Sonoma Wine Tours
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Glen Ellen Morning
GLEN ELLEN WINE TOUR
After exploring Glen Ellen for many, many days we’ve written this self-guided wine tour which includes the wineries, wine tasting, winery tours, dining, hiking, shopping, and activities we would recommend if you had one (Perfect) day in Glen Ellen.
Morning
It’s a perfectly prim lady now, but she has a bawdy past. At one time lumberjacks and fortune seekers gathered in the saloons, dance halls and brothels of Glen Ellen. It was a country cousin of the San Francisco Barbary Coast. In the latter part of the nineteenth century hordes of fun seekers took the train to this tiny town to party.
Shortly after the turn of the century famed writer Jack London retired to his mountain retreat he called “Beauty Ranch”, now an 800 acre state historic park. You can be like Jack and have a perfect wine tasting day in Glen Ellen…
Start Your Day:
The drive to Glen Ellen is as enchanting as the town. Follow Arnold Drive from the intersection with Highway 121 and continue North about 6 miles. You’ll pass some beautiful scenery and some interesting sites. For example the Sonoma Developmental Center is some of the most beautiful property in the valley and today is a state owned facility that provides care for those with mental or physical impairments. In the early 1900s the facility was where families committed relatives who they thought were “crazy”. And if you feel you’ll join them if you don’t get some breakfast and a good cup of coffee….. Continue into the charming town of Glen Ellen past the Glen Ellen Market, around the curve and up ahead on the right under the turquoise awning you’ll find the Garden Court Restaurant. Recently relocated from Kenwood (those tourists will still be looking for it on Hwy 12) you don’t want to miss their food especially if you’re REALLY hungry.
?
Breakfast:
Garden Court Restaurant
Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 707-935-1565.
Hours: Daily 7am – 2pm
Breakfasts and lunches, dog friendly
The Garden Court is one of those “California Breakfast” and lunch places that serves huge plates of wholesome fresh omelets and scrambles (that’s an omelet all mixed up) with country potatoes (or grits for you Southerners) and old fashion biscuits or scones, buttermilk pancakes, thick sliced sour dough French toast, whole grain granola and even oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar and milk. For lunch there’s fresh salads and home made soups served with fresh baked bread, thick sandwiches and great burgers. Expect a wait, this is a popular locals spot. We love the whole grain pancakes with fresh fruit, which fortunately come in small, medium, and large sizes. Plus if you’re a coffee hound, you’ll love theirs. Check out their web site at www.gardencourtcafe.com for menus and updates.
?
Morning Hike:
Hidden Trail: Foot and Biking
After finishing a hearty breakfast you’ll feel like walking it off. Even if you don’t you’ll need to make room for the great lunch coming up in a few hours so get your walking shoes on and take a pleasant, easy and flat hike (think walk) that only the locals know about.
To enjoy some beautiful scenery and nature follow these directions: When you leave the Garden Court Restaurant turn left out the door (Arnold Drive) and walk a block to Castle Road. Continue walking down Castle Road past 8 houses on your left and turn in to the trailhead at telephone pole #PS760 on your left. (How’s that for secret, only the telephone pole marks it.) It will look like a driveway for about 300 yards then you’ll see it open up to a meadow with a foot path.
Continue on this footpath until it joins the paved path in the Sonoma Regional Park. Continue left and you can enjoy wondering through some beautiful California landscape. You’ll see live oaks, Spanish moss, mazanita, and other typical Wine Country fauna as well as some beautiful picnic spots for future reference. Don’t go too far ‘cause it’s time for some tasting and adventure.Now it’s time to stop using those legs and start lifting some glasses. So get in the car and we’ll continue tasting and exploring.
Go back the way you came on Arnold Drive but at the town intersection bear right* on to London Ranch Road about a mile up the hill take the driveway to the right to Benziger Family Winery.
?*Note about a picnic lunch: If you want to picnic for lunch (there’s some beautiful picnic grounds coming up) instead of eating at our recommended restaurant, you should stop at the
Olive & Vine
Jack London Village,
14301 Arnold Drive 707-996-9150
www.oliveandvine.com
and pick up some inspired gourmet takeout to go with that bottle of wine you’ll be buying. The Olive and Vine, an upscale gourmet takeout place is housed in the historic Glen Ellen Winery. Catherine Plav-Driggers is the accomplished chef here working her magic. She is delightful to chat with and loves to introduce newcomers to her culinary adventures. There’s also the Eric Ross Winery Tasting Room in this beautiful spacious old building. We particularly like their Russian River Valley Old Vine Zinfandel,
Occidental Vineyard, Roberts Block. Very fruity and intense. If it is Monday or Tuesday the Olive and Vine will be closed, so stop at t
?Glen Ellen Market
13751 Arnold, Glen Ellen. (downtown
Glen Ellen). Either place will provide you with bountiful options for your picnic. (By the way if you really want the insider/historical tour of Glen Ellen pick up the Self Guided Tour of Downtown Glen Ellen written by two locals while you are in the Glen Ellen Market.)
Wine Tasting and Education:
Benziger Family Winery
1883 London Ranch, Glen Ellen.
Hours: Open daily 10:00-5:00. 707-935-3000.
Winery, tasting room, tram tours, cave, picnic area.
As the name implies, Benziger is a family owned and operated biodynamic winery. Benziger's study and experimentation in the use of a range of holistic farming practices, including elements of organic, sustainable and alternative agriculture, has lead them to Biodynamic Farming, which, to date, seems to hold the highest potential for not only minimizing the negative affects of traditional farming, but actually enhancing the health and vitality of the Bio-dynamically farmed vineyard. You’ll learn more about this when you take the tour.
Benziger is one of our favorite places to taste some great wines and learn about how wine is grown and made. Apparently Wine Spectator agrees with us calling their tram tour “the best winery tour in the industry”. We know we had a great time checking it out. It’s complete, covering the fifty-eight acre estate by wagon pulled by a tractor (it’s a big machine and you don’t feel hokey), lasting about 45 minutes and leaving the central area at 11:30, 12:30, 2:00 and 3:30. A guide explains the organic/bio dynamic farming practices they employ better than we can.
You should be in time to catch the 11:30 but if you’re too early, you can kill some time wondering around the beautiful grounds, exploring the gift shop connected to the tasting room. If you’re not up for the guided tour, you can also take a walking self-guided tour. But if you’re not part of the tram tour you don’t get to go in their new caves which are really outstanding. They’re also refreshingly cool and feel great if you’re there in the summer and don’t miss the gardens where they breed all the insects necessary to maintain the organic balance—it’s pretty amazing. To get the complete story go to their web site at www.benziger.com
Now it’s time to taste and while you’re there, take a look at the vinegars, oils and giftware in the shop adjacent to the tasting room.
Be Sure to Taste: We especially like the pinot noir and the Muscat Canelli dessert wine.
What’s Special: This is a family owned winery that has all the bells and whistles! Cave, old farm equipment, gardens, well stocked tasting room, friendly pourers, bio-dynamic farming, tram tour of the vineyards, picnic area . . .don’t miss it.
While you’re on London Ranch Road you don’t want to miss the Jack London Historic Park. It’s rich with the legacy and memory of Jack London. So take a right out of the Benziger driveway and go a short ½ mile to the end of the road where the park begins.
Historic Tour:
Jack London National State Park
2400 London Ranch Road
Glen Ellen.
Hours: Open daily 8am to dusk. 707-938-5216. Wolf House remains, House of Happy Walls, Pig Palace, the cottage. $3 parking fee per vehicle.
Jack London is certainly the most famous person to ever live in the area. He’s a hero and a national treasure and his ranch embodies all he loved about California life. Born in 1876 he fought his way up out of the factories and waterfront dives of West Oakland and became one of the highest paid, most popular writers of his day. He was an adventurer. A strikingly handsome, charming man who lived his stories and loved his land. His life was also filled with tragedy and when you see the remains of his beloved Wolf House you will feel his vital spirit still present in the ruins. It is an experience not to be missed. You can see the land through his eyes.
“I ride over my beautiful ranch. . . the air is wine, the grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain, wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive.” Jack London.
The park covers 800 plus acres including the ranch, the ruins of his Wolf House stone mansion, the home of his wife, Charmian, The House of Happy Walls and 10 miles of trails. There are 3 different one-hour tours that the park service recommends and you should purchase a park brochure to aid your self-guided wandering through the past and to read about the life and times of this great man.
?
If you are up for hiking (think HIKE), there’s a rigorous three mile trail that leads to the summit of Sonoma Mountain and a breathtaking view of the Valley of the Moon. There are a number of picnic areas in the park, relax, find your favorite spot and enjoy the history and scenery.
Time for Lunch Yet?
After exploring Glen Ellen for many, many days we’ve written this self-guided wine tour which includes the wineries, wine tasting, winery tours, dining, hiking, shopping, and activities we would recommend if you had one (Perfect) day in Glen Ellen.
Morning
It’s a perfectly prim lady now, but she has a bawdy past. At one time lumberjacks and fortune seekers gathered in the saloons, dance halls and brothels of Glen Ellen. It was a country cousin of the San Francisco Barbary Coast. In the latter part of the nineteenth century hordes of fun seekers took the train to this tiny town to party.
Shortly after the turn of the century famed writer Jack London retired to his mountain retreat he called “Beauty Ranch”, now an 800 acre state historic park. You can be like Jack and have a perfect wine tasting day in Glen Ellen…
Start Your Day:
The drive to Glen Ellen is as enchanting as the town. Follow Arnold Drive from the intersection with Highway 121 and continue North about 6 miles. You’ll pass some beautiful scenery and some interesting sites. For example the Sonoma Developmental Center is some of the most beautiful property in the valley and today is a state owned facility that provides care for those with mental or physical impairments. In the early 1900s the facility was where families committed relatives who they thought were “crazy”. And if you feel you’ll join them if you don’t get some breakfast and a good cup of coffee….. Continue into the charming town of Glen Ellen past the Glen Ellen Market, around the curve and up ahead on the right under the turquoise awning you’ll find the Garden Court Restaurant. Recently relocated from Kenwood (those tourists will still be looking for it on Hwy 12) you don’t want to miss their food especially if you’re REALLY hungry.
?
Breakfast:
Garden Court Restaurant
Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 707-935-1565.
Hours: Daily 7am – 2pm
Breakfasts and lunches, dog friendly
The Garden Court is one of those “California Breakfast” and lunch places that serves huge plates of wholesome fresh omelets and scrambles (that’s an omelet all mixed up) with country potatoes (or grits for you Southerners) and old fashion biscuits or scones, buttermilk pancakes, thick sliced sour dough French toast, whole grain granola and even oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar and milk. For lunch there’s fresh salads and home made soups served with fresh baked bread, thick sandwiches and great burgers. Expect a wait, this is a popular locals spot. We love the whole grain pancakes with fresh fruit, which fortunately come in small, medium, and large sizes. Plus if you’re a coffee hound, you’ll love theirs. Check out their web site at www.gardencourtcafe.com for menus and updates.
?
Morning Hike:
Hidden Trail: Foot and Biking
After finishing a hearty breakfast you’ll feel like walking it off. Even if you don’t you’ll need to make room for the great lunch coming up in a few hours so get your walking shoes on and take a pleasant, easy and flat hike (think walk) that only the locals know about.
To enjoy some beautiful scenery and nature follow these directions: When you leave the Garden Court Restaurant turn left out the door (Arnold Drive) and walk a block to Castle Road. Continue walking down Castle Road past 8 houses on your left and turn in to the trailhead at telephone pole #PS760 on your left. (How’s that for secret, only the telephone pole marks it.) It will look like a driveway for about 300 yards then you’ll see it open up to a meadow with a foot path.
Continue on this footpath until it joins the paved path in the Sonoma Regional Park. Continue left and you can enjoy wondering through some beautiful California landscape. You’ll see live oaks, Spanish moss, mazanita, and other typical Wine Country fauna as well as some beautiful picnic spots for future reference. Don’t go too far ‘cause it’s time for some tasting and adventure.Now it’s time to stop using those legs and start lifting some glasses. So get in the car and we’ll continue tasting and exploring.
Go back the way you came on Arnold Drive but at the town intersection bear right* on to London Ranch Road about a mile up the hill take the driveway to the right to Benziger Family Winery.
?*Note about a picnic lunch: If you want to picnic for lunch (there’s some beautiful picnic grounds coming up) instead of eating at our recommended restaurant, you should stop at the
Olive & Vine
Jack London Village,
14301 Arnold Drive 707-996-9150
www.oliveandvine.com
and pick up some inspired gourmet takeout to go with that bottle of wine you’ll be buying. The Olive and Vine, an upscale gourmet takeout place is housed in the historic Glen Ellen Winery. Catherine Plav-Driggers is the accomplished chef here working her magic. She is delightful to chat with and loves to introduce newcomers to her culinary adventures. There’s also the Eric Ross Winery Tasting Room in this beautiful spacious old building. We particularly like their Russian River Valley Old Vine Zinfandel,
Occidental Vineyard, Roberts Block. Very fruity and intense. If it is Monday or Tuesday the Olive and Vine will be closed, so stop at t
?Glen Ellen Market
13751 Arnold, Glen Ellen. (downtown
Glen Ellen). Either place will provide you with bountiful options for your picnic. (By the way if you really want the insider/historical tour of Glen Ellen pick up the Self Guided Tour of Downtown Glen Ellen written by two locals while you are in the Glen Ellen Market.)
Wine Tasting and Education:
Benziger Family Winery
1883 London Ranch, Glen Ellen.
Hours: Open daily 10:00-5:00. 707-935-3000.
Winery, tasting room, tram tours, cave, picnic area.
As the name implies, Benziger is a family owned and operated biodynamic winery. Benziger's study and experimentation in the use of a range of holistic farming practices, including elements of organic, sustainable and alternative agriculture, has lead them to Biodynamic Farming, which, to date, seems to hold the highest potential for not only minimizing the negative affects of traditional farming, but actually enhancing the health and vitality of the Bio-dynamically farmed vineyard. You’ll learn more about this when you take the tour.
Benziger is one of our favorite places to taste some great wines and learn about how wine is grown and made. Apparently Wine Spectator agrees with us calling their tram tour “the best winery tour in the industry”. We know we had a great time checking it out. It’s complete, covering the fifty-eight acre estate by wagon pulled by a tractor (it’s a big machine and you don’t feel hokey), lasting about 45 minutes and leaving the central area at 11:30, 12:30, 2:00 and 3:30. A guide explains the organic/bio dynamic farming practices they employ better than we can.
You should be in time to catch the 11:30 but if you’re too early, you can kill some time wondering around the beautiful grounds, exploring the gift shop connected to the tasting room. If you’re not up for the guided tour, you can also take a walking self-guided tour. But if you’re not part of the tram tour you don’t get to go in their new caves which are really outstanding. They’re also refreshingly cool and feel great if you’re there in the summer and don’t miss the gardens where they breed all the insects necessary to maintain the organic balance—it’s pretty amazing. To get the complete story go to their web site at www.benziger.com
Now it’s time to taste and while you’re there, take a look at the vinegars, oils and giftware in the shop adjacent to the tasting room.
Be Sure to Taste: We especially like the pinot noir and the Muscat Canelli dessert wine.
What’s Special: This is a family owned winery that has all the bells and whistles! Cave, old farm equipment, gardens, well stocked tasting room, friendly pourers, bio-dynamic farming, tram tour of the vineyards, picnic area . . .don’t miss it.
While you’re on London Ranch Road you don’t want to miss the Jack London Historic Park. It’s rich with the legacy and memory of Jack London. So take a right out of the Benziger driveway and go a short ½ mile to the end of the road where the park begins.
Historic Tour:
Jack London National State Park
2400 London Ranch Road
Glen Ellen.
Hours: Open daily 8am to dusk. 707-938-5216. Wolf House remains, House of Happy Walls, Pig Palace, the cottage. $3 parking fee per vehicle.
Jack London is certainly the most famous person to ever live in the area. He’s a hero and a national treasure and his ranch embodies all he loved about California life. Born in 1876 he fought his way up out of the factories and waterfront dives of West Oakland and became one of the highest paid, most popular writers of his day. He was an adventurer. A strikingly handsome, charming man who lived his stories and loved his land. His life was also filled with tragedy and when you see the remains of his beloved Wolf House you will feel his vital spirit still present in the ruins. It is an experience not to be missed. You can see the land through his eyes.
“I ride over my beautiful ranch. . . the air is wine, the grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain, wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive.” Jack London.
The park covers 800 plus acres including the ranch, the ruins of his Wolf House stone mansion, the home of his wife, Charmian, The House of Happy Walls and 10 miles of trails. There are 3 different one-hour tours that the park service recommends and you should purchase a park brochure to aid your self-guided wandering through the past and to read about the life and times of this great man.
?
If you are up for hiking (think HIKE), there’s a rigorous three mile trail that leads to the summit of Sonoma Mountain and a breathtaking view of the Valley of the Moon. There are a number of picnic areas in the park, relax, find your favorite spot and enjoy the history and scenery.
Time for Lunch Yet?