Everyone thinks that traveling with an infant is simple, but that opinion changes as the child begins to walk. With the lifting of restrictions in California and our new baby in tow, I wanted to take advantage of that brief window and go on a road trip that I’d been wanting to dordle take ever since I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to go wine tasting through Sonoma, the laid-back county that is adjacent to Napa.
Cut to scene of three-month-old Indah resting on a minimalist wood table and staring up in happy amazement at a Louis Poulsen artichoke necklace while her dad and I move incredibly fragile wine glasses out of her reach. Indah is surrounded by her dad and me as we do this. They have in their hands three different single-vineyard pinot noirs and a chardonnay from the renowned Sonoma winery The Donum Estate, which has been operating for over 20 years. We are currently seated in the winery’s freshly reinvented private tasting area, which was created by David Thulstrup. As gauzy light seeps in through broad windows, it catches Indah’s delicate silk of blonde hair and we try to pry ceviche and braised pork belly bits away from her inquisitive fingers. Our little one was sound asleep on my chest as she was carried in her Baby Bjorn as we took in the sights of the shimmering vineyards and the world-class modern sculpture collection at Donum.
We marveled at Doug Aitken’s colossal wind chime as we made our way through the rolling green topography, and Gao Weigang’s linear brass maze caused us to become disoriented. The sculpture “Big Moma” by Richard Hudson, which is a black marble fountain shaped like four breasts erupting water, struck a chord with me on a personal level. There was no other work of art that was more appropriate for this specific point in my life when I was breastfeeding my baby for the first time. After a six-hour journey from Los Angeles, we arrived at the chic white Donum House, where I learned my first lesson about traveling through wine country with a nursing infant: Baby wearing is the greatest method to disguise unpleasant leakage. (Or you could learn from my oversight and start using nursing pads.)
Before the carefully arranged taste, which was an activity I’d run by our lactation specialist and doctor, I fed Indah in our nice private place. The first study suggests that nursing is safe between two and three hours after consuming a typical glass of wine (five ounces). Our pediatrician had a more relaxed stance, stating that one drink consumed every hour should not affect a person’s ability to metabolize alcohol normally. However, she did caution against purchasing alcohol test strips. After using mouthwash, some people claim that there is alcohol in the milk that you drink.
My excitement and nervousness about attending my first wine tasting after having a baby were about equal in intensity. Out of an abundance of caution, I only tasted half of each estate wine, and I reluctancely let my husband to consume the other portion of the wine. I spent the next six days in Sonoma, visiting unique biodynamic wineries such as DaVero Farms & Winery, Truett Hurst, and Donum, as well as Lambert Bridge (where Indah perfected her face for looking like a milk-drunk baby), and during that time I realized how important it is to savor every last drop. Also necessary is self-control. Being part of the team that was responsible for Indah meant that wine country was no longer about going to extremes but rather about practicing moderation.
We spent the majority of our time on this excursion exploring Healdsburg, a quaint town located in the northern part of Sonoma County. Healdsburg is nestled up against the Russian River and is known for its incredible chefs and skilled winemakers who use precise alchemy to produce exceptional pinot noirs and chardonnays. I went back and forth between wanting to quaff glasses of these nicely aged nectars and being content with the unexpectedly wide selection of non-alcoholic beverages available to me. While Indah strained her neck to view the lace-like leaf canopy sway above her as she dined alfresco at Barndiva one night, I was perfectly content matching my honey- and lavender-topped molten fried goat cheese balls with jewel-toned pinot noir juice that was cultivated just up north.
When traveling to wine country with a young child, it is important to be aware of your capabilities and avoid scheduling too many tastings or events in a single day. (Post-breakfast, pre-tasting vinyasa flow? As if.) Take it from someone who has a reputation for being overly ambitious with their schedule: stick with one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Additionally, if you want to have the greatest possible experience, make reservations in advance at wineries and note that you have a baby. The more I thought about it, the less I felt like I was missing out on anything, and the more I viewed it as an opportunity to take my time and appreciate the world through Indah’s unbiased perspective. Make time in your schedule to pump; knowing that I had a full bottle of breast milk on hand gave me the confidence that my kid would be okay even if I accidentally drank too much of it. However, we did not bring along enough water for ourselves, which was a significant mistake considering how simple it is to become dehydrated while wine tasting and how much more difficult it is to do so when breastfeeding a child at the same time.
Just a few steps away from the square in Healdsburg that is shaded by redwood and Bradford pears is where we spent the first few nights of our trip sleeping well at the eco-friendly, bamboo-fringed boutique hotel Harmon Guest House. As it turned out, our large room that was accessible to those with disabilities was ideal for using strollers, bassinets, and for washing infants. It is also a superb home base, located merely minutes by foot from sampling rooms (the Marine Layer’s tasting room is not to be missed), as well as meals (see foodie meccas The Matheson and Little Saint). This was especially helpful during an outdoor dinner at Spoonbar, where I’ve never tasted vegetables with more vibrancy or chicken with more juice, when the wind picked up, and my husband ran a shivering and crying Indah back to our room to warm up while I waited on a fluffy lemon cheesecake to go. This was especially helpful during an outdoor dinner at Spoonbar, where I’ve never tasted vegetables with more vibrancy or chicken with more juice.
In my head, I was a wine country mama, and I was wearing a straw hat, a boho dress, and I was nursing Indah in the middle of verdant vines that were bursting with grapes. That did not occur, but many times I found myself feeding her in the car in the fifteen minutes before a tasting appointment, with a wild and Edenic vineyard in view — such as at DaVero, where we sampled little-known Italian varietals such as Sagrantino in a wonderland of golden willow trees. This was the case at DaVero. A helpful hint is to make nursing more comfortable by transporting a nursing cushion and diaper bag in the car with you every day. Additionally, you should always plan to arrive at your destination thirty minutes earlier than you need to. (This was particularly exciting for my husband, who is always early and is always hyperorganized.)
At Bricoleur Vineyards, a family-owned winery with a massive reclaimed wood barn, ponds, and giant white ducks to feed, I spotted two other moms with even tinier babes also sampling delectable plant-to-plate bites alongside aromatic viognier and cherry cola–spiced pinot noir. Bricoleur Vineyards is a family-owned winery with a massive reclaimed wood barn, ponds, and giant white Participating in bocce, indulging in wood-fired pizza, sipping rosé, and enjoying picnics are all activities that may fill a whole day with joy for a family. Another afternoon, we spent in a breezy pavilion in the terraced gardens outside of Flowers’ new tasting area drooling over the exquisite Moon Select chardonnay while Indah just plain drooled. Our host offered to cradle her while painting romantic pictures of feathery tannic finishes and oregano scents.
The natural, laid-back atmosphere of Sonoma was also present at our next destination, the Montage Healdsburg, which is a newly opened resort that is sophisticated, earthy, and not in the least way stuffy. While I was having a glass of large, bold Sonoma zinfandel with my gorgeous host, Jenn, I found out for sure that Indah had a third-degree blowout while I was in the middle of my wine-drinking experience. When I took Indah down to Scout Field Bar, I made the rookie mistake of leaving the diaper bag in our suite with a view of the forest, which was located high up on the hill. If this was a test, then the five-star Montage passed it with flying colors, and I got to see how they handle really messy situations: with a stack of (luckily) slate grey cotton napkins, sparkling water (for my stained dress), and a lightning-fast golf cart departure. Never, ever leave the house without at least one diaper, a pack of wipes, and possibly an extra set of clothes for both you and your child.
