Sonoma County Holiday Gift Guide

We take sustainability seriously here in Sonoma County, where 99% of our vineyard acres are certified sustainable. It’s why we have the Travel Kindly Pledge, asking visitors to help preserve and make a positive impact on our destination. 

Exploring Sonoma County’s wineries are an exciting way to bring sustainability to the holidays. For gift suggestions, consider sustainable winery experiences like Old World Winery‘s “Adopt-A-Vine” program, which allows sponsors to foster a single grapevine and take a positive stake in regenerative agriculture.

Seismic Brewing Company, located at The Barlow, focuses on crafting the highest quality beer in the most environmentally sustainable manner possible. Support their admirable efforts by gifting their year-round and limited-release beers, such as the Aullvium Pilsner and the Shatter Cone IPA. 

Sustainable wellness company Sumbody makes natural, small-batch skincare, bath, hair, and makeup products. For many more sustainably-made gift suggestions, be sure to check out our sustainable shopping guide.

Sonoma County is full of unique wellness experiences that when booked as a surprise or presented as a gift certificate, will provide vacations in and of themselves.

Luxury hotels like Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa and Vintners Resort have stunning spas, wellness retreats like Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary will soothe the most stubborn stress, and Glen Ellen’s Gaige House + Ryokan is a zen hideaway offering private meditation and yoga classes, as well as forest bathing. 

Sonoma County spas also include Blush A Day Spa, which has online gift certificates for sale, as well as memberships for those frequent Sonoma County visitors. 

You might also consider gifting a wellness workshop from Unbeaten Path Tours and Yoga, or purchasing locally made wellness and bath products, like those from the Soap Cauldron (which includes Three Sisters Apothecary products) and the girl & the fig. 

With hundreds of trails, 55 miles of coastline, meandering rivers, beautiful redwood groves, and much more, Sonoma County is a playground for the outdoor adventurer. 

For Sonoma County regulars, we recommend a Sonoma County Regional Parks membership. For just $69, members get 12 months of parking at more than 50 Sonoma County regional parks, 12 months of boat launching at numerous parks, 1 night of camping, and other perks. 

For the outdoor adventurer in your life, purchase a zipline tour guest pass from Sonoma Zipline Adventures. This unique Sonoma County adventure pass is valid for use with any open zipline canopy tour for the year, and comes with a helmet cam rental with a micro SD card to capture all the action. 

Sonoma County adventures are endless (and many can be purchased as gift cards), such as a hot air balloon ride over vineyards, a cycling wine tour, a weekend of glamping on the Russian River, and more.

Sonoma County is home to more than 425 wineries, so it’s safe to say we have a lot of great wine gifts and offers from which to choose.

For instance, Flowers Vineyards & Winery offers free shipping on its Estate and Sonoma Coast duo packs; Rodney Strong Vineyards is offering several discounted holiday gift sets of their Russian River Valley wines; and Silver Oak includes free two-day shipping on all its holiday exclusives, including limited edition, custom-etched bottles of their Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Also be sure to take a spin through the special offers shared by our wineries and remember that most offer their own club memberships with special releases and year-round perks. 

If your favorite wine lover is curious about what it takes to actually run a winery, consider booking them a tour. Or simply treat friends and family to a chauffeur-driven tour of wine country with Pure Luxury Transportation. 

And don’t forget about our Sonoma County Tasting Pass, available in 1, 3 and 60-day options for either wineries or distilleries throughout Sonoma County, making it the gift that keeps on giving!  

Sonoma County is also a culinary treasure trove, with an abundance of fresh produce available year-round and a windfall of locally made products, such as cheese, honey, and chocolate.

Give the foodie(s) in your life a taste of this bounty with a curated selection of local goodies like olive oil, smoked almonds, toffee, and spice rubs. Or buy delicious products direct from Sonoma County makers, such as (Oprah’s favorite) biscuit mix from Piknik Town Market, homemade jam from Lala’s Jam Bar, and honey from the Lavender Bee Farm.  

To keep the yum going all year long, join William Cofield Cheesemakers‘ cheese club, Journeyman‘s Salumi Guild, or B.R. Cohn‘s Gourmet Olive Oil and Vinegar Club. For more information on Sonoma County clubs and gift subscriptions, click here.

In advance of the next Sonoma County Restaurant Week, which takes place in February every year, consider purchasing gift cards from participating restaurants like Handline in Sebastopol or Jackson’s Bar and Oven in downtown Santa Rosa.

Or you could make reservations at farm-to-table hotspots like Dustin Valette’s The Matheson in Healdsburg; Michelin-starred attractions Cyrus in Geyserville and SingleThread in Healdsburg; Santa Rosa’s John Ash & Co.; Sonoma’s Folktable; or Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma. 

For an extra-special gift, why not plan to dine together? After all, shared experiences make the most cherished memories.  

While Sonoma County may be best known as Wine Country, it’s also home to wonderful craft breweries,  distilleries, and cider houses — each with their own special holiday offerings, and just waiting to be explored. 

Beer lovers will rejoice over Pliny the Elder-themed bundles and gift cards from Russian River Brewing, or a combo of the gift cards, apparel, bottled sour beers, and variety packs from Barrel Brothers.

Local distilleries like Spirit Works Distillery, Sonoma Brothers Distilling, and Griffo Distillery offer holiday gift packs, while vodka producer Hanson of Sonoma invites you to book special tasting experiences like a martini and caviar pairing, and soon, private tours of their facility. 

Like wineries, many of Sonoma County’s craft drink makers also have their own subscription clubs. Golden State Cider has a Cider Club, in which members receive rare ciders from their cider series, and spirits purveyor Young & Yonder‘s club ships quarterly. 

Sonoma County has a vibrant cultural scene, with world-class performance venues, excellent museums, dozens of galleries (like those in Santa Rosa’s funky South A Street Art District), and hundreds of resident creatives.

For the art lover, consider purchasing art from a local art gallery such as Fulton Crossing Gallery or Historic Town of Bodega Art Gallery. Visit Creative Sonoma’s website to discover wonderful holiday events, works, and classes, and support Sonoma County art organizations, artists, and makers. 

For the museum lover, consider gifting a membership to the Charles M. Schulz Museum, California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, or Museum of Sonoma County. Bonus, most area museum memberships include discounts to their gift shops or online stores.  

For the performance lover, present a gift certificate to a blockbuster show like Broadway Under the Stars by the Transcendence Theatre Company, or to see music, dance, or spoken word events at fabulous venues like the Green Music Center and Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. 

From sustainable handbags to cool ball caps, you’re sure to find one-of-a-kind pieces that will wow your friends and family of all styles.

Stop into Adelle Stoll, for example, and you’ll find The Good Bag, a reversible handbag designed and sewn by local artist Adelle Stoll. These bags are made from denim milled in Sacramento by Huston Textiles, a family-owned business that sources their cotton in the U.S., some of it just a couple hours away from their warehouse. For the sale of each bag, a donation will be made to Redwood Empire Food Bank or the food bank of your choice. 

For the ball-cap wearer, Snapback caps are works-of-art, sold in one-of-a-kind airbrushed designs by Sebastopol-based Dom Chi Designs.

Coffee roasters and gourmet tea purveyors abound here. Choose a few bags of beans, a holiday gift set, or a gift card from local roasters like Taylor Lane Organic Coffee, Wolf Coffee, Big River Coffee, and Retrograde Coffee Roasters.

Several Sonoma County coffee companies also offer subscriptions and coffee clubs, including Land and Water Coffee and Flying Goat. 

Or toss some tea into the mix: Petaluma Coffee and Tea Company offers a wide variety of teas and fair trade coffee from around the world, while Tea & Trumpets and The Taste of Tea specialize exclusively in tea and tea products.

Nothing says the holidays like chocolate, and Sonoma County has several great chocolate producers to choose from! Gift your favorite chocolate fan with a Club Volo Chocolate Subscription, which will provide them with a delicious assortment of different chocolate bars each month. 

Many chocolate purveyors offer their creations for purchase online, including Volo, Fleur Sauvage, Wine Country Chocolates, Eye Candy Chocolatier, Sonoma Chocolatiers, and Rainy Day Chocolate, and some offer gift cards for purchase, as well. Treat that chocoholic to English toffee, peppermint bark, chocolate-dipped marshmallows, truffles, chocolate sauce, and much more.

With hundreds of farms and many thousands of acres of protected land, Sonoma County is a playground for wildlife. And there are many ways to experience that wildlife from more than just a car or safe distance on a trail. 

On behalf of the animal lovers in your life, you can make a donation to support the efforts of Charlie’s Acres, a farm animal sanctuary in Sonoma. For an especially touching gift, you could purchase an ongoing sponsorship of one or more of the rescued critters that live here. 

You could also gift the opportunity to interact with goats on a tour of Redwood Hill Farm – Capracopia—which also makes its own cheese.

Or you can book a safari adventure or luxury tent stay at Santa Rosa’s Safari West (a.k.a. “the Sonoma Serengeti”), a wildlife preserve committed to conservation, education, and stewardship of African animals such as giraffes, rhinos, lemurs, and Cape buffalo. 

For an animal-friendly experience unique to Wine Country, book the vegan wine tour offered by La Belle Vie Tours. Or, book a special meal at one of Sonoma County’s best vegan restaurants, such as the Cozy Plum Bistro. 

Last (but certainly not least) are gifts for the boss, colleague, or client in your life. Many Sonoma County wineries have you covered with corporate-friendly wine gifts, including Muscardini Cellars, Hawkes, Chateau St. Jean, and Gundlach Bundschu Winery. 

For something more experiential, gift your team with a corporate tasting at Paradise Ridge Winery; a cooking or cheesemaking class like those offered by The Epicurean Connection; or a candle-creating workshop offered by Sonoma 707 Candle.