I had the loveliest time with some of my friends in Sonoma this past weekend. The first trip of the year! I wanted to share what we got up to in the area in case anyone is in need of a little itinerary.
So, we stayed at Stanly Ranch. It was my second time now—my family went when they first opened last year. It gives me some Jenni Kayne Ranch vibes, which tugs at my heartstrings! We have a ranch style home ourselves… maybe I’m a ranch girl…
But yes, it’s lovely. I personally would say that it’s slightly better suited for a friend or romantic getaway. Unless you pin down a room that has a second space where you can put your kids to bed! Otherwise, that pool is amazing, and BEAR is incredible. I mentioned this, but upon first visit it became a top 5 favorite in wine country. Sometimes it takes a new restaurant a minute to get situated, but nope, they smashed it from the start. Charter Oak has been my personal no.1 for many many years now—it reminds me of it in ways! Garden to table fresh! Okay, so what we did this trip…
My friend Erica and I drove up on Thursday together and decided to pass Sonoma and take an extra 25 min drive up to Rutherford area for a tasting at The Terraces. We went here ages ago and Erica recently went back and joined. It’s a good one! After our tasting and tour around the property, we drove down 15 minutes to Yountville. My girlfriends and I are all obsessed with Bouchon and Bottega, so we usually try and finagle a lunch date at one or the other when closeby. We decided on Bottega and had a nice long lunch and caught up.
After we drove over to Stanly to check into our room. We had a couple of hours before our friend Alexis was arriving before our dinner reservation. We got to our room and thought about what we should do… and ultimately, because it was a little chilly and windy, decided that doing *absolutely nothing* was the biggest luxury ever! No guilt for sitting in your robe with a glass of rosé and girl chat. Heaven!
Lex arrived and we all got ready for dinner at BEAR. Some of the non-negotiables on the menu whenever we go: the homemade sourdough bread and butter, garden veggies, kampachi, and the crispy fried rice. We went the second night we stayed as well and got them all again, you just can’t go to this spot and not order them. Also, the sourdough ice cream with caramel and candied bread crumbs. I can’t.
Next day, we all woke up at the crack of dawn, as mother’s do—with or without child. Walked over to have breakfast and went back to our room to quickly get ready for our spa appointments. I got the custom BR facial, and it was so good. I loved my esthetician and already booked another visit with her this month. I think I’ve had maybe 3 facials in my life—with a bad experience when I was young so stopped—but I am back! Their spa is called Halehouse, and is just fantastic. Beautiful and so relaxing.
After the spa, we got ready and walked over to Gavel, the hotel’s cafe and grabbed the hummus veggie wrap and *omg* it was ridiculous. The food at SR is next level. After a bite, we headed over to Sonoma Square for a tasting at my wine club, Three Stix.The wines and property here are chef’s kiss! Definitely a must when you are staying nearby the square. When you go, make sure they tell you the story of the name and property. I feel like most wineries have cool back stories, but this one really does it for me. After we walked over to another favorite tasting room called Pangloss. It had been ages since I made a visit and was just a nice as I remember.
The trip ended with one last delightful dinner at BEAR—we decided to stay on property… plus it really is the best restaurant in the area in my opinion so why not.
I have a whole wine country guide here broken down by my most favorite and frequented areas in case you want to add on more or swap things out for your preference!
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