let's see what you got.

This won't be a ton of help, but we enjoyed a tour and tasting at Jordan Winery. That is the only one that I really remember though. We stayed at Hotel Healdsburg on the square and loved it. There are dozens of wine shops and tasting rooms in the area and I really enjoyed drinking my way around town. If you like beer, Bear Republic Brewing is a must stop as well for some good food and cold beer. Find a Russian River Brewery nearby for some incredible beers as well.

We drove out to Guerneville for an afternoon to visit the redwood forest, which was beautiful, and found a small, sushi spot which blew me away with how fresh and tasty it was. Cool little town

That's all I got. Have a great trip.

Ridge
Benovia
Arista
Gary Farrell

It's been over a decade since I've been there, so I'm sure others will have more current places.

Arista no longer operates a tasting room and Bear Republic no longer has any taprooms.

I'll respond in a bit with more ideas.

Quivira is outstanding

Chipotlemonger said:

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Arista no longer operates a tasting room and Bear Republic no longer has any taprooms.

I'll respond in a bit with more ideas.

---

First off, do you care for any non-winery recs? Food, sights?

How many days do you plan to be in the area? If I had just 2 days I would choose 1 day to be more Dry Creek/north centric, and 1 day to be more Russian River Valley centric. Also, do you have any specific wine likes/dislikes or are you pretty even across the board?

I'll list off some recs and ideas, but there are so many more options out there.

Dry Creek:

• Preston - This place is like a time machine. The property is great and time slows down a bit out here. Nice wines that won't break the bank either. Scenic farm that you are free to roam a bit on.
• Reeve - Cool tasting room. Stellar wines. Have been a handful of times...they've grown quite a bit over the years I feel like in terms of prestige, for better or worse. I would still go back and visit for the wines itself in a heartbeat, but service has been hit or miss and I'll just leave it at that.
• Bella - Great zinfandels, tucked into the far end of Dry Creek. Cave tasting.
• Kokomo - Members here. Fun place, good people. Lot of variety available.

Russian River Valley-ish area:

• MacRostie - Great wines with an excellent tasting room. Have always enjoyed the service here and they seem to be great at adapting to what your party is interested in.
• Auteur - Newer site for them, but I have been to the Sonoma tasting room (smaller of the 2) and loved it. Still need to visit the new place.
• La Crema - Bigger winery but excellent bang for your buck with their wines. Nice tasting room.
• Hartford - If you want to venture out further, head to their Forestville location for a neat tucked away place.
• Copain - When the weather is good the view from up here is 2nd to none in the area, in my opinion, except maybe MacRostie.
• Aperture - Big name, lot of clout. I have never been but look it up. If this place or wines are your style, it's probably worth a visit.

Healdsburg, downtown, ones that I have liked over the years:

• Bloodroot
• Siduri (especially if you are a Pinot noir fan)
• Marine Layer
• Many, many more

Thanks for the great feedback.

This is our first time to stay in Healdsburg but both of us have been there in previous lives. We will be there for 5 full days.

We are Cab drinkers for the most part but my wife does love a buttery Chardonnay.

This is an anniversary trip so, dinner is a must but reservations have been made at The Matheson. Our winery reservations so far is A Rafanelli and Cast.

The rest of the trip will be planned along the way or maybe on the way.

We will also be grabbing some scenery hiking and getting outdoors.

I appreciate the tips

Drive over to Bodega Bay, and stop at one of the roadside bars that serve grilled oysters. While you're over that way, I'd try to get a tasting appointment at Occidental or Radio-Coteau.

I'd also make the drive to Windsor to have some beers at RRBC.

For Healdsburg restaurants, I really like Barndiva. I keep meaning to get back over there to try SingleThread as well.

We went last year. Our two favorites were both last minute recommendations:
1) Rochioli. Phenomenal. The VRBO we rented had them as a can't miss, and said that they have the best Chardonnay in Sonoma county, so we added it. They were the first to bring Pinot noir to the RRV, I believe. Small family run operation. If they have their brandy available, I highly recommend it! There's a waiting list for their club, or we'd have signed up. I need to get on the list, actually!

2) Aperture. Great wines, from big Cabs to chenin Blanc that was described as "great with French toast." We joined their club.

Dry Creek was also a good, lower key (and price) tasting that we really enjoyed.

We went to Coursey Graves, Lambert Bridge, and Silver Oak as well. I listed them in order of our preference.

Food:
If you want an unforgettable meal, Cyrus is out of this world.
Valette was fantastic as well.

jh0400 said:

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I'd also make the drive to Windsor to have some beers at RRBC.

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Yea it's a stone's throw down the road. If all you want is Pliny though, you can find it all over the place to drink while out.

It's been awhile since we were last out, but we thought the reds at Alexander Valley were outstanding.

Unti Vineyards https://www.untivineyards.com/ is a family run small production winery that makes really great wines. They are more European style, so will be a little different from what you get a lot of other places. Wines are only available at the winery (maybe some restuarants).

The Williamson Winery tasting room just off the square had great reds and a very nice tasting matched with cheeses.

The Lytton Springs vineyard is one of Ridge's very best.

Sounds like I need to try Rochioli!

Also, I 2nd Valette. Had a great meal there a couple of years back.

OP, Matheson is a good choice. I would also add Diavola in Geyserville as a recommendation. Great Italian place that also does really good and unique other cuisine dishes. Go check out their social media to see what I'm talking about.

Best coffee on the square - Flying Goat

Best bakery - Quail & Condor, this place is phenomenal. But there are multiple good bakeries so it's hard to go wrong. Q&C definitely is hyped and gets busy.

Other restaurant I would recommend - Bravas (Tapas place). Pan de Tomate is a must.

Acorn Cafe is right on the square where Oakville Grocery used to be. Breakfast and lunch place. I have not been able to try it yet, but it's always got a good crowd.

If you want a break from the wine - Fogbelt brewing, their station location. An all outdoors place with very good food and beer. Food here is better than what you get at RRBC.

If you've had a big day of drinking and need to just get some cheap food Mexican food and crash - El Sombrero.

Sorry for the scatterbrained kind of response, wanted to just jot some other thoughts down.

I should add, Plank Coffee is a great place too. Not directly downtown but they do excellent coffee and food.

It's been a while since I've been to Healdsburg but here's what I've got:

Coffee: Flying Goat - probably my favorite espresso in the US

Beer: I like the OG RRBC brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa. The new Windsor location is too classy for me.

Wine: Ridge, Bella, Zichichi, Seghesio, Lancaster, Verite, Chalk Hill.

Morning hike: Armstrong Redwoods State Park

Enjoy!

Chipotlemonger said:

---

Chipotlemonger said:

---

Arista no longer operates a tasting room and Bear Republic no longer has any taprooms.

I'll respond in a bit with more ideas.

---

First off, do you care for any non-winery recs? Food, sights?

How many days do you plan to be in the area? If I had just 2 days I would choose 1 day to be more Dry Creek/north centric, and 1 day to be more Russian River Valley centric. Also, do you have any specific wine likes/dislikes or are you pretty even across the board?

I'll list off some recs and ideas, but there are so many more options out there.

Dry Creek:

• Preston - This place is like a time machine. The property is great and time slows down a bit out here. Nice wines that won't break the bank either. Scenic farm that you are free to roam a bit on.
• Reeve - Cool tasting room. Stellar wines. Have been a handful of times...they've grown quite a bit over the years I feel like in terms of prestige, for better or worse. I would still go back and visit for the wines itself in a heartbeat, but service has been hit or miss and I'll just leave it at that.
• Bella - Great zinfandels, tucked into the far end of Dry Creek. Cave tasting.
• Kokomo - Members here. Fun place, good people. Lot of variety available.

Russian River Valley-ish area:

• MacRostie - Great wines with an excellent tasting room. Have always enjoyed the service here and they seem to be great at adapting to what your party is interested in.
• Auteur - Newer site for them, but I have been to the Sonoma tasting room (smaller of the 2) and loved it. Still need to visit the new place.
• La Crema - Bigger winery but excellent bang for your buck with their wines. Nice tasting room.
• Hartford - If you want to venture out further, head to their Forestville location for a neat tucked away place.
• Copain - When the weather is good the view from up here is 2nd to none in the area, in my opinion, except maybe MacRostie.
• Aperture - Big name, lot of clout. I have never been but look it up. If this place or wines are your style, it's probably worth a visit.

Healdsburg, downtown, ones that I have liked over the years:

• Bloodroot
• Siduri (especially if you are a Pinot noir fan)
• Marine Layer
• Many, many more

---

We go to Healdsburg every year and I'll tag on to this post because I'd echo a lot of their recommendations. I'd also nominate:

Rafanelli for a small boutique winery up dry creek
Croix for outstanding Pinot and Chards in RRV (also very small production) This would be my number one recommendation for anyone going to Dry Creek / RRV area.
VJB has some interesting Italian varietals and a cool courtyard and wood-fired pizza oven in Kenwood on your way out to Healdsburg
Baca has a tasting room in Healdsburg for some good zins (they are a daughter label of Hall)

I would say that Aperture was a neat tasting room, but underwhelming (imo) wines.
Also, I was really disappointed in Ridge on my last visit. They have been around a long time, but their price/quality doesnt compete well with some of the other places mentioned here.

Russian River Brewery has their newish tasting room a couple miles North of Healdsburg in Windsor if you need a changeup or a lowkey dinner with some of the best beers on the west coast.

Summarized list

Wine:

Seghesio - literally steps from where we stayed, best Zin IMO
Cast - pretty fun tasting. Only Chardonnay we bought. Also bought a Zin.
Ferrari Carano - estate and grounds over the top. Moderate wine (but we knew that going in)
MacRostie - beautiful tasting room and vineyard. I am not a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot fan. Super light Pinot but great experience and good history lesson
A Rafanelli - this was our main appointment. Last tasting of the day so got a great tour and Dave Rafanelli came out and chatted, signed a bottle. Known for their Zins but liked their Cabs better. Super great family history, easy to get lost in the experience
Bella - ended up being one of our favorites. Loved their Pinots because they were a little heavier and of course their Zins. Bought a Pinot and a Rose'
Dry Creek Vineyards - big place, well known, good stop. End of day, sat at the bar for a glass and took home a bottle of their Endeavour
Merriam - good stop, close to where we stayed. First stop of the day, walked out with a red blend (miktos)
Korbel - Just a fun drive and somewhat of a Disneyland of bubbles.
Flowers - just a stop in, no walk-ins. Pretty property
Bacigalupi - maybe my least favorite
Gracianna - on the way home. Okay wine but mostly the guy that owned it wanted to show off his house, paintings, tile, etc...generally a home tour of the house his wife and he built. Came across as wine is a hobby and a reason to show off his house.

Food:
Valette - sat at the bar, best food we had
Rooftop 106 - least favorite. Just went for a drink and had tap wine (my mistake)
Matheson - great service and good food
Willi's - good seafood, great place, ate at the bar
Flying Goat - ended up there three times, great coffee
Asahi Sushi - good food
Boci - We needed Italian and this did not disappoint
Dry Creek General Store - stopped in for snacks and sandwiches three times

Healdsburg generally a really cool place to visit and close to as many vineyards as you can handle. Definitely a "gotta get back here" place.

I appreciate all the recommendations. We missed a couple of places that were either booked up or private events.

Sounds like a great trip!