Travel
A Foodie Tour of Healdsburg, CA
This Sonoma, California destination is a health-conscious wine and organic food lover’s ideal vacation spot.
Biodynamic Winery Tours
Sonoma County, of which Healdsburg is in the center, was voted by TripAdvisor as the best wine country in the world, second only to Tuscany. Arriving here you can see why. Not only is it the epicenter of California winemaking, but there are many organic and biodynamic wineries in Sonoma county and Healdsburg. Too many to mention in one article. Here’s my personal favorite (of the ones I’ve seen). Read on to enjoy this tour with me!
My favorite stop on Wine Country Bikes organic vineyard bicycle tour
I arrived at Quivira via a Wine Country Bikes organic vineyard bicycle tour. They do private or group rides, and they’re a 100% must-do when in the area. They can do specialized tours — I recommend their tour of only organic and biodynamic wineries, hosted by a very knowledgeable organic farmer (and excellent cyclist), Taylor Lapman. Not only will you get a lot of exercise (don’t worry – the bikes have a ton of gears to keep it as easy or hard as you’d like), but you’ll get a totally different perspective of the area via bicycle rather than via car. That, and the picnic-table lunch they set up for us was to-die-for. Seriously.
A yummy picnic on our bike tour
I challenged them to come up with a vegan meal for us, and what I got was maybe the best sandwich I’ve ever had, and pastries that were so yummy that I actually stuffed more in my bike and took them home as a snack for later. The lunch came from Oakville Grocery, which is yet another hippie-chic shop in Healdsburg that would be a good place to pick up snacks for your road trip, picnic or before your flight home.
There’s ample space to sit and have a glass of wine outside at Quivira
If you’re not familiar with biodynamic winemaking, it’s the most intensive, sustainable and responsible method of farming. It requires constant attention and a perfect balance between animal, plant, soil and climate. Unlike ‘sustainable’, which is a loosely used term, organic and biodynamic wines are certified and must meet certain regulations. The result is a healthier, better tasting wine — and a vineyard that will remain fruitful for centuries to come. Personally, I only drink organic and, preferably, biodynamic wines. Quivira’s selection was very impressive. I ordered several bottles and had them shipped back to NYC. They were that good.
Quivera’s biodynamic wines are delicious, healthy and fresh
Quivira is a leader in biodynamic farming.
Pigs help out with the farming chores at Quivira
Make sure to check out the organic gardens, and say hello to their exotic chickens
Quivira restored the creek that runs through not only their own property, but a lot of Sonoma, in an effort to help endangered Steelhead and Coho fish. Not only did they turn their property and the creek into an official wildlife safe harbor, but they convinced other landowners to switch to sustainable farming practices.
Up next: farm-to-table at its best…
Jerry Gargulak
Wonderful! Great article. We are headed there late October your insight is very appreciated!
Katelyn Jordan
Wow! never knew CA is like this. I always thought CA is just a state where Hipsters grow and breed. Never knew it’s this beautiful.
Pevensie girl
Hey! I just love your photos!! The view is great!! Can I have a copy to print? Thank you so much.
Tom Kearney
Wonderful article. Your descriptions were in-depth and down-to-earth, unlike most articles about our town. It’s true, there are too many restaurants, shops, and wineries for one article. Every word you wrote is true and you didn’t exaggerate at all. Thank you for sharing your feelings.
Monika Smith
Wow! great article & pictures. this travel article is very impressive. i would love to visit this place.
Diana Hewitt
Great article, Hilary! As always very well done. May I ask what kind of camera you use to take these photos? they look very professional. I’m starting a blog, and I want my photos to look as good as yours. 🙂
Hilary Rowland
We used a Sony RX100.. it’s an older model, but I like it because it will shoot RAW (so you can adjust the light levels in post) and has a hot shoe for a mic or extra light, etc.
Frances Seifert
Such an ecofriendly, vegan friendly, healthy beautiful little town! It’s making it’s way to my bucket list as I’m writing this comment. ;)If you know more places like this, please share! I’m very interested. 🙂
Anna Kaplan
Such a gorgeous place, isn’t it? I’m so impressed with the hotel that was built out of recycled materials. I’m a sucker for eco-friendly 😀 -as all humans should be!!-
Delilah Peyton
such a well detailed tour. loving the photos, and the video makes it all even better. the only thing is… i wish you would rate the places you visit like out of 5 or 10, so we could get a better idea.
Nicky Bryan
This is not Yelp.. She’s not writing a review.. She’s sharing her travel experiences with us.. And if you noticed, she’s only mentioning the pleasant ones. I haven’t seen a negative article on a place she visited. Which I’m sure she must have had some negative experiences at some places, but she never mentions them because it’s out of the context. She does travel guides, not do not travel guides, so rating would be pointless.
Delilah Peyton
well hello to you too… i was just making a suggestion, i wasn’t criticising or anything. no need to overreact like that.
Colleen Frasier
What a beautiful town! Just like the kind of towns we see in movies and wish it was real. 🙂 And leave it to Hilary Rowland to discover it for us! ????? Always a unique, stunning place that leaves us in awe… And Healdsburg is a wonderful example of that! thanks a bunch. ❤️