The Holiday and Travel Magazine: Recent Sonoma County Awards and Accolades

Thursday 7 September 2023

Recent Sonoma County Awards and Accolades

Forestville’s Farmhouse Inn
Two Sonoma County properties with superior service and pristine natural settings excelled in Travel + Leisure’s annual “World’s Best Awards” survey for 2023. 165,000 T + L readers included Healdsburg’s Madrona and Forestville’s Farmhouse Inn on their prestigious list of 15 Favorite U.S. Resorts of 2023.
Wine Spectator unveiled the 2023 Restaurant Awards winners, which honors the world's best restaurants for wines. Sonoma County restaurants “Best of” Award of Excellence winners include The Matheson, Dry Creek Kitchen, Little Saint, and Wit & Wisdom at The Lodge at Sonoma. Award of Excellence winners include Valette and Salt & Stone. The Grand Award Winner was Healdsburg’s SingleThread.
Sonoma County was recently named among the most incredible places to visit in California by travel show host Samantha Brown on her PBS television show, Samantha Brown’s Places to Love. Samantha calls out Sebastopol’s California Carnivores – the largest and most reputable carnivorous plant nursery in the U.S. – and Safari West, the Sonoma Serengeti.
Online restaurant reservation and review platform Open Table has included two Sonoma County restaurants, El Dorado Kitchen and the girl & the fig on their 2023 list of the Most Popular Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in America. The list highlights spots offering delicious food, beautiful views, and above all, memorable outdoor dining experiences.
With its unique appeal and charm, according to World Atlas Healdsburg is one of the “9 Friendliest Towns in Northern California.”
The MICHELIN Guide has named John Schafer, Director of Operations at SingleThread, as the 2023 California Service Award Winner. The Healdsburg staple is known for its innovative farm-to-table approach and is recognized as an industry leader in guest hospitality.
Katie Jackson, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at Jackson Family Wines has been named as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “15 Game Changers Who Are Reshaping the Way We Eat and Drink in 2023.” She has been recognized for her Rooted for Good initiative, which pushes four company goals—ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion; reducing water use; transitioning the Jackson Family vineyards to regenerative farming; and becoming climate positive by 2050.
The July 2023 edition of Wine Spectator profiled 11 sites that set the benchmark for “California’s Best Chardonnay Vineyards.” Sangiacomo Family Vineyards, with 1095 acres of chardonnay grapes in Sonoma County tops the prestigious list.
Sonoma County’s Bib Gourmands awards were announced for 2023, following the July release of the annual California Michelin Guide. Receiving the awards were Healdsburg’s Chalkboard; El Molino Central, Valley Bar & Bottle and FolkTable in Sonoma; Khom Loi and Ramen Gaijin in Sebastopol, Stockhome in Petaluma, and Glen Ellen Star in Glen Ellen. The lineup of eight eateries is considered by Michelin Guide to be restaurants with “good food at a moderate price.”
Jordan Vineyard and Winery has made the 2023 World’s 50 Best Vineyards list. Ranked at #20, the Healdsburg winery was recognized as a “continent winner,” or the top vineyard in North America. It was the only Sonoma County winery to make the list this year and only one of two U.S. wineries in the top 50.
The results of the 2023 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards were recently announced. Congratulation to our Sonoma County partners that represent 11 of the winners selected by USA Today readers from across the United States. Best Wine Country Hotel: #10 - Boon Hotel + Spa, Best Wine Festival #10 - Taste of Sonoma, Best Wine Tasting Room #3 - Corner 103, #9 Benziger Family Winery, Best Wine Tour Company #10 - Pure Luxury Transportation, Best Winery Restaurant #7 - The J Bubble Room at J Vineyards & Winery, Best Winery Tour #3 - Benziger Family Winery, #4 - Merriam Vineyards, #5 - Cline Family Cellars, #8 - Gundlach Bundschu Winery, #10 - The Donum Estate.
Recognized for their commitment to clean and regenerative farming practices and growing varieties that preserve the culture and history of Sonoma County and American agriculture, the Culinary Farm at St. Francis Winery and Vineyards has been awarded the 'Snail of Approval' by Slow Food Sonoma County.
The book "Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the ‘Peanuts’ Creator in 100 Objects," published last year, earned the 2023 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book. Inspired by Charles Schulz's recent centennial, the book offers a comprehensive look at the cartoonist's life and work through 100 objects from the Schulz Museum's collection, including original artwork, letters, and personal belongings.
Pushpak Tours
Pushpak Historic Sonoma Wine Tour has been recognized as a Viator Experience Award winner for Beverage Tours in North America. Viator is the world’s largest travel experiences marketplace with more than 300,000 bookable tours, activities, and excursions. The Viator Experience Awards ranks the world’s top experiences based on average review ratings, share of bookings with a review, and number of bookings on Viator over a 12-month period from travelers around the world—setting the bar for the best things to do and see.