Girl and the Fig and Eldorado Kitchen are two of our favorite eating spots on the Square. Many tasting rooms close too including Sbragia, Kamen, Walt, and Westwood Cellars (all on the Square). Ravenswood is a short drive. Quarry Hill Botanical Gardens are not far out of town either (on the road to Healdsburg). Many great walking paths here as well as lovely plantings. The road to the garden is littered with wineries including Arrowood and St Jean. As you go further north you pass many of the great Zinfandel houses including St Anne's Crossing. Enjoy!

Be sure to enjoy the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma Plaza (historic), Buena Vista Winery, dinner or lunch at Swiss Hotel, Sweet Scoops, and yes Wine and food pairiing at St. Francis Winery if you can get in.

We actually drove an hour north to Ferrari-Carano and timed it so we would arrive when they opened their tasting room. Very nice views and the wines are wonderful ($15 to taste 5 wines). Gorgeous gardens! And near there is Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves. The tasting room is in a cave structure and the wines are fantastic. Francis Ford Coppola is also up that way. So, we started north and drove south, back to Sonoma stopping at wineries along the way (some just to take pictures and admire the views). If you want to stay closer to Sonoma (say between Santa Rosa and Sonoma): Chateau St. Jean is a wonderful winery with beautiful gardens with tables and chairs, as well as a gorgeous stand of redwoods. Hopefully, none of those sustained fire damage last year! I would go by Ledson Winery just to see the mansion and grounds (it was getting late and we did not do a tasting there, although I think it's rather expensive). St. Francis Winery is also very beautiful. VJB Winery. All 4 of these wineries are very close to one another. All were around $15 to taste (except Ledson which, I think, is $30). However, you can split tastings between two poeple, which turns out to be really nice! I know you said you prefer red blends but, if you have time Gloria Ferrer is 10 min. south of dowtown Sonoma. Their specialty is sparkling wines. They also have wine caves that you can tour and a patio with sweeping views of their vineyards. Downtown Sonoma: The Girl and The Fig is fantastic! I would also recommend reservations. We did not have them, but got lucky and were able to sit in the lounge area on couches and eat. Hope this helps - it's a lot! I would sit down with Google Maps and map out your route that way.

Gloria Ferrer was excellent! We got a lovely Uberdriver who took us around for a few hours so we could both taste without worrying about driving. His name was Eli 707-695-2153 Sonoma was nicer than Napa! Enjoy!

The Sonoma town square has several tasting rooms that could give you a better idea of what vineyards to visit and it's a worthwhile destination in its own rite.

We stayed in an Airbnb just outside the city. Beautiful view of the valley and vineyard next door. Local host with good suggestions for the area. Quiet relaxing option

I definitely recommend the Sonoma area rather that Napa which is just too busy. I can't help with hotels, but Trip Advisor has many suggestions.

Hey there. I've lived in the valley for 40 years and hope I can be of some help here. First of all, there are some really nice wineries with lovely grounds within walking or bicycling distance from the center of Sonoma town. The Best Western on 2nd Street West is the most reasonable hotel, and it's a block away from the Plaza and across the street from Whole Foods and CVS Pharmacy. It is also across the street from where you want to rent your bikes at Wine Country Cyclery. Great guys! Now, within walking distance from the Plaza you have Sebastiani and Ravenswood Wineries. If you want to take a bit of a longer and beautiful walk, you can also visit Buena Vista and Bartholomew Wineries. You can bike to all of these. Also, within biking distance -- and another lovely ride -- is Gundlach-Bundschu Winery. Let me tell you a bit about the beautiful settings of these wineries. From Ravenswood and Sebastiani you can take a lovely ride or walk up Gehricke Road. Buena Vista and Bartholomew wineries have a gorgeous park adjacent to them with hiking trails, picnic grounds and a villa with cool historical photos of the Haraszthy wine dynasty. Gundlach-Bundschu is on Denmark Street and has lovely grounds and views. In addition to these great wineries, there are lots of nice tasting rooms right on the Plaza. Let's talk about food. On or around the Plaza, you have Italian, Himalayan, Indian, nouvelle cuisine, grilled, California cuisine, pub grub, burgers and several yummy cafés. You have the cheese factory for picnic goods, or Whole Foods across from the hotel. See? You don't have to hire a car or pay for a hired driver to enjoy Sonoma. And, you are coming at a gorgeous time of year. Walking and biking around town and the immediate environs, you will get an eyeful of autumn color from the vineyards and the thousands of trees that turn yellow, orange, red and purple. So, enjoy your visit!