Why Russian River Valley:
My future mother-in-law was celebrating a milestone birthday. My future sister-in-law, who lives in San Francisco and has a newborn, suggested we rent a house in Sonoma County because not only is it a beautiful place, but also because it is close enough to San Francisco. She found an Airbnb in the town of Guerneville, the largest town on the Russian River.
March 15, 2024: California Champagne
Maisie and I flew from Burbank to Santa Rosa’s Charles Schultz Airport (STS). This was my first time at the Peanuts-themed airport and it was much smaller than I expected. There were only two gates.
We then picked up our rental car from the counter and drove 20 minutes west along the Russian River to Guerneville. The Russian River is the second largest river in the region (after the Sacramento River). The river’s unusual name stems from the Russian exploration and colonization of this part of the California coast. Guerneville (Population 4,700) is the largest town along the river.
After meeting up with the rest of the family who drove from SF, we headed to the Korbel Winery for their free 2:00 pm tour.
Korbel is one of the oldest wineries in the state. It was founded by three brothers who came from Czechia to California for the Gold Rush. Unfortunately, they arrived too late and instead got into the cigar box business. They purchased land near Guerneville for the wood to make the boxes. After cutting down the trees, they tried planting a variety of crops on the land. Grapes grew the best, so they got into the wine industry in 1882.
Korbel primarily makes champagne. Yes, champagne. Because Korbel is so old it predates France’s 1919 trademarking of the term and can legally call its wine champagne. While they produce various qualities of champagne, all the options are relatively cheap by American standards. Their cheapest bottle is $14 while their most expensive bottle costs $31.
Besides free champagne, the highlight of the tour was our sassy and sarcastic guide who is a local mom. She used to be a member of their wine club but quit after Korbel changed their policy and refused to let he pick up the champagne in person to save on the shipping costs. Instead, winery leadership suggested she lead tours at the winery so she can buy at the heavily discounted employee rate. That was 22 years ago. I appreciated not only her impressive knowledge of champagne and Korbel but also her willingness to share her honest opinions.
While the Korbel tour goes through the quaint historic wine cellars, the winery is actually a humongous operation with modern cellars extending far back beyond the public access area. Korbel is the 17th largest winery in the United States.
After the tour, we chilled at the Airbnb home with an epic hot tub before walking into Guerneville town for dinner. Despite the highway running through it, Guerneville was cute and walkable. We had a stunning California cuisine meal and then got ice cream at a shop in a former bank building. We then picked up groceries before heading back to the Airbnb for the night.
March 16, 2024: Goat Rock
After a leisurely start, we were joined by my friends Andrew, Shelby, and Boots (their dog) who came up from Oakland. The 10 of us then drove 20 minutes west to the coast at the mouth of the Russian River. On the south side of the river’s mouth is Goat Rock Beach, located in Sonoma Coast State Beach.
The stunning beach is located in between steep cliffs and numerous sea stacks. The namesake Goat Rock is an isthmus that is almost a sea stack. The southern part of the park is an off-leash area, so we watched as Boots played with the other dogs.
Back in Guerneville, we said goodbye to Andrew and Shelby and headed to the Porter Bass Winery just south of town for a pre-reserved wine tasting. The tasting was done outside net to the grapes. The winemaker (a woman in her 70’s) guided us through the five wines. She had grown grapes on the land since 1980. Porter Bass is part of the Russian River AVA (American Viticultural Area) which is world famous for its pinot noirs. Compared to other wineries in the AVA, Porter Bass is considerably closer to the coast, so it gets cooler weather and more fog which apparently helps its whites such as sauvignon blanc. I really enjoyed the tasting not only for the setting but because we could hear about the grape harvesting process from the person doing it.
For the rest of the afternoon, we hung out at the Airbnb before cooking dinner.
March 17, 2024: Armstrong Redwoods
It was time to check out but before we left town we decided to go on a hike in nearby Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. As previously mentioned, most of the old growth redwoods and other trees in this area were chopped down in the 1800’s to build San Francisco. However, a Colonel James Boydon Armstrong decided to purchase 240 acres of old growth trees to protect them from the logger’s axe. The forests in Stumptown have regrown as secondary growth forests. They look different from old growth because redwood trees take centuries, even millennia, to reach their full height. Some of the trees in Armstrong Redwoods are over 300 feet tall.
For lunch we headed near the Santa Rosa Airport to the town of Windsor which looks like a fancy Midwest exurb. There, we stopped at the Russian River Brewery. Russian River was founded in 1997 by Korbel Winery as a way to diversify. The Russian River name stems from Korbel’s location on the Russian River. In 1997, Korbel spun the brewery off in 2004 to its head brewer who moved the operation to downtown Santa Rosa. In 2018, Russian River opened its much-expanded brewery in Windsor. Russian River is considered one of most acclaimed and famous breweries in the United States. Its signature beer, Pliny the Elder, put the beer style known as a Double IPA on the map. It also has a seasonal triple IPA called Pliny the Younger that attracts hours-long lines and many impressive sours. While the beer is spectacular, the food was meh.
With that, it was time to head back to Burbank.
Final Thoughts:
Guerneville and the Russian River is a beautiful place with lots do. The main highlights are nature and alcohol, but the cute towns are also worth checking out. Despite being so close to San Francisco, this area feels distinct and very rural which makes it a nice getaway from the busy city.
Leave a Reply