Posted on

Trattore Farms Tasting Room & Terrace Winery (Sonoma County)

Address: 7878 Dry Creek Rd, Geyserville, CA 95441

*** On your visit please mention to Trattore Winery that you’ve seen the review via our travel blog www.explore2places.com

The Trattore Winery is a boutique winery situated high a top a hill with an amazing view of the valley/vineyards. The winery is located west of Healdsburg in Dry Creek Valley and grows both good quality wine grapes and award winning olive oil. Trattore Winery is owned by Mr. Tim Bucher and his wife Mary Louise Bucher. Trattore means tractor in Italian due to the owners love for tractors. In fact, they have a few cool and beautiful red tractors on display inside their spacious wine tasting bar area. And the winery features Rhone-style wines, olive oils, vinegar, charcuterie, panini, and seasonal wood-fired pizzas. The Trattore Winery is about 1 hour and 30 minutes (85 miles) from San Francisco via US-101 North. It is open Thursday-Sunday from 11 am- 5 pm and closed on Tuesday-Wednesday.

The Trattore Winery accepts both reservation and walk-in customers. I contacted the winery the same day when we were in the area and was lucky that they have availability. The scenic drive to the winery was very relaxing with the gorgeous view of the mountains and beautiful wineries. The fun part was driving through all the wineries with our Mustang convertible on a warm sunny day. We had to pass through the winery gate and drove up the long winding driveway that led us to the top of the hill. The property grounds are beautiful, clean, and relaxing with olive trees. The amazing view on top of the property was so picturesque and relaxing.

As we arrived at the door, we were immediately greeted by the friendly and welcoming owner Mary Louise. We were then escorted to our table with an unobstructed view of the valley/vineyards. The table was on a large outdoor patio, very clean and have sunshade available to keep their customers cool on a warm sunny day. The view is amazing, picturesque and looks like a picture on a postcard. We were served by both the owner Mary Louise and Candis (Manager) They were very knowledgeable, professional, friendly, fast, and provided us with an excellent service. My daughter ordered a glass of fruit juice and while my wife had the 5 small glasses of their signature wine sampler. There were a wide variety of appetizers or food pairings on the menu but we ordered the Trattore Charcuterie (serves 2-4) which is a selection of Journeyman Meat Company salumi, local artisan cheeses, dried fruit, nuts, arugula salad and house made crostini for $35. The delicious Grilled Seasonal Chipotle Chicken panini sandwiches with roasted tomatoes, white cheddar, and DCOC Chipotle olive oil for $20. The Italian with Ham Panini sandwiches with Black Forest ham, journeyman’s salumi, mozzarella and pesto for $20. My favorite is the Italian Ham Panini since I love anything with pesto. We didn’t order dessert as we were all satisfied and full with the food that we ordered. My wife bought one bottle of their popular “Two Lakes” wine and we’re lucky enough that the Vineyard owner Mary Louise signed the wine bottle with my daughter’s name on it. My daughter was surprised, very happy and thankful for the kind gesture.

Overall, we were very satisfied with the quality of the food and the outstanding service of the owner Mary Louise and the entire staff. The unobstructed view of the beautiful vineyard, the outstanding service, and the beautiful sunny warm weather made our wine tasting experience very memorable. It made our early Valentines Day celebration for my wife and daughter a success. The best part of our experience was when the owner Mary Louise signed (with my daughter’s name) the “Two Lakes” bottle that we purchased.

Tips: All their outdoor seating have a view of the vineyard. They have a large parking lot area for all their customers. Dogs and children are welcome in the winery. Lake Sonoma is about a 15-20 minutes drive from the winery. Try to visit the overlook area with a view of Lake Sonoma but drive safely as the road is winding. The winery is also close to Truett Hurst Winery which allow children and have farm animals onsite. Trattore also have a display of cool tractors inside their wine tasting bar area. You can book an “Estate Tour” or “Private Event” online or by calling them. The winery also offer seasonal wood-fired pizza on Sundays from April-October. They also offer wine club membership to customers.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or what you think about the Trattore Winery after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you. Please don’t forget to subscibe to our blog.

Click here to find a hotel close to the Trattore Winery in Geyserville Ca.

Posted on

Bodega Head State Park (Sonoma County)

Address:  3799 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay, CA 94923

Bodega Head Trail State Park is in Sonoma County and situated on a small town called Bodega Bay. Bodega Head shelters the bay and harbor from the power of the Pacific Ocean and is about four miles long and one mile wide. Bodega Head is good for people who enjoy sightseeing, nature walking, photography, hiking, whale watching, or simply watching the sunset. Bodega Head has two trails which are family friendly and the trailhead protects both the North and West sides of the Bodega Harbor from the Pacific storms. Bodega head bluffs and cliffs have a 360 degrees views of the Pacific Ocean with the deep blue seas. There are 2 parking lots available onsite which are the upper area which is less maintained road and the lower area which is made up of sand and rocks with large potholes. There is no admission or entrance fee to visit the State Park. And no drones are allowed in Bodega Head.

The East Trail is a 1.7 mile loop that passes through the southern coastal bluffs of Bodega Head. While the west trail is a 1.2 mile loop that leads to the coastal bluffs and overlooks the view of the Horseshoe Cove. Bodega Head is one of the great spot to Whale Watch by the west trail parking area.

Bodega Head is about 1 hour and 30 minutes drive (77 miles) from San Francisco to Bodega Head State Park via US-101 North. But we came from Napa area (Yountville area) which only took us about 1 hour drive to Bodega Head. We passed through a couple of towns, local stores along the way such as the Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery, Estero Cafe, Valley Ford Supermarket. The cool place that we made a stopped over and ate is the famous “Bodega Bay Oyster Company.” We had our late lunch and ordered the famous “Kumamoto” bbq oysters, clam chowder, shrimp tacos and garlic bread.

We also passed through the popular Bodega Bay “Spud Point Crab Company” which is famous for its signature clam chowder. Bodega Head is about 3 minutes away from Spud Point. We made a right turn at the end of the road and drove up on a two-way, winding, narrow paved road. We had to be careful and paid attention to the other oncoming cars driving downhill and leaving the area. The large parking area was very busy since it was almost sunset and made up of sand and gravel with large potholes.

Overall, it was a fun, beautiful place to watch sunset with a 360 view of the Pacific Ocean with the deep blue seas. We enjoyed and experienced the power of the ocean as the waves crushed at the huge rocks and mesmerized by the beauty of nature at sunset. There were other hiking trails available at Bodega Head that you can explore with the entire family.

Tips: Watch out when you are driving uphill towards Bodega Head as the roads are narrow, slightly winding and two-way streets. Always watch out for oncoming traffic and pay attention to cars coming in and out of the parking space. There are public restrooms onsite but without a sink, so bring your toilet paper and hand sanitizer.. Bring binoculars to see all the different species of birds, wildlife and whale watching. Parking lot is made up of sand and gravel (unpaved) with large potholes. Watch out for dangerous cliffs and bring a jacket or sweater as the weather changes.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or what you think about Bodega Head State Park after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Click here to find a hotel close to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve Park.

Posted on

La Crema Estate at SaraLee’s Vineyard (Windsor, Ca.)

Address: 3575 Slusser Road. Windsor, CA. 95492

La Crema Estate at SaraLee’s Vineyard is one of Russian River Valley’s Pioneering wineries. It was founded in 1979, and was called La Crema Vinera which translates to “Best of the Vine”. La Crema is well known for it’s Burgundian- style Chadonnay and Pinot Noir. Mr. Rod Berglund founded La Crema and the current winemaker is Mr. Craig McAllister. The Estate Winery also has a old, remodeled historical barn dated back in 1900. The rustic, historic barn has a floor to ceiling glass windows with an amazing views on all angles of the Vineyard in the hills. The La Crema Estate at SaraLee’s Vineyard is about 1 hour and 20 minutes (70 miles) away from San Francisco/Daly City via US-101 North. The winery is open 7 days a week from 10 am- 5 pm. The La Crema Winery is currently by reservation and also accepts walk-in customers.

We arrived early at the winery around 10 am which our appointment was scheduled for 10:30 am. Our short drive from the main gate to the wine tasting room was relaxing as we saw rows of vineyards with colorful flowers. Since we arrived early, we decided to check out the surrounding area and took pictures of the property and the Historic Barn. As we went to the historic barn, we were immediately greeted by our server/sommelier “Kayla” who was very knowledgeable, professional, friendly, fast, and provided us with excellent service. Kayla checked us in and showed us the area where the reserved picnic tables are located and later brought the wine out to our picnic table. The winery grounds were very clean, relaxing, beautiful and surrounded by colorful roses and flowers all over the property. There were also a lot of outdoor tables situated all over the property with a gorgeous view of the private vineyard. And most of the outdoor tables have sunshades to keep their customers cool on a sunny day.

One of the best part of our experience was when we went inside the old, rustic, historical remodeled barn dated in 1900 and was converted into a beautiful tasting rooms for all their guests. The architectural design of the historical barn was very detailed with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the vineyards, rustic lighting, spiral staircase, large outdoor patios and cozy sofas for guests to relax while drinking their wines. The setting or cozy architectural design inside made us want to stay there all day.

Here are some of La Crema’s Estate Winery wine tasting options and all prices are per person/guest except the picnic table package. All package prices are discounted for wine club members.

Estate Tasting is a seated wine tasting in one of their outdoor patio overlooking the vineyard with 6 wines to try and sample. The price is $40 per guest for non members with a maximum of 10 guests including non tasters. 9 Barrel Tasting is an intimate wine tasting experience with the view of the vineyard. You will sample 5 of their small production high tier wines for $80 per non-member guest, maximum of 8 guests and available Mon-Thursday. Picnic Table is a reserved table good for 8 guests maximum and is located in front of SaraLee’s beautiful vineyards where you get to bring your own food/snacks for $50 but a minimum of one bottle purchase is required. Our picnic table reservation fee was waived since we bought 3 bottles of wines. And finally the Tour & tasting is a unique tour around the beautiful vineyard via a golf cart, the price is $85 per guest for non members and available from Monday- Thursday.

Overall, we were satisfied with the quality of the wine (my wife tasted and bought the 2018 Kelli Ann for $55/bottle), ambiance, the beautiful historical barn and the outstanding service of the staff members especially Kayla. It’s a magical place that transported us back in time due to it’s casual relaxing atmosphere, and rustic architectural property design. Their reserved picnic tables with the relaxing views of the beautiful vineyards with ripened grapes, the outstanding service, and the warm sunny weather made our wine tasting experience at La Crema memorable. Our intimate or private setting of our picnic table is worth the cost due to it’s amazing unobstructed view of the rows of vineyards.

Tips:  They have a large parking lot area for all their customers. One parking lot area is made up of sand/gravel while the other one is cemented. We bought some snacks such as cheese, crackers, dried fruits, water and juice at Mike’s Truck Garden Produce Market along the way. Don’t forget to ask the receptionist information about the self guided tour of the property. You may walk around their property especially the vineyards with all the ripened grapes. There a re a lot of great photo opportunities all over the entire property. The picnic table has a time limit of 90 minutes while kids and dogs are welcome in the property.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or what you think about the La Crema Estate at SaraLee’s Vineyard after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Click here to find a hotel or place to stay near La Crema Estate at SaraLee’s Vineyard close in Sonoma.