Little humans as well as parents and four-legged family companions will enjoy an outing to a winery with things to do besides sample fruit of the vine. These three are in Sonoma County, but you’re sure to find others close to where you live.
• Fidgety kids don’t have to sit still at Paradise Ridge Winery, where a two-story LOVE sculpture greets guests at the entrance and footpaths lead from surprise to surprise in its Marijke’s Grove, a four-acre sculpture exhibit in a grove of gnarly oaks. There’s more art near the tasting room, providing lots of stroll, sip and look opportunities.
• A school field trip to a winery? Yep. Each year, more than 4,000 children (most of them fourth-graders studying California history) visit Cline Cellars to see the California Mission Museum, created in 2005 to house 21 models of Spanish missions built to scale and first exhibited in 1939 at the Treasure Island World’s Fair. Bring a picnic and enjoy it at a table on the spacious grounds outside, and don’t miss the carp pond and aviary. (Dogs are not allowed in the museum or tasting room, so prepare to swap off when necessary.)
• Is there an kid in the world who doesn’t like animals? Pull up to Larson Family Winery, and you’ll be greeted by resident sheep and pygmy goats. Out back are a bocce ball court, horseshoe pits, picnic tables, games and ride-on toys to entertain the kids while parents sip, swirl and relax. BYO picnic and make an afternoon of it.
Photo Credit: @lord_bernard_
