The Map of Northern Sonoma, Russian River, Healdsburg and nearby

You are lucky if you are reading this post. Why? Because the chances you are not are a lot bigger. This post doesn't belong to famous wine or travel blog, it doesn't advertise, and it is not ranked high on google or anywhere else. All that means my post is not likely to show in your browser window. But if it did, you just got an instant access to many years of experience and knowledge acquired while traveling with my family to Northern Sonoma. All that is distilled into the custom map of Northern Sonoma, in particular, Russian River and Dry Creek valleys, city of Healdsburg and the surrounding areas.

The map features wineries, restaurants, and points of interest with concise but useful commentary and trails that connect them. Of course, this is pretty darn good only if you trust me. Why should you? Because many of my friends did and thanked me, In fact, they kept thanking me long time after their trips as their memories were driven by the map.

The map is still work in progress because every year I make new trip to Sonoma I find something new and interesting to add. And my memories also take time to shape up to be converted into artifacts I place on the map. So I decided to make this post also work in progress as I will be adding more info  about the map below. But for now, here it is - the infamous Northern Sonoma, Russian River, Healdsburg and nearby map:

My problem with Napa: Where is a picnic table?

To me Napa became “Disney World” of wine country: huge wineries with crowded tasting rooms, overhyped wines and overpriced tasting lists. But these are the things people expect from Napa nowadays: wine tasting has become secondary to winery design, collection of art, wine club tiers or celebrity chef nearby.

My problem with Napa is actually simple: give me something little that I don’t have to pay for. For starters, give me a picnic area where I can eat my lunch and drink your wine if I liked it.

View of Napa from the deck of Opus One Winery in Oakville:
vineyards and parking lots all around

Driving by Highway 29 in St. Helena you can stop by Dean & De Luca Market to grab a sandwich (Have you seen a deli without a table? No? This is the place!). Fine, noisy and dusty highway doesn't make for nice relaxing spot. I’ll go to one of the wineries south or north and enjoy it in tranquility of the garden or vineyard. What, I can’t? Wineries need a permit? And they don’t care to have one (except for those like V.Sattui where picnic area is huge place to consume goods sold at their deli). Things came full circle to crowded overhyped places where I have to pay to have a picnic (by paying I mean buying their food - not glass of wine).

When I come to Napa I do it on a weekday and for one day. I pick a historic winery that also offers tours to visit (like Rubicon Estate, Beaulieu Vineyards, Beringer, Charles Krug to name a few) and leave Napa behind back to its nicer sister wine country – Sonoma.

P.S. To be fair there are few wineries in Napa that offer picnic area - some alcohol-free, some are appointment only and some are not conveniently located. Plan your picnic in Napa using this map. And don't forget: their picnic table - their wine.