Girl’s Night Out in Healdsburg

I had the pleasure of being tasked with planning a girl’s trip to the wine country for some of my best friends who were visiting from out of town. Since one of my friends is really smart, she had a meeting at Stanford in the morning so we weren’t able to head North until the afternoon. This can really throw a wrench in wine tasting plans since all the tasting rooms close down around 5 p.m. Since I’m trying to lure all of these girls to move to San Francisco I had to show them a good time in the wine country, despite our late start. Since I needed a destination with more than just wineries I thought Healdsburg would be the perfect destination because it offers plenty of after hours attractions. We only had time to taste at one winery, so I chose Medlock Ames  and was quite glad  I did.

The organic gardens of Medlock Ames

I have wanted to check out Medlock Ames for awhile because they are on the forefront of the sustainability movement in the wine industry. This small production winery is 100% organically farmed and 100% solar-powered they advocate progressive, creative farming. The grounds are beautiful, with a gorgeous tasting room and patio, as well as lush organic gardens. You can taste their organic produce at the wine club parties, I think I need to go back and join the wine club because the menus for these parties sound fantastic! Medlock Ames is the perfect last stop on your wine tasting agenda because they have a bar, called Alexander Valley Bar, attached to the winery that opens up once the winery closes and serves artisanal cocktails made with ingredients from the garden. This was the perfect spot for cocktail hour and it was nice to be able to spend more time at the winery without having to rush out right at 5 o’clock.

Swirling it on the porch of Medlock Ames

Enjoying the cocktails at Alexander Vally Bar

We headed back into town for dinner at Spoonbar, located in the H2 Hotel, right on the Healdsburg Square. Spoonbar is not your typical overpriced but underwhelming hotel restaurant. The local, seasonal menu is interesting and the wine list is extensive but our server and Swirl it! helped us maneuver through it and we ended up with a Simi Sauvignon Blanc, which was a perfect pairing. I chose Spoonbar because they are known for their creative cocktails and usually after a day of wine tasting I’m ready for something different, like a delicious gin fizz! Spoonbar has a famous burger so I will definitely be taking another trip up there. Also, one of my friends is now dating our waiter from that night, so I think he owes me a buger for making the reservation at Spoonbar, right?

The lovely Barosh sisters enjoying dinner at Spoonbar

Healdsburg has fantastic wine bars on the square that feature local wine so you can continue to taste the wines from Valley (even if you got a late start because your friend insisted on being smart at Stanford.) We went to check out Bergamot Alley, which didn’t have any local wine but Swirl it! recommended some great Italian wines for us. You should definitely hit up this spot on your next trip to Healdsburg, it was filled with locals so I felt cool for being there and promptly ruined any coolness by taking this picture.

Breakfast the next day was at Costeaux Bakery on the square and is the perfect carbo loading spot for those recovering from a day of wine tasting. Before hitting the road we make a quick, but necessary, stop in to Moustache Baked Goods. The cupcakes here really are worth the hype and the space is cute too.

Jules had to bring some Moustache cupcakes back to SoCal!

Healdsburg showed us a great time and is the perfect spot to enjoy the wine country even after all the wineries have closed. We will definitely be taking a Swirl it! team trip up to Healdsburg soon since there are SO many wineries that are on our “must try” list. Let us know if you have any Healdsburg suggestions for us.