Biking in Sonoma County, California

One of the main reasons you may travel to Sonoma County, California is for the wine, of course! But there are so many other amazing things you can experience in Sonoma. From hot air balloon rides, to hiking, to visiting a spa... there is a large variety of activities available in wine country. One of the best things to do is go on a bike ride to see the beautiful country. Here are some of our favorite bike rentals and tours:

Ace It Bike Tours - "Experience the beautiful rolling hills of the world famous Russian River Valley vineyards as we leisurely ride up close. Take in the essence of the fresh clean air."

Adventures in Cycling - "Uniquely Customized Bike Tours. With over 10 years of experience, we personalize each tour and keep the group size small to ensure a fun filled, memorable day."

Getaway Adventures/Sonoma on Bike - "This is the evolution of our luxury 6 day wine country bike tour. We have combed our area for not only great rides but the best of the best of the Wine Country and we have put it all together in something we call Sonoma On A Bike. Forged from hard won experience and inspired with a touch of European travel flair, we stay at the best hotels, dine at the finest restaurants and experience Sonoma Country in a way only a local would. We invite you to join us on this Sonoma bike tour and get to see this area like no other."

Sonoma Valley Bike Tours and Rentals - "Discover why our shop location in Sonoma is an ideal place to start your wine country bike ride – with direct access to local bike paths that connect you to Sonoma’s quiet country roads where you’ll discover the best local wineries. Join one of our signature Guided Bike Tours hosted by a knowledgeable Tour Guide or Rent Bikes with the aide of of our awesome route maps and local advice. Whatever option you choose, our goal is simple: We want the the time you spend bicycling with us to be your favorite memory from wine country!"

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Genova Delicatessen - Napa Valley, California

When wine tasting in Napa Valley, you have to make sure you eat a good meal so you can keep tasting those delicious wines! One of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat in Napa is Genova Delicatessen. Located at 2064 Treat Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94598 AND 1105 S. California Blvd.

Walnut Creek, CA 94596, their two locations offer a variety of sandwiches, pastas, and specialty items.

"Genova Delicatessen is a classic Italian delicatessen with two stores located in Walnut Creek, California. We offer the absolute best in catering services and have our own factory where we create authentic Italian entrees, raviolis, sauces, pastas, and delicacies to sell in finer retailers throughout Northern California. Homemade and kitchen fresh, Genova Delicatessen evokes the true quality of traditional Italian food. Our recipes (and our family) come from beautiful Genova, a small port city in Northern Italy. Since we established the first Genova Delicatessen in Oakland, California in 1926, our delis have been famous for our fresh bread, specialty cheeses, and the best cuts of meat. We also have terrific salads, an ever-changing variety of prepared entrees, traditional desserts, coffees, and regional Italian wines you can’t find anywhere else. We don’t use preservatives in any of our products, we strongly support local sourcing, and everything we do and serve is FDA approved." - Genova Delicatessen

SANDWICH DELIVERY

Thanks to our friends at Doordash you can have any of our sandwiches delivered directly to your doorstep. 

ORDER & PICKUP

Fill out an order form and FAX IT to any of our locations.

Your order will be waiting for you when you arrive.  

CATERING

PRODUCTS

We sell a variety of frozen Genova entrees - All created in our local Walnut Creek factory. They're homemade and kitchen fresh - with no preservatives. You can find them in all our delicatessens and select retail stores throughout Northern California. All products are available for shipping

And... They have WINE!!! 

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More About AWineryReview.com

H. Montanile's winery review is a comprehensive overview of California's wine country detailing the overall experience of visiting the California Wineries.  Our reviews include the wines generally available for tasting, as well as a wide variety of other wines.  With over 5000 wineries to choose from, let H. Montanile's winery review be your companion on your visit to the wineries in the Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

On our website, we feature some of the best wineries, lodging, activities, and dining in wine country. We love to pair food and wine with great recipes and we have an amazing online magazine!

If you're looking to buy wine, we are an affiliate of Wine.com. Click on any wine glass icon on our website to be redirected to Wine.com. 

At AWineryReview.com you can also view our blogs. We love to travel to wine country and share our experience with you in our "On The Road" blog. Our "At Home" blog is where you can find our recipes. 

Along with our blogs and website, we have numerous social media accounts. We would love to be friends on Facebook, follow each other on Twitter and Instagram, and have you subscribe to our YouTube channel!

To find out more about us, visit our website today!

El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen - Sonoma County, CA

El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen - Sonoma County, CA

Hotel

"Nestled in the heart of Sonoma’s historic downtown square, El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen offers its guests a welcoming sanctuary. Conveniently located just steps from shops, wine tasting, and art galleries, this 27-room boutique hotel is cozy and well appointed. In addition to El Dorado Kitchen’s seasonal, farm-driven cuisine, you’ll enjoy an inviting fireplace bar and lounge, a relaxing solar-heated pool, and elegant guest rooms designed for comfort. Sophisticated and warm, El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen perfectly complements the ideal Sonoma wine country experience." 

Kitchen

"El Dorado Kitchen offers California-inspired cuisine with a focus on the freshest farm- and ranch-raised ingredients. Executive chef Armando Navarro's menu features simple, seasonal ingredients and imaginative choices that make the restaurant a favorite for locals and hotel guests alike. A robust wine list and excellent signature cocktails augment the relaxed-yet-refined Sonoma spirit. A polished aesthetic and casual ambience predominate, anchored by large windows with abundant natural light and a mix of rustic communal and smaller café-style tables throughout the indoor and outdoor spaces."

History

"El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen is housed in the landmark Salvador Vallejo building, built in 1843 for the brother of Sonoma Valley’s founder. One of the town’s most historic structures, this adobe building has been through various incarnations throughout the decades, including periods as a school, church, and wine-making facility. Thoughtfully redesigned and modernized for today’s guests, El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen is located just steps from Sonoma Plaza’s hip art galleries, world-class wine tasting rooms, and specialty boutiques.

On site, spacious guest rooms are designed with French doors, private balconies, and modern, complimentary amenities. Guests can dine at El Dorado Kitchen, enjoying fresh, seasonally sourced fare indoors or out. Visitors are encouraged to relax on cushioned chaises by our solar-heated pool or end the day curling up in an inviting fireplace lounge. Of course, anyone wishing to harken back to the past needn’t look further than the building’s courtyard, where they’ll glimpse the owner’s’ prized fig tree, aged over 150 years." - El Dorado Hotel & Kitchen

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Pumpkin Picking in Wine Country

Yay! It's October! Time for warm, spicy wines, big, cozy sweaters, and EVERYTHING pumpkin! Carving, baking, and decorating pumpkins are some of the most loved fall traditions and we have just the places in wine country to find the best pumpkins!

ABC Tree Farms and Pick of the Patch Pumpkins - "ABC Tree Farms and Pick of the Patch Pumpkins are a family owned and operated business that began with a few retail lot locations in San Jose and Santa Clara back in 1983. Today, we have over 18 Pumpkin Patches and Christmas Tree retail lots throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. This makes us one of the largest retail seasonal companies in California! Our pumpkins and Christmas trees are grown on our farms located in Northern Oregon and Southern Washington states and are trucked down to California freshly cut."

Petaluma Pumpkin Patch - "As the owner of Sonoma County’s most popular roadside attraction the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch and Amazing Corn Maze, Jim Groverman, the farmer who is the inspiration behind the Highway 101 corn maze, has been doing what Groverman calls “Agro-Tainment” long before the word “agritourism” became part of the farming industry and a way to survive in the farming today."

Santa Rosa Pumpkin Patch - "Get lost in Sonoma County’s largest corn maze! The Patch is family owned and offers a unique experience to the Northern Bay area. Our family looks forward to seeing you and your family this fall season. Our award-winning pumpkin patch offers 10 acres of pumpkins with 45 different varieties to choose from, a huge 8 acre corn maze (with both a short and long route) and a variety of activities, fun for the entire family! Learn more about our attractions. Book a field trip or birthday party."

Papa's Pumpkin Patch - "Over four decades ago, a group of forward-thinking farmers blazed trails in Sonoma County, creating a map & guide for local agriculture, inviting the public to meet their farmers and learn more about the origins of their food. These pioneers also produced the Gravenstein Apple Fair to celebrate the heirloom apple and Sonoma County’s rural traditions."

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Wines to Drink in the Fall

Now that the Autumnal Equinox is here (Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 at 9:54PM EST) you may have shifted gears from the lazy days of summer to the crisp days of fall. With everything pumpkin spice quickly being snatched from the grocery store shelves and October just a week away, you can be sure everyone is getting into the autumn frame of mind.

Between the refreshing wines of summer and the warming wines of winter lies some delicious fall wines that are perfect for this time of year. 

SYRAH

Spicy and warm but still light enough to go perfectly with the weather.

"Syrah, also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche." - Wikipedia

BEAUJOLAIS

Light, with tasty berry flavors, and perfect to snuggle up with.

"Beaujolais is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wine generally made of the Gamay grape which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally." - Wikipedia

UNOAKED CHARDONNAY

With rich vanilla flavors, unoaked Chardonnay keeps the smoothness for fall without the winter heaviness of oaked Chardonnay.

"Barrels are also credited with giving wine a richer texture, adding to the belief that oak adds complexity. An unoaked wine is more likely to be lighter-bodied than its oaked counterpart, with more fresh fruit flavors and less of any cedary, toasty, vanilla character." - Wikipedia

ROUSSANNE

Hinting of pear and honey, Roussanne fits in perfectly with falling leaves and warm fires.

"Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC." - Wikipedia

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Wine.com Affiliate Reminder

We offer many suggestions on some of our favorite wines on our website AWineryReview.com. From sweet, fruity whites, to deep, bull-bodied reds, we love all wine and want to share the best of the best with you! 

We are an affiliate of Wine.com. Any wine that's listed on our website with a wine glass image next to it is available for purchase online and can be shipped directly to your location! 

Some of the reds that we recommend and are available at Wine.com include:

Belle Ambiance 2014 California ($10.00)

Bogle 2012 California ($12.00)

Duckhorn Decoy 2014 Sonoma Coast($22.99/NR)

Lander-Jenkins 2013 California ($15.00)

MacMurray Ranch 2014 Central Coast ($20.00)

Napa Cellars 2013 Napa Valley ($17.00)

The Pinot Project 2015 Sonoma, Monterey & Central Coast ($12.00/NR)

Some whites include:

Bonterra *Organically Grown 2015 (15.99)

Groth Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Napa ($20.00)

Liberated 2014 Sonoma ($17.00)

Pedroncelli 2014 Eastside Vineyards Dry Creek Valley ($14.98)

The White Knight 2014 Lodi ($12.00)

We're also big fans of Chardonnay, Rosè, and Sparkling wines which are also available for purchase at Wine.com.

Here are some of our favorites:

Auspicion 2015 California ($11.99)

Bonterra *Organically Grown 2015 Mendocino ($13.99)

Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve 2015 Central Coast ($22.00)

Firestone Riesling 2014 Santa Ynez Valley ($12.99/NR)

A by Acacia Rose of Pinot Noir 2015 Napa ($11.99/NR)

Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut NV Sonoma ($22.00)

Mumm Napa Brut Rose NV Napa ($24.00)

Scharffenberger Brut Excellence NV Mendocino ($19.99)

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