Time magazine’s personal finance site MONEY recently released a list of the top 10 cities in the U.S. for drinking beer, wine, and any other alcoholic beverage that wets your whistle. In order to make the top 10, the site evaluated over 2,000 data points from over 60 of the most popular U.S. destinations and then selected cities that offer a high proportion of bars, breweries and wineries at an affordable price.
With such a distinguished list of drinking destinations, let’s raise a glass to the town coming in at number 8: Sonoma.
(It is worth noting that MONEY refers to the town of Sonoma and Sonoma County almost interchangeably – but on closer inspection it appears as if they did intend to give the number 8 spot to the town of Sonoma).
While deemed an expensive destination (“a week for two will set you back almost $3,200”), Sonoma made the list thanks to the sheer amount of wine drinking locations available to visitors. MONEY recommends visitors “make time to check out Sonoma’s Plaza—the old adobe storefronts house trendy boutiques and restaurants” and visit Keller Estate in Petaluma and Trombetta Family Wines in Forestville. We were a little disappointed to see that MONEY failed to mention the many local breweries, cideries and distilleries. After all, there’s more than wine to Sonoma (County)!
Claiming the top spot on the list is a city that seems to be featured on every top ten list as of late, Portland, Oregon. MONEY mentions Oregon’s Willamette Valley, famous for its world-class pinot noir and chardonnay, as a top drinking destination. Portland also has an impressive beer and cider scene on tap for those looking for something other than wine.
