Fall in Sonoma Valley: Major Michelin Stars, a Great Pumpkin Milestone and a New Wave of Tasting Rooms
Día de Muertos ofrendas, a 60th-anniversary Peanuts celebration, a restaurant in a historic post office and new ways to taste define the season
SONOMA, Calif. – Fall in Sonoma Valley arrives with a Michelin milestone and a calendar made for storytelling. Enclos Sonoma has risen from two stars to three, the only restaurant to earn that distinction at the 2026 Bay Area Michelin Guide awards. A new restaurant has opened in a historic former post office on Sonoma Plaza, and the season’s events range from Día de Muertos ofrendas at Jack London State Historic Park to the 60th anniversary of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
And it won’t be long till Sonoma is transformed for the holidays. Sonoma Valley’s holiday season kicks off with two festive evenings on the Sonoma Plaza. On November 21, the Lighting of the Sonoma Plaza, billed as the “brightest evening in Sonoma Wine Country,” brings thousands of twinkling lights to the Plaza’s tree, along with live music, performances by local artists and special guests, and food trucks, starting at 5:00 p.m.. Visitors can enjoy wine, beer, cider, and cookies, make dinner of the Plaza’s offerings, get a head start on holiday shopping, and celebrate the season with family and friends. The fourth annual Lighted Tractor Parade, hosted by the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance with the City of Sonoma, rolls around the Plaza’s perimeter on Saturday, November 28, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Guests can watch the glowing procession of decorated tractors while sipping Sonoma Valley wine.
Below, the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau shares what’s new this fall and winter, with links for planning coverage and visits.
Fall Events and Culture
Día de Muertos at Jack London State Historic Park (Oct. 4 – Nov. 6). Jack London State Historic Park presents two ofrendas in the House of Happy Walls Museum. The Legacy Ofrenda honors Jack London, Charmian London and others tied to the property’s history, reflecting their partnership, writing, travels and life at Beauty Ranch. The Community Ofrenda is participatory: visitors can add a small photograph, written name, memory, drawing or message honoring someone who has passed, including a beloved pet. Park entrance is $15 per vehicle.
Great Pumpkin 60th Anniversary Event (Saturday, Oct. 17, 1–5 p.m.). The Charles M. Schulz Museum marks 60 years of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with special guests, live music, crafts and costume and mustache contests. Jason Mendelson and Sean Mendelson of Lee Mendelson Film Productions share behind-the-scenes stories and an analysis of Vince Guaraldi’s first spooky Peanuts score. The special screens on the museum’s big screen, and Sixth Station Piano Trio performs. Cost is included in museum admission.
Blanket Statements: The Philosophies of Linus (through March 10, 2027). The same museum’s exhibition explores Linus’s reflections on life, happiness, faith and existential uncertainty, with original comic strips, vintage products, animation cels and photo-ops.
Pumpkin season at Larson Family Winery. The Larson Family Winery Pumpkin Patch is bigger this year and adds a brand-new Gourd Walk. Pumpkins and gourds are for sale throughout October, alongside wine tasting and family activities.
Pop-up fine art at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The resort has opened a pop-up gallery in its former Big 3 retail space at Highway 12 and Boyes Blvd. Curated by Sonoma County gallerist Lori Austin, it features an ever-changing collection of contemporary paintings by regional artists.
Wineries, Tasting Rooms and Dining
Dead Letter opens on Sonoma Plaza. Led by restaurateurs Sondra Bernstein and John Toulze and executive chef Jeremy Zimmerman of the girl & the fig, Dead Letter is open in a historic former post office. The 65-seat restaurant serves an evolving Northern California menu built on seasonal ingredients, seafood and binchotan charcoal-grilled meats and vegetables. Original stone walls, contemporary artwork and an immersive digital gallery set the scene for holiday dining.
Stone Edge Farm opens La Maison. Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards & Winery has debuted La Maison, its first public tasting room, minutes from Sonoma Plaza. The appointment-only space pairs Moon Mountain District wines with the estate’s regenerative farming philosophy in a residential-style setting. It also deepens the link to Enclos-Sonoma, Chef Brian Limoges’ nearby restaurant, where small plates are paired with Stone Edge Farm wines and the estate’s gardens and farm supply produce.
Secrets of Sonoma at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards. On the winery’s outdoor vineyard portico, Secrets of Sonoma – Culinary Wine Pairings of Self-Discovery pairs five wines with a seasonal mezze of eight dips. The 90-minute, self-guided experience runs daily from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and welcomes parties of 2 to 12.
Anaba Wines adds a sparkling Albariño. Anaba Wines introduces a special tasting flight that presents its alcohol-removed sparkling Albariño on its own, then three ways with seasonal mixers from friends at Land + Local in Healdsburg.
Sol Rei Winery, new off the Plaza. Sol Rei Winery has released its 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, and its 2025 Chardonnay is available to Founder’s Club members. The winery ships to 16 states plus California and will host quarterly live remote tastings timed to Founder’s Club shipments.
Awards and Recognition
- Three Michelin stars for Enclos Sonoma. Enclos Sonoma rose from two stars to three, the only restaurant to earn that distinction at the 2026 Bay Area Michelin Guide awards. It entered the guide with two stars in 2025, only six months after opening.
- Bib Gourmand 2026. The Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand Selection 2026, honoring high-quality cuisine at more accessible prices, includes El Molino Central, Valley Bar + Bottle and Glen Ellen Star.
- Top 10 Bay Area Museums. The San Francisco Chronicle named the Charles M. Schulz Museum and the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County to its Top 10 Bay Area Museums
Looking Ahead and Getting There
Redwood Aerial Adventure. Sonoma Zipline Adventures’ 40,000-square-foot ropes and challenge course is expected to open in spring 2027, with reservations accepted this winter. Set on a forested hillside above a creek and redwood valley, it will offer 17 aerial challenges, four sky bridges, four traverse elements and four routes of varying difficulty, all on a continuous safety system. The most advanced route ends in a rappel to the forest floor, and a separate netted play zone with four challenges is designed for younger children. It is built for families, corporate retreats and educational groups.
New nonstop flights to Santa Rosa. Southwest Airlines is expanding nonstop service between Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) and Denver and Austin. Seasonal Saturday service to and from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has begun, and Denver service is ramping up to five days a week, with near-daily flights over Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. Alaska Airlines has launched seasonal nonstop service between Palm Springs and STS, operating daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays through April 25, 2027.
About Sonoma Valley, California
Located in the heart of Northern California wine country, Sonoma Valley is a 17-mile long area within Sonoma County, and encompasses the city of Sonoma and the villages of Carneros, The Springs, Glen Ellen, and Kenwood. The birthplace of the state of California, as well as the state’s wine industry, the year-round destination is home to more than 100 premium wineries, 85 percent of which are family owned. For more information, visit SonomaValley.com, or follow us on Instagram at @sonoma_valley, and on Facebook at @ExperienceSonomaValley.
Note to editors: Photos of many of the businesses mentioned are available at https://sonomavalley.smugmug.com/. If you need something else, let us know and we will do our best to get it for you.