10 Sonoma County Wineries with Picnics

Across Sonoma County, more and more wineries are incorporating a food experience into their tastings, moving beyond complimentary crackers to offering restaurant-style meals.

Grab your picnic blankets and baskets!

What could be more Wine County romantic, after all, than enjoying a gourmet picnic alongside a great glass, all brightened by views of the vineyards?

Due to the ever-changing nature of travel this summer, we recommend reaching out to each winery about their current offerings and availability.

Chateau St. Jean, Kenwood

Many people dream of a European style winery, and Chateau St. Jean delivers with a meticulously manicured landscape, castle style architecture and endless lawns framed by vineyards.

The one-hour, un-hosted Bottles and Bites experience is a chance to relax and enjoy the winery's beautiful grounds with a bottle of wine and a cheese and charcuterie plate on a location reserved just for your group. Or, boxed lunches can be added to any of the winery's tasting experiences, to be enjoyed at the shaded picnic tables in the fountain garden.

Dry Creek Vineyard, Healdsburg

The beautiful picnic grounds at this family winery make a wonderful setting to enjoy their wines with a snack (pick up provisions at the Dry Creek General Store on your way to the winery).

And the winery offers a Private Wine Flight and Picnic Lunch from May through September. This experience features a box lunch with fresh seasonal menu options, plus Dry Creek Vineyard Wines.

Preston Farm and Winery, Healdsburg

Come on down to Preston Farm and Winery, a family-operated biodynamic property in Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Valley, to enjoy some down-home hospitality. Taste estate wines, homegrown olive oil, fresh or pickled veggies, and just-baked bread.

Explore the gardens and purchase picnic fare at the farm store. Grab a glass or wine or seasonal cider (no outside alcohol) and settle in under the shade of the walnut tree and enjoy. After, walk around the property and greet the animals.

Explore this multi-sensory property where more than wine and grapes thrive: olives, apples, vegetables, stone fruit, nuts, grains, sheep, pigs, and chickens. Add in a meandering stream where salmon spawn, and you’ve found a slice of paradise.

VJB Vineyards, Cellars & Marketplace, Kenwood

The Belmonte family winery includes a Tuscan courtyard marketplace featuring many different things: La Cucina's deli and espresso bar, a Neapolitan style Red Rooster pizza salon with an outdoor wood-fired oven, a gelato and hand-crafted chocolate shop, the Kenwood Pasta Company featuring fresh pasta to enjoy at home, and a Tommy Bahama clothing boutique, all anchored by a large wine tasting room.

Matriarch and executive chef Maria Belmonte makes her own tomato sauces and pestos, to complement dishes including a generously stuffed prosciutto cotto and Jarlsberg panino, wood-fired garlic-lemon chicken drumsticks, white bean salad, and cheese or salumi boards decorated with olives, crostini, nuts and fruit.

Guests sip and snack on the courtyard patio piazza, and sometimes, for special events, opera singers serenade from a second story balcony.

Landmark Vineyards at Hop Kiln Estate, Healdsburg

Experience the rich history of winegrowing in the region at Landmark Vineyards at the Hop Kiln Estate, located in the heart of the Russian River Valley. The iconic location has grown wine grapes on the property since the late 1800s.

The tasting room is housed in a preserved historical landmark, an old stone hop kiln building, from the era when hops and beer were big in Sonoma County. Both indoor and outdoor tasting experiences are available, with expansive vineyard views in a historic setting. Guests are welcome to add on a curated cheese pairing or charcuterie platter to enhance their tasting.

Ledson Winery, Kenwood 

The fully stocked gourmet market is a fixture at this 16,000 square foot French Normandy winery known as "The Castle."

Start by tasting and selecting favorite wines at the hosted bars, then tour the manicured grounds with picnic areas shadowed by majestic, 100-year old oak trees.

After you've found the perfect spot, enjoy a feast of salads, sandwiches, cheeses, and cookies from the winery deli. One favorite bite is the Hwy 12 sandwich, with cucumber, avocado, sun-dried tomato, goat cheese, spring mix, red onions, pepperoncini, and balsamic vinaigrette on whole wheat, sourdough, or as a lettuce wrap.

Korbel Champagne Cellars, Guerneville

Best known for its Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines, this legendary destination features in-depth tours of its historic champagne cellars and the elaborate rose garden, ending, of course, with a tasting.

This is also where you can get lunch at the Korbel Delicatessen and Market, with its patio seating amid the redwoods. Gourmet sandwiches celebrate Sonoma County flavors with artisan cheeses, local produce, and meats like elegant prosciutto or juicy tri-tip.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Geyserville

Sit on the patio next to the sparkling swimming pool, and enjoy tasty crepes, pizzas, salads, panini, gelato, cocktails, and wines by the glass from the Pool Café.

Friendly staff will even deliver your order directly to your poolside lounge chair. (Note: Pool passes not required to dine at the Poolside Café.)

You can also enjoy pizzas, salads, or sandwiches on the Rustic restaurant terrace overlooking Alexander Valley – perhaps a muffaletta, or a classic Caesar.

Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma

Enjoy the outdoor beauty and views that only Sonoma Valley has to offer at Gunlach Bundshu, which in the warm summer months offers a relaxing and seated wine tasting in its gorgeous Vista Courtyard, under the olive trees and overlooking the pond. 

Guests may choose from carefully selected flights, and locally sourced food pairings are available for purchase to accompany the wines. Reservations are recommended.

Cline Family Cellars, Sonoma

Picnic tables can be reserved on the graciously landscaped grounds, in view of the vineyards, pond and the old estate home, in a garden decorated with statues of turtles, donkeys, and birds.

With the purchase of a bottle (or more) of Cline wine, the cost is $10 per person for up to two hours; each table seats eight, with a maximum of two tables. After the meal, check out the museum room showcasing California's original missions.

Written by Sonoma Insider Carey Sweet.