When traveling, whether it be to wine country or elsewhere, there are typically a plethora of lodging choices. Where you stay can often “make or break” how much you enjoy the entire trip.
As we started planning for our upcoming trip to the Healdsburg area, we recalled that an old friend had mentioned that he had recently stayed at the Camellia Inn and had raved about it. As this is just one of the several properties under the umbrella of the Wilson Artisan Wineries, we checked out their website:
www.wilsonartisanwines.com/lodging
Besides the Camellia Inn, there are the Grape Leaf Inn, the Calderwood Inn and the Rockhouse Suites, all in Healdsburg, along with the Pinschower Inn just a little north in Cloverdale.
This is all watched over by Tim Polk, Certified Tourism Ambassador for Sonoma County and Reservations Supervisor for Wilson Artisan Wineries. Tim has lived in Sonoma County for over 25 years and loves to “guide folks to fantastic food, wine and touring experiences, based on their likes and desires.” He assists guests with finding the best Wilson housing option, then helps them with more concierge-related things such as: “suggesting local restaurants; guiding folks on how and where to make wine tasting appointments; giving recommendations for local wine tour companies/drivers; etc. I’ve helped folks plan four- and five-day trips that include picnics at Half Moon Bay to a day trip to Mendocino County to everything in between.”
Sometimes, though, you really want that wine country immersive experience of staying on a vineyard property. Who do you go to for that? Well, Tim Polk, of course.
The Wilsons have four vineyard properties from which to choose. The deLorimier Winery in Alexander Valley and Mazzocco Sonoma in the Dry Creek Valley both have three-bedroom cottages. Pezzi King, also in the Dry Creek Valley, has a four-bedroom guest house. Finally, and also in Dry Creek, is the two-bedroom KCV Estate (Kenneth Carl Vineyards Estate) House at what will soon to be the location of another Wilson project: the Kenneth Carl Winery (there is a story here to be told, for sure!).
Tim said “We don’t splash these around much online – we really want to make them most available to the Wilson winery club members…There is no online spot to check availability for the vineyard properties; you do have to reach out to us either via this email (reservations@wilsonartisanwines.com) or by calling us Mon- Fri at 707-395-0929, option 4.”
Still, they are definitely worth checking into – you might get lucky!
We had the good fortune recently to stay at Mazzocco Sonoma’s Briar Cottage and it definitely exceeded all of our expectations. It was a perfect base of operations for us, as we had already planned to spend some quality time with Mazzocco’s winemaker Antoine Favero [more on this to come] and was also conveniently located for us to explore the Dry Creek Valley and surrounding environs.
But you might not want to leave. Luxuriously appointed and with a beautiful patio facing the Briar vineyard, it is a great place to relax and take in the beauty of wine country. It is a just short drive to Healdsburg with its many wonderful restaurants, or you can just load up on supplies at a convenient market and take advantage of the full kitchen, dining room, and that patio. The only problem with Briar Cottage is it may spoil you for staying anywhere else.
Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.
