Sonoma County is California wine country without the polish and price tag of neighbouring Napa. The landscape rolls from the Pacific coast through redwood forests and into sun-drenched valleys planted with pinot noir and chardonnay. Small towns like Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and Guerneville each have their own character, and the tasting rooms tend to be friendlier and less crowded than what you will find across the hills to the east.
The town of Sonoma itself sits around the Sonoma Plaza — a leafy eight-acre park, the largest in California, where Mexico's frontier once ended. The Mission San Francisco Solano anchors one corner, and the Sonoma Barracks line another — both part of Sonoma State Historic Park. It is a fine place to start a day with a farmers' market and a coffee before heading out to the wineries.
North of town, the narrow road to Glen Ellen passes Jack London State Historic Park, where the author spent his final years on an 800-acre ranch. The ruins of his dream house, Wolf House, which burned the night before he was to move in, still stand among the oaks. The Vallejo Estate, a short walk from the plaza, preserves the home of the Mexican general who founded the town. Further north, the Russian River Valley around Guerneville draws kayakers in summer and pinot noir lovers year-round.