HISTORIC SONOMA
The city of Sonoma has been jokingly called Slow-noma, but the people who live here are serious about their rural lifestyle and deep valley roots. Many of the family-run businesses have been passed down through generations, and merchants work hard to keep the area’s atmosphere wholesome.
There’s plenty to do, but not a dizzying number of choices. New places are continually opening (Tasca Tasca, a tapas and wine bar on the plaza, for one), yet there are horses and barns just blocks from the center of town.
Sonoma’s centerpiece is its plaza, and even if you’re not a history buff, old adobes and the last of California’s missions are worth seeing.
Yes, traffic thickens and development, most recently a boutique hotel, inspires passionate debate. But Sonoma seems to have resisted — so far — sophistication too rapidly acquired. Families are drawn here for day trips, and to admire a small, close-knit community.
— Lisa Amand
MORNING
Your first stop is Cornerstone on Highway 121, 5 miles outside of town. This 12year-old Wine Country marketplace is a collection of old and new gardens, event spaces, shops, visitors bureau, cafe, tasting rooms and distillery. Here, Sunset magazine’s quarter-acre test garden, open since May, is divided into distinct areas for strolling and inspiration: the Flower Room, Cocktail Garden, Backyard Orchard, Gathering Space and Farm (now planted with herbs and organic broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage). If that doesn’t stimulate your appetite, Sunset’s outdoor kitchens will. Grab a cappuccino and pastry from Park 121 restaurant, and find a quiet place to sit amid well-tended succulents, olive trees, grasses and raised beds brimming with snapdragons, dahlias and poppies. Peruse Chateau Sonoma and Artefact Design & Salvage, where imported dishes, furniture and other decorative elements are either antiques or so perfectly distressed you can’t tell. From Cornerstone, continue north on Highway 121, turn right on Highway 12 and left on Sonoma’s main thoroughfare, Broadway. At the original Williams-Sonoma on Broadway, cooks will want to stop and pay their respects to the store’s founder, Chuck Williams. In a humble hardware store at this location in 1956, Williams opened a shop specializing in European cookware and launched a culinary revolution. Williams, who died at 100 years old last year, helped re-create details from the original store, including the black-and-white checkerboard floor and pristine white shelves, for this outpost’s opening in 2014. On display are Williams’ kitchen gadgets and photographs with famous chefs James Beard and Thomas Keller.
MIDDAY
Take time to enjoy Sonoma’s jewel of a plaza, 8 acres of green space with picnic tables, playground, amphitheater, duck pond and a monument to the raising of the Bear Flag. Across the street is San Francisco Solana Mission, the last and northernmost of the Franciscan missions (1824), and the adobe barracks, built to house Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s Mexican troops. Both are part of Sonoma State Historic Park. For lunch, try Sunflower Caffe’s roasted mushroom toast, excellent all-day brunch dishes featuring fresh Field of Greens eggs and lush Green Dream smoothies. The cafe, housed in a landmark adobe once belonging to Salvador Vallejo (Gen. Vallejo’s brother), also has art exhibits and courtyard tables in back. Around and near the plaza are galleries and shops selling photography, paintings, jewelry, clothing and naturally, all things wine related. When the Roche family found a sweet spot for a tasting room just off the plaza seven years ago, there were just a few tasting rooms in town. Now, Sonoma has more than 30. Stop at Roche to barrel-taste, gather around patio tables and fireplace or in a separate room named after their ancestral Irish village of Derry-shanogue. Visitors are welcome to bring their own snacks or order charcuterie platters from the Girl & the Fig next door. At Vella Cheese Co., a few blocks from the plaza, sample original jack, dry jack, mezzo secco and oro secco. Ignazio “Ig” Vella, a Sonoma legend, died in 2011, but the big wheels of his signature aged cheese are as popular as ever. The company’s large stone building, originally a brewery, dates from 1904. Today the Italian-style cheese business is run by Ig’s daughter, Chickie, and her two children. Walk back downtown to browse Readers’ Books for work by local authors past and present (Jack London and M.F.K. Fisher both lived in nearby Glen Ellen). This summer, Sonoma’s very own Emma Cline drew a crowd for her page-turner, “The Girls.” Lynn Downey will be at the well-stocked bookstore with her just-released biography of Levi Strauss on Nov. 15.
AFTERNOON
For a pick-me-up, head to Nick Grimm’s Cafe Scooteria, a few blocks west and walking distance from the plaza, and linger over espresso against the charmingly gritty backdrop of scooter sales and repair, Sorento Imports. Rent a bike from nearby Wine Country Cyclery and let them map the 3-mile ride to Gundlach Bundschu Winery (also just outside city limits) for wine tasting and enjoying the woodsy 320-acre property, which includes a pond, a picnic arbor, the Donkey Bar, a tasting room and a wine cave. In the family for six generations, Gun Bun stays au courant with music festivals and a welcoming vibe.
EVENING
For dinner, the Girl & the Fig’s duck confit or Sonoma Mountain beef burger paired with a flight of Rhone varietals won’t disappoint. The garden is preferable, weather permitting; the bar best for people watching. A focal point on the plaza is the marquee of Sebastiani Theatre, built in 1933 and a nostalgic venue for contemporary and vintage movies, performances and the Sonoma International Film Festival. For dessert, drop by Sweet Scoops, a ice cream shop on the plaza that sources ingredients like Pangloss wine, strawberries, peaches and lemons locally. If you’ve caught a second wind, head over to Dean Biersch’s Hop-Monk Tavern on Broadway. Known for its beer (Pliny the Elder!), it’s a good place to stop for live music (weekends), Port, brandy or a hot toddy.