About the Author

I was born and raised in Lancaster County Pennsylvania and currently reside with my wife and 2 boys in the town of Lititz. Some of you may be aware of the Amish population living in the area thereby making this a unique place to visit. I don’t quite see the draw but then again, I have been around this all of my life. I can only guess that the residents of Sonoma and wine country, in general, have similar thoughts about the area they live in.

My feelings have changed, however, since my visit to Sonoma in 2009. I met several wonderful people and experienced their passion for the town in which they have chosen to live. They encouraged exploration and interaction and are quite proud of the heritage of Sonoma. Rather than turn their noses up to tourism or present selfishness about their hometown they embrace the lifestyle that is wine country.

It is for these reasons I decided to start blogging about wineries and other establishments in Sonoma. Before my wife and I decided to take a trip to Sonoma, we did a lot of research about the area. For adults that love wine so much but having been exposed to very few great wines (we are in PA after all) we saw this as a “kid in a candy shop” opportunity.

With such a variety of wineries and restaurants we tried to scratch the surface and find some “no brainers.” We certainly accomplished this but also came across some hidden gems; at least to us they were hidden gems. Once we arrived in Sonoma, we had dinner at the girl and the fig, and asked the staff there where we should go for our tastings the next day. In the end the staff were dead on and we had some of the most wonderful experiences of our lives. I knew we should have gone to Sonoma instead of the Bahamas for our honeymoon!

Anyway, this brings us back to why I wanted to do this reference blog. I found our research of Sonoma to be somewhat daunting. I decided to make it a little easier for the next person by researching Sonoma for him. I have created a directory of wineries in Sonoma, a map of Sonoma wineries, and information pages about the wineries including contact information. This one-stop-shop, if you will, for The Sonoma Vine is simple and to the point. I think it could serve readers very well.

As I continue to grow this site I will add more wineries, restaurants, and general information about Sonoma. I also wish to get a few interviews with Sonoma locals and winemakers to enhance the integrity of the information on this site. Feel free to tell me how I am doing and add your thoughts to the information I have posted. I hope you find this site useful and please don’t hesitate to contact me at info@thesonomavine.com or follow me on Twitter @sonomavine.