What to do in Santa Rosa?

September 26, 2012 7:42 PM

What interesting things should I see, do, eat, and (maybe) drink in and around Santa Rosa this weekend? I'll be there primarily for a bike ride* but will have a day before the ride and a day after to do other stuff, as well.

I'm particularly interested in great places to eat and somewhere my partner and I can get mani-pedis. I'd also love to know about neat places to shop and any really, truly amazing wineries you love.

We'll be driving there from Berkeley, so stuff in-between is cool, too.

Already on the agenda:

• Coffee at Flying Goat
• Dinner at Cyrus
• A visit to Seghesio winery

*And, hey, any other MeFites doing the GranFondo? Look for me with the purple bike and the purple hair, and probably a bright orange jersey. I'll be riding the Piccolo route, and staging with the Intermediate Beginners.

posted by rhiannonstone to travel & transportation around Santa Rosa, CA (7 answers total)

California Carnivores is a great, fascinating nursery that is (I think) the premier place anywhere to buy carnivorous plants. In Sebastopol.
posted by purpleclover at 7:49 PM on September 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love Sonoma County though Santa Rosa is not where I spend most of my time. If I were to be spending time there I would visit the Red Car tasting room in Sebastapol, just about five miles due west of Santa Rosa. Also, if you're a zinfandel fan (making an assumption based on your interest in Seghesio) Ridge is also in Healdsburg.

All that being said I would head toward Sonoma proper and visit Scribe. You'll need a reservation. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy. It's one of the best experiences in Sonoma County and the wines are delicious too. Seriously. Go.

If you want to provide some more information on what you like in wine or what you're interested in for a winery experience I'd be happy to provide more information.
posted by FlamingBore at 8:16 PM on September 26, 2012

I'll be in Santa Rosa next weekend! The only things on my list so far are visiting Russian River Brewing and Third Street Ale Works.
posted by soleiluna at 8:33 PM on September 26, 2012

- Pacific Market for deli-style sandwiches
- the Community Market: "food for people, not for profit" voted best groceries in the North Bay
- For more riding, there's the Joe-Rodata trail to Sepastapol
- Community Cycles for learning how to work on bikes or fix your own
posted by aniola at 9:40 PM on September 26, 2012

Charles M. Schulz Museum
posted by rhizome at 10:06 PM on September 26, 2012

FlamingBore, I'm not looking to spend much time doing the winery thing, as I'll only be able to do that on Sunday, and I'd like my designated driver to have a good time, too, but still be able to get us home. :) But I figure if there's 1-3 really fantastic places to check out, might as well go while we're there. By 'fantastic' I mean really good wine and something to do/see at the winery other than just sitting at a tasting bar (though even that's OK if the folks doing the pouring are fun to talk to). Many friends have raved about Seghesio, so that's definitely on the list. And thanks for reminding me about Ridge! We generally go for pinot noir (though we're planning a long weekend in Anderson Valley sometime soon to get our pinot fix) and other reds with big fruit or a lot of spiciness, and I'm also a big fan of earthy, mineral-y Italian-style reds.

rhizome, I can't believe I forgot about the Schulz museum! I took pictures of myself with the statues around Finley Center last year and everything, and my partner is a huge fan. That's definitely going on the list.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:42 PM on September 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Cool. Red Car has fantastic pinots, but it's just a tasting room, the wine is made elsewhere. But they make some of my very favorite pinots and if you happen to pass by I still recommend stopping in. If they have any bottles of Heaven & Earth left and it's in your budget I highly recommend getting it.

While Scribe is great for taking it slow and easy it might be the perfect place to end your wine experiences.

The polar opposite (both in geography and atmosphere) is Francis Coppola. He's built a theme park for the wino in you. While I'm not a fan of many of the lower end wines they do produce some pretty decent stuff under their reserve label and a couple of stand alone bottlings such as Eleanor or Archimedes. Between the pool, bocce courts, movie memorabilia and restaurant it's hard to not find something to do.

Enjoy!
posted by FlamingBore at 7:45 AM on September 27, 2012