Wine tasting, boutique wineries, and unforgettable moments in Sonoma County
🥂 A Ladies-Only Bucket List Adventure
This post about our Sonoma Wine Country trip is dedicated to Rosie G., who made our experience far more memorable than we ever expected. Thank you, Rosie, for your time, generosity, and friendship.
A trip to Sonoma Wine Country had been on my bucket list for years. As my appreciation for wine grew over time, so did my curiosity about where it was produced. Eventually I set a goal to take a girls’ trip to California wine country — a few days exploring vineyards, learning about winemaking, tasting great wines, and simply enjoying the experience.
Luckily, my cousin Vicki loves wine just as much as I do. For good measure we invited another wine-loving friend, Suellen, to join us.
And just like that, the three wine musketeers began planning our trip.
With travel reopening after the pandemic and all of us vaccinated, we scheduled our adventure for October 2022, one of the most beautiful times of year in Sonoma County.
🏡 Staying in Santa Rosa
After researching different towns in the region, we chose to stay in Santa Rosa, which sits in the center of Sonoma County and offers easy access to several famous wine regions including:
• Sonoma Valley
• Alexander Valley
• Dry Creek Valley
• Russian River Valley
We rented a three-bedroom VRBO home for four nights, which turned out to be a perfect choice. The house gave us plenty of space to spread out, enjoy breakfast together, and relax in the evenings.
Sharing the cost also made the trip more affordable — leaving more room in the budget for wine purchases.
We arrived at San Francisco International Airport, picked up our rental car, and headed north toward wine country. Unfortunately, we hit heavy Bay Area traffic, and the normally shorter drive stretched to almost three hours before we reached Santa Rosa.
After a quick stop at a local market for provisions, we headed to the house for a light dinner and some much-needed rest.
Our Sonoma wine adventure was about to begin.
🚐 A Sonoma Wine Tour with Platypus Tours
For our first full day we had booked a wine tasting tour with Platypus Tours, a company we selected after researching several highly rated options.
Sonoma offers many wine tour styles including:
• private car tours
• limousine services
• bike tours
• scooter tours
• group vans and trolley tours
We chose Platypus because of their excellent reviews, small group format, and knowledgeable guides.
The tour van picked us up from a nearby Santa Rosa hotel about ten minutes from our rental house. With only about fifteen guests aboard, the van felt comfortable and relaxed. The seats were arranged facing each other, which made it easy to chat with fellow wine lovers from around the country.
Our guide had lived in Sonoma for more than thirty years and had worked in various parts of the wine industry. His knowledge of the region was impressive, and he provided each guest with a small handbook explaining the area’s history, grape varieties, and wine-tasting techniques.
Our wine education started the moment the van left the parking lot.
🍇 First Stop – J. Rickards Winery
Our first winery was J. Rickards Winery, located in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County.
Jim Rickards and his wife began producing wine here in 2005 after deciding cattle ranching wasn’t the path they wanted to continue. Today the winery is known for its small-production wines and sustainable farming practices.
We stepped off the van and were immediately handed tasting glasses filled with a crisp 2021 Viognier — a refreshing start to the day.
The winery sits among gently rolling vineyard hills, and we were encouraged to wander the property and take photos before gathering around long handcrafted wooden tables to begin the tasting.
Jim himself joined us and shared the story of how he developed the vineyard and built his home nearby.
🍷 Learning How to Taste Wine
One of the highlights of the visit was learning how to properly taste wine.
Jim demonstrated the classic tasting process:
- Smell the wine first to experience the aromas
- Swirl the glass to aerate the wine
- Taste slowly, allowing the wine to reach all areas of the palate
Before pouring the next wine, Jim also offered an important piece of advice.
Because we would be tasting many wines throughout the day, he suggested small sips rather than finishing every glass. If a wine wasn’t to your liking, simply pour the rest into the tasting bucket and move on.
Everyone’s palate is different — although, as Jim joked, we should expect to love his wines the most.
🍇 Touring the Geothermal Wine Cave
Jim then led us into his geothermal wine cave, an impressive horseshoe-shaped cellar built directly into the hillside.
The cave maintains a naturally stable temperature thanks to the cooling properties of the surrounding earth, assisted by large fans that circulate fresh air through the space.
Inside we learned about:
• the importance of oak barrels
• how different woods influence flavor
• the aging process that shapes each vintage
It was fascinating to see how science, engineering, and craftsmanship combine in the art of winemaking.
🍷 Mill Creek Winery
Our next stop was Mill Creek Winery, located in the Dry Creek Valley.
Founded in 1965 by the Kreck family, the winery sits beside a charming wooden mill building and pond surrounded by vineyards.
This stop included our box lunch, which was surprisingly excellent despite the humble packaging. Picnic tables scattered around the property made for a relaxing place to enjoy lunch while sipping a beautifully dry rosé.
Jeremy Kreck, the winery manager and winemaker, joined us to discuss the winery’s history and production methods while we sampled several wines including:
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Heather’s Cuvée (a red blend)
By this point we had tasted seven or eight wines already, but the experience remained thoroughly enjoyable.
🍷 A Small Boutique Winery – Desmond Wines
Our final stop for the day was Desmond Wines, a small family-run winery specializing in Pinot Noir.
Owners Bill and Danette Robbins hosted us on their covered patio with wine, cheese, and crackers while sharing the story of how they began growing grapes on their land.
Their Pinot Noir was exceptional — easily one of the best wines I had ever tasted.
We purchased several bottles before heading back to Santa Rosa.
🍝 Dinner in Santa Rosa
After returning from the tour around 4:30 PM, we were tired but happy after a full day of wine tasting.
That evening we headed to Lococo’s Cucina Rustica, a highly recommended Italian restaurant in Santa Rosa.
Even with reservations we had a short wait — always a good sign.
The meal was delicious and the perfect way to end our first full day in Sonoma.
👭 A Friend in the Right Place
One of the best surprises of our trip happened the following day.
Suellen happened to know someone who lived in Santa Rosa, so she reached out to let her know we were visiting.
That friend turned out to be Rosie, a local wine enthusiast and member of several wineries in the region.
Rosie graciously offered to take us on a personal winery tour the next day.
It turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip.
🍇 Truett-Hurst Winery
Rosie’s first stop was Truett-Hurst Winery, a beautiful bio-sustainable vineyard and working farm.
Without Rosie we never would have discovered this wonderful winery.
The outdoor tasting patio overlooked a peaceful river where we enjoyed tastings of:
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Noir
• Zinfandel
Rosie had even prepared a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed along the riverbank while watching goats graze nearby — part of the vineyard’s sustainability program.
It was one of those perfect travel moments when everything comes together.
🍷 Ferrari-Carano Winery
Our final stop was Ferrari-Carano Winery, known for its elegant gardens and expansive vineyards.
Although the winery had recently sold and was no longer accepting walk-in tastings, we still enjoyed strolling through the beautiful gardens overlooking endless rows of vines.
It was the perfect ending to a memorable afternoon.
❤️ A Trip to Remember
Before leaving, we invited Rosie and her husband to join us for dinner at a local tapas restaurant she recommended.
It was a wonderful evening and the perfect conclusion to an unforgettable girls’ trip.
Four days turned out to be the perfect amount of time to explore Sonoma Wine Country.
While we briefly considered visiting nearby Napa Valley, we decided to focus our time in Sonoma instead — where tastings are generally more relaxed and affordable.
I look forward to returning someday with my husband or daughters to explore even more of the region.
Those redwood forests and vineyards are calling my name.
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