Smart Meetings

A semi-Mediterranean climate and a landscape reminiscent of the Italian countryside lured European immigrants to the Sonoma Valley a hundred and fifty years ago. Although few of the grapevines that they brought from the Old World and planted in the New World are still growing, the traditions of their viticulture and their love of sharing good food and wine with family and friends remains at the heart of life in the California Wine Country.Today, millions of annual visitors flock to hundreds of wineries in the vineyard-covered valleys of Sonoma County, and to eateries for “wine country cuisine” made by celebrated chefs who create succulent dishes from ingredients produced by local farmers, cheese makers, bakers and fishermen.

Conventioneers, associations and other groups meeting in San Francisco often take advantage of the easy accessibility of Sonoma’s Wine Country—about an hour north––for winery-touring daytrips, for drives along the scenic coastline, and for executive retreats and incentive trips. And, for those who want to fly or drive directly into Santa Rosa, there are a goodly number of resorts and hotels in the area offering full conference services and state-of-the-art facilities.

Although mild weather prevails most of the year, two of the best months in this part of Northern California are February and March, when wild yellow mustard blooms in profusion between the vineyard rows, a never-to-be-forgotten sight from overhead in a hot air balloon. In the fall, the vines are brilliant red and gold and days are warm and dry, while the affordable winter season, although misty at times, sees many sunny days. It is the rare meeting property here that does not incorporate a garden courtyard, a vineyard-surrounded terrace or other outdoor event space. Daytrip tours around the verdant countryside are high on the desired list for attendees, from a drive along the Sonoma Coast to the fishing village of Bodega Bay to a foray into the redwoods.

THE BIG PICTURE

About the size of Rhode Island, rimmed on the west side by a rugged coastline, Sonoma County is known for vacation resorts along the Russian River and for wine production in the Alexander, Dry Creek and Sonoma valleys.

The business center and county seat, the city of Santa Rosa is headquarters for larger hotels, restaurants and shopping. Bronze statues of Charlie Brown and Woodstock stand in Depot Park in the city’s Historic Railroad Square, a warren of early 20^th century stone and brick buildings housing antiques shops, cafes and nightspots, plus a 1904 landmark, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Depot.

A jumping-off point for winery touring, the Victorian-era town of Healdsburg is popular with visitors who prowl the boutiques and wine-tasting rooms around the town square. In the rolling hills just north of town, Hollywood producer Francis Ford Coppola recently opened his newest winery, Rosso and Bianco, one of more than 250 premium wineries in the county.

Also founded in the 1800s, the riverfront town of Petaluma preserves a precious collection of Victorian buildings while providing 21^st century meeting facilities such as the Sheraton Sonoma County meeting rooms that overlook a lively pleasure-boat marina.

Surrounding a tree-shaded historic town plaza in the town of Sonoma are a parade of 19^th century adobe and Victorian houses and an original California mission church. Some of the oldest wineries in the country are a short stroll away. Among several conference-friendly properties here are The Lodge at Sonoma, MacArthur Place, the Sonoma Valley Inn and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn.

According to Tim Zahner, director of communications for the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, “Sonoma County has become a high-end corporate retreat destination for groups who want fantastic off-site activities like a candlelit dinner in a wine cave, West County adventures like river kayaking, whale watching at the coast and special experiences such as our ‘horse listener’ executive programs in Valley Ford.” This area is distinguished as a destination, he continues, because of the stunning coastline, the Russian River, the redwoods and, of course, the several wine valleys.

The county’s convention services are unparalleled. “We offer ground coordination, customized tour planning, promotional materials to help increase attendance; site selection, spouse programs, golf arrangements, wine-maker dinners, just name it––we make it so easy.”

The county now has nearly 7,000 rooms, so the CVB eliminate the need for planners to investigate individual properties. Although many groups drive up from San Francisco, they can now fly nonstop from Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland into Santa Rosa on Horizon Air.”

WINERY VENUES

Inspired by the Jacuzzi family home in Italy, the rustic, stone Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Wineryopened this year at the gateway to the Sonoma Valley. Glowing with stained-glass windows and wall-sized paintings, the vaulted, chapel-like Barrel Room serves as a private event space for up to 150 people, while the Grand Piazza and “Tuscan Road” right in the vineyards are lovely outdoor settings.

In the countryside on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, a bell tower and gracious mission-style architecture distinguishes St. Francis Winery. More than 200 guests are comfortable at picnics, receptions and dinners in the fireplace room, which opens onto a spacious lawn with a dramatic Hood Mountain backdrop.

ONLY IN THE WINE COUNTRY

Many innovative team-building programs, customized adventures and wine-related activities and entertainment are offered only in Sonoma County.

“Chief Wine Evangelist” at the wine-event company Affairs of the Vine, Barbara Drady creates one-of-a-kind corporate events, notably winery scavenger hunts and the one-day Wine Boot Camp, where eager wine novices work hands-on with top experts in vineyards and cellars, blend and taste wine and crack the secret code of wine lists.

At the beautiful Strozzi Ranch in the hills of Valley Ford in Sonoma County, the two- to four-day Leadership and Horses programwas developed by “horse listener” Ariana Strozzi, the author of Horse Sense for the Leader Within. For clients such as Wells Fargo Bank, Apple and Cisco Systems, Strozzi designs the experience to help participants develop leadership savvy and conflict-resolution strategies, and to inspire team excellence. Attendees watch her work the animals and they engage with the horses––for many people, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.Ramekins Sonoma Valley Culinary Centerin Sonoma provides both hands-on and demonstration cooking classes—a great team-building activity with great tasting results. They also offer meeting rooms on-site.

Giraffes in the Wine Country? Yes. In the wilds of Sonoma County on open grasslands sits a preserve for hundreds of African plains animals such as zebras, elands, giraffes, Watusi cattle and rare antelopes. At Safari West, private half-day tours are exciting outings, from individual expeditions in open-air vehicles seating 12 to larger groups who “buy out” the preserve. According to Milton Rieback, director of education, “Our ‘survivor’ program is fun for groups, where we send them out with a guide to separate pastures and they endeavor to stay alive while they find clues and explore.”

BEYOND THE BALLROOM

Just outside Santa Rosa fronting Highway 101, the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is a 140,000-square-foot complex with a 1,600-seat theater and two-story, pre-function lobby. There’s also a cabaret with a small stage, a fireplace gathering room and several meeting rooms, with outside space big enough for circus-sized tents. Headliner entertainers appear here throughout the year.

Particularly for first-time visitors to the Sonoma Valley, a hot-air balloon ride is a must. Unlike in a plane, balloon rides at altitudes up to about 2,000 feet are silent, smooth, seemingly motionless floats above a panorama of vineyards, mountain ranges and winding rivers. Champagne brunches after the flights complete the never-to-be-forgotten experiences. Sonoma County's oldest balloon tour company, Above the Wine Country Ballooning, takes off in 2- to 16-passenger craft from Sonoma County Airport.

Getting There

• Horizon Airprovides daily nonstop service from Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa.
• Airport shuttle service, which takes about 1.5 hours, is available from San Francisco International Airportand Oakland International Airport to Santa Rosa and several other Sonoma County cities.

Not To Be Missed

• Sip cabernet in an oak-studded picnic grove and peruse artifacts from the mid-1800s birth of California wine-making at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma.  
• Sonoma State Park is comprised of Lachryma Montis (Tear of the Mountain), the lovely Gothic-Revival home built in 1849 by the Mexican general, M.G. Vallejo, founder of the town of Sonoma; San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, a California mission; and the original barracks, Victorian buildings and adobes around the largest original Spanish plaza in the state.
• Walk beneath 300-foot-tall, 2,000-year-old redwood trees at Armstrong Redwood State Reserve on the Russian River. Take a canoe cruise down the Russian River with River's Edge Kayak and Canoe Trips.  
• At Highways 37 and 121 near Sonoma, Infineon Raceway is a year-round motorsports complex hosting NASCAR, IndyCar, hot rod, superbike, motorcycle and drag races.  
• Book a private tour of Di Rosa Preserve where one of the largest and most eccentric collections of contemporary art in the country is exhibited in a manor house and outdoors beside a lake.
• Shop the boutiques, galleries and antiques shops in turn-of-the-century buildings, and stop in the cafes at Historic Railroad Square in Santa Rosa.
• Be a kid again at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, where the cartoons and memorabilia of the creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the “Peanuts” gang are on view along with free showings of the Peanuts movies.