This is our first trip to the Sonoma Wine country this year and we decided to take a weekend couples trip to Healdsburg, Ca. We were joined by our travel buddies and wine enthusiasts, Rand & Loraine. We stayed in Healdsburg, went to Tasting Rooms, ate in the restaurants, and stopped at local bakeries –Let’s see how it went.
Saturday, July 10, 2021
Ridge Lytton Springs Tasting Room
Our first stop was Ridge Lytton Springs tasting room. It was hot in the wine country this weekend. The temperature is well into the 100-degree mark, and we had our tasting indoors, not quite the same experience as sitting on the beautiful deck with a view of the vineyard, but, it was a very nice environment.
Taqueria El Sombrero
Located just off the square in downtown Healdsburg. We stopped here for a quick bite – Order, pay, sit down and promptly start enjoying food. Soft tacos are delicious plus large burritos too. The food is great, and the prices are reasonable. We will definitely be back!
Rockpile
Rockpile Vineyards is one of the latest additions to the Wilson Artisan Wines family. It’s located in downtown Healdsburg off of Healdsburg Ave, right at the end of the roundabout. The atmosphere in the tasting room was very lively and fun. Love their Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable, the pours are generous. The interior is fresh and bright and is one of the more attractive wineries in downtown Healdsburg – and there are a LOT!
Best Western Dry Creek
We stayed at the Best Western Dry Creek Inn, designed as a Tuscan-style villa, and it is a charming hotel. We have used the Dry Creek Inn Best Western many times. The room was a clean room, with comfy beds. The two pools were cool and inviting on a hot summer day. At night, there is outdoor seating with water fountains and fireplaces.
Calderwood Inn
Rand & Loraine stayed at the Calderwood Inn. It is located on a quiet side street; the 1902 Victorian home features quaint rooms, free breakfast served right outside your door at 9:00, and beautiful sitting areas inside, on the huge front porch, and in the quiet side yard. The garden areas are simply beautiful!
It is an easy walking distance to downtown Healdsburg. In fact, Loraine walked to the Healdsburg Farmer’s Market and took a few pictures, and brought fresh limes.
Coyote Sonoma
The weather cooled down this evening – the daytime temperature reached 104 today – yikes! We stopped by Coyote for dinner and listen to a bit of live music of music by the Rootstocks. Located in the Mill District of Downtown, just off the roundabout. Many locals were here tonight – that’s great to see. This is a great place to hang out with friends!
Sunday, July 11, 2021
Costeaux French Bakery
We started our day visiting the Costeaux French Bakery, and it was highly recommended. The breakfast menu looked fabulous – everything we saw being served to guests looked amazingly good! We did not have a reservation for breakfast; we ordered 2 Croissants, 1 black coffee, and 1 small latte. The bakery items were absolutely delicious. Next time we will make sure to stop by for breakfast!
Downtown Bakery and Creamery
We walked around the square and stopped at Downtown Bakery and Creamery. They serve a more than good latte/coffee and we had some breakfast bakery items–a blueberry scones. They have a really good selection of baked goods and I look forward to trying more things.
Jeff Cohen Cellars
Being former Rosenblum Cellars advocates, we were surprised to see the recently opened Jeff Cohn Cellars. In 2004, Jeff was named vice president of winemaking and production at Rosenblum. It was the best of times! We stopped by his new tasting room located in downtown Healdsburg. The Sweetwater Springs Zinfandel was really delicious, and we enjoyed the tasting menu. Very Trendy!
Campo Fino
I cannot say enough nice things about this restaurant. Stopped by the lunch. Loved it! It’s located off Healdsburg Avenue, down a small alley. Excellent food and atmosphere, fresh ingredients. We ordered the Pizza Jersey Shore and a Chopped Salad. The salads and other foods we saw being delivered around us also looked magnificent.
More impressive than the food, though, was the staff. Every single person was friendly, attentive, and seemed to truly like working at Campo Fina.
Seghesio Family Vineyards
This winery has an excellent winemaking team. They are famous for Zinfandel, but they make many different wines from Italian grape varieties worth trying. We’ve tasted outdoors, out on the lawn with shade. The Wine Garden is perfect for those who want to grab a seat in the outdoor lounge or bring your own picnic blanket to sip from the lawn and enjoy Seghesio wines by the bottle. Lots of seating and lots of shade!
Kinsmoke
We stopped at Kinsmoke for Sunday night dinner. No reservations were required; the town is quiet now; all the visitors have gone home. We ordered the Shrimp Skewers grilled shrimp skewers served with dressed mixed greens and grilled polenta with roasted tomatillo salsa and Grilled Shrimp Po Boy – grilled shrimp bacon tomato, lettuce, Sriracha mayo, grilled hoagie roll, served with Spiced Sweet Potato Tater Tots & Maple Dipping Sauce. So YUMMY!
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Monday, July 12, 2021
How did it go? We had a great weekend in Healdsburg. Despite the excess heat, we managed to eat at a variety of restaurants, stay in great accommodations, walk the square, visit various bakeries, tasting Rooms, and drink some of the most delicious wines in the region. CHEERS!
July 19, 2021
