Sonoma County Specialty

In mellow Glen Ellen, Abbot’s Passage is laid-back and friendly, with gardens to lounge in and shuffleboard courts where you can spend an afternoon playing and sipping rosé. The winery is kid-friendly and dog-friendly—in fact, they host dog adoption events with a local rescue once a month.

This hundred-year-old chateau is one of the nicest places to spend an afternoon in Kenwood. Their wines are French-inspired—lots of bordeaux and burgundy here—and their reserve collection is a big draw. As are their gardens and grounds: Spend an afternoon playing bocce, having picnic lunch in the redwoods, or chilling out on the patio. They welcome walk-ins, too.

Hands down, Dry Creek Peach grows the best peaches in Sonoma. They’re a little out of the way, but the drive is beautiful—and convenient if you’re going to Preston Farm and Winery, which is right down the lane. You can find them at the Healdsburg Farmers Market, too.

On Saturdays, you’ll find an impressive spread of fruits, vegetables, eggs, pantry goods, and plant starts here—all fully dependent on the season, of course, but the assortment is comprehensive. Albion strawberries and French breakfast radishes in the spring, Chioggia beets and Como di Toro peppers in the summer, five kinds of squash and three kinds of kale in the fall, and gorgeous greens all winter. They have a CSA if you live in the area. And they also do events like full-moon sound healings and half-day confidence retreats on the farm.

Healdsburg’s farmers market draws some of the area’s best farms—and the most incredible produce is grown here in Sonoma. See Dry Creek Peach for organic peaches and peach jam, Front Porch Farm for flowers, and a bunch of crafts vendors for pretty pottery and handmade leather purses.

If you’re in Glen Ellen (or passing through), April through December, make a stop at Oak Hill Farm’s Red Barn Store for flowers, floral greens, heirloom produce, honey, homemade hot sauce, and other goodies and gifts. What’s not grown here comes from other growers and makers in the area.

Private tastings at Preston Farm and Winery take place in the farm cottage or on the patio. You try five or six of the estate’s organic wines, grown right here. This spot is affordable for the region, and unlike most wineries, they’re BYOP (bring your own picnic); you just have to reserve the table and make a wine purchase while you’re there. They make really nice olive oil, too, and fermented apple cider, which you can buy at the farmshop on site.

Never mind that grounds are airy and lush, with cute corners to tuck into for private chats. The wine itself (mostly pinot noir and chardonnay) is complex and flavorful—a result of grapes grown at high elevations along the Sonoma coast. Best of both worlds: You get the minerality of the ocean and the earthiness of the mountains.

This independently owned coffee roaster and café makes the best almond milk lattes in the region.

Located downtown Sonoma in Vallejo-Castañeda Adobe House, a mid-1800s historic landmark which the owners reinvented with the help of architect Ken Fulk, the space is stunning: equally eclectic and modern with Mexican influences.