The main stem of Sonoma County is Route 101, which connects Sonoma, Glenellen, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg and Geyserville. To the best of our knowledge, there are no wineries actually on Route 101, so to go wine tasting we have to get off the highway and drive the back roads. Some of them are fairly major roads with plenty of other cars on them, such as Dry Creek Road and the Sonoma Highway (Route 12) in Sonoma Valley.
Sonoma County scenery. Photo courtesy of Backroads.
Then there are even smaller roads right off these that are essentially paths to a single winery. Drivers don’t just happen to pass by; these are destinations. Some of these small roads, and even some parts of the larger ones, are attractions in themselves. They are wonderful country lanes with foliage that it seems only California can offer. Even deep into autumn, there are leaves on many trees, some changing with the season and others green all year long.
Oh, yes, there are vineyards as well. Almost all of Sonoma County is hilly, so coming around a bend only to see row after row of vines along a hillside never fails to take our breaths away. To be fair, there are some roads in flatlands that are often home to feedlots and other industrial uses that aren’t quite as pretty.
There are two ways to wind up on these back roads. One is intentional. If we want to taste Pinot Noirs in Russian River, we will surely take either River Road (nearer Santa Rosa) or West Side Road which is actually the extension of Mill Street in Healdsburg. Either one offers lovely views and a lot of wineries to stop at. But then we often branch off. Gary Farrell, for instance, is on a private road leading up to the winery, with some emphasis on the word up. Paul Hobbs is set among vines at the end of Holt Road. The general point is that getting to these wineries offer beautiful scenery.
Sometimes, though, we just get lost. Over the years this has happened fairly often, because getting from one winery to another required spreading out maps and in many cases guessing that the next turn was the correct one. The sights were still lovely, but it was more difficult to appreciate them on wracked nerves. The advent of internet-based driving instructions has alleviated some of the agita, but not entirely.
The trees of Sonoma County after dark. Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Tourism.
Worst of all is driving these back roads after sunset. That lane that was gorgeous in daytime becomes a terror at night. During the day we don’t notice how narrow the streets are; in the dark, they must shrink. With headlights on, all we can see is the upcoming 20-miles-per-hour switchback and ditches to the side. Those trees that were scenic in the afternoon become the backdrop for Psycho once the sun goes down. We have survived to tell the tale, but it was awfully scary.
We advise you to get off the main Sonoma County highways and enjoy the scenery in the countryside. But do so while the sun shines.