Healdsburg, California ~ with an under the radar and charming downtown district, is a great place to explore wine country’s bountiful treasures.
Have a look into tasting rooms, restaurants and wine bars… boutique shopping, art galleries and romantic hot spots. Take a moment, live the good life.
The square boasts dozens of tasting rooms within walking distance of the plaza that offer a variety of wines produced by local wineries.
It also boasts many choices of award winning restaurants all right within only a few blocks. Being pampered in a luxury suite for a weekend trip with the girls was an absolute blast with everything in such close proximity to our accommodations.
Looking for a relaxing getaway or a romantic evening in wine country? Look no further. Your trip to downtown Healdsburg awaits…
The Sonoma County cultural heartbeat is strong here and there is always something happening in town.
This pedestrian-friendly weekend getaway to this hip downtown district promises an effortless and relaxing way to explore the region.
Healdsburg’s downtown area is ‘all things wine’ in perfect sync with fantastic eateries, stores, people, entertainment and even a farmer’s market. With so many things to do close at hand deciding where to your day can be overwhelming. Here is a Insider’s Guide to help you plan your trip…
A Weekend Getaway in Sonoma Wine Country…
TWO THREE FIVE LUXURY SUITES
Luxury accommodations to die for on a weekend wine getaway with your friends. Wine with friends is better than wine without.
Right in the center of the wine tasting room action, these luxury suites were in what just may be the PERFECT location for travelers heading to downtown for a trip. When it comes to vacations, you deserve the best, you have earned it. A Weekend Getaway in Downtown Healdsburg, CA ~
Staying in luxurious suites right on the square with full amenities and ALL of the comforts of home was the RIGHT way to go. Being literally steps from the nearest restaurant and tasting room = Priceless. The beautifully designed suites, each with their own distinct style of decor with emphasis placed on the comfort level of the guest. A premier, independent boutique hotel. The suite has three private bedrooms each room with their own bathroom, a spacious living room, a kitchen, a dining area, and provides free high-speed Wifi throughout.
Impeccable hospitality and service were the name of the game here. My ensuite bathroom was a private spa in itself with private entrance to my own soak tub and double shower. This is a romantic place indeed. As late evening fell, I had a soak in the warm calming waters, of my massive tub before…
FULL HOTEL ARTICLE HERE >>
SIDURI WINE TASTING ROOM
Are you ready for an unforgettable experience that elevates what is in your wine glass at the same time that it stimulates the taste buds? Then look no further that the Siduri Healdsburg Wine Lounge.
With a selection of regionally inspired bites that are locally sourced using farm to table means, and your choice of options like a personally curated wine flight or a glass of single vineyard Pinot Noir, you are sure to find something to create lasting memories here.
Siduri, named for the Babylonian Goddess of Wine, was the result of the two founders mutual love of Pinot Noir. These wine loving entrepreneurs, Adam Lee and Dianna Novy, left their native Texas and moved to the Sonoma County spending years working at small, family-owned wineries and learning the tricks of the trade.
The real pay-off of all that hard work happened as soon as the first release of Siduri Wines, in 1994, which was met with great critical success. Adam is winemaker and has been from the beginning til now. He is known as quite the local celebrity around town for his skills with the grapes…
FULL WINERY ARTICLE HERE >>
BANSHEE WINE LOUNGE
Along the urban wine trail, our next stop was the Banshee Tasting Room. Hip and edgy with the nostalgic sound of vinyl spinning on the turntable, the location is a laid-back, friendly tasting experience featuring some fierce juice in the wine glass.
On your next wine tasting outing, stop and enjoy the vibes. This intimate stop gives you a personalized one-on-one visit each and every time. The downtown adjacent location made it perfectly paired with our trip. While we walked across the downtown plaza to the other side we were able to get a better feel for the Healdsburg people and area.
The Banshee wine tasting room, which is tucked in among various boutique shops, features a vintage communal table in the center and several small areas to relax with your own personal group to taste and enjoy one another.
Offering wines by the glass or bottle and tasting flight options. Local small bites prepared by SHED in Healdsburg are available for purchase to accompany the wines if you wish. We had the charcuterie and cheese to follow, yum! Pinot Noir is soo food friendly…
FULL WINERY ARTICLE HERE >>
LA CREMA TASTING ROOM
Our next stop of the day was the new La Crema Contemporary Wine Lounge. Sonoma Coast and Monterey Wines with a number of limited production release bottles.
As we arrived we were handed a glass and ushered into a private dining room for an educational tasting featuring reserve pours. Yes, please. Local cheeses were laid out on the prettiest cheese board. I loved the attention to detail when it came to the presentation and choosing of the bottles.
The La Crema Wine & Cheese Exploration taught our group about the history and fundamentals of wine and cheese pairing. All while we enjoyed local artisan cheeses paired to perfection with the flight of wines. The winery has dedicated more than 30 years to exploring the many expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. You can also visit the Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard to taste and enjoy views of the vineyards as well as their downtown Healdsburg tasting room.
At the end of our wine exploration in the Healdsburg location, we all tried out a blind tasting of three Pinot Noirs. After we had all selected our favorite Pinot Noir with all eyes on deck…. We were blindfolded, the wines were all moved around in place and then we again tried all three glasses to see if we could call out our favorite Pinot again and identify the wines ( no eyes on deck)…FUN TIMES
MORE WINERY DETAILS HERE >>
VALETTE RESTAURANT
Just a little north of San Francisco, Valette Restaurant in Downtown Healdsburg, CA has quickly become one of the hottest tickets in town and in the San Francisco bay area and for tourists… and for good reason.
The food, the service and the atmosphere are all of the highest caliber. I have been a fan of Chef Dustin Valette long before he opened this fabulous restaurant and use to enjoy his food often at other locations.
Valette Restaurant, was opened in 2015 and born from the minds of Mr. Valette and Aaron Garzini and their shared lifelong dream of creating a unique dining experience in their hometown of Healdsburg. Mission accomplished.
The meals provide a canvas for local farmers, winemakers and artisans to showcase their crafts in an intimate and fine dining experience that takes hospitality to a new level. High quality, yet honest food paired with warm and impeccable service is what you will find here. What you will also find is a fine collection of boutique, small production wines to pair with your food. Yes, please.
For our recent visit, we choose the Chef’s tasting menu option…
FULL RESTAURANT ARTICLE HERE >>
PARISH CAFE HEALDSBURG
When you look up this location on google… Do you know what words come up to describe their website? BEIGNETS AND PO BOYS.
Now if that statement doesn’t tell you flat out what style of cooking is going on in that kitchen, then you are not paying attention… Haha. Time for some authentic Louisiana home cooking from a Chef who grew up there and… lucky for us, then moved to Sonoma County’s Wine Country. For breakfast, after a day of wine tasting, dinner and cocktail shenanigans…
The Parish Cafe was the absolutely perfect spot to be.
When a breakfast restaurant starts your group out by serving up a plate of savory beignets with a heavenly amount of powdered sugar mountain balanced lightly on top… you should be well aware that they are…. Doing It Right.
The Parish Cafe in downtown Healdsburg and again only a couple blocks walk from our hotel room, takes up part of the cutest…
FULL RESTAURANT ARTICLE HERE >>
THE AFTERPARTY:
DUKE’S SPIRITED COCKTAILS IN HEALDSBURG
Sharing some very descriptive photos of how we spent out time on this weekend from the hours of 11pm-2am.
I equally blame and thank Emily. Haha. No blame needed, it was a blast. Perhaps the two of us stayed up a little too late and should’ve gone back to the room with the other girls… but what fun is that?!? Completely worth it… Duke’s is much fun after dinner at Valette.
For more details on the after party… You would have had to be there. Pictures describe the shenanigans pretty well and a lady never tells… Just sayin’. Visit soon for a glass and your own style of cocktail shenanigans when in downtown Healdsburg!!
