Sorry no advice, but just curious. You are brave to book the flight before lodging!

Sounds like a lovely trip. Happy Birthday!

Stop at In-N-Out Burger on your way from Sacto. We love Sonoma and the Sonoma Plaza. Don't know about where to stay but we love the Plaza and the shops and the ambiance there. Jim's cousin grows wine grapes near Healdsburg, and she worked a few days a month at a co-op tasting room there that featured some of the wineries that used her grapes, The Girl and the Fig is a favorite restaurant. Have a great trip!

Good for you! I tend to prefer Sonoma to Napa (but that's because I have been to both a few times) but you can definitely do both and why not! We usually start out in San Francisco at the Hilton in Union Square. We have stayed at the Best Western in Santa Rosa with a big group one time when we were attending a wedding at Chateau St. Jean (a beautiful vineyard and we like their wine!) We have been back to the BW on a more recent trip with DD and her boyfriend and it is a good jumping off point, being right at the entrance to wine country, right off Rt. 101.

We choose our vineyards and make appointments ahead, but we have very specific criteria for our visits. You can meander along in both Napa and Sonoma and have a lovely time. Things have changed a great deal in the 15 years since you have been. Be prepared to pay a tasting fee ($50 and up is not unheard of.) You might not want to drive if you plan on tasting at a few vineyards, or plan on taking turns as a designated driver.

My favorite B&B was in Calistoga and it was within walking distance to the restaurants in the downtown area. I think it was the Elms or it was on Elm Street.

I can review my notes and send suggestions if you would like.

We are going to Santa Barbara wine country in September on an extended CA visit.

Linelle, yes, we are renting a car and driving from the airport. I have to talk to dh to see if he remembers where we stayed before - I know it was in a cute town, I'm thinking maybe Healdsburg, but I can't remember w/o going back and possibly finding pictures. I mainly remember the wineries we went to. I was hoping to stay someplace where we could walk to shops and restaurants from our lodging. We will do the bike tour one day. DH's family still lives in San Fran and his sister in the past gave us recommendations as to where to stay, what wineries she liked, etc. but I'm not sure she has been up that way in a while.

We may go to SF for a day - I think once we have a better idea what we want to do, we will decide if we want to bother. Since dh's family is in SF, I've been there quite a bit over the years and don't care if we don't go. I don't think my friend necessarily cares or she would have mentioned it before - I would have suggested we stay at least one more day. I'm sure she will probably go back at a different time to do San Francisco properly so we aren't necessarily planning to do it this trip. As it is, we were trying to just squeeze a girls' trip in before our kids' spring sports schedule starts. Most of the places here on the East Coast that are easy to fly or drive in/out of we've already been to several times (i.e. Charleston, NYC, etc) and since she'd never been to Wine Country and her dh doesn't really have that much desire to go, we chose that instead. 71 degrees sounds glorious as it was in the 30s and pouring here all day yesterday. Sunny today, but still in the 30s. Truthfully, anything mid-50s and above is fine with me.

Bonnie Ann if you have any other tips/suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. I think I'm going to sit down with a map of the area w/wineries, determine which ones we are interested in seeing and then see which area seems most convenient to stay in. I'm not too worried about finding lodgings since it is still the off-season and we are going to be there during the week rather than a weekend. I think we may have actually eaten at The Girl and the Fig - that sounds so familiar and when I just looked them up, it looks like one of the restaurants we went to. Dh is calling his sister to ask her where she sent us last time and if she has any new recommendations. And yes, I did see that the tastings have gotten quite expensive since we were last there!

Just be aware that Octobers massive brush fires had a huge impact on this area, burning over 245,000 acres and destroying a number of wineries and countless homes. Sonoma and Santa Rosa were even harder hit than Napa.

Yes, I am wondering why nobody mentioned earlier that a large part of the area is now a burnt wasteland.

We stay at Meadowood. Dinner at the 3-star Michelin restaurant is always memorable. Napa and Sonoma are open for business. Santa Rosa was the hardest hit.

Re: the October fires

"If you've been putting off travel to this wine country, think again.

Among about 900 wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties, industry officials say fewer than 20 suffered significant damage in October, and most of those have been repaired and reopened. The story is similar for restaurants and lodgings."

update

4kids, yes I will look at my notes and get back to you.

Yes, I am wondering why nobody mentioned earlier that a large part of the area is now a burnt wasteland.

That's adding insult to injury. :(

The worst devastation was to homes on the edges of Santa Rosa, and it was just terrible. I doubt 4-day visitors will plan excursions to Fountaingrove and Coffee Park to view where thousands of homes were lost that terrible night. Already sites have been cleared, people are planning to rebuild and vegetation is coming back.

I've seen the damage, heard the stories and know people who lost EVERYTHING but the clothes on their backs. And yet, it never crossed my mind to dissuade anyone from visiting this exquisite place on earth.

Healdsburg pretty much escaped the fires. If you stay in one of the boutique hotels in town you can walk to shops, restaurants and tasting rooms.

I'm also a fan of staying in Sonoma. There are several tasting rooms in walking distance, which is nice because you don't need a designated driver. I have stayed at Inn at Sonoma twice and had a very nice stay both times. For dinner in Sonoma, I like The Girl and the Fig or La Salette.

My favorite winery in the area is Chateaux St. Jean.

If you eat at The Girl and the Fig, have the steamed mussels.

My brother and his wife stayed at the Napa Valley Railway Inn in Yountville. They made hotel rooms of railway cars. It was many years ago now, so I wouldn't rely on their experience, but you could look at current reviews.

I've enjoyed the non-winery activities in Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Bale Grist Mill, the Calistoga Geyser (total tourist trap, but interesting nonetheless), the petrified forest, and Sonoma State Historic Park are all fun and interesting.

If you're looking for a place to eat along I-80, check out downtown Davis. It's about a half hour from the airport. There aren't many cities along 80 until you get closer to the Bay Area. It's a university town and has a very walkable downtown, which is a short hop off the freeway. I lived there from 1987-2001 so I can't really tell you where to eat now but there's Yelp. There is an In-and-Out Burger there but in general Davis has tried to keep out franchises.

I'd also check out Yountville and St. Helena, if you wanted to stay in Napa. Auberge du Soleil. Recommendations on food and lodging will vary on budget -- the skies the limit in Napa and Sonoma -- and regarding wineries, depending on varietal. Cabs? Chardonnay? Sparkling? Pinot? A little of everything?

Recommendations on where to dine en route would vary on what time you are set to arrive. Davis is pretty much en route -- of note there are a couple new regional Chinese restaurants that are reportedly pretty good (eg Chengdu Style), Village Bakery (with pizza), Osteria Fasulo. That might be a counterbalance to what you might expect in Napa or Sonoma. Or you could just drive directly and stop at a place in Napa proper (Oenetri, Kenzo) or near Yountville (Bouchon, Redd Wood, Mustard's, Brix).

We lived in SF for 10 years. Been gone almost 5. Our fave place to stay was Healdsburg. Quaint town, walkable, excellent food options, great wineries.

I like Healdsburg better than Sonoma/Napa-many small wineries, great restaurants. Good bike riding. Just a beautiful town.

I just got home late and quickly skimmed the responses but will read further tomorrow when I have more time. I did want to address the fires - we are well aware of the devastation. My BIL, an SF policeman, was called to Santa Rosa to assist during the fires and shared with us many stories and pictures of his time there. When my friend and I discussed where we wanted to go, we decided that NOT going would only add to any loss in tourism that was caused by the fires. I too had seen something similar to what Bonnie Ann posted above - that the fires should not deter us from bringing our tourist dollars to the area. Thanks for all the responses - I look forward to reading them more carefully tomorrow!

I also prefer Sonoma to Napa, but Healdsburg is also nice. Sonoma is very walkable, and I've liked all the restaurants on the square that I went to. I did a wall upholstery job in Sonoma back in 1983 (when I lived in San Francisco) and spent the night at the job site, as the house was not ready for the owner to move in. If it were summer, I might prefer Healdsburg to Sonoma - I used to go swimming in the Russian River.

Now that I live in Los Angeles, we go to Paso Robles instead, which I find to be similar to what Sonoma was like in the 1980s.

I have found Sacramento to be disappointing for restaurants, and if you can wait, it would be better to eat at your final destination.