Winery Hopping in Sonoma
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After patiently wishing and waiting to make the drive into NorCal wine country since our move to the SF Bay Area, Kushal and I finally had the chance to spend a relaxing long weekend in Sonoma recently. We stayed at the amazing 235 Luxury Suites in downtown Healdsburg and I have a whole post dedicated to its’ amazing-ness coming up soon, but in the meantime, how about winery-hopping in Sonoma county with me?
Call me Captain Obvious here, but let me start by saying that there are approximately 3348329 wineries in Sonoma county alone… include the short sojourn to Napa valley and the winery sum total is math that I cannot wrap my tiny head around. Having heard from friends that most popular wineries are packed to the gills, it inadvertently worked out that we went in the winter to Sonoma (Sonoma being more laidback than Napa) when the crowds are fewer aka more wine for you and I. ;) Crowds were also our biggest factor in choosing wineries to visit- If you’re visiting from far, you probably want to hit up those most talked about on the google-sphere like Frog’s Leap or Kenwood at the cost of sharing the space with lots of people, but if given the luxury of time and distance like us, it’s easy to play it by ear and find great family-owned wineries with lots of character.
PSA: Remember to check if the winery you’re interested in requires reservations for tastings!
After some amount of indecisiveness over breakfast, we finally picked two in reasonable vicinity to Healdsburg that didn’t require reservations and made the short drive to Ledson Winery in the village of Kenwood. If you’re looking for princess vibes in a castle straight out of a fairytale set in Southern France, this is the stop for you! The grounds are beautiful, the castle is dreamy, the wine is strong… what else can a girl and her Instagram husband ask for? ;) I dressed for the occasion in this pretty embellished tulle skirt, a muted statement piece in a monochrome grey look with pops of burgundy. It was sadly a cold and windy day and we couldn’t take advantage of the full property, but I couldn’t help sneaking outside to catch the dreamy flow of the skirt!
The second winery we visited on this trip was St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa- same but so different. Same as in beautiful grounds and great wine, different as in think Mission-style Spanish architecture… so lovely. :) Spanish tiles, bell tower, wooden doors, you know I’m bringing my inner salsa queen to the party! This statement sleeved fiery red top is a $5 steal, so scroll down below if you’d like. #kaching
All in all, this short and sweet taste of Sonoma wineries has me determined to go back in the summer, despite heavier crowds! If you’ve been, I’d love to hear your favorite wineries to add to my list. :)
Thank you for reading and have a wonderful weekend!
XO Sushmitha :)
Look 1:
Sweater: Guess from last winter (Similar here)
Skirt: c/o Pop Julia (<$35!)
Earrings: Anoki Boutique
Bag: Radley London
Shoes: Madora (Love this pair!)
Look 2:
Top: H&M (Currently in stores, on sale for $5!)
Jeans: c/o Romwe (<$15!!)
Sunglasses: Valley Eyewear
Earrings: From India (Adore this pom pair!)
Shoes: Old, thrifted (Similar retro chic slingbacks here)
