Sonoma Lifestyle: A Day Trip to Sonoma
Located one hour southeast from Gary Farrell Winery, downtown Sonoma is the total Wine Country package, featuring world-class wine and food, boutique shopping, art, and history. Follow this itinerary to enjoy a little bit of everything on a quick day trip to Sonoma.
History
Sonoma State Historic Park
Mission San Francisco Solano
20 East Spain St, Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 938-9560
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=479
Start your day with a short history lesson, for Sonoma played a critical role in California’s declaration of freedom from Mexican rule. Three dollars will get you into the Sonoma State Historic Park, which contains six historical sites in and around the Plaza, like the Mission San Francisco Solano, the last and northernmost mission built in Alta California. Docent-led tours of the mission occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11am-3pm.
Lunch
The girl & the fig
110 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 938-3634
https://www.thegirlandthefig.com/
It’s not a true visit to the Sonoma Plaza without a meal at Wine Country institution, the girl & the fig (we suggest you make a reservation, just in case). The restaurant, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017, can be considered a pioneer of the local farm-to-table movement; they grow much of their own produce, partner with other local farmers, and cure all of their meats in-house. The girl & the fig serves up comfort, country dishes with a French twist, like the Crispy Chicken Liver Sandwich and Croques Monsieur. When in season, the fried green tomato sandwich is not to be missed!
Wine Tasting
The Sonoma Plaza is littered with urban wine tasting rooms, but since you’d be hard pressed to fit them all into one day, here are two of our favorites.
Three Sticks Wines
143 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA 95476
http://www.threestickswines.com/
History and wine collide at Three Sticks, housed in the Vallejo-Castanada adobe, the longest-occupied residence remaining from California’s Mexican Period (1822-1846). Make an appointment for one of Three Sticks’ intimate tasting experiences, highlighting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from some of the top vineyards in Sonoma County and crafted by winemaker Bob Cabral (formerly of Williams Selyem Winery). We suggest the food and wine pairing, which includes small, tasty bites from the El Dorado Kitchen, located just down around the corner.
SIGH
120 W Napa St, Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-2444
What’s one wine myth we’d really love to debunk? Champagne and sparkling wine should be reserved for special occasions. On the contrary, bubbles can and should be sipped all year long, and SIGH proves it. Sonoma’s only champagne bar pours a wide array of local sparkling wines, but also rare or hard-to-find sparklings and champagnes from all over the world, no plane ticket required.
Shopping and Art
If you have some extra time before dinner, stroll around the Plaza and pop into some of the many shops and art galleries. You just might find a tasty souvenir to remind you of your trip, like small-batch olive oil from Figione’s or some jack, cheddar, and Italian-style cheeses from Vella Cheese Company. At both spots, you can try before you buy.
Dinner
Cafe La Haye
140 E Napa St, Sonoma, CA 94576
(707) 935-5994
You’ll definitely want to make a reservation ahead of time for Cafe La Haye, a tiny and charming hidden gem that has only a dozen tables (give or take) and might just be the Sonoma Plaza’s best kept secret. Dine on elevated, yet not overly-fussed dishes like crusted pork chop with ricotta dumplings, mustard cream, and chorizo butter, or a marinated filet mignon with balsamic-worcestershire vinaigrette, truffle blue butter, and crispy onions. Their wine list also features a fantastic selection of Sonoma County wines.
Come and experience Sonoma County and all it has to offer with us at Gary Farrell Vineyard and Winery. Find out more about our wines here and book your tasting experience with us in our recently renovated Tasting Salon.
