JDHertz11

I am debating on where to go to Sonoma or Napa for either a few days before or a few days after Rennsport Reunion. Thoughts? Recommendations from locals? Hotel ideas? We like to stay close to the action of a downtown type of area. This way food and entertainment is close by.

hoggel

Personally I prefer Napa to Sonoma. [qualifier added] I have only been in Sonoma twice for a total of about eight hours and I have only driven through the rest of the Sonoma Valley.

My brother-in-laws have a place near St Helena. I love to visit there. I rent a bicycle from St Helena Cyclery and ride every day. Nice and quiet during the week. Weekends are a bit of a zoo.

Yountville is the "epicurean walking town" with a very nice hotel.

fullbooker

Both are very nice. Napa's downtown has been renovated with some upscale shops and restaurants.
Oh, yeah, lots of world class wineries to visit. If you're into something really dirty, try a mud bath and spa treatment in Calistoga. Rent a bike if you like to ride.
Lots of fun to be had!
Phil

mpruden

Sonoma makes wine, Napa makes auto parts, as the Sonoma locals like to say.

I've found that Sonoma feels less touristy and more "real" to me. You probably can't go wrong with either.

Here are my recommendations - all of these are on the Plaza unless noted.

Lodging - El Dorado Hotel or Ledson Hotel. You could go to the Lodge at Sonoma, but it's off the Plaza.

Dive Bars - Steiners. Also on the Plaza. Avoid Town Square. (there's a bit of a local feud between the two, so it's fun to get the bar tenders to trash talk)

Breakfast - I usually just get a coffee and bread item at Basque on the plaza. Sunflower Cafe. Or drive 5 minutes to Fremont Diner.

Bloody Mary - The "15 minute" bloody mary at Murphys. They also have all ages of Pappy Van Winkle.

Wineries - I like the older, smaller places. Gund Bund (oldest in CA) and Ravenswood are very close. Rams Gate is a different animal. An awesome piece of architecture and love that you can hear the sounds of Sonoma Raceway as you relax.

To relax - Grab some food and a couple bottles of wine and head to Bart Park. It's not well known to outsiders, and is one of the most relaxing spots on the planet. There's also a pretty "interesting" history of the place. If you're convincing, I hear they'll let you take a peak down in the basement of the tasting room. I'll leave the rest as an exercise up to the reader.

Restaurants - pretty much any of them are going to be good. Girl in the fig is the iconic Sonoma place. Sante (10 mins out of town) is very, very good if you want a proper French meal. Ask to see the cheese cart.

Other food ideas - Vinyards Inn. It's owned by an old Basque guy that always has something awesome cooking. Great to refill if you're out on highway 12. Might as well hit St. Francis winery while you're in the area.

il pirata

After Rennsport I will heading up to Santa Rosa.

All of the areas will be busy at the end of September, it's typically harvest time and great weather and draws visitors from around the world.

Check out Healdsburg, just north of Santa Rosa, lots of top notch wineries and restaurants, very charming downtown area. Lots of interesting drives in the area.

Napa is going to be much more busy. Highway 29 can be a parking lot even during the week this time of year. If you do go to Napa, the north end of the valley is more low keyed.

The town of Sonoma is also nice and will also be less crowed than Napa. If you can stay over until the following weekend the BR Cohn music festival can be fun, although this year they finally had to move it off the vineyard and to a downtown location.

https://brcohn.com/charity-fall-music-festival/

993KHTO

+1 for Healdsburg

race911

If you want a car diversion, I can probably line up a secret workshop visit where some guy with a red 993 Turbo hatches the 910s and 907s.

Spyder_Man

Nothing but solid advise from folks here. I'll be attended Rennsport Reunion V Friday through Sunday and will be driving to and from Marin county. Happy to caravan with other RLers.

Also to echo mpruden, for food The Girl and the Fig and The Fremont Diner are both well worth visiting.

Rick-A-Shay

Check lodging availability and $$$$$$ before you head North. May be in for an expensive surprise…….. just say's.

Ed Hughes

I've stayed at Silverado a couple of times, and have enjoyed the stays. It's a few minutes out of town.

Oenotri is fantastic.

Martin S.

It is so much more affordable, and equally less crowded than Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino. No traffic jams, no parking hassles, and a minimum of snobbery. If you want traffic, expensive wines and impossible parking...Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino are your places. I once was a frequent visitor to the aforementioned...once we discovered Paso Robles in 2001, we have not been back since. And note, if you are a Burgundy style wine lover, for Pinot Noirs and Chardonnay, a shoprt trip to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County, you'll be in heaven. But I am not pimping these spots...I am from Paso Robles.

Paso Robles has some incredible back roads to drive. Bitterwater Valley road is one of these. For whose final destination is SoCal, Highway 58 from Atascadero over the hill to the San Joaquin Valley is an incredible road... Going west: Highway 46 W to the coast is so incredibly beautiful and well maintained...incredible views. Once you arrive at Highway 1, go north to Moonstone Beach....find the Sea Chest Restaurant, no reservations, no credit cards...they open at 5:30 PM, the line queues up about an hour earlier, many folks bring lawn chairs and drink wine to pass the time. Moonstone Beach also has many very nice little hotels...and you are right on the coast, doesn't get much better. For those coming from Monterey south on Highway 1....just plan to get there at 4:30....or, show up at the Sea Chest, put your name on the waiting list, and walk north a bit to the Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill. Suck up a cocktail or two, then head back to the Sea Chest (Their calamari appetizer, all cut into edible bite sized strips, is the best you'll find anywhere). If you order it as an entre, you'll have to cut it up yourself...I'd rather let them do it.Their sour dough rolls are awesome too...and the fish on the menu...you'll be impressed.

Consider Paso Robles (My home town)......220+ wineries, 10+ very nice restaurants......and many hotels, from the Hotel Cheval $$$$ to Motel 6, and anything in between. Note, Psso is no longer a sleep village, if you are planning to come, get reservations at one of our many hotels.
Restaurants:
Bistro Laurent (French Bistro----with an over the top wine shop next door)
Villa Creek (Great bar, good food, excellent service...did I mention he cocktails)
Artisan
The Hatch (Brand new and edgy)
Buena Tavola (Incredible home made pasta, very authentic)
Thomas Hill Organic
La Cosecha
Il Cortille
Hotels:
Hotel Chaval
Paso Robles Inn (Epic older place that has been redone many times)
Wineries: See: https://www.pasowine.com/wineries/map.php
Also see: https://www.pasowine.com/wineries/map.php
My personal favorites:
L'Aventure (Owner is a Porsche freak/geek wit 2 race cars)
Linne Callado (Owner is a big Chump car guy with 2 race cars)
Booker
Ecluse (Owner is a Porsche geek and aviator)
TH Estate Wines (Wines made by Ex NFL free safety...specializes in Rhone varietals, his wife makes wine too)
Jada (They serve a cheese pairing with each pour)
RN Estates (Pours in a Tuscan style villa, incredible wines)
Law
Calcerous
Alta Colina
Tablas Creek (Best zin anywhere)
Bodegas Degher (Very unique award winning wines)
Villacana (Unique because they also make distilled spirits, Vodka, Gin, and just for fun, Limoncello....taste this and you'll have to take some home. They also make Rye Whiskey but cannot sell or taste it on premises because of some arcane state alcohol regs.
Tobin James, on 46 east, the last winery on the right....you'll be able to taste 10+ different wines...the place is a fun house, people love this place and their tasty, yet affordable wine.
More, more, so many more....the varuous lists will leave you dizzy

OverBoosted28

+993 ^^^^^^. Sea Chest fish is always worth the inconvenience. Bring a bottle, sit across the street and drink it till your table's ready.
If there's any type of swell in the water, there's a few decent spots around Moonstone or even up in San Simeon. If a good south swell is running, you need to surf "Exotics" at the northern end of Moonstone Dr. 200 yard lefts on good souths.
Aloha :-)

JDHertz11

We went to Paso Robles last year by accident while driving from SoCal to Monterey. It's a nice Back to the Future town. I just made reservations at the El Dorado in Sonoma for the Sunday and Monday after RSRV. I have to look through this thread to decide which tastings to go to. Thanks for all the recommendations.

Kika

My wife and I plan on having dinner at the Sea Chest on Thursday before RR, one of our favorite restaurants.

We also plan on hitting up Sierra Mar and Ragged Point.

Spyder_Man

If you're up for exploring and dining in an almost forgotten port town down a windy road that is kind of on your way up to Napa/Sonoma, take a look at Bull Valley Roadhouse located in Port Costa, CA.

They make some mean fried chicken. The cocktails are good too and so is the rest of the dining menu. Across the street there is a fun hole-in-the-wall biker bar with lots of oddities throughout to enjoy looking at. The service at the bar is surprisingly friendly too. The parking lot nearby is a bit dusty and full of potholes so tread lightly, but its definitely worth driving out of your way for it, if you're feeling adventurous.