which is closer to San Fran Napa or Sonoma?

[clearblu]

and which is a better experience to visit? t u

 

[McQueenofHrts]

I would say Sonoma is closer. It takes about 45 minutes to get from SF to Sonoma. What are you looking to do? Do you have a special wine/winery that you like? Sonoma has a small town feel. Well, it is a small town. LOL! You can walk the plaza (square in the middle of town) and wine taste as well as drive to visit wineries. If you have small kids, there is a place called Train Town that is packed every day that it is open. On Tuesday nights, a farmer's market is held on the plaza and is very popular too. Let me know if you have anymore questions!

Pam

 

[clearblu]

Pam thank you very helpful, well a quick trip to see the wine country and on way back stop at muir woods, I would like to check out a winery, do you suggest any in southern napa./or sonoma? I oringinally loooked at domaine caneros (rated really good) it is in southern napa. How far do you think southern napa is from sonoma?

ps i just started on this dis boards thing and it is really cool and helpful

 

[Mary*Poppins]

ps i just started on this dis boards thing and it is really cool and helpful

You are too funny sister!

 

[McQueenofHrts]

Am I missing out on a joke???

First, I must confess that having grown up amongst the vineyards and with some of the big wine families, I have had little interest in building a wine cellar and/or to become a wine expert, so I wouldn't be the best person to advise you about the taste, etc. In other words, there are soo many experts in town, I don't need to be one. LOL! What I can tell you is that Domaine Carneros is beautiful. It is no more than 15 minutes outside of Sonoma. (It depends on how fast or slow you drive.) You can have lunch on the plaza in Sonoma and then head off to the winery or vice versa. If you are a foodie, you would like "the girl and the fig" restaurant. If you watch Guy Fieri on the Food Network, you may want to try "Sunflower Caffe'" as it has appeared on the show. Both are on the plaza. There are a few wineries in Sonoma proper that you could go to as well. Try Sebastiani, Buena Vista, Hacienda, etc. If you are a history buff, the Sonoma Mission sits on a corner of the plaza. If you choose to visit the plaza, please don't taste the cheese at Sonoma Jack. The real place to go is a few blocks from the plaza called Vella Cheese. You will find this cheese in upscale shops. It is not mass produced, etc. OK, I have blabbed on enough. Not sure if I was any help.

Have a good trip!

Pam

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I know that St. Helena is somewhere in the vicinity of Sonoma and Napa. This was by far our favorite winery when we visited the area. You might want to check it out.

http://www.vsattui.com/

 

[lcasa]

I 2nd the vote for the Girl & the Fig - they have the BEST cheese platters. I prefer Napa wineries - not that much further depending on how far south you travel. It's a pretty big region.

In Sonoma we've enjoyed Gundlach Bundshau ( good pinots), BR Cohn ( we was the Doobie Bros mgr) and Kenwood was very nice once. We were very disappointed in Jordan - a LONG tour and they let us have 1 taste of Chard.

You can share tastes btw - my DH and I do all the time -otherwise you spend 2x as much and can't taste as many wines, plus if there's something you don't like you haven't wasted as much trying it.


You might want to do Muir woods first - you won't want it to be dark when you're there. It is beautiful

 

[splash5]

If you go to Napa, you should check out Frog's Leap winery. Very informative tour and we tasted 4 or 5 wines.

 

[yxjames]

and which is a better experience to visit? t u

Sonoma is closer, and I think I like Sonoma as it has a nice California feel to it.

 

[bcdisney]

Sonoma County is closer than Napa County although they are right next to each other. They both have lots of wineries that I'm told are cool. I myself would rather visit Disneyland than a winery any day. Town wise Sonoma is fun and has a lot of history (including the historical Sebastiani Theater where John Lasseter likes to premier Pixar movies) but Healdsburg, Guerneville and other small towns along the Russian River are very nice too. Healdsburg is very popular with the wine crowd. I love Calistoga as well and there is a cool geyser there and some nice shops.