| ON THE ROAD: NAPA AND SONOMA, CA |
Banshee Winery in 2023 opened a new tasting room in Alexander Valley.
Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, CA, offers lively taprooms along with its hop-forward favorites.
The Francis Ford Coppola winery, from the renowned film director-turned-vintner Francis Ford Coppola, offers plenty to do in addition to tasting its wines. The sprawling villa includes a small gallery of Coppola’ s movie memorabilia( such as Don Corleone’ s desk from The Godfather), as well as Rustic, an onsite restaurant specializing in Italian / South American fare, plus two large outdoor swimming pools.
Banshee Winery in 2023 opened a new tasting room in Alexander Valley. Experiences at the dog-friendly location include Flight of The Banshee, a tasting flight showcasing five featured current and award-winning wines, and the Banshee Vintage Lunch Club, a fun seasonal meal served in a collectible retro tin lunchbox.
Each quarter, the Lunch Club menu and the lunchbox change,“ delivering a new wave of reimagined, nostalgic bites and unexpected wine pairings that have no business being this good,” the company says.
Alexander Valley Vineyards in Healdsburg, CA, also has a unique pairing experience: five different cookies paired perfectly with five different sips of its top wines. The winery also offers a non-alcoholic option of five different cookies paired with five non-alcoholic tastings. Culinary director / chef Tim Gleadall creates the NA beverages with handcrafted shrubs using seasonal ingredients and products grown on the
Alexander Valley Farm.
To cover more ground, the Sonoma Valley Wine Trolley offers tours designed for people who want to experience the sights of the valley and taste the area’ s famous wines. The one-day itineraries with entertaining guides transport guests in a California streetcar replica to well-known estates as well as trailblazing small producers who work with biodynamic and organic wines.
WINE COUNTRY SPIRITS AND BREWS
Sonoma County also boasts a thriving artisan beverage industry, including nearly two dozen craft breweries, five cider works and about a dozen distilleries— with more to come. Numerous small breweries dot towns such as Santa Rosa, Healdsburg and Petaluma.
One is Sonoma Springs Brewing Company, which describes its taproom as a“ work of art” blending the charm of a German beer hall with Sonoma County wine country style. The company brews a wide variety of styles ranging from traditional German beers and California ales to innovative modern IPAs and to barrel-aged creations.
Russian River Brewing Company is known for super hoppy and Belgian-inspired beers, namely Pliny the Elder— one of the first commercially brewed Double or Imperial IPAs in America. The company operates a brewpub in Santa Rosa and an 85,000−sq.-ft. brewery in Windsor that encompasses beer production for both clean beers and sour barrel-aged beers, a brewpub, an outdoor beer garden, a gift shop and tasting room / growler fills.
For a bigger beer brand experience, Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma offers lively taprooms and hop-forward favorites. The brewery, started on a kitchen stove in 1993, has since expanded to more than 38 countries. It’ s become the number one selling IPA worldwide with a growing line of line of hop-forward craft beers.
On the more spirited front, Hanson of Sonoma Distillery and Tasting Room in the heart of the Carneros Region of Sonoma Valley is known for its unique vodka distilled from organically farmed grapes. Visitors can experience the vodka-making process from the grape crush pad, through the state-of-theart distilling facilities, to the final fruit infusion. They can also enjoy a guided spirits tasting, book a food pairing in the specially built tasting room, or taste by the pond in the garden.
This region of California is a venerable vibrant craft beverage playground where world-class wine meets small-batch beer and artisan spirits. Whether you’ re a seasoned collector, a curious taster or someone who simply loves beautiful landscapes and perfect weather paired with exceptional drinks, Napa and Sonoma deliver an unforgettable experience. •
14 | SUMMER 2026 • CHEERS @ HOME WWW. CHEERSONLINEATHOME. COM