Sonoma County's three big weekends in March

The first three weekends of March 2014 hold major wine events in Sonoma County. These are essentially winery open houses. Come join in the fun!

Wine Road Barrel Tasting 

Friday through Sunday the first two weekends of March (2/28-3/2 and 3/7-3/9).
Over 100 wineries in Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys participate. The highlight is tasting wine right out of the barrel months before final blending and bottling. Some wineries will offer food samples, futures purchases, etc. Weekend or Sunday only tickets are available as are designated driver tickets.
This is a very popular event with big crowds so the ticket price seems to increase a bit every year. You can save by getting your tickets online by Feb 24th.
If you don't like crowds then stay off Dry Creek Road and out of Healdsburg on Saturday afternoon. Many of the wineries start on the Friday of each weekend so this is the day to visit these popular areas.
This is a great chance to check out wineries that aren't normally open to the public.

Savor Sonoma 

The third weekend of the month (15th-16th).
Buy a weekend or Sunday only ticket that gets you into 26 wineries in Sonoma Valley. Barrel tasting, new releases, sales, food and wine pairing.

Barrel tasting
Image from sonomauncorked.com

Hints to make your weekend more enjoyable:

• Leave the kids and dogs at home.
• Plan your lunch and break up your day of tasting with food and water.
• Watch your alcohol intake. If you can't remember how many wineries you've been to then it's time to stop. Be safe!