Sonoma Valley Favorites: Good Wine, Good Food, and Room to Relax
NOTE: This blog will be updated regularly as we visit new locations.
Some of our favorite tasting experiences have been in Sonoma Valley. We’ve enjoyed staying in downtown Sonoma, close to restaurants and tasting rooms, and in vacation rentals in smaller communities like Glen Ellen. Both work nicely, depending on whether we want dinner out or an evening of cooking and putting our feet up.
Sunflower Caffé, Tasca Tasca, and The Girl & The Fig are among our food favorites. But after a day of tasting, sometimes making dinner at the rental sounds just right. A wine trip doesn’t need a reservation for every waking hour.
Where We Tasted
These Sonoma Valley tasting locations reflect what we enjoy: a mix of familiar favorites and opportunities to try something different. You’ll notice several Rhône varieties, including Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier. We clearly have a type, but we do branch out.
MacLaren Wine
MacLaren is a personal favorite, and Steve Law is our favorite Sonoma winemaker. Syrah and Viognier are particular draws for us. If your usual wine choices have become a little predictable, this is one I’d put on your list. MacLaren’s focus on wines from cool-climate individual vineyard sites also offers a useful opportunity to explore how the same grape can express itself differently depending on where it grows.
Amapola Creek Winery
Amapola Creek belongs on our list for its Rhône varieties and blends, including Grenache and Syrah. The range also includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Petite Sirah, so there’s room to explore beyond those Rhône favorites. It’s a useful stop when your tasting companions don’t all gravitate toward the same wines, because B. Wise Vineyards shares a wall with Amapola.
Patz & Hall
Patz & Hall is one of our picks for bubbles, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the two grapes most closely associated with France’s Burgundy and Champagne regions. Its focus on individual vineyards gives you something interesting to compare, beyond simply deciding whether you prefer red or white. Ask what distinguishes the vineyard sources, then see what you notice in the glass. You don’t need an elaborate tasting vocabulary to have a preference.
VJB Cellars
VJB is our recommendation for combining wine tasting with lunch. Its Italian focus brings grapes such as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo into the mix, and the food makes it an easy place to pause between tastings. Wood-fired pizza and a proper lunch break? Yes, please. VJB is a good stop to build into the middle of your day, especially if your itinerary has more than one morning tasting.
WALT Wines
WALT makes our list for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Its wines are sourced from vineyards across several Pacific Coast growing regions, giving you a chance to explore different places while staying with the same grape. That’s a useful way to figure out what you enjoy: compare the wines, ask where the grapes grew, and notice which glass you want to revisit. Your favorite doesn’t have to be anyone else’s.
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards
Jacuzzi’s Italian grape varieties and wine-pairing lunch were a highlight for us. We sat on the patio overlooking the vineyards, with San Pablo Bay in the distance, and enjoyed an excellent lunch with the wines. It’s a stop I’d plan around a meal, giving yourself time to settle in and enjoy what’s in front of you. Note: the pairing is not a lunch-to-squeeze-between-appointments stop, as it’s a lot of food.
Pangloss Cellars
Pangloss Cellars on Sonoma Square brings three wine brands together in one location, giving you plenty to explore without another stop. The cheese and charcuterie board was amazing, and for us, it’s an ideal place to wrap up a tasting day before dinner, especially if you’re staying near the square. Settle in, enjoy the wines, and leave some room for dinner. That last part may take a little discipline.
Get to Know the Wines of Sonoma Valley
There’s plenty of variety here, and the location of a tasting room doesn’t necessarily tell you where the grapes in its wines were grown.
Climate: Warm sunshine helps grapes ripen, while cooling air from the Pacific and San Pablo Bay moderates temperatures. Conditions vary across the valley.
Key Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are notable regional grapes. Our favorites also highlight Syrah, Grenache, and Italian varieties.
Wine Styles: Expect a range of whites and reds, plus sparkling wines associated with cooler areas such as nearby Carneros.
What to Expect: Cooler sites can produce wines with refreshing acidity or a mouthwatering sensation. Warmer sites can give riper, richer wines. As always, the grape and winemaking matter too.
Worth Knowing: Sonoma Valley is one winegrowing area within the much larger Sonoma County. Check the label or ask about the vineyard source rather than assuming every pour is local to the tasting room.
Try This: If two Pinot Noirs or Syrahs from different vineyards are available, taste them side by side. Start with one simple question: what feels different?
Hillary Tucker is a WSET Level 2 wine professional currently working toward Level 3, and the founder of Grape Curious, where she makes learning about wine approachable, practical, and fun. She helps curious people understand what they’re tasting, discover what they like and why, so they can trust their own taste.
Through the Grape Curious blog, Hillary also shares wine tips and travel experiences, often highlighting smaller wineries she visits with her family, where relaxed settings, personal conversations, and casual learning make discovering wine even more enjoyable.
Want to learn more about wine in person? Explore Grape Curious’ private wine classes.
