Vacations Blog

Nothing beats a weekend in California’s wine country for romance and relaxation-that is, unless you are worried about the second mortgage you took on your house in order to finance the trip! It is true that it is easy to part with money here. However, it is also entirely possible to spend a weekend in wine country that doesn’t take a bite out of your check book–only a nibble. This starts with finding a cheap hotel!

My suggestion would be to stray a little more north of the highly frequented Napa and Sonoma valleys. Drive a little further and you will enter the Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley area with small towns such as Healdsburg and Guerneville. Here, you have many more economical options. Here are several I found on UpTake.

1. Creekside Inn in Guerneville. They have charming cottages that are good for one couple to a small group. You can easily get a two bedroom with a kitchen for around $175 a night. Split between friends or couples, this is a terrific price, especially if you consider how much you will save cooking in a kitchen versus forking over a lot of cash at a pricey restaurant.

2. L&M Motel in Healdsburg. Not precisely a hotel, but, worth mentioning here. The rooms start under $100 and while basic, are very clean and comfortable. The staff is friendly and you can walk the few short blocks to the main plaza in town. They are pet friendly as well, so can save you the cost of boarding your furry friend.

3. Amerisuites in Healdsburg. Again, no frills-but it has a great location and a terrific price. Save your money for a vineyard tour.

These cheap accommodations will help you plan a more price conscious trip. I have found that the winding back country roads in this area are filled with small, family owned wineries that have a unique feel and tasty wines . Plus, these vineyards are far less likely to charge high prices for tastings-which is an easy way to spend a lot of money. What you save on paying for tastings you can make up for in actual bottles of wine! Here is a good California Wine Guide that will make it easier to narrow down which wineries to visit.

The true splendor of wine country is also it’s beautiful setting. It does something for the soul to gaze at the rolling gold hillsides supporting bountiful vineyards and gnarled stately oak trees. The best part about this: the views are free!

Thanks to Rdesai for the vineyard picture.

Romance starts with the hotel.  We first discovered Madrona Manor on a bike ride through the valley and I always thought it would make a great place to celebrate an anniversary or promote romance. It offers perfectly landscaped grounds, colorful flower border along manicured lawns, beautifully appointed rooms and the service to match.  It also offers a world class & romantic dining experience.

We arrived on Friday night for the weekend, had breakfast in the town of Healdsburg the next day, shopped a bit around the town square, bought a picnic lunch and rented two bikes to tour the wineries and get some exercise.  The ride is easy on relatively flat roads, there are few cars and the wineries are within a short ride from each other.  We then returned to the hotel for a lazy afternoon and then went to dinner at Madrona Manor.  A perfect day. The next day we toured a few more wineries, picnicked along the river and then drove back to the bay area.

If you wish to go wine tasting, there are too many wineries to recommend.  I would suggest you ask the desk staff to recommend a few wineries.  Personally, we like the family vineyards of  Bella and  Zichichi.

Plan your next romantic getaway in Healdsburg and the Dry Creek Valley. It offers sunny skies, great food, flavorful wine and a beautiful hotel to make it  memorable.

So, I have heard the buzz about town. Apparently, as a tax paying citizen, I have a stimulus check coming my way in the next several months. Now, I have not been a taxpayer for very long and this concept is totally new to me–even somewhat suspicious. The government is sending me hundreds of dollars—just so that I will spend more money?

Really? Read More »

Dry Creek Valley Wine Tasting

One of my favorite wine tasting destinations is Dry Creek Valley, an easy hour drive from San Francisco. This area feels undiscovered compared to the neighboring wine areas of Sonoma and Napa Valley. It has no traffic, no crowds and some great wines, primarily Zinfandels. The atmosphere at the wineries is warm, friendly and relaxed. Unlike the large wineries of Napa, that have a corporate feel, here you will often be served by the owner of the winery in intimate, well designed tasting rooms overlooking the vineyards.

In the summer, my husband and I ride our bikes on the warm afternoons from winery to winery. We usually park by the Raford Inn, bike north on Wohler Road and then north again on Westside road. We visited many wineries along the road including Hop Kiln, Davis Bynum, Belvedere and ridden all the way up to Preston. (A tip: Know thyself. I would only ride the length of this road if you ride frequently and the weather is on the cool side. I was tired at the end of the day, very tired, and in the summer, I found the sun was merciless. My husband loved the ride and thrived in the hot weather. He also rides most weekends.) You can create a ride varying in length from one to twenty miles and stop at as many wineries as you like. The two lane country road offers low rolling hills and few cars. My pace definitely slows as the day progresses. At the end of the day, we drive back to the wineries and pick up any wine we purchased. I recommend plenty of water and bringing a picnic lunch. There are no restaurants along the way and very few wineries offer any substantial food.

This wintry weekend, due to the cold weather, we decided to drive and meander further down the valley and visit wineries on the West Dry Creek Road. Each of the wineries are within about a ten minute drive from each other. We started with lunch in Healdsburg and then drove about fifteen minutes to Zachichi, a winery founded in 2000 by a New Orleans physician and his wife. The warm and welcoming couple were in the light filled serving room overlooking their vineyard and offered selections straight from the barrel. Get their Petit Sirah, if you can. Next we went to Bella, they serve tastes of Zinfandel from inside a cave, created by dynamiting the hillside on their property. They have lightened the cave by painting the interior in a dark cream and decorating with tones of white, its pretty. Dutcher Crossing was our final destination, it offers a sauvignon blanc, chardonnays and of course Zinfandel. The wines were good and the servers friendly. This quick tour will give you a sampling of the hospitality and the wines of the area.

Whether you are a wine expert or you are just learning about wines, Dry Creek Valley is a fun getaway with great wine, friendly people, unique architecture and amazing vistas.