8 Healdsburg
Once a sleepy
agricultural town best
known for its Future
Farmers of America
parade, Healdsburg has
emerged as northern
Sonoma County’s
culinary capital. Foodie-
scenester restaurants and
cafes, wine-tasting rooms
and fancy boutiques
line Healdsburg Plaza,
the town’s sun-dappled
central square (bordered
by Healdsburg Ave and
Center, Matheson and
Plaza Sts). Traffic grinds
to a halt on summer
weekends, when second-
home-owners and
tourists jam downtown.
Old-timers aren’t happy
with the Napa-style
gentrification, but at
least Healdsburg retains
its historic look, if not its
once-quiet summers. It’s
best visited weekdays –
stroll tree-lined streets,
sample locavore cooking
and soak up the NorCal
flavor.Tasting rooms
surround the plaza and
free summer concerts
play Tuesday afternoons.
And on a hot day, take a
dip in the Russian River
at Healdsburg Veterans
Memorial Beach (%707-
433-1625; http://www.sonoma
-county.org/parks; 13839
Healdsburg Ave; parking $7;
c), where lifeguards are
on duty daily in summer.5 4 p105
The Drive » From Healdsburg
Plaza, drive 1 mile north on
Healdsburg Ave and then west
onto Dry Creek Rd, a fast-
moving main thoroughfare; it’s
about 10 miles on to Truett-
Hurst. To reach the wineries on
West Dry Creek Rd, a parallel
and undulating country lane,
take Yoakim Bridge Rd.9 Dry Creek Valley
A wine-growing region
hemmed in by 2000ft-
high mountains,
Dry Creek Valley is
relatively warm, ideal
for sauvignon blanc
and zinfandel, and insome places, cabernet
sauvignon.
Dry Creek’s newest
biodynamic winery,
Truett-Hurst (%707-
433-9545; http://www.truetthurst.
com; 5610 Dry Creek Rd;
tastings $5, refundable withpurchase; (^) h10am-5pm;
#) has terrific old-vine
zins, standout petite
sirah and Russian River
pinots at the handsome,
contemporary tasting
room, and you can
meander to the creek
where salmon spawn in
autumn.
An early leader in
organics, the 19th-
century farm of Preston
Vineyards (%707-433-
3372; http://www.prestonvineyards.
com; 9282 W Dry Creek Rd;
tasting $10, refundable with
purchase, bottles $24-38;
h11am-4:30pm; c) feels
like old Sonoma County.
Weathered picket fencing
frames the 19th-century
farmhouse-turned–
tasting room with
candy-colored walls.
The signature is citrusy
sauvignon blanc, but try
the Rhône varietals and
small-lot wines.
Atop the valley’s north
end, caves are built into
the hillside at always-fun
Bella Vineyards (%707-
473-9171; http://www.bellawinery.
com; 9711 W Dry Creek Rd;
tasting $5-10, bottles $25-40;
h11am-4:30pm; #). The
focus is on zin and syrah,
but there’s terrific rosé
and late-harvest zin.
RAINBOW FLAGS EVERYWHERE
You’ll know it’s Lazy Bear Weekend (August)
because every establishment displays a hand-hewn
bear statuette or a sign greeting the Bears. Who
are the Bears, you may ask? Seven thousand gay
men, prerequisite burly, coming to kick back rio
style. Other gay gatherings like Women’s Weekend
(May) and Leather Weekend (November) maintain
Guerneville’s reputation as one of the most gay-
friendly resorts in California.
NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA
7
(^) RUSSIAN RIVER & THE BOHEMIAN HIGHWAY