Author Archives{TravelAndrew}

Sonoma County has 13 wine regions - start exploring!

Sonoma Wine Country Basics

6 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Often I travel with a friend of mine, Alison Stein Wellner, who’s also a travel and food writers – in fact, she and I have explored Sonoma County together on a couple of occasions. Alison runs the Culinary Travel site for About.com, the same website (owned by the New York Times Company) for whom I run the site on Gay {…}

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Wine Road’s Wine and Food Affair set for Nov. 5-6

6 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Wine Road, the popular Wine Country resource I blogged about recently, is producing the 13th Annual “A Wine & Food Affair,” Nov. 5-6, celebrating vintners and restaurants in Sonoma County’s Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River Valley areas. Wineries involved each have contributed a recipe to the event’s official cookbook, and you’ll have the chance to sample these treats as {…}

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Touring Michel-Schlumberger Winery

7 months ago in GLBT, Insiders Guide.1 Comment

For many of us, myself included, a great winery visit is as much about the overall experience as it is about the wine. Set back along a remote, windy road in the Dry Creek Valley, Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate has quickly become one of my favorite tasting stops because of its passionate staff, ethereal setting, and striking architecture. The winery also {…}

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Sonoma Gaydar Halloween Bash Set for Oct. 29 at Deerfield Ranch Winery

7 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

The folks behind one of the Wine Country’s most popular GLBT social groups, Sonoma Gaydar (which I’ve blogged about in the past), have teamed with Kenwood’s bucolic Deerfield Ranch Winery – noted for its atmospheric 23,000-square-foot wine-cave tasting center – to host a big Halloween fete at the end of the month. The party will take place on Saturday, Oct. {…}

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Hotel La Rose Teams, 6th Street Playhouse Offer Dinner, Show Overnight Package

7 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Rural as it is, Sonoma County has a handful of neighborhoods that capture the energy and urbanity you might expect of a sophisticated city. One of my favorites is Railroad Square, in downtown Santa Rosa, a neighborhood teeming with cool coffeehouses, swanky bistros and wine bars, and several fine hotels. The most historic of these lodgings, the boutique-y Hotel La {…}

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Making the Most of Your Sonoma Touring with Wine Road

8 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

I first became aware of one of the best sources of wine and travel information in Sonoma, Wine Road, several years ago when I used one of the company’s handy maps to plan a day of visiting vineyards along Westside Road. Since then, the WineRoad.com site has become a standard “go to” for me when I’m seeking information on wineries, {…}

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B.B. King and “Babyface” to Headline Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival in Guerneville

8 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

On most weekends, idyllic Johnson’s Beach (16241 First Street) in Guerneville is a favorite hangout of gay locals and tourists sunning along the Russian River. But at the end of September (the weekend of the 24th and 25th, to be exact), this historic beachfront hosts the 35th Annual Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival, an event that continues to grow {…}

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RAGS, Russian River White Party, ‘The Blizzard,’ Set for Labor Day Weekend

8 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Two great events are happening in Sonoma County over Labor Day weekend. The Russian River area is set to be a rollicking good time. River Area Gal Society (RAGS) Heads for Rainbow Cattle Company The Russian River has its own social group geared toward women in the community, and each month the River Area Gal Society, aka RAGS, holds an {…}

Room with a view at Auberge on the Vineyard

Auberge on the Vineyard – a welcoming Cloverdale B&B

8 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

The friendly little town of Cloverdale lies at the northern edge of Sonoma County, in the fertile Alexander Valley, which is one of the most celebrated of the region’s AVAs. It’s a charming, easy-going community that’s far enough from the busier parts of the county to feel utterly relaxing. But it’s within close proximity of numerous wineries and just a {…}

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The Importance of Getting to Know Your Hotel Concierge

9 months ago in GLBT.1 Comment

I met knowledgeable and charming concierge Ramon Meraz a couple of years ago during my stay at Santa Rosa’s Hyatt Vineyard Creek (here’s my blog based on that visit). He provided me with great advice on the area’s restaurants and wineries, and I continue to rely on him for inside tips during my research tours of Sonoma. In addition to {…}