When I find a great place to stay, it’s a dream and a privilege to share it with you guys. I LOVE a good vacation (you should know this by now 🙂 ) and finding the best spots is my life. When I stumbled across Farmhouse Inn, I jumped or maybe I emailed quickly to get a stay in ASAP during wine crush season! My lucky butt, not only got to stay at this gorgeous, beautifully decorated boutique Inn, but I drank wine and ate for three days straight to my heart’s content. I mean, do you want to stop reading now (please don’t).
Wine Enthusiast just named Sonoma County as the Wine Region of the Year in 2019 so it’s about time if you love wine, you jump on a plane and head here as it will just get busier and busier.
I can’t say enough how lucky I am to partner with places like Farmhouse Inn and thank those that give me the opportunity (like Catherine, who owns the Farmhouse) for indulging in my hobby of life and travel. My hobby turned into a job has filled my year with amazing travels and content to show you guys.
I make goals for myself every year and every few months. In June, I told my assistant I’d love to go to wine country and figure out where to stay and go for September and my goals came true. I partnered with Farmhouse on their Westside Deluxe experience where we visited Gary Farrell Winery, Rochioli Winery, and Flowers Winery for an amazing day of Chardonnay, Pinot Noirs, and little delicious tastings of food that paired with the wine.
We started this trip in checking into the Farmhouse and the room was spacious, decorated the way I would want a Farmhouse decorated, and the bathroom was as big as my master bedroom in my apartment. I slept like never before (are luxury hotel beds just better than any bed?), I took a bath every night (I never do this), and the walk-in closet was perfect for all the clothes I overpacked. Yes, you heard me right, there is a walk-in freaking closet that fits all your bags and mess!
The Inn has 25 rooms (I love a boutique hotel), free wifi, feather beds (as I mentioned before, heaven) and a large fireplace that is so cozy. The pool is so pretty and gets great sun if you are looking for a tan!
The Farmhouse Inn is exactly what I envision a luxury farmhouse boutique hotel to feel like and it didn’t disappoint. My big plus of wanting to stay here was their restaurant. Michelin star restaurant and chef, the reviews are amazing and we dined one night with a three-course tasting. I’ve never had rabbit before and their Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit dish was their most famous one and it was delicious. Made three ways, it was a definite must-try if you come. The other dish I almost licked my bowl for was the fresh corn soup (cold) and I think it was the best bowl of soup I’ve ever had. That’s saying a lot as I adore soup. If I could have that soup delivered to my house I would. Still dreaming of it right now! Dining at Farmhouse is a must-do and usually, I step off the property for dinner. Seeing the photos below makes me want to go back asap.
Daily relaxing baths in their jacuzzi tub was a must. Who doesn’t love a good bath and wine?
We had breakfast in room as well as at the restaurant and it just reminded me how much I miss farm eggs and fresh produce. The room menu is different from the restaurant one and for the first time ever, I would recommend you go to the restaurant as the Croque Madame I had and the tacos my friend had were so amazing, I would get out of bed and get dressed to eat. I don’t think I can rave enough about the food we had! You can see how delicious it was just by the photo below.
With our Westside Deluxe Package, we headed to:
Gary Farrell Vineyards and Winery
If you haven’t gone to the Russian River Valley, I would highly recommend it if you are a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay lover. I love the boutique feeling of each winery, it feels more homey, like a family and the service is impeccable. At Gary Farrell, we got a wonderful tour of the facility and watched while they were transporting and crushing grapes for the season. It was a very intimate experience and they paired the most amazing cheeses with each of their delicious wines. See the menu below.
Atop this drive is a beautiful view of vineyards and the facility where we saw the grapes being crushed and we had our tasting.
Typically on the weekends, it is super busy (and tasting are by appointment only), we went on a Thursday, so it was special tasting just for us!
I’m a huge Pinot Noir and cheese lover so this one of my favorite spots to start. Hearing how they got started, meeting the winemaker Theresa, and hearing how they purchase grapes from other partners to develop their wine was so interesting. I loved the intimacy of the tour and included in every tasting is the range of cheese that complement their wine so well. Check out Gary Farrell Vineyards and Winery when you head to Sonoma and if you are an avid Chardonnay fan, theirs was ranked #1 by Wine Enthusiast!
My next two stops were Rochioli and Flowers Winery.
Rochioli Vineyards and Winery was another amazing intimate experience with Rachel (the daughter of the owner)! She also took us on a tour of them crushing grapes and the most amazing thing is that she had her dad take us in his truck to tour the vineyards. I left the winery with rosé and two bottles of the 2017 Pinot (which is already gone as it was so delicious.) I need to reorder ASAP. This spot has a pretty patio for wine tastings. Once again, if you love Pinot Noirs, this is a must-visit.
Flowers Winery was just remodeled and is a gorgeous building with impeccable tasting of small bites paired with their wine. We learned about how they grow their grapes, the impact of weather and the coast to perfectly make their wine. It was the perfect last stop of our tour. Three wineries in one day, tastings and cheeses, it was the perfect day.
My recommendation for a visit is not hitting as many as you can, but keeping it to 3-4 wineries where you learn about the wines, tour and really experience the family feel of Sonoma. It is special and memorable.
Jordan Winery
On our last day, we headed to Jordan Winery for their 3-hour Estate Tour and WOW is the word I would describe it. The estate itself is 1200 acres (from what I remember from their tour). They have their own farm animals, grow their own produce and it’s quite frankly an epic tour. If you can’t do the 3-hour tour, come for a tasting as the property is just gorgeous to see and be a part of.
Our tour had three stops and involved wine pairings with small bites that melted in my mouth, sips of their best Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition, I met their cute donkeys, walked their gardens and tasted tomatoes and berries straight from the garden.
I can not rave enough about this tour. It is a full experience I’ve never had before. Check out Jordan Winery on their website and you’ll see how gorgeous it is. We ended the tour with their member’s lunch which most of it was from their own garden. Fresh produce is EVERYTHING and my mouth waters just looking at this photo.
Take a serious peak at all the places I mentioned. And I would definitely recommend ending the trip at Jordan Winery, it was the perfect spot to go to before we left to go to San Francisco.
This trip was a great way to see, experience and taste what Sonoma is about. Thank you to the wineries and Farmhouse for partnering with me, I’m already planning on when I can come back as this was one of my favorite trips. xoxo
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