Wine and Dining in Sonoma Wine Country
By Maja Wood, About.com Guide to Santa Rosa, CA
Sonoma County and Napa Valley make up the famous--and infamous--California Wine Country. This area is lauded for its incredible wine, spectacular food, and gourmet lifestyle. Heck, we even have our own cuisine, quite aptly named "Wine Country Cuisine." Everyone knows that some of the world's best wineries, restaurants, specialty food and Food & Wine events and classes are located here. But locals also know that you can't beat our everyday eateries, farms, and farmers markets. Foodies rejoice!
Wineries
Sonoma County has some of the best wineries in the world. Some are large and lavish establishments owned by corporations. Many others are small family-owned places where you can still come knock on the door and ask the owner to pour you a drink. As well as being friendly, local wineries are rich in history. In fact, California's very first wineries were founded in the town of Sonoma over 150 years ago.
Restaurants
California Wine Country is generally regarded as one of the best places on earth to go out for an extraordinary meal. When the director of the famous Michelin Guide was asked why the company chose the Bay Area/Wine Country for its second North American guide (New York was the first area to be covered) he answered: "It's a natural choice. It's got its own culinary tradition, it's the birthplace of California cuisine and it's the region of wine. When you go to restaurants here, everyone is a foodie. Everyone talks about the food all the time." I couldn't have described the foodie vibe here better myself.
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- Michelin Guide in Wine Country
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Local Food
You don't need to go to a fancy restaurant to have a great meal. Just head out to the nearest farm, fishing dock, farmers market or specialty store and enjoy the region's wonderful bounty.
