On Location: Napa & Sonoma County

California Wine Country

By Gray Shealy

Our dear friends—whom we met in Antarctica of all places—hosted us at their island home in Alameda just outside of San Francisco, for an exploration of The Bay Area from a wine & culinary perspective.

Admittedly, I have limited the time I’ve spent in the Bay Area – prioritizing international trips instead – and even hitting alternative wine regions abroad rather than our own domestic heroines. But when you visit in-the-know, card-carrying vineyard members who really know wine, you take the opportunity to go. And so, it was off for my first time to the Sonoma and Napa Valley wineries. We sipped pinots and chardonnays amongst stunning architectural spaces. Gourmet feasts awaited us in the cozy town of Healdsburg and in Downtown SF. Crossing the Bay via boat and sunset strolls along the water stirred picturesque memoirs of a place that I only have learned to appreciate more and more on every visit. 

A few weeks later, after an epic trip around the Pacific beginning and ending at SFO, we planned one last overnight in NoCal given weirdly-timed airline schedules. So, we took the opportunity to have a romantic getaway in the woods of the Anderson Valley about 2 hours north of San Francisco at a beautiful little mountain inn, in the postage-stamp sized town of Boonville. Our bohemian accommodation was warm and quaint, centered around a gorgeous dahlia garden and a candle-lit dinner where in-the-know San Franciscans had come to getaway. Our visit wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the boutique and lovely wineries hidden in the rolling valleys. We took the slow road back, via US Highway 1 from Mendocino south through the distinguished Redwood forests and along a stunning cliff-side coast stretching into the gleaming Pacific. The windy roads brought us to the modernist architectural resort Sea Ranch, and to Botany Bay (setting of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”) as a last hurrah of our whistle stop tour.

Imagery, from top left: La Crema Estate winery; a view along Highway 1 near Elk; Dinner menu at Boonville Hotel; Handley Cellars; modernist homes at Sea Ranch; Domaine Carneros winery.

Syllogi’s ‘On Location’ is a series of trip reports reflecting on our personal travels, as we research and experience the bounty the world has on offer.