How To Plan Your Perfect Day Trip To Sonoma: Kunde Family Winery

Not every winery near Sonoma can offer a mountaintop tasting where you’ll enjoy delicious wines overlooking the vines. Like what I did there? Haha! Spend some time at Kunde Family Winery during your day trip to Sonoma and do just that!

After an epic, but exhausting 4 days in Yosemite National Park, take some time to relax and enjoy the slow pace of California Wine Country. Learn more about our experience below. This adventure is part of our 2 week national park itinerary through California.

Need to Know Info

• It’s recommended that you book your tour early for a mountaintop tasting. This is a small group tour and may sell out during busy times. Get your reservations here!
• Kunde Family Winery is located near Kenwood, CA, just 20 minutes north of Sonoma, CA.
• If you are planning your trip, check out the details below on proximity to airports and cities:
  • The closest airport to Sonoma, CA, with commercial service is the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport. This airport is about 50 minutes from Sonoma, CA, or 30 minutes from Kunde Family Winery.
    • Other nearby airports include San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport.
  • How far is Sonoma from San Francisco? It’s a little over 1 hour. If you don’t mind driving, an airport near San Francisco will most likely be the most cost-effective way to go.

Kunde Family Winery Mountaintop Tasting

A day trip to Sonoma, including the mountaintop tasting, is one of our favorites! The tour and tasting are about two hours long. As you arrive at the winery, check in with the staff, enjoy a welcome glass of wine, and mill around the grounds outside overlooking the water as you wait for the rest of your group to arrive.

Wine Cave

First, make your way into the wine cave with your tour group. The cave is carved right into the mountain and contains thousands of barrels of Kunde Wines! This is such a cool location where you’ll learn about the history of this family winery and what goes into managing a wine cave of this magnitude. It really looks like the barrels go on forever!

Tour the Vineyard

Next, you’ll head over to Kunde’s air-conditioned van, which will transport you through the winery. As you drive through the vineyards, your tour guide will stop to talk about the history of the grapes. Some of the vines are original, and some are new! Kunde Family Winery was even the setting of a movie called Bottle Shock. Have you seen it?

Mountaintop Tasting

Afterward, the van will arrive at the top of the mountain, 1,400 feet above the gorgeous hills of the Sonoma Valley. From here, take your seats at the overlook and get ready for some delicious wines and a charcuterie board to go with them!

Some of the offerings here include a merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and more. Our favorites were the Magnolia Lane Sauvignon Blanc and Reserve Zinfandel!

Finally, your tour will conclude back at the winery estate where you’ll enjoy one last taste of a Kunde signature wine, and you’ll be offered the chance to purchase some bottles to ship or take home with you.

➡️ Read next: Ultimate Muir Woods Day Trip

Where to Stay

If you’ve been following our 2-week tour around California, then you know that we stayed near Novato, CA, for the last leg of our trip. It is a great midpoint for visiting wine country and San Francisco. If you stay in Novato, we recommend getting an Airbnb or staying at the Best Western Plus Novato Oaks Inn.

If you want to extend your day trip to Sonoma and stay longer, here are some great options to stay in Sonoma, CA!

• Macarthur Place Hotel & Spa – newly renovated in the heart of Sonoma, but pricey!
• The Lodge at Sonoma Resort, Autograph Collection – a boutique hotel with beautiful grounds and an amazing pool.
• Inn at Sonoma, A Four Sisters Inn – close to Sonoma Plaza, and breakfast included.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed Kunde Family Winery during our day trip to Sonoma! The mountaintop was an epic way to spend an afternoon sipping on some great local wines. Our tour guide was excellent, and we learned a lot about what goes into running a full-time winery.

The most interesting thing that we learned is that though the vines have irrigation systems set up, they are rarely used even in hot and dry weather. If you only have one winery to choose from during your day trip to Sonoma, this is it!

Be ready for the upsell at the end of the tour, but know this is all just optional. We chose to have a few bottles shipped to us to enjoy after our vacation. The only thing missing will be the great California weather and the panoramic mountaintop views.