LGBT Travelers Find A Perfect Pairing in Sonoma

You don't have to twist my arm to venture up to Sonoma for a weekend of wine tasting and exploring the restaurant scene.

Just thinking about it makes my girlfriend and I want to recline back on a porch with a glass of wine and a plate of appetizers as we carry on conversations with our friends.

I can see it right now: we are all looking out at the vineyards, with the leaves turning to beautiful auburn, gold, and burgundy hues. People move through the neatly planted rows plucking grape bunches from the vines. Those grapes will become our favorite wine in another year and a half or sooner, depending on the varietal.

LGBT Sonomans don't believe there is much more anyone can ask for, living in one of the most beautiful places in the world. They all gush about the beauty, food, wine, and the warm and welcoming community - straight and queer alike.

Wine country is experiencing an increase in its LGBT community as people escape big cities like San Francisco, adult LGBT natives return after venturing out into the world, and a new generation of queers who were born and raised there decide to stay.

"It's a beautiful part of the world. I love that you know it's serious, looking at the wine industry, it's serious about what it does, but it doesn't take itself too seriously," said Linda Trotta, a 53-year-old lesbian wine expert who, after traveling the world, settled in Sonoma. "It just feels homey and not pretentious. The people are fun and the wines are good."

Others pointed to the great weather.

"The weather is amazing. It's so beautiful. It's one of the most naturally beautiful places that I've ever lived in," said Sarah Deragon, 39, a queer woman who is the founder, owner, and photographer of Portraits to the People. "The natural beauty up here is unparalleled and there are so many things to do besides drink wine and eat food. It's just a lovely place to be."

Deragon and her business partner and wife, Natalie Joseph, 41, decamped from San Francisco nine months ago.

"It's just freakin' charming. I'm just really happy here," said Deragon, talking about waking up to birds chirping rather than the street cleaner and Muni rolling by outside their former San Francisco apartment, and having a backyard for their dog.

The move has been good for her photography business; she splits time between Sonoma and her San Francisco studio.

"I'm getting paid a lot in wine and food, which I love," said Deragon, laughing.

She also enjoys the fact that because the LGBT community is small but growing in the Sonoma Valley, gay men and lesbians mix and mingle more, which isn't always the case in the city.

Other gay wine country transplants escaping the rat race are New Yorkers Gary Saperstein, 56, co-proprietor of Out in the Vineyard, an LGBT wine country event and tour company based in Sonoma, and Lloyd Davis, 50, owner and winemaker of Corner 103.

"It's just a nice lifestyle," agreed Lisa Pidge, 47, a lesbian who is the founder and co-producer, with her wife, Carlee Pidge, 34, of Crushers of Comedy.

The sold-out comedy show celebrating wine and laughter attracts audiences of 150-300 monthly and 600 for the annual comedy festival.

A native of the Sonoma Valley, Pidge lived and traveled all over the world before returning to her roots not only because her family lived there, but also because Sonoma is so welcoming of the LGBT community.

Mike Kobler, a 33-year-old gay man who is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Kobler Estate Winery, returned back to his family in Sonoma County during the recession.

He and his father launched Kobler Estate Winery, a family-owned boutique winery in Healdsburg, and he's been pouring ever since. Kobler loves talking about wine and Healdsburg with visitors, as we learned when gay Chicago travelers Chris Van Dunk, 44, and his partner, Jay Mahlendorf, 45, stopped by for their tasting appointment at the winery on a lazy Sunday.

Queer couple and business owners Osvaldo "Ozzy" Jimenez, 29, and Christian Sullberg, 28, run Moustache Baked Goods and Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar, which were named one of the San Francisco Business Times' Top 50 LGBT Businesses this year.

Neither of the men, who are Sonoma County natives, thought about opening their shops or sourcing the materials used to make their baked goods from anywhere other than their own back yard. The only question was where in Sonoma County to set up shop? In this case the two stores are right on the square in Healdsburg, Sullberg's hometown.

"This is our home; this is our community, these are the people we know and speak to every day ... let's give them the best type of dessert, something from the region, something that's from the county," said Jimenez.

The couple opened their first shop, Moustache Baked Goods in 2011, followed by Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar in 2014. The stores have become destinations for travelers, especially since appearing on the Cooking Channel and in other media outlets.

"Healdsburg is the best place to visit if you want to get away from the city for a couple of days," said Jimenez. "Rolling hills, wine country, some of the best wines in the world, and then also good-earth people."

"So, if you ... want a real authentic Sonoma County experience then come to Healdsburg," added Jimenez, who would love it if more LGBT travelers would discover one of the county's northernmost towns.

Savor Sonoma

The food, wine, and the people are the reasons why my girlfriend and I continue to escape to Sonoma County, so it was a no-brainer when Saperstein invited us to be his guests for a weekend among the vines to see what was new in Healdsburg and Sonoma.

Sonoma, which is already home to Girl and the Fig, is undergoing a restaurant renaissance, with a handful of new restaurants and shopping experiences - not to mention vino.

The French-inspired Girl and the Fig will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year and it launched its first food truck at the beginning of the summer. We also had the pleasure of dining at Sonoma Grille and Bar, which served up filets and fish, paired with local wines. The Sonoma Grille is one of the latest Sonoma restaurants, joining Dehli Belly Indian Bistro, Oso Sonoma, and Tasca Tasca Portuguese Tapas Restaurant and Wine Bar. For dessert, Sonoma is welcoming the CocoaPlanet Chocolate Factory and Tasting Room this fall.

There's also a lot of new shopping and tasting experiences in Sonoma, including the soon-to-reopen fully renovated Fat Pilgrim and a contemporary general store. Sonoma's once well-kept secret, Cornerstone, off of Highway 121 right across from the road that leads up to Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards and behind Sonoma County's airport, offers unique wine country experiences.

Cornerstone is the new home of Sunset magazine's test kitchen and garden, along with a plethora of tasting rooms for beer, wine, and spirits; restaurants, boutiques (including gay-owned florist Tesoro); and a wedding venue. It was easy spending half of an afternoon hanging out at Cornerstone with our friends.

Later in the day we had our appreciation of wine elevated to a whole new level by Davis at Corner 103. This is not your average wine tasting. Whether wine novices or aficionados, Davis takes guests through a whole experience, showing the delicate dance of wine, glass, food, and individual taste buds and how the flavors change when they interact and don't interact with one another through a simple cheese and wine pairing. My girlfriend and I will never taste wine the same again.

Our next wine experience was at the recently opened MacRostie Winery and Vineyards, a stylish and modern winery that has electric vehicle charging stations. The hostesses at MacRostie greeted us with our first glass of wine as we approached the front door.

Other good places to try include Passaggio Wines in Sonoma and the aforementioned Kobler Family Winery in Healdsburg. Corner 103 and MacRostie offered pleasant experiences.

After tasting, we enjoyed dining on tapas at Bravas Bar de Tapas and dessert at Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar in Healdsburg.

I couldn't help but dig into the mountainous espresso mud pie. It satisfied my sweet tooth, making me feel like a kid again.

Where to Sleep

Wining and dining can be exhausting. Fortunately, we didn't have far to walk to where we were staying as guests of the Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn. It's perfectly situated right around the corner of Sonoma's plaza. The hotel was comfortably filled with wedding guests, families, and other wine travelers like ourselves. Our room was big with a Jacuzzi that partially opened up looking out into the room and two balconies overlooking a tree-lined street just off of the square. The hotel also offered a continental breakfast in the lobby every morning.

I also suggest checking out the inn's sister hotel, the Best Western Dry Creek Inn, which looks like an Italian villa and is located just off of Highway 101, about a mile and a half from the heart of Healdsburg.

Both hotels offer easy access to the vineyards for wine tasting in Sonoma.

For more on what to do in Sonoma, see the reference guide that accompanies this article online at http://www.ebar.com