For this post, I am going to be concentrating on the BOGO Free Sonoma wine tastings that are located near STS airport. So, if you’re flying into STS airport and get in early enough, you could be wine tasting in less than 15 minutes. On our first day, we landed at STS airport around 11:30 a.m. and were planning on meeting our friends around noon. That meant we had enough time to fit in two wineries on that day: Bricoleur and La Crema. There’s another Sonoma winery (Kendall-Jackson) that is also close to the airport that I highly recommend. We didn’t have the chance to visit Kendall-Jackson this time around but did previously a few years back so I wanted to add it to the list.
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Disclaimer: This is not a partnership blog post with Visa. This is solely my experience using the Sonoma Wine Tasting Visa Benefit and all opinions are of my own.
Where to Get Lunch
We didn’t have time to stop somewhere for lunch and there aren’t really a lot of options around STS airport. We did grab a quick snack at the airport’s restaurant, Sky Lounge, and ended up getting food at Bricoleur. If you are following the same itinerary that we did, I would recommend just getting food at Bricoleur. The prices are on the higher side but a lot of their food comes from their own garden which I thought was something special enough to splurge on.
What I Wore
The day we landed was actually the coolest of all three days that we were there. I would say somewhere around the high seventies. I wore this pretty midi dress onto the plane and it was perfect for that day.
Tasting Procedure
I will indicate below if the wine tasting was served one glass at a time or all at once. It doesn’t really matter but wanted to add that bit of information on there.
Bricoleur
Bricoleur Vineyards
VISA DEAL: BOGO FREE SONOMA WINE TASTING ($45 FOR 4 WINES)
Address: 7394 Starr Rd, Windsor, CA 95492
Reservations: https://www.bricoleurvineyards.com/locations/tasting-room
Notes: This is probably one of the biggest and prettiest wineries that I’ve been to. They just opened last year to the public (yes, during COVID) so they are really excited to welcome a lot more people this year. The property is absolutely beautiful and is adorned with gardens, picnic areas, patios, outdoor games, etc. They even have a special chef’s tasting menu that you can make reservations for inside the building. I would say it’s definitely wedding venue-worthy. At $45 per tasting, this was the most expensive tasting we did but was well worth it with the BOGO free deal.
Tasting Procedure: One at a time
Dog-Friendly: Yes
La Crema
La Crema Winery
VISA DEAL: BOGO FREE SONOMA WINE TASTING ($30 FOR 6 WINES)
Address: 3575 Slusser Rd, Windsor, CA 95492
Reservations: https://www.exploretock.com/lacrema
Notes: I knew of La Crema back during my waitressing days. It was listed on our menu and was on the higher end of Chardonnays that we were serving. So, when I noticed that it was on the list of BOGO free wine tastings, I knew we had to go visit it. To be honest, for such a well-known label, I thought their wine tasting room would have been more modern and up-to-date, but it didn’t really matter since it’s all about the wine. We got to taste some amazing chardonnays and pinot noirs that you can’t get at a restaurant or supermarket. We ended up purchasing a pinot noir to bring to one of our dinners that weekend.
Tasting Procedure: One at a time
Dog-Friendly: Yes
KJ
Kendall-Jackson
VISA DEAL: BOGO FREE SONOMA WINE TASTING ($20 FOR 5 WINES)
Address: 5007 Fulton Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Reservations: https://www.exploretock.com/kj
Notes: Kendall-Jackson is one of the most famous wineries out there. You can find their wines in almost any supermarket and at plenty of restaurants. Again, we didn’t go to this winery on this trip but did visit them a few years back using the same Visa Benefit. They will first pour you a tasting of wine at the bar and then you are free to roam around the property. Once you’re done, you come back to the bar to get your next tasting. Not sure if they are still doing that but that was our experience back then. Also, this place is a good deal since you technically don’t need to have a Visa Signature or Visa Infinite card to get the BOGO free wine tasting. They have a coupon on their website that you can use here.
Tasting Procedure: One at a time
Dog-Friendly: Unknown
