Historic Wineries
Historic Winery Directory
Historic wineries of the sonoma valley
The beautiful and historic Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of California’s wine industry. In this unique tour, an expert local historian will accompany your group as we taste delicious wine at two or three Historic Wineries. We will also tour the Historic Sonoma Plaza, the San Francisco Solano Mission and the Sonoma Barracks. Your local historian guide will provide a comprehensive overview of local history, and tell amazing stories of wine families and viticulture, along with tales of General Vallejo and the Mission era.
Buena Vista Winery
Founded by Count Agosthon Haraszthy in 1857, Buena Vista is the oldest premium winery in California. The original stone winery is now a California Historic Landmark, and home to the Tasting Room and Visitor’s Center. You will hear the amazing story of Count Haraszthy, the first Hungarian to emigrate to the United States. In 1861 the Count journeyed to Europe and returned to California with over 100,000 cuttings of fine European varietals. Buena Vista now uses exclusively Carneros district fruit, and is the largest vineyard owner in this chosen “cool-climate” region; perfect for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Extraordinary wine.
Gundlach-Bundschu Winery
2008 marks the Gundlach Bundschu Sesquicentennial – the 150th Anniversary of the oldest family-owned winery in California. The founder: Jacob Gundlach, was a well-known author and poet, whose letters about the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire are regarded as the finest original accounts of this disaster. You will hear his story, and taste delicious estate grown wine in a glorious winery setting, nestled up against the Mayacamas Mountains.
Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery
The history of Sebastiani Vineyards extends all the way back to 1825, when its Mission Vineyard was founded by Franciscan fathers of the nearby San Francisco Solano Mission. It is the oldest vineyard north of San Francisco. Still family owned and operated today, Sebastiani Winery was founded by Samuele Sebastiani in 1904. We will visit the original stone winery building, taste wonderful wine, and view the largest redwood barrel in the world!
Bartholemew Park Winery
Currently owned by Gundlach-Bundschu, Bartholemew Park was part of Count Haraszthy’s wine empire. We will tour the comprehensive history museum, taste delicious vineyard-specific wine, and enjoy the extensive gardens surrounding the tasting room.
Sonoma Plaza and San Francisco Solano Mission
No history tour would be complete without a stop at the beautiful and historic Sonoma Plaza, and a tour of the 21st Mission. Many original adobe buildings still line the Plaza, the largest in California. Renowned as the “Bear Flag City,” you will hear the true story of the Bear Flag Revolt. We will also tour Sonoma State Historic Park, which includes the San Francisco Solano Mission and Sonoma Barracks.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
More information about our custom tours can be found on our Private Wine Tours FAQ page.
Platypus Tours also offers Hispanic Winery Tours.
Cline Cellars
Cline Family Cellars is a family-owned and operated winery in Sonoma, California, built on a passion for winemaking and rooted in respect for the land.
Clos du Val
For more than 45 years, Clos du Val has been recognized for the character, complexity and ageworthiness of its wines.
Clos Pegase
Clos Pegase is one of the great architectural wonders of Napa Valley. Within the award-winning, Michael Graves designed winery are 20,000 square feet of caves dug into the volcanic knoll that is immediately behind their winery. The wines range from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to warmer climate Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends showcasing the full range of Napa Valley. Learn about the winemaking process on tours through their winery production area or enjoy elevated food and wine pairings in their manmade wine cave. Clos Pegase Winery is both an awe-inspiring and welcoming destination.
Conn Creek
Conn Creek has committed to Bordeaux style red wines produced from grapes sourced from some of the finest vineyards in the Napa Valley. Conn Creek is also one of the first wineries in the valley to commit to green building practices.
Constant Vineyard
Fall 2016 brought change once again, and CONSTANT Diamond Mountain Vineyard entered a new chapter as Aries Liu and Sai You became the property’s caretakers. As Aries and Sai look to the future of the vineyard and winery, CONSTANT remains committed, now more than ever, to producing some of Napa Valley’s best Bordeaux varietals. CONSTANT wines are elegant and rich, at once powerful yet restrained. The unique microclimate at the very top of Diamond Mountain provides grapes with optimal sun exposure and elongated ripening periods, allowing Hobbs and the CONSTANT team to make exceptional wines, perfectly representing the stunning and unique mountain site in every bottle. Available by allocation only, CONSTANT wines remain some of the most sought-after in the Napa Valley.
Continuum Estate
Vinves, wines and people have a lot in common; the good get better with time. A great wine should have balance and interest at every age, Delicious in its youth, Continuum has firm supple tannins, richness and length. With age, this wine will evolve to express greater nuance, delicacy and interest.
Corison
Named one of the ten top Napa wineries to visit by Decanter Magazine, Corison specializes in Cabernet Sauvignons with power and elegance.
Cosentino Winery
Located at the “Gateway” to the Napa Valley, Cosentino’s tasting room and its ivy-covered façade is one of Napa Valley’s most recognized properties in the highly regarded appellation of Oakville.
Crocker & Starr
The 100 acre estate in St. Helena is on the location of the historic Dowdell & Sons Winery. The sustainably farmed vineyards have been continuously farmed since 1870. Pam Starr designs the wines to express the extraordinary terrior of this incredible location.
Cuvaison Winery
touAn early pioneer of the Los Carneros region, Cuvaison has championed vibrant and vineyard-driven expressions of exceptional cool-climate wines since1962. They specialize in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Dakota Shy Winery
From carefully selected vineyards, produced in very small quantities and artfully crafted to reflect a sense of place, Dakota Shy wines are a testament to Napa Valley’s reputation for producing the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines in the world.
Darioush
“Show your dreams to others” is a Persion proverb and it clearly is the motto of Darioush Khaledi, proprietor of this visually stunning winery.
