Sonoma Wine Country Weekend Offers a Wine-Filled Labor Day Escape

Fiona Chandra

Sonoma Wine Country Weekend offers wine lovers the perfect Labor Day weekend getaway in this esteemed part of wine country with dozens of winemaker lunches or dinners and a grand tasting event.

On Friday, Sept. 1, there will be Winemaker Lunches at various local wineries including Comstock Wines, Ravenswood Winery, Deerfield Ranch Winery and others. In the evening Winemaker Dinner Parties will be held at Seghesio Family Vineyards, SIMI Winery, Valley of the Moon Winery and MacRostie Winery.

Saturday marks the big day for the grand tasting event, Taste of Sonoma. The event brings together wineries from across Sonoma County, pouring thousands of different wines, while local chefs create bites to pair with the various wines. General admission tickets to Taste of Sonoma will be $180 per person while Club Reserve tickets are $255 per person. A Club Reserve ticket grants you access to samples of limited production, reserve, and award-winning wines from Sonoma County’s iconic wineries, poured by the winemakers and owners themselves. The Club Reserve ticket also grants ticket holders a one-hour early admission to the Taste of Sonoma.

You can get insider knowledge during Taste of Sonoma by purchasing the Sommelier Tours, which gives guests a head-set to listen to what the Sommelier Stars have to say. There are Wine Talk Seminars for which guests can register during this event, where wine lovers can learn more in depth about the region’s pinot noirs, zinfandels, cabernets, and more. Test your palate with the blind tasting challenge. On Sunday, there will be barbecues held at Gracianna and White Oak Vineyards to close out the weekend.

Shuttle services from participating hotels to Taste of Sonoma are available for $25-40 round trip, depending on the hotel. To make the most of your weekend, stay at the intimate, four-diamond Vintners Inn, surrounded by 92 acres of vineyard and the famed John Ash & Co restaurant on property. The luxurious MacArthur Place is a transformed 19^th century estate boasting landscaped gardens and plush rooms that have won them awards as one of the World’s Best Hotels by Conde Nast. The unique architecture of Fountaingrove Inn provides a comfortable and centrally located getaway.

Sonoma Wine Country Weekend takes place from Sept. 1-3. Purchase tickets here.