We love Wine Country for its year-round good life, thanks to its gorgeous landscapes we can enjoy for free. But it’s also home to some of the world’s most luxurious destinations, including posh wineries, restaurants, resorts, spas and recreation. Get a taste of some top shelf pleasures here:
Stay at Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant: The circa-1870 Forestville hideaway combines gorgeous guest rooms with a farm-to-table restaurant and a seasonally inspired spa. Set amid the towering redwoods of the Russian River Valley, there are just 18 rooms housed in an elegant new “barn” and grouped as cottages, behind the Michelin-starred restaurant. Baths are particularly luscious, with large jetted tubs and saunas or steam showers. // 7871 River Road, Forestville, 707-887-3300
Dine at Single Thread, Healdsburg
Restaurateurs Kyle and Katina Connaughton get ingredients from their own five acre Single Thread Farms property along the Russian River, and from a 3,000-square-foot rooftop garden above the restaurant. Think elegant space and sophisticated cooking, for yes, a price tag of nearly $300 per diner. The concept is kaiseki — elaborate multicourse meals crafted as art — and donabe — rustic clay pot cooking. Menus change daily, but might means delicacies like black cod Fukkura-san (donabe style) with root vegetables, cabbage, charred onion and walnut-nori pesto; plus wild salmon donabe-smoked over cherry-blossom-wood with fermented rice, salmon roe and wild ginger. // 131 North Street, Healdsburg, 707-723-4646
Relax at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa: The state-of-the-art Willow Stream spa is the stuff of Wine Country legend, spanning 40,000-square-feet with indoor and outdoor pools. The baths are the iconic draw, as guests come from all around the world for the pools fed by the resort’s own ancient source of natural thermal waters sourced from the springs 1,100 feet directly beneath the Inn. It’s said the water has healing powers, thanks to 24 trace minerals crystalizing in the 135° baths (no worries, the water is cooled to perfect comfort before you get in). // 100 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, 707-938-9000
Sip at Ram’s Gate: Designed by renowned architect Howard Backen, the stunning hilltop winery speaks opulence alongside some of the best views in Carneros. Outside, a garden helps supply a mini farmers’ market at the winery entrance, or drinking/dining patio tables overlooking the vineyards. Inside, you can dine at the bar or community tables for by-appointment chef’s tastings of an assortment of mouthwatering delicacies to pair with wines. // 28700 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-721-8700
