Cool Things to do in Sonoma County

You can't be drinking wine all the time, right? This isn't a list of the "regular" stuff, but cool things to do in Sonoma County.

The Changing U.S. Wine Market

Business is booming in the domestic wine market. Sales are up, exports are up, people are moving up to more expensive wines. There may be a few gray clouds on the horizon, however.

Unique Santa Rosa Restaurants

You're in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and want something a little different for your next meal. Would you like to light up your taste buds with great flavor? None of these restaurants are fancy or in a fancy neighborhood or look like much from the outside. That's the beauty of them--it's all inside. If you're looking for fancy check out this blog post. If flavor and reasonable prices are key then read on.

Paid Experts vs Your Peers

Traditionally we have relied on experts to tell us where we should go on vacation, what hotel we should stay in, where we should eat, and what wines we should drink. The articles by these critics were printed in magazines.

With the growth of social media everyone can publish their views on any subject. As we saw with the last election a lot of what gets put out there isn't even true. Still, a certain part of the readers will believe it because it's in print.

French Imports Growing

French wine imports into the U.S. have grown significantly over the past twelve months even though imports overall were flat.

Champagne is showing faster growth than domestic sparkling wine, but Prosecco leads with an increase of over 20%. The average price for a bottle of Prosecco is about $12 (that's why it's so popular) while it's over $50 for a bottle of Champagne.

Rosé from France is hot. The American rosé market grew by over 50% each of the last two years with the bulk of that coming from France. Merlot and Syrah from France are declining in sales, but are more than being made up for by other wines.

Info from Wine Industry Advisor

Sonoma Plaza

The cute, historic little town of Sonoma has become quite a wine destination. It's fairly close to the Bay Area and its airports. It's also convenient in that eating, drinking and lodging can all be within walking distance. This might all be great for visitors, but sometimes the locals are less amused.

The business district is centered around a large plaza with the commercial district going maybe a block past that in any direction.

From the Sonoma Index-Tribune, a recent article on drinking establishments in that small area.

Summary: There are 28 winery tasting rooms on or near the town square plus about 20 restaurants, many having full bars.Plus there's "historic" Steiner's Tavern, the local dive bar, right there on the square!
  

image from bestinsonoma.com

 

Wine Industry Myths & Secrets

Every industry has some little things they would prefer the consumer didn't know. Or maybe folks outside of the industry make assumptions and those get passed along and eventually become "facts."

Ask someone who works for an airline if they would ever drink the coffee or eat the food served on a plane. Have you seen the movie Waiting about the restaurant biz?

Some wine industry myths and secrets follow. Some people in the industry might not agree with all of these.

Spring 2017 Events in Sonoma County

Listed below are major wine and non-wine events in Sonoma County for March into June 2017.

It's a perfect time in the wine country with warming temperatures, vines starting the new year's growth, wildflowers, and lots of exciting events to tempt you.

Drink up. It's in our genes.

Why do we like wine, beer, and spirits so much? Even during America's Prohibition people risked jail for a drink. It turns out we can't help it. Our prehistoric ancestors first developed the desire for alcohol.

The scientists who study this call it Drunken Monkeys.

Step Aside Coffee ...

Maybe you've seen one of these funny sayings:

Is this you? Well, a Marin County coffee roaster and the Napa Valley Vintners got together and created your dream beverage. The Molinari Caffe in downtown Napa (where else?) has come up with wine-infused coffee. The beans are soaked in wine, dried, then roasted.

Now you can combine the stimulant of coffee with the relaxing qualities of a glass of wine in one beverage. No, I don't know why someone hadn't thought of this earlier.

The coffee is available at a few Napa Valley wineries and is sold online, but is apparently sold out right now. As you can guess, everybody wants some.

Top-Notch Dining in Sonoma County

Besides an abundance of premium wine Sonoma County offers lots of great restaurants. I mean dozens and dozens. But if you want to get a world-class meal where should you go? You won't find a lot of pretense, but you will find great food and a great experience.

Fountaingrove District AVA

The Fountaingrove District became an official appellation, or AVA, about two years ago in March 2015. An American Viticultural Area is a federally approved name for a specific grape-growing region. Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley are well-known AVAs. There are almost 200 of them in California and now there are 17 in Sonoma County.