allison *trying* to overlook the castello di amorosa vineyard

i’ve spent the last five years in california, and at times it is overwhelming to think of all the places within the state to visit. between the beaches and deserts of southern california, the cool and dramatic coastlines of central california, and the nature-defying beauty of the lush parts of northern california, there is always something to see (don’t even get me started on the cities within california and that little park out east called yosemite). i’ve tried to hit up as many sites as i can before leaving for dallas, but there were just some i had reserve for future jaunts. the northern wine country (i.e. sonoma and napa valley) is one such area that will remain unexplored by me for at least the near future. luckily, my friend, allison, spent some time there last july, and was willing to share some of her favorite places.

jaunt blog: where did you travel, and why?

allison: my boyfriend, dan, and i took a super relaxing trip to wine country in northern california over the summer (july). we stayed in sonoma for just under a week, but spent significant time in napa valley, sonoma valley, and the russian river valley. sonoma is in between the russian river valley (to the west) and napa valley (to the east). we were looking for a vacation spot that gave us a nice mix of opportunities for activity and relaxation, being indoors and outdoors, and didn’t require huge spending.

sonoma town square, one of many photos allison snapped of the square!

jaunt: how did you plan for your trip? any good sites or books you’d recommend?

allison: we mostly perused the internet for things to do. i’m a loyal marriott member, and the website for our hotel (the lodge at sonoma renaissance resort & spa, which was amazing) had a little “local attractions” section that we used as a starting point. we also did clever google searches like “sonoma things to do” and “wine country visit.” we are clearly super advanced travelers. also, all the people we met in sonoma were super friendly and happy to offer tips on where to go, what to eat, etc.

old theater in the sonoma town square

jaunt: tell us about your favorite moments on your trip. what do you remember most?

allison: my absolute favorite thing of the whole trip was the sonoma town square. i know, it sounds lame, it’s a town square. give me a chance here. you wake up at your hotel that you love, grab your glorious cup of illy coffee, and take a stroll just under a mile to the town square. the square is a giant spread of grass with trees everywhere, paths lined with benches, and little fountains/ponds with ducks cruising around. surrounding the square are all independent restaurants, tasting rooms, art galleries, and little shops. there is no law against open wine bottles in the town square, so you can enjoy a picnic, which we did on the 4th of july, while we watched the fireworks. the bear flag revolt happened here, which, for those of you who didn’t have to learn california’s state history, was in the 1800s when california pulled a texas and became its own country for a hot second. did i mention the lack of open container law?

dan, geeking out at the rock commemorating the bear flag revolt

another favorite of the trip was our bike tour with ace it bike tours. our tour had us and one other couple, and our guide was awesome. the tour went through the russian river valley, which has adorable mom & pop wineries. we biked along the santa rosa creek, and through scenic backroads that went along farmland and vineyards; we tried some wine; it was grand. the total trip was about 20 miles of biking; while it wasn’t at a rapid pace or anything, this definitely wasn’t just a leisurely ride for a few miles.

jaunt: sounds pretty great – definitely feeling this trip. if i were to visit wine country, what are some places i shouldn’t miss?

allison: you must go to gott’s roadside (formerly known as taylor’s refresher); i recommend the st. helena location, but there is also one in napa and one in san francisco. their burgers will change your life, and you will be totally okay with the onset of the food coma from this, as it is the BEST CHEESEBURGER OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. you can’t go wrong—traditional cheeseburger (i recommend adding grilled onions and avocado), mushroom burger, BBQ burger. people say their fish tacos are good, but i mean, it’s a burger stand. get a burger.

delicious hamburgers at gott’s roadside (formerly taylor’s refresher)

you must go wine tasting, duh! we were aiming to hit up a place called far niente (which has a classic car collection dan would consider stealing), but didn’t plan far enough ahead. we went to castello di amorosa, which is a castle that has a winery, a little disneyland (literally – they had the brave premiere here not long before our trip), an awesome tour, and legitimately good wine. my favorite winery was silver oak—make a reservation for the tour because it’s really fun, and they literally just keep refilling your wine glass and giving you some of their super fancy reserve. the grounds are breathtaking. dan and i were recently back in the area for a wedding and went to a place called cade, which had a fantastic view of the valley and delicious wine.

if you also like beer, stop by the russian river brewing company in santa rosa. dan’s a big beer guy and apparently russian river has amazing stuff.

barrel room in the caves of the castello di amorosa winery

jaunt: what was the funniest thing that happened on your trip?

allison: if there is one thing we are all going to remember about the summer of 2012, it is going to be the great phenomenon of fifty shades of grey. given that dan and i were rocking some awesome hotel points to fund our stay at the lodge, and that the going rate for rooms is otherwise a bit out of our price range, we were more of the outliers in the hotel crowd. poolside, just about every woman was between the ages of 35 and 65, and just about every one of them was reading fifty shades of grey. my book of choice for the trip (recommended by the jaunt blog author herself) was the black dahlia. for those of you who don’t know about the black dahlia, it is a very dark novel about a detective who becomes obsessed with a very violent murder of a young woman. additionally, the cover is kind of gross and shows a dead woman with a giant cut coming from the side of her mouth. i totally fit in.

jaunt: any travel tips for others taking this trip? any must-pack items?

allison: plan your trip loosely in advance so that you don’t end up driving all over the valleys; we chose one or two things to do each day in generally the same area so that we could minimize the time in the car. when we were up in napa later in the year, we spent a lot of time in the car and wished we would have planned as well as we had over the summer.

outside the silver oak winery

yep, it’s a castle: castello di amorosa winery