A Girls' Trip to Sonoma and Napa: Healdsburg, Calistoga and a Castle Winery
A long weekend in California wine country with my girlfriends: Healdsburg's tasting rooms, a forest hike, the Sonoma coast, Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga and golden Napa vineyards.
In September 2021 I flew out to California wine country with my girlfriends for a long weekend. We split it between Sonoma, with its laid-back tasting rooms in Healdsburg, and Napa, with a castle. The vineyards were turning gold for harvest.
- Route
- San Francisco → Healdsburg and Sonoma → Napa and Calistoga → San Francisco
- How long
- 4 days
- Who came
- Me and my girlfriends
- Best for
- A girls' trip or a long weekend of wine
Sonoma and Healdsburg
We started with a morning hike in the forest to earn the wine, then spent the day in Healdsburg, a sweet little town full of tasting rooms, flowers and good food. We took a detour out to the Sonoma coast too.
Napa and Calistoga
In Napa the highlight was Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga, a castle winery complete with towers and ivy-covered stone walls. We also had a long tasting on a shady winery terrace with views over the vineyards.
Wine country tips
- Book a driver or a tour so nobody has to skip the tastings.
- Reserve tastings ahead. Most wineries are reservation-only now.
- Late September is harvest. It’s beautiful and busy.
- Mix in Sonoma. It’s more relaxed and less expensive than Napa.
