Sonoma Wine Country Culinary Tour

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California's Sonoma Wine Country makes my heart sing. With its Mediterranean climate, rolling hills with vineyards, olive groves and apple orchards, towering redwoods, and breathtaking Pacific coastline, Sonoma is an incredible place to connect with the land and each other. I've always dreamed of leading a small group through my favorite parts of this region and the stars have finally aligned!

For this 3-night, 4-day culinary adventure, we'll stay in an elegant, private villa in the heart of Sonoma. While just minutes from one of the area's gems, Healdsburg, our villa is also a bit off the beaten track (just the way I like it!). This place will give us a chance to get the real Sonoma wine country experience.

A meandering country road along a hill nestled in oaks leads to our home for this adventure. Our villa is secluded and serene, with breathtaking vistas. From the moment we enter the cobblestone entry and two-story rotunda to the time we take in the fragrant lavender surrounding our expansive swimming pool overlooking Alexander Valley, this place will feel like a dream come true.

Exploring Sonoma Wine Country

Wine lovers rejoice: we won't need to travel far to experience some of the best this area offers. We will be surrounded by vineyards that produce world-renowned wine in one of the most diverse growing regions in the world! Sonoma County is home to 18 different appellations, each with their own unique climate and geography. From warm, sunny days to cooler, fog covered valley floors, these variations add nuance to each region's wine.

Sonoma's Mediterranean climate and wine will be our inspiration in the kitchen, as well, where we'll be sure to create some delicious wine country meals together!

There's much more in store and the planning is done-- you just need to arrive! This getaway is for anyone who is ready to take in all that this spectacular region has to offer and add a song to their heart. Join me!

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The heart of our villa is the gorgeous gourmet kitchen-- perfect for wine country-style cooking. With expansive white Carerra marble counters and an 8 burner Wolf range, we'll have everything we need to get creative during our hands-on cooking classes.

Sonoma is home to organic farms with wonderful produce, fresh seafood, artisanal cheeses and bread, and hand-crafted cured meats, so we'll have plenty of great ingredients at our fingertips. We'll let the season guide us and make some of my favorite wine country dishes, such as Pacific salmon wrapped in fig leaves with a fig and walnut salsa verde, or spatchcocked locally raised chicken that we cook under a brick! We could also sear some ribeye on a Himalayan salt block and serve it in a salad along with a chilled soup and some homemade focaccia. Another day, I could show you how to make fresh garganelli pasta with a flavorful tomato sauce and torn basil. Or if we're feeling adventurous, we can make a giant paella outdoors! When it's ready, we can enjoy our meal together at a long farm table in front of the fireplace, or dine al fresco and take in the valley view.

Our Palladian Villa is quite unique. Designed in the classic Italianate manner, it is also made of straw! This environmentally sustainable style of architecture features very thick walls-- perfect for wine country climate! The exterior walls are 3 feet thick and covered with stucco on the outside and plaster on all the interior. This construction offers natural heat retention on cool nights and also allows mother nature to keep things comfortable during the heat of summer. Perched on the hillside, our villa's expansive windows and French doors open out to sweeping views of the Alexander Valley. Pictures and words simply can not do this place justice-- you have to be there to see for yourself!

In addition to our beautiful grounds and pool, we'll enjoy our villa's beautiful living areas complete with fireplaces and 13-foot high ceilings, in a style one might find in Europe. At the end of the day, we'll relax in well-appointed bedrooms*, each featuring marble bathrooms and Turkish linens, and enjoy the beautiful vistas in our serene setting. This place is truly extraordinary!

*Rooms are assigned first-come, first-served, and pricing is based on double occupancy. Single occupancy rooms are limited and an additional single supplement charge will apply.

My husband, Joe, and I love Sonoma-- especially their Pinot Noirs. Sure, you'll also find some fabulous crisp Sauvignon Blanc, classic Chardonnay, perfectly structured Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhone varieties like Mourvèdre and Syrah but for us, Sonoma Pinot is king. They have such a range in complexity and flavor profiles and each time we visit this region we discover new favorites.

There’s quite a breadth of flavor in Sonoma County wines, depending if the vines grow closer to the foggy coastline or further inland where sunshine is aplenty, yet it's the care and traditions passed through the generations of winemakers here that make a visit to Sonoma feel like you're in Europe! With over over 40 wineries in Alexander Valley region alone, we'll have so many options, but I have one exceptional vineyard in store for our tasting excursion. Here, we'll enjoy a private tour-- tasting hand selected wine to pair with lunch outdoors. Along with fabulous wine, everything about this place is magical.

What’s included:

Deluxe accommodations**
Hands-on and demonstration cooking classes
Meals, beverages and wine
Transportation for our excursion
Exclusive wine tasting with food pairing

Transfers to/from the villa, elective purchases and staff gratuities are not included in the price for this tour.

Group size is limited to a maximum of 12 guests.

The villa is located in the Sonoma Valley Wine Region in Geyserville, California, just a few miles from Healdsburg. The closest International Airports are Oakland (OAK) and San Francisco (SFO). Or, consider flying into the Charles M Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, with direct flights from Denver, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and more. Driving directions to the meeting place and villa will be provided upon confirmed registration.

Guests who are extending their stay in the region may enjoy a scenic drive to the Coast or the Redwood Forests, and of course, continue discovering the vineyards of Sonoma and Napa!

We are committed to following Federal, State and local health guidelines to the best of our ability during this tour.

** Tour price listed is based on double occupancy. Single occupancy rooms are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Single supplement charge of $1000.00 applies. See the Tour Terms and Conditions for more detail.