Sebastopol is about 50 miles North of San Francisco where art, local wine, and organic food have intersected. It’s trendy and cute and all things I want in a weekend get away, without outrageous prices and ..accesible parking! Do San Franscico city folk even remember such a luxury?

We recently discovered The Barlow and what a gem. What a gem.

Instead of partaking in the Hallmark fueled February 14th madness this year, we postponed and celebrated a week late. Spirit Works Distillery, located in The Barlow, has been on our minds for some time and we finally packed the car, booked a room, and embarked.

When we arrived, bloated rain drops pounded down, killing the cute date night outfit I had packed. No matter though. My shoes and mascara were waterproof and that was enough for me.

After we checked into the Sebastopol Inn, conveniently located just across the street from The Barlow, we started our night at MacPhail Tasting Lounge. Here we spilt a flight of wine, anticipating a boozy night ahead with a tour and tasting scheduled next and then dinner at a place with a seemingly delicious cocktail menu!

After our wine, we walked to Spirit Works. A grain to glass distillery, that uses only organic grains for their alcohol and are a women run establishment. It’s safe to say there were a whole lotta things I liked about the place!

The tour was fun and interesting. And then the good part… the tastings! Everything we tried was sooo good. We ended up buying a sampler and a bottle of cask strength wheat whiskey.

For dinner we headed to zazu kitchen and farm. Mike and I really like craft cocktails (if you can’t tell already) and local, sustainable food. Zaza was close to an oasis for us. We started with a cheese and meat plate (bad vegan…), picking the lonza, the weirauch st. rose (sheep) cheese, and iscalini cheddar pimento (cow) cheese. YUM!!

We spilt a salad, bacon wrapped dates, a bucket of Korean fried chicken wings, and a poutine-inspired dish. It was way more meat than we usually eat but we enjoyed every bite.

We went back to the hotel after dinner and although it was still raining, we decided to go hot tubbing anyway! The Sebastopol Inn was literally perfect for our stay. Conveniently located, cute, clean, and equipped with a hot tub.

The next morning we sauntered over to Taylor Maid Farms for breakfast and caffeine. All good things to say about my cafe au latte there – so smooth and creamy and perfectly balanced. And if you know this girl, you know a good cup of coffee sets the day right.

We decided to leave early as it was too rainy to really do anything outside but the weekend was a 10/10 with that sweet, cozy, romantic, tipsy, love-drenched kind of vibe.

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** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe.**