Napa & Sonoma Alone cover

United States · Available now

Napa & Sonoma
Alone

A solo travel guide for women 50 and over
By Jennifer Brandt

Napa's vines run between two low mountain ranges, while Sonoma is larger, looser and farmier. Book one or two tastings a day rather than six, and use counter seating for lunch.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99Read a sample

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

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Where you might stay

  • Area to considerNapa townworking city with a real downtown grid

Two places to eat alone

  • Oxbow Public MarketShared tables make a party of one unremarkable.
  • Cole's Chop HouseA proper bar suits a solo steakhouse dinner.

SAMPLE

Two Valleys, Not One

People say “wine country” as though Napa and Sonoma were a single destination with two exits off the highway. They are not. Napa Valley is compact, famous, and increasingly formal: a long, narrow run of vines between two low mountain ranges, with a tasting-room economy built around appointments, tasting fees, and a fairly polished idea of what a visit should look like. Sonoma County is larger, looser, and more agricultural in feel: it grows grapes and apples, makes cheese, raises chickens, and has a town square that dates from before California was a state. You can have a wonderful week in either. You should not assume they are the same week.

A free excerpt from Napa & Sonoma Alone.

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Wine Country Dining Practicalities

Reservations matter more here than the casual wine-country image suggests. The better-known restaurants in Yountville, Healdsburg and St. Helena book out weeks ahead in high season, and even the plaza wine bars fill their counter seats on weekend evenings. Book ahead where you can, and when a restaurant’s website does not show availability, call and ask specifically about a counter or bar seat for one. Many rooms hold a few back from online booking.

Tasting-room lunches and dinners both tend to run on a more leisurely schedule than a city restaurant, closer to Napa’s own unhurried pace than to a business-lunch clock; build slack into a day that includes both a winery visit and a restaurant booking, since one nearly always runs longer than planned.

A free excerpt from Napa & Sonoma Alone.

Inside this book

  • Napa & Sonoma Await
  • A Region Shaped by History
  • Planning & Getting Around
  • The Solo Woman’s Wine Country
  • Choosing Your Base: Eight Towns
  • Days in Wine Country
View the chapter contents
  • Napa & Sonoma Await
  • A Region Shaped by History
  • Planning & Getting Around
  • The Solo Woman’s Wine Country
  • Choosing Your Base: Eight Towns
  • Days in Wine Country
  • Art, Culture & Creativity
  • The Pleasures of the Table
  • Evenings, Quietly
  • Retail Therapy
  • Beyond the Valleys: Day Trips
  • At the Tasting Counter: Words and Questions

BUY THE GUIDE

Napa & Sonoma Alone

Napa's vines run between two low mountain ranges, while Sonoma is larger, looser and farmier. Book one or two tastings a day rather than six, and use counter seating for lunch.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

Instant download · Secure checkout by Payhip

THE GUIDE + YOUR OWN PLANS

Ready to settle your plans?

Which base? Yountville, St. Helena or Sonoma Plaza. The kit plans a first evening in each.

See inside the Napa & Sonoma kit →
A page from the free sample of the Napa & Sonoma kitRead the free 3-page sample (PDF) →
Do I need the kit as well?

No. The guide stands on its own. The kit is a separate, optional pack of decisions, day plans and a booking list. Read the free 3-page sample to see whether it suits the way you plan.

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