Wine Tasting in California is on EVERYONE'S bucket list but it's not easy to do with kids - or is it?
Yeah, we don't believe you have to wait until
the kids have flown the nest to have awesome travel experiences.
We've come to Sonoma County, just 45 minutes north of San Francisco to show you how it can be done.
And so much more, including: going on Safari, whale-watching Redwood Forest exploring,
epic drives, lazing on the Russian River and many more vintage experiences. Let's go!!
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So, we all know San Francisco has some amazing sights and tourist attractions
but did you know you can upgrade your city break to a Californian
adventure by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading north?!
Sonoma County is just 30 miles from San Francisco and it boasts stunning ocean views,
ancient forests and, countryside charm.
Sonoma's world-famous wine region is a huge draw but we're going to show
you there's much more to this County than alcoholic grape juice. Having said that,
we're going to start with a visit to a vineyard!
Napa Valley is well known for its wine but it's also known to be quite snooty,
so going to a wine tasting session with kids wouldn't be an option there.
Sonoma, though, is much more laid-back and they have loads of wineries that welcome children.
Our background is a farming background so, you know, people here are so unpretentious - we are
so down to earth. So, if you go into a wine tasting room, they are so happy to see you
and they include the kids in everything. We have even some playgrounds on some wineries for kids!
We've come to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery which is just north of Santa Rosa,
and, you've guessed it, there's only one person with that name!
'The Godfather' director bought the vineyard here in 2006 and it opened
four years later. Inside, is a mini museum with costumes,
movie props (including Don Corleone's desk) and it's even home now to some of his Oscars.
Coppola wanted to make the winery a family experience.
Well Francis wanted to make sure that we had a location that everyone in
the family could enjoy. So, we have wine tasting, we have restaurants,
we have different activities that both young and old can enjoy,
we have a swimming pool - that is somewhat unique for a winery to have there in the summertime and,
certainly that's something he wanted to see families with children enjoying the facilities.
The pool area has been really well thought out,
even including signs which show that children are meant to be here.
Our kids loved finding a book and hanging out in the teepee but the pool is where it's at!
If you want to splash out in every sense of the word, you can hire a Cabine,
which includes games for the kids and drinks for the adults.
Does Francis ever come around here at all?!
Oh, Francis is here all the time! And, sometimes people recognize
him and sometimes he's here and people don't even know they're sitting right next to him!
Time for some wine tasting,
starting with the kids! On Sundays they get to sip from a non-alcoholic menu.
Hi, how's it going guys? I'm Daniel in Guest Services. If you guys are ready,
we'll go ahead and do a tasting of different juices. I want you guys to guess what they are.
Be careful though they can become cultured very quickly!!
I'm getting hints of chardonnay.
Juniper and Jasmine.
Cheers darling!
Right, our turn to try just a couple of the 40 wines that are produced here at the vineyard.
So, we've never done a tasting before what happens?
Okay, so what we're going to do is we're going to taste some wines here. What we
want to do is try and get some aromas. All the grapes are grown here at California and
specifically here in Sonoma County, where we have so many micro climates.
We can grow virtually anything here from anywhere in the world, as long as we get water to it.
Is that a correct way to drink it?
Yeah, what you want to do, when your wine tasting,
is you want to hold by this stem. OK. And, when you hold by the stem of the glass,
you're not warming up the wine - because you want to be at the right temperature.
And the first thing you want to do is you want to
swirl it a little bit in the glass. You're doing a couple things there.
Is this the legs?
Oh yeah, you'll see the legs if it's a higher alcohol content. A higher viscosity - and you
have a nice clean glass - you'll get legs running down the side of the wine.
Now, put your nose deep into it, just on the outside of it and sniff. And,
that's when you start getting different scents. What smell do you get off of it?
Grapes.
It's grapes with a strong hint of alcohol,
right? Yeah, I'm really good at this, I practice a lot at home!!
Yeah, that's good!
What percentage of it is smell, and what percentage is taste?
Well it's, you know, all the senses are involved in wine tasting. The sense of smell,
the sense of taste, the sense of touch, and when you put your glasses together in a toast, like
so...even the sense of hearing's in there. I've had this one with the Yorkshire Pudding before.
Done: sold! That's amazing.
So, thank you very much - that was awesome.
It's my pleasure. Thank you for coming to visit Coppola.
We ended up having a really good long chat with Ron, so if you'd like to watch an uncut
version of our interview, we'll put up a clickable link at the end of this video.
After a day of luxury, the next morning we were ready to explore!
First up, whale watching at Bodega Bay.
Sonoma County is lucky enough to have 55 miles of coastline. As well as the fertile countryside,
it even boasts the leg of Highway One. And, if you're an 80s kid, like us,
a stop off at Goat Rock Beach which is where the final scene of The Goonies was filmed.
I only found out when I got back home - I was gutted! We didn't make that
mistake with another famous film location though.
On your way to Bodega Bay, make sure you stop here at the Potter
Schoolhouse - you already know why, don't you? If you don't recognize it,
this is from Hitchcock's 'The Birds,' which was filmed all around Bodega Bay.
Come along and you can recreate scenes like this!!
Bodega and its bay were used for several scenes in the movie.
For whale watching we drove to Bodega Head, which has panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.
So, officially, the best time to see whales out here is from November to
January - and also in the springtime so we've missed it a bit. But, apparently,
you should be able to be lucky and see whales at any time of the year,
so we're doing our best to feel the luck and spot one. Fingers crossed!!!
I'm not looking for waves I'm looking for mermaids with dolphins!!
We almost gave up hope until a couple of locals told us that a pod live here all year round.
They let us borrow their binoculars so we could see the whales spouting.
We saw a bunch of little spouts - and they were spoutin up the water. We
didn't actually see the whale but we did see lots of them sprays and spouts and it
was really, really cool, so we did see the whales. It was really, really cool.
Yeah, it was MIND BLOWING!
If the chance to spot magnificent wildlife in the water isn't enough for you, just 20 miles away in
Guerneville is where you can see 1,000-year-old Redwood Trees at Armstrong State Reserve.
This fire resistant wood was a favorite of Lumberjacks during the gold rush, so much so that
95% of California's Redwoods have gone forever. Luckily, the remaining 5% are being preserved
with state forests like this one, which was started by Colonel James Armstrong in the 1870s.
So, it's $10 to get into the park and you can drive around the woods here;
get out of your car and take you some photos next to the big trees. But, actually, if you park on
the right-hand side you can get in there for free, just before you go through the cashiers booth.
It's only a mile-and-a-half-long for a hike. It's actually much better just to walk around.
If you feel guilty about not paying the $10 to get in, pay it at the booth and then come back
round and do the trails. It really isn't worth taking the car through. Make sure you pop into
the Visitor's Center to pick up a treasure map for a unique tour of the forest for kids.
I love it coz it's like a treasure hunt thing. There's like really big trees,
there's lots of things you can climb on.
It's got energy for kids: you can run around and see stuff, so it's really fun for kids.
Just down the road from the Redwoods is a great place to cool down after a long walk. The Russian
River is a hundred miles long and got its name from when the Russians colonized the region at the
turn of the 18th century. It's here in Guerneville where the river begins to wind its way out to sea.
The gentle flowing current is enjoyed most by locals and tourists
One of the coolest things to do around here on a hot day is laze around the
Russian River. You big kids can sit on an inflateable with a beer in your hand,
while the little kids jump, splash and play all day long!
Like us, you've probably worked up an appetite now but you won't have to travel far to get some
fantastic local food. Just inside the Safeway car park in Guerneville is a burrito truck, it's
outside every evening - and when Americans are queuing for food, you know it's going to be good!
That was totally worth the wait!!
If you've got room, cross the road to the town's old bank. It was built in 1921 but
left derelict in the mid-1980s until it opened its doors again three decades later. Now,
it's home to an ice cream parlor and artisan bakery.
The original vault is still here too and you can go inside to record your visit in a unique way.
Stay at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa for another retro experience. In its 1950s heyday,
they used to say it was "the only place to stay north of The Bay!"
Movie stars like Jayne Mansfield were often found sunning themselves by the pool. There
are big renovations planned here soon but as the hotel was named an historic landmark in
1996 you can be sure that it's Art Deco designs and pool will be here to stay.
Next, it's time to see Sonoma's wild side!!
Welcome to Safari West in Sonoma County.
Have you ever wanted to go on safari in Africa
without leaving the USA? Well, this is your chance!
More than 90 species of wild animal roam across the 400 acre enclosure. This is
not a theme park with trams and TV screens, this is as real as it gets outside of Africa.
We've chosen to to our safaris this way because this is what you do in
Africa. You get in a small car, you go out with a guide. All of
our guides have been well trained in the natural history of what you see. And,
we're trying to give you that same experience of a game drive somewhere in Africa.
Right, enough talking time to jump aboard a
vintage Jeep for our guided tour of the Sonoma Serengeti
I've really enjoyed going on the safari.
It was very fun because I got to go up on the top.
Kids under four can't go on the tour so if you've got a baby or toddler there's
a walking tour where you get up and close to big cats and beautiful birds.
If this experience wasn't unique enough for you, there's also this!!
One of the best things about staying here is that you can
sleep in one of these amazing Safari huts that are right next to all the animals.
Glamping here is another authentic Safari experience with tents imported from Botswana.
All of your home comforts are here though including electricity, running water, and,
even a bathroom with a shower! It's a perfect way to finish a memorable trip to Sonoma County.
My favorite bit was that it was actually really kid-friendly, so I got to do the things
I always wanted to do like wine tasting, touring around and seeing the vineyards,
and things like that. But, actually the kids were having fun too so I didn't feel like it
was a trip for me or a trip for them - I felt like we ALL got something out of it!
It was all just so varied, as well. One day we were on Safari,
another day we're whale watching - there's so many different things and flavors that
you got there, which, I don't think it's very often you can get all of that in one place.
So, would you guys like to go back? Yes, definitely! We'll be back!! Bye!
For more info - or to plan your own trip - head to SonomaCounty.com
As promised, here's the unedited video from our wine tasting experience.
And, if you enjoyed this video, remember to hit
like and subscribe as it really helps get more people to watch our stuff.
Until next time: happy travels!