A Quick Tour of the Diversity of Sonoma County

By Paul Franson

Sonoma County has the most diverse terrain, climate and attractions of any place in America. From its rugged, chilly Pacific coast line to Redwood-covered mountains, from the marshy shores of the San Francisco Bay's northern San Pablo Bay lobe to hot inland Alexander Valley, you can find an environment to please any person – or grape vine. The coast is hauntingly beautiful, with only a few small towns to interrupt the shore. The northwest is a lost world with few roads and fewer inhabitants and the eastern Mayacamas and Sonoma Mountains are peppered with vineyards and grand estates amidst thousands of wild acres of forests. Yet the center of the county is occupied by a large, flat valley that is home to bustling Santa Rosa and many colorful towns and small cities.

To really appreciate Sonoma County, you might start out with a topographic map that shows the mountains and valleys – and finish in your car.

Lying just beyond small Marin County on the peninsula north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Sonoma County does not garner the same popular recognition as smaller Napa County to its east, but it is far larger with more than 1 million acres, about 50,000 acres in vineyards and 200 wineries. Sonoma County is more diverse in every way.

For most visitors, Sonoma County starts with a ride up Highway 101 from San Francisco. At the lower end of the county lies Petaluma, a city that arose around one of California's rare navigable rivers (actually a bayou or slough). Somehow it missed getting redeveloped out of its charm, and the recent and sensitive development of the downtown has respected both its history and its river. It's a great stop for antique shopping, entertainment and restaurants, but it's not quite in “wine country.”

Continuing north on 101, past farms and the university town of Cotati, you often bog down as you approach the city of Santa Rosa and its satellite, Rohnert Park. Both are modern places full of strip malls and housing developments and Santa Rosa's downtown contains a large indoor mall, which has both kept the downtown alive and sapped the vigor of the rest of its core. Fortunately, the downtown is coming back, and recent developments like Railroad Square are pulling businesses and visitors back into the area.

North from Santa Rosa are more housing developments and Home Depots, then the small city of Windsor, whose downtown has been transformed into a Disney-like center that really works (it never had its own old-fashioned downtown). This planned center with its shops, restaurants and homes (which are built above the commercial spaces) has truly created a sense of “town” that exists in few places.

Off Highway 101 lie a number of wineries, but you have to backtrack and follow signs to find them. It's worth the trouble to do so, whether to visit J Wine Company, with its elegant sparkling wine and snacks, the big Rodney Strong Vineyards or the historic Foppiano Vineyards.

Just to the north of these wineries is beautiful Healdsburg, the “darling” of Sonoma County, and increasingly, of wine country visitors. Arrayed around a picturesque old square lie attractively restored buildings and new structures that honor the town's heritage. They're filled with shops and restaurants that appeal to well-heeled tourists, especially those visiting the many wine tasting venues. Gone are the shoe stores and Ace Hardware stores of the past, but it all works and Healdsburg is the prime visitors' destination in all Sonoma County.

Healdsburg is also the epicenter of Sonoma's wine world. Three major, but distinctive wines regions converge at the town, making it ideal for exploring a variety of wineries, varieties and wine styles. The Alexander Valley produces excellent Cabernet, the “King of Wine,” while Dry Creek Valley is famed for its Zinfandel, and the cool Russian River Valley nurtures world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as it meanders toward the Pacific.

North from Healdsburg lies the village of Geyserville, in the heart of the Alexander Valley, but off the highway and invisible to those speeding by on the freeway above. Geyserville has some good restaurants and tasting rooms, but its primary interest is as the gateway to the southern Alexander Valley, which extends to the south and east for 20 miles, with picturesque vistas and small wineries plus the hamlet of Jimtown (which consists primarily of one famous store and deli and a church).

Back up the Alexander Valley north of Geyserville is Cloverdale, where a lonely new train station waits for passengers that may never arrive. Cloverdale is at the end of the Alexander Valley and Sonoma County. To the north waits a steep climb into Mendocino County; to the west is Mendocino's long and beautiful Anderson Valley, itself one of California's most unique and appealing wine regions.

That takes care of the long core of Sonoma, but many of its greatest attractions branch from that busy trunk.

Let's start of the bottom of the map. Continue east from Marin County on Highway 37 instead of north on 101, and you soon reach the famous cool-climate grape-growing region of Carneros past the Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. The far southern parts of Carneros are marshes, but north along Highway 121 are rolling hills that produce some of California's best cool-climates wines. The region extends into Napa, but the Sonoma side has plenty of interests, too, including both historic and innovative wineries.

Just north of Carneros is Sonoma Valley, a smaller, less-noted analog of Napa Valley to the east. At the base of the valley is the historic town of Sonoma, site of the most northern of the missions established by the Spanish padres. Universally called the Sonoma Mission, it's actually the Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma. A reconstruction of the Mission itself and other nearby historic buildings adjoin attractive Sonoma Plaza, site of frequent events, festivals and markets. A little less touristy than Healdsburg's town square, Sonoma's Plaza still contains plenty of interest to visitors with a variety of shops and everything from simple to elegant food and wine.

North of Sonoma in Sonoma Valley (the area popularized by Jack London as the “Valley of the Moon”) are small towns once famed for their hot springs and the site of the Sonoma Mission Inn, the county's top resort. Then the valley becomes truly rural, with the town of Glen Ellen, the Jack London State Park and the ruins of the Wolf House that Jack London built and saw burn before he could move in.

The village of Kenwood is beyond. This is serious wine country, with vineyards stretching from mountain to mountain and wineries every little way along the two-lane road. Continue north and you enter Santa Rosa's suburban developments.

The rugged Sonoma Mountains separate the Sonoma Valley from the central valley of Sonoma County, which is a separately recognized wine region. Most notable is the high Bennett Valley in the mountains, a cool region best known for the Matanzas Creek Winery and its fields of lavender.

The other major detours in Sonoma County are some of the best. West of Santa Rosa is Sebastopol, a reminder – like the Russian River and Fort Ross on the Coast – that this was once Russian territory. There's little sign of Russians these days, but Sebastopol is a pleasant old town trying to restore some of its history after unfortunate redevelopment changed the face of the town. Sebastopol was once best know for its apples, and the Ace Cider Company north of town makes superb hard cider from some of the remaining trees. Otherwise, wine is king. The very cool Green Valley appellation is to the northwest, and some producers grow grapes even closer to the coast.

The tiny town of Occidental is famous for old restaurants the serve giant Italian-American meals, and Bodega Bay will forever be remembered as the site of the still-standing building that served as the schoolhouse in Alfred Hitchcock's chilling movie, The Birds . The town of Bodega Bay is inland from the cold coast, but nearby is Bodega Bay, one of the few natural harbors along the Pacific Coast. Aside from its beaches – which are for walking, not swimming – the town is best known for its seafood.

Drive north along the coast and you'll come to the mouth of the Russian River, the reproduction of Fort Ross and the town of Gualala at the Mendocino County line. It's all very beautiful, but bring your sweater – even in August.

The last remaining section of Sonoma County is the Russian River Valley. The actual valley stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Healdsburg and north, but the appellation ends near Healdsburg. This area contains a number of resort towns that often flood in wet winters. Some of the towns include well-known gay and lesbian resorts; all are friendly and low key. As you drive east, it gets warm enough to mature grapes and that's where Korbel Champagne Cellars has an attractive winery and deli, a popular tourist stop. After that – but mostly off the river banks – are many famed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. It's a great place for wandering; there's no telling what you might encounter.

Sonoma County remains a diversified agricultural powerhouse in spite of the growth of the wine business and population. From seafood on the coast to dairy farms and goat ranches, turkey farms, olive oil and vegetables, the county is virtually self-sustaining. Unlike Napa County, Sonoma County supports a huge variety of farms, and the county's restaurants rightfully pride themselves on the use of the local bounty.

First-time visitors to the “wine country” tend to head straight for the Napa Valley, but they'd be wise to budget some time to explore Sonoma. Even better, schedule a trip there; chances are you'll return again.