Following are some of the larger events for September through November of 2012.
The weather is usually great until well into November and you can check out the grape harvest. Heck, you can smell the harvest! This is definitely the best time of year to visit Sonoma County.
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| Autumn in the vineyards |
September
Aug 31-2 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - Wine tasting at the beautiful MacMurray Ranch, auction, winemaker lunches and dinners, BBQ. Info
1 Rodney Strong Winery Concert Series - Rock out and drink Cabernet with Huey Lewis and the News. Info
3 Classic Car Show - A benefit in Santa Rosa with BBQ and music. Info
7 Santa Rosa Railroad Square First Fridays - Street festival with food, wine, music. Info
8 Healdsburg Beer in the Plaza. About 30 microbreweries. Info
8 Cajun/Zydeco Festival in Sebastopol. Food, beer, wine, and lots of music. Info
8 Chili N Wheels Chili cook-off, classic car show, beer and music in Rohnert Park. Info
9 Bone Appetite benefit for Canine Companions in Santa Rosa. Food vendors, wineries, and cute doggies. Info
11-13 National Heirloom Festival at the Sonoma County fairgrounds. It's about the small, local farmer. Info
14-15 Heirloom Tomato Festival at Kendall-Jackson in Fulton. Info
22 Polo in the Wine Country benefit for Junior Achievement in Santa Rosa. Food and wine tasting. Info
22-23 Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival on the beach in Guerneville. Info
26-30 Sonoma Valley Crush Weekend harvest events. No, I don't know why they moved this event to the same weekend as the much more popular Vintage Festival. Maybe trying to draw off that crowd? Or maybe they just wanted to be sure the grape harvest was actually underway. Info
28-30 Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival - The 115th annual celebration held on the town square in Sonoma with a grape stomp, parade, music and, of course, wine tasting. Info
October
5-7 Sonoma County Harvest Fair - There's an expensive Friday night event followed by the Sat-Sun afternoon wine tasting. Food, award-winning wines, beer, music. Imagine hundreds of wines available over a weekend. Imagine the choices you have to make! I never miss this one. Info
5-8 BR Cohn Winery Music Festival - A Friday night dinner and auction then the Doobie Brothers and others play in the vineyards on the weekend followed by golf on Monday. Info
13 Cotati Oktoberfest - Eat, drink and wear funny socks. Info
20 Healdsburg Crush Festival - You guessed it--wine and food. Info
21 Pinot on the River in Healdsburg. OK, it's not exactly on the river, but if you love Pinot Noir it's the place to be. Info
27 Bounty of the Harvest open house by a dozen Russian River Valley family wineries. Info
November
3-4 Wine and Food Affair - A northern Sonoma County food and wine event weekend with over 100 participating wineries. A great chance to check out some of those small ones that aren't usually open for tasting. Info
17 Artisano Grand Tasting in Santa Rosa. Yup, more wine and food. Info
17-18 Holiday in Carneros - Winery open house in southern Napa and Sonoma Counties. Info
23-24 Heart of Sonoma Valley Open House at about two dozen Sonoma Valley wineries. Info
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| November in Dry Creek Valley |
Peak time for events - Late September through early October is the peak time for the harvest and seems to be the peak time for major events. If you're not in Sonoma County at least one of these weekends you're missing out!
Individual wineries harvest events - Many wineries have their own harvest parties and winemaker dinners. Check with your favorites to see if they have anything going on.
Thanksgiving weekend - Wineries are closed on Thanksgiving Day. The rest of the weekend is usually very busy and many put on holiday open houses. Check with your favorites to see if they have a special event. Just be prepared for big crowds on Friday and Saturday
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