Picnic Friendly Places in Sonoma
Picnicking in Sonoma Valley is an essential part of life. Fresh air, the sun’s warming rays, the comfort of good family and friends — usher in life’s simple luxuries and a slower rhythm to life. Add in satiated taste buds as a result of delicious food and wine to make the picnic your perfect companion. Here you will find suggestions of picnic friendly places in Sonoma Valley. Round up your favorite people and picnic provisions to enjoy your next picnic in Sonoma Valley Wine Country 🤍 P.S. Check out my “Top Tip” below.
Three Fat Guys
Three Fat Guys Winery carries such a laid back and casual vibe that you might want to stay awhile. The Three Fat Guys are Tony Moll, Daryn Colledge, and Jason Spitz, former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman. Tony Moll, a Sonoma native, runs Three Fat Guys, where you will see him pouring wines or talking to guests in the TFG tasting room. My husband and I had heard that picnicking was welcome here, so we popped in to check it out. We came prepared with a picnic basket that was filled with foods from Glen Ellen Village Market. The tasting room is small, yet big hearted (the staff is SO friendly here).
We chose the The Champion Brut Rosé to go with our picnic foods. After the Three Fat Guys opened and poured our wine for us, they guided us to the charming backyard garden. It is a great place to reconnect with family, friends, or share some romance with your love. On a side note: my husband and I are learning photography together. We had fun taking pictures and setting up food and wine scenes. TFG even provided us with some “props” — a sabre and a porron.
Bartholomew Estate Vineyards & Winery
Bartholomew Estate Vineyards & Winery resides in a private park called Bartholomew Park bartholomewpark.org. The winery is nestled within 375 acres of vineyards, gardens, and forest. My husband and I didn’t want to reserve a tasting experience at the winery on our day date. We just wanted to enjoy moments together with a bottle of wine and the food that we brought to picnic with in the park. Our picnic table was cuddled under a huge oak tree overlooking the lake, vineyards, and mountains of Sonoma Valley.
It was a gorgeous day of rest after a fast paced week. Nature tends to bring it down a notch and a glass of wine helps too! We purchased a bottle of Syrah in the tasting room, a perfect pairing with our picnic fare from Sonoma’s Best. As we inconveniently forgot wine glasses and a corkscrew, the tasting room had us covered. We bought 2 govinos and borrowed a corkscrew. We’ll be back to Bartholomew Estate Vineyards & Winery which is most certainly a picnic friendly place.
Kenwood Plaza Park
Kenwood Plaza Park, a Sonoma County Regional Park, is one of the many beautiful parks of Sonoma Valley. It is located between Santa Rosa and Glen Ellen in the Sonoma Valley. Being in our usual relaxed weekend vibe, my husband and I drove to Kunde Family Winery , with hopes of picnicking by the pond while we looked out at the vineyards. Once we arrived, we were told that outside food was not allowed, so we bought a bottle of Kunde’s delicious Sparkling Rosé instead. Per the suggestion of the Kunde folks, we headed to Kenwood Plaza Park. The park is tucked away in a charming neighborhood with lots of shade, supplied by the dignified and majestic redwood trees of California. Additionally, there are plenty of wooden picnic tables. To sum up, it was a perfect setting for relaxation on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. Alcohol IS allowed in the park. For picnic food ideas, check out Places to Buy Picnic Provisions in Sonoma.
Hamilton Family Wines
Hamilton Family Wines is a friendly, family owned winery that is humbly tucked away from Sonoma Highway. The owners are Greg and Lindsay Hamilton, who after the loss of their home from the 2017 fires, decided to rebuild and go after their dream of making great wine. They have an acre and a half of vines located on their property. Greg met us in the vineyards, at a long wooden table under a magnificent walnut tree. The table was beautifully prepared for our tasting. My husband and I are huge Grenache lovers, so we were surprisingly thrilled to be surrounded by Grenache vines (we even got to name one as part of our wine club benefit) You can bring your food and enjoy being surrounded by nature on the Hamilton Family Wines property as you taste Hamilton Family Wines. The Rose of Grenache is beautiful. P.S. Their new tasting room is open for tastings!
Historic Sonoma Plaza
The eight-acre Plaza is splendidly laid out for a wine country picnic. There is a playground for the kids, a duck pond, and plenty of tables and lawn to enjoy good food, wine, and the company of family and friends. You can walk around, shop, and hop from tasting room to tasting room. It’s such an enjoyable way to spend the day on the Sonoma Plaza.
TOP TIP
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