Visiting Healdsburg
Montemaggiore's wine production facility does not lend itself to tours and tastings. We do participate in many wine events in California and around the country. We hope to connect with you soon!
If you live or work in the Bay Area and are interested in hosting an in-home or on-site tasting at your company, please contact us.
Being at the crossroads of three major winegrowing valleys, the Healdsburg area has so many great wineries that it's really hard to give general recommendations. Depending on what you are looking for, here are some of the many excellent choices:
- Off the beaten path: Acorn, Judge Palmer, Viszlay (all require appointments so please call ahead)
- Biodynamic and Organic: Michel-Schlumberger, Preston, Quivira, Truett-Hurst, and others on The Green Trail of Dry Creek Valley (map).
- Dry Creek Valley Classics: Preston, Rafanelli, Nalle
- Syrah and other Rhône varietals: Mounts, Pasterick (by appointment only), Unti
- Pinot Noir: Papapietro Perry
- Zinfandel: Mazzocco, Ridge, Seghesio
Finding a great place to stay
Healdsburg and the Sonoma County area have many wonderful options for places to stay:
- Luxurious, boutique hotels: Hotel Healdsburg and Les Mars Hotel are right in the heart of Healdsburg. Both are fabulous hotels focused on customer service, perhaps the most obvious difference being that the Hotel Healdsburg has a sleek modern look, whereas Les Mars has a distinctive European feel.
- Environmentally-friendly hotel: The newest hotel in town, h2hotel, was designed with an eco-consciousness and the latest in environmental technology.
- Bed & Breakfasts: there are too many to recommend, so just check out the Healdsburg Chamber website or an on-line Bed and Breakfast site.
- Just a clean place to sleep: Best Western Dry Creek Inn.
- Amongst the vineyards: Geyserville Inn
- House rentals: For families, groups of friends, or several couples, many gorgeous houses can be rented, including the house right next to our property. Check out www.vrbo.com and search for "Casa Privata Healdsburg". For local listings, check out rentals by Healdsburg Property Management.
- Chain hotels where you can use (or generate) points: Santa Rosa has two Hiltons (one closer to downtown and one closer to the airport), a Hyatt, and a Marriott.
Eating Well in Healdsburg
While your best bet is to check out restaurant reviews on other websites, here are a few of our favorites to get you started.
- Lunchtime casual: Oakville Grocery, Dry Creek General Store, Parish Cafe
- Special night out: Dry Creek Kitchen, The Farmhouse
- Family-friendly: Bear Republic, Healdsburg Bar & Grill
- Outdoor seating: Barn Diva, Bravas, Campo Fina
Alternate forms of transportation
You may want to hire a car and driver so that you can fully enjoy the bounties of wine country. Or perhaps you'd prefer to enjoy the landscape from a bicycle seat along the famous Dry Creek Valley Loop.
- Limousines: Beau Wine Tours, Behind the Gates, and Platypus Tours come highly recommended by our customers.
- Bicycles: Dry Creek Road and West Dry Creek Road comprise a wonderful looped bicycle route. Spoke Folk Cyclery provides bicycle rentals, including tandems. One reminder is that Montemaggiore means "Great Mountain" in Italian—thus visiting us on a bicycle means that the last mile is uphill all the way!
- Walking: The best way to understand wine is to walk the vineyards, and Sonoma Vineyard Walks can lead the way!
Entertainment for the entire family
A few suggestions to round out your visit to wine country, especially for those in your group who are less fanatical about wine:
- Tide Pooling: Our favorite beach on the Sonoma Coast is Shell Beach. You'll want to check out the tides at Jenner, because tidepools are best at low tide.
- Cheese Tasting: Sonoma County is home to some wonderful artisan cheeses. In fact, there's a published Cheese Trail and Map.
- Animal Viewing: Safari West has giraffes, ostriches, zebras, cheetahs, lemurs, and all the animals children of all ages love!
- Museuming: In northern Santa Rosa, the Charles Schultz Museum focuses on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Gang. It's much more adult-friendly than you might think.
- River Boating: Kayaking and canoeing on the Russian River are great fun for the family. Rentals can be had from River's Edge, Russian River Adventures, and Burke's Canoe Trips.
- Vineyard Walking: The best way to appreciate Wine County is to walk the vineyard and Sonoma Vineyard Walks can lead the way!
- Ziplining: For the biggest thrills, try soaring through old-growth Redwoods on seven ziplines with Sonoma Canopy Tours (minimum age: 10).