Graton offers country living with big flavor and character
In one little package, the small country town of Graton contains some of Sonoma County’s best wineries and restaurants. Home to about 1,800 people and bisected north-south by the 116, lushly forested and grape-vined Graton is between the West County towns of Sebastopol and Forestville, 20 miles from the ocean. Within the town's 1.58 square-mile sprawl, the center of the low-key action is an over 1-block-long main street lined by local businesses in 19th-century storefronts.
A wine-focused town with standout food and a focus on the local
When the electric railway arrived here in the late 1880s, the Graton Road “downtown” greeted it with a small collection of businesses; railway aside, you’ll find that little has changed. Underwood Bistro is a countywide draw, a Paris-meets-California hotspot with red vinyl banquettes and a pendant-lit, nickel-topped bar. “This is a real wine industry hangout,” says longtime West County resident Mark Hilgenberg. “Talk to anyone at the bar, and you’ll probably find they either work for a winery or are the winemaker themselves. Underwood also has the hands-down best burger and frites in the county.” Across the street, you can linger over any meal of the day at sunny Willow Wood Market Café, where the piled-high sandwiches travel well at picnics; or nab a seat on the stone-paved side patio at casual, friendly Mexico Lindo, and tuck into some fresh guacamole or Oaxacan-style moles. You can shop at leisure for upscale, rustic-chic antiques at Mr. Ryder and Company, then explore paintings, prints and sculpture by community artists at Graton Gallery. You’ll do most of your grocery shopping at Andy’s Produce Market, a temple to local products from soup to nuts; for a quicker trip, though, you can stop in at much smaller but well-stocked Bill’s Market & Deli. And in the summer and fall, Hale’s Apple Farm is your go-to stop for heirloom apples, pumpkins and gourds.
Graton sits in the heart of the Green Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), where cool air and fog set the stage for great pinot noir and chardonnay. At laid-back main-street tasting rooms like Bowman Cellars, you're likely to find your next favorite wine, as well as make local friends who can help you get your bearings. Other area wineries include Dutton-Goldfield, Emeritus and Merry Edwards, all especially revered for their vineyard-specific pinot noirs.
Vintage homes set among the scenic, pastoral views of Sonoma County
Back when those storefronts were new, Graton was made up of small farming communities like Vine Hill and Peachland, names you’ll still see on street signs here. Aside from a small grid of homes near that main street, the town’s mostly mid-sized, well-tended houses are perched beside country lanes, on lots of often an acre or more; wherever there isn’t a building, field or vineyard, there’s sure to be redwoods, pines and live oaks. You’ll see a mix of early 20th-century cottages and bungalows, as well as midcentury ranch-style houses, often with established gardens and fruit trees, plus decks or patios for outdoor entertaining. Single-family homes average $1 million, while a 3-bedroom, 2-bath unit at the 55+ Blue Spruce Motor Home Lodge costs about $225,000.
Outdoor spaces include golf, gardens and walking paths
There are no official parks here, but that shouldn’t keep you from playing outdoors. All year round, you can tee off amid a sea of trees at public, 18-hole Sebastopol Golf Course, or hit the 5 ½-mile West County Regional Trail, a mostly paved, multi-use path that travels past farms, groves and vineyards between Sebastopol, Graton and Forestville. April through October, you can bliss out along the flowering paths of the Hallberg Butterfly Garden. Back in the 1920s, Louise Hallberg planted a vine called Dutchman's Pipe because she liked its burgundy-and-white blooms, unaware that it was the main food source for Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars;100 years later, the vines, thickets, and meadows here are aflutter with 50 kinds of butterflies, Pipevines included.
Nearby schools focus on arts and academics
Many kids in Graton attend public schools that are 10-15 minutes' drive away in Sebastopol and West Santa Rosa. Oak Grove Elementary focuses on social-emotional learning, the arts and environmental stewardship and earns a B+ from Niche for its diversity and experienced teachers, while its partner school, Willowside Middle, earns an overall 5/10 from Great Schools with an 8/10 for its students' solid test scores. Sebastopol's well-regarded Analy High (go, Tigers!) nabs an overall 8/10.
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Paul Winner
