County Pinot Noir next to the stone fireplace, or cozy up around the outdoor fire pit as you look up at the stars.

If you’re hungry for something different, skip dinner in Bodega Bay and head inland about 12 miles on Highway 116 to Guerneville. This lush little riverside town’s famous for its hip, bohemian resort lifestyle in the summer months; during the winter the scenery’s just as pretty but the crowds disappear. boon eat + drink showcases the local bounty in small plates and seasonal main dishes and the Main Street Bistro serves up live acoustic music with its traditional menu items.

Settle in and Stay a While

Wherever the night takes you, you’ll have plenty of cozy, comfortable lodging options nearby. In Bodega Bay, sit by a wood-burning fire at the Bodega Bay Lodge and keep warm as you take in the ocean views out your window.

If you’ve made your way to Jenner for dinner at the River’s End, stick around for its “luxe unplugged” guestrooms. Kitted out like rustic-chic cabins, each room features a gas fireplace and a private deck with views of both the river and the ocean.

And in Guerneville, the guestrooms at The Stavrand Russian River Valley are flooded in warm colors and firelight, and some even feature private hot tubs.

No matter where you end your trip, chances are you’ll wake up looking at winter in a whole new way. Whether you’re coming for the holidays or after the new year, check the Sonoma County Calendar of Events for current festivals, wine events, and other happenings. Find lodging, restaurant, wine tasting deals here.