The reason to go wine tasting is to taste wine. Well, yeah, but it’s not the only reason. For one thing, there’s the scenery. We have found that virtually any place where grapes are grown for wine is beautiful, with rows of vines arrayed across a field or a hillside. For us city-dwellers, the only way we’re going to see these sights is to drive there. And not all roads are created equal.
Some are just ways to get from one grape-growing region to another. Highway 101, which runs through Sonoma County, is one of these. So is the Long island Expressway, which takes you to the North Fork vineyards. Others are the main roads that have numerous wineries on either side. The sight of one famous establishment after the other can be quite thrilling, like a wine shop with buildings instead of shelves. Napa Valley’s Route 29 is such a road as is the Route du Vin in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or. If you are a fan of going wine tasting, as we are, you will definitely take these roads one day.
And then there are the roads that are, in themselves, destinations. They’re just gorgeous, aesthetic experiences when you’re there. It’s good to know that there are wineries and vineyards nearby but these roads are worth driving on just for the experience of seeing them. One that we particularly like is Chalk Hill Road in Sonoma. Assuming you are coming from the aforementioned Route 101, take the Old Redwood Highway exit on the east side and go a short distance to Pleasant Avenue. Shortly thereafter, turn left on Chalk Hill Road.
The road goes from Route 101 to Route 128, which will take you either to Knights Valley to the south or Alexander Valley to the north. There are wineries along the way to visit, but not many. They include some of Sonoma’s finest, including the eponymous Chalk Hill, Verité, and Lancaster. The drive will take you through forests, fields and hills, with virtually no houses or even wineries that you can see from the road. There are horses in some of those fields who like to take a run every now and again. It being California, the hills are usually a light tan, with clumps of trees and greenery to color the view.
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Pictures don’t do Chalk Hill Road any justice. You need to see the dappling of shadow and sunlight as you drive along, feel the peacefulness of a country road with hardly any other drivers on it, hear the sound of nothing more than your car…which almost but not quite spoils it.
We recommend that you make your way there on a visit to Sonoma. You won’t be disappointed by the wines you try (although you may be horrified by the tasting fees) and you will feel that you’ve gotten more than wine from Wine Country.