In Sonoma County, Come for the Wine, but Stay for the Scenery

“And the wine is bottled poetry…”

When I first saw the quote attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson outside a tasting room in the town of Sonoma, I laughed, snapped a picture on my phone, and kept walking. There are many things I associate the 19th century Scottish writer with, but wine is not one of them.

By the time I saw a nearby state park named after him on the map, and the same quote adorning the famous “Welcome to Napa” sign by the road one county over, I was well and truly intrigued. The famous Scottish writer, it turns out, spent a chunk of time in California – and honeymooned in Napa Valley in 1879 with his American wife.

My husband and I weren’t exactly following in his footsteps – for a start, we were staying in Sonoma County, not Napa Valley – but we were a Scot and American in California wine country for our own romantic getaway, celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary. With the promise of good wine, good food, and a relaxing environment, it seemed like the perfect option for a couple of days away.

“Bottled poetry” is a fitting way to describe the wine in Northern California.

Here, every vineyard and winery has their own story to tell, whether they’re a small family-run business or a major commercial operation you see on shop shelves around the world.

We covered a range of different winery experiences during our three days in Sonoma County, from large wineries with floor-to-ceiling windows over vineyards – like the (Scottish-linked) MacRostie Estate House – to tiny urban tasting rooms in the town of Sonoma itself. Thanks to it being off-season, we didn’t even need to make reservations, and could simply drop in after a hike through the woods or a stroll by the coast.

Sitting across from each other sipping local wines, a world away from work and routine and with a beautiful landscape of rolling vineyards right outside the window was everything I had imagined a weekend in Sonoma County would be.

What really struck me about Sonoma County though wasn’t the wine, as delicious as it was, but the landscape.

Of course, you can’t have one without the other. In this county of 1768 square miles, there are 450 wineries, 19 different American Viticultural Areas (officially defined wine grape-growing regions) and multiple microclimates, the end result being that 60 different varieties of grape are grown here. The diversity in the landscape is very much reflected in the diversity of the wines.

What that meant on the ground as we explored Sonoma County was that it felt as if we’d visited multiple different states in one day. There were towering Redwood tree-filled valleys with small towns that host annual rodeo competitions in the Russian River Valley. Undulating vineyards rippling away to misty hills in the distance outside Healdsburg. Fields lined with tunnels of moss-draped oak trees that wouldn’t look out of place in a fairytale in the Green Valley, and the sharp rocks and curves of succulents at the edge of the Pacific on the Sonoma Coast.

I’d expected views of carefully cultivated vineyards, but I was surprised at how wild most of the area felt, and how much nature made itself known.

From the cliffs above the dark sand of Jenner Beach, we watched a bald eagle sit poised where the Russian River met the Pacific, waiting for some fish. In the small seaside town of Bodega Bay, we ate lobster rolls by the water and spied a blue heron asleep in some close-knit branches. Nearby at Bodega Head, an American Kestrel perched atop the only tree in the area. By our hotel, just a few steps from the historic Sonoma Plaza, we watched a hummingbird dip in and out of flowering leaves for breakfast.

Sipping on a crisp Chardonnay next to a vineyard was the experience I had expected, and the one I had seen online and onscreen for years. This unruly and varied landscape spreading out across the north of one of the country’s most famous states wasn’t one that fit the stereotypes of a wine country holiday, and it made me love the place even more for it.

What I also hadn’t expected was for everyone we met to be so nice. Wine tasting can have a reputation of snobbery, but that attitude was nowhere to be seen in Sonoma. Whether it was the sommeliers chatting enthusiastically about their wines; the complimentary champagne and recurring wishes of “happy anniversary” at the restaurants we celebrated at; the steward at the state park who matched our enthusiasm for Redwoods; or Jake behind the bar at the Capo Isetta wine tasting room on Sonoma Plaza we kept returning to, we were welcomed everywhere with open arms.

My husband and I had come to Sonoma County for wine, but we’d experienced so much more.

If the wine in Northern California is bottled poetry, then there’s a world of creativity and inspiration to discover outside of that single genre. Come to Sonoma County for the wine, but stay for the scenery and the warm welcome. You won’t regret it.

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NEED TO KNOW

How do I get to Sonoma County? The easiest way to reach Sonoma is to hire a car in San Francisco and drive north – it’s only 30 miles north of the city, and the drive took about an hour. (The route includes driving over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge!)

Where should I stay? The accommodation options in Sonoma County are as varied as the landscape. We chose to base ourselves in the small town of Sonoma, which has a beautiful historic plaza at its centre, in the charming Cottage Inn & Spa. In January it was peaceful and quiet, although I’m sure it’s busier in high season. Other options we looked at included basing ourselves in the town of Healdsburg further north, which is slightly bigger and busier, or even on the coast (the Timber Cove Resort looks incredible!).

Which wineries should I visit? There are wineries of every size and style here, so I’d recommend researching what kind of wine you like, and what kind of experience you want, and going from there. We ended up visiting the modern Macrostie Estate House, Arista Winery (which as of February 2025 no longer offers wine tastings), and the tiny Capo Isetta tasting room. Other wineries on our list we didn’t make it to during our three-day visit included Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Gloria Ferrer Wines, and Bacchus Landing, a collection of eight tasting rooms in Healdsburg recommended to us by a local sommelier.

Where are the best places to eat in Sonoma County? From fine dining to fast food, there’s a bit of everything to enjoy here – a bit like the wines themselves! For upscale dining, we enjoyed Wit & Wisdom and The Girl & the Fig in Sonoma itself, and when it came to more casual meals, we ate excellent Mexican food at El Molina Central; had two incredible breakfasts at Lou’s Luncheonette on the border between Sonoma and Napa (don’t miss the biscuit breakfast sandwich!); and were very happy with the fresh lobster rolls at Fisherman’s Cove in Bodega Bay.

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Have you ever visited California wine country in Sonoma County, or would you like to? Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!