Dry Creek Valley Walks: Stroll Through Sonoma Wine Country
After the long, but scenic drive to Dry Creek Valley—one of the Sonoma Wine Country’s leading wine appellations—you will want to do more than sit at one of the many tasting rooms that pack the bucolic valley. You’ll want to stretch your legs and walk around. Nothing vigorous, just some outdoor time to take in the sweep of vineyards on the hillsides and drink in the fresh air before drinking some reds and whites. Several Dry Creek Valley wineries give you this opportunity:
Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate
A one-hour tour of this hillside winery’s lovely grounds and mission-style estate is offered daily by appointment at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ($20). On Fridays at 10:30 a.m., a longer walking tour that focuses on the estate’s creek restoration and sustainable wine-growing efforts is conducted ($50). Both conclude with a tasting.
Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves
Besides cave tastings ($5), you can do a cave tour and tasting ($20) at Bella, or hop aboard a vintage Swiss Army vehicle, an open-air Pinzgauer, for a trip up steep vineyard roads to a spot with a panoramic view of the valley ($45).
Truett-Hurst Estate
The olive grove picnic area behind the tasting room is a nice enough spot for a picnic and a bottle of zin, but stroll a few minutes downhill, past the four-acre organic garden, to Dry Creek instead. On Adirondack chairs beneath the speckled shade of mature deciduous trees, you can relax there for hours with a bottle of wine and a friend to engage in the lost art of conversation.
Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery
Do not miss this winery, with its lavish, manicured grounds. The flower gardens are spectacular, with statues, ponds and paths making the walk to the multilevel winery as enjoyable as the tasting experience inside.
Quivira Vineyards & Winery
Take the self-guided tour of Quivira’s extensive biodynamic garden, which includes a fruit orchard and chicken coop, before tasting the biodynamic wines inside. Dozens of vegetables from carrots to kohlrabi (a cross between a cabbage and a turnip) are grown and sold locally.
Hello SanFrancisco Tip: Passport to Dry Creek Valley is an annual spring event when most of the valley’s wineries let you enjoy wines, fine cuisine and live music for an entire weekend.
Posted on May 15, 2011 by Bob Cooper
