search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
DESTINATIONS NAPA & SONOMA THE US


the laid-back town of Calistoga is renowned for natural hot springs and mud baths. The revamped Calistoga Motor Lodge & Spa has caravan-themed rooms and a retro spa, MoonAcre, inspired by social bathhouses. Quirky in-room features include booth seating areas and knitted armadillos adorning the walls, while downtown’s bookshops, tasting rooms and restaurants are a stroll away. Doubles from £200.


w SONOMA What to do: This expanse of wine country is best served lightly chilled. Suggest guests pedal at a leisurely pace between tastings with Sonoma Valley Bike Tours ($144 for a full day with lunch). Vines are prettier, and easier to photograph, while meandering down backroads at 10mph. For those short on time,


suggest a tour and tasting at Buena Vista Winery to learn the story of founder Agoston ‘The Count’ Haraszthy and his 1869 death in Nicaragua’s crocodile- infested waters. The $25 fee includes tastings while touring the opulent Bubble Lounge and buttery-lit Champagne Cellars. Sonoma County has nine cities and of those Healdsburg is a real charmer. Suggest browsing dapper dog collars at Fideaux


In Healdsburg’s shops, browse dapper dog collars, rummage for vintage trinkets and nibble cupcakes


RIGHT:


Healdsburg, Sonoma BELOW:


Fairmont Sonoma Mission


dog boutique, nibbling cupcakes with lemon, lavender and honey at Moustache Baked Goods, and rummaging for vintage trinkets in Swish. In downtown Sonoma, the girl & the fig is a locals’ favourite. The restaurant serves a huge selection of Californian cheeses, own-label wines and dishes such as grilled corn and peach salad in a garden dotted with succulents and strung with lights. Those craving nibbles with their vino should explore the Sonoma Cheese Trail, linking the county’s farms and producers. Near downtown Sonoma, Vella


Cheese Factory offers free samples of award-winning Monterey Jack infused with habanero, pesto or rosemary. Where to stay: There are plenty of good-value options such as the new Oxford Suites in Rohnert Park (doubles from £130). But what Sonoma does best


is fuss-free luxury. Close to downtown Sonoma, the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn feels more like an exclusive village than a hotel, albeit one where guests are greeted with glasses of fizz and can access Willow Stream Spa’s cabana-lined pools and mineral baths. Doubles from £230.


Regularly rated one of


California’s top hotels, the Farmhouse Inn indulges visitors with thoughtful details. Checking in, we were offered glasses of local rosé and invited to help ourselves to slices of handmade olive oil soap. Curled around the pool and mineral spa tub, rooms range from cottages to enormous suites with private decks and fireplaces (from £500 per night). Its Forestville location is


surrounded by Sonoma wineries and is half an hour’s drive to Napa Valley – making it perfect for clients who don’t want to choose between the two.


Need to know WINE COUNTRY FIRES


In October 2017, a series of fires hopscotched through Napa, Sonoma, Yuba and Mendocino, killing at least 42 people and destroying thousands of homes. Most of the impact hit residential areas, with fewer than a dozen wineries destroyed – though others suffered damage – and tourism authorities are urging people to return to the area and not cancel any planned trips. “Everyone knows someone who has been affected by the fires,” says Sonoma County Tourism’s Tim Zahner. “But 90%


of our county wasn’t hit. Now we are spreading the message that we are open and we are here.” In Napa the fires burned in the


forested hillsides, barely grazing the valley floor.


“The majority of our more than 400 wineries were open and hosting guests just days after the fires started,” says Angela Jackson from Visit Napa Valley. Visit California has details of why now is a good time to book a wine country visit, at visitcalifornia.com/attraction/ californiawinecountrynow


62 travelweekly.co.uk 1 February 2018


PICTURES: VISIT NAPA VALLEY/ROBERT MCCLENAHAN; DAVID H COLLIER; SONOMA COUNTY TOURISM/SCOTT CHEBEGIA, MARIAH HARKEY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92