Day 3 of our Sonoma Tour started in the town of Healdsburg, a quaint town in the middle of northern Sonoma County. We left town after breakfast and shopping and followed the Russian River as it meandered to the Sonoma Coast. After stopping to enjoy views of the Pacific and Bodega Bay we worked our way back up the other side of the Russian River Valley ending the day with a view of the setting sun over Lake Sonoma.
Our first stop of the day was a visit to the Healdsburg Farmers' Market. We were welcomed by a plethora of local produce available for purchase from many vendors. There was such a large selection of colorful foods that we quickly had farmers' market envy. Even in peak growing seasons the number of vendors and the variety of items available at our local farmers market in New Orleans pales in comparison to this farmers' market. We picked up some fresh apples, grapes, peaches, and sunburst tomatoes for the road.
After a leaving the farmers' market we walked over to Downtown Bakery & Creamery for some breakfast. You can't go wrong with fresh baked goods for breakfast. Well, that and coffee.
We stopped for lunch in Bodega Bay at Lucas Wharf. This meal was not the highlight of the trip. Lindsay and I grew up around similar seafood establishments, and this restaurant was reminiscent of a restaurants we have frequented in Maryland and Delaware. We had high expectations for good seafood, however, the food was pretty average. The view was great and made the stop worth it.
After our trip to the coast, we headed back in land and stopped by a few wineries in the Dry Creek Valley (see below). Eventually we made our way back through Healdsburg where we stopped at the Oakville Grocery for dinner. The Oakville Grocery is a gourmet grocery with a kitchen serving a selection of sandwiches and pizzas. Lindsay selected a Smoked Turkey and Cranberry sandwich and I had the Roast Beef And Blue. We also chose some cookies from their baked goods case. The grocery has a patio in front with a view of the adjacent town square. It was a relaxing place to take a bite to eat after a day of sightseeing and wine tasting.
After dinner we ended the day with a short sunset drive north to Lake Sonoma where we watched the parade of boats being pulled out of the water after a day of fun on the lake.
Here are the wineries we visited along our drive:
Korbel Champagne Cellars - One of the oldest wineries in the county with lots of history, tour was a little cheesy but tasting was good.
Hop Kiln Winery - Located in a historic Hop Kiln, the winery staff was very friendly and overall the wines were very tasty. Our favorites were the Russian River Estate Chardonnay, Rose of Pinot Noir, and Russian River Pinot Noir.
Marimar Estate - Started by a woman from Spain, this winery stays true to its Spanish heritage by using Spanish wine making techniques.
Sunce Winery & Vineyard - A cute family owned winery that sources grapes from all over Sonoma County. Staff was very friendly and poured generously. We sampled four different dessert wines.
Hook & Ladder Winery - Founded by a retired firefighter, this winery is his second and more successful wine making venture. The whites were very good, and I also enjoyed the Zinfandel.
If you would like to see more photos of the foods that we ate check out our Flickr stream. You can also follow us on Gowalla to see where we have been.