Graton Casino & Resort sits on the doorstep of Napa/Sonoma wine country, and it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the San Francisco Bay Area. That means poker players have a plethora of options available for fun it they’re lucky to bag up and chill on a day off.
There is not enough space to list them all here, but the lineup of wineries is world-class to say the least. You are in the heart of it all here in Sonoma County, with more than 400 different wineries. Here’s a great way to plan out a day of visiting the wineries closest to Graton.
Robert Mondavi is one of the top historic Napa County options, and Castello de Amirosa is the most unique venue set in a medieval castle. This area is also well-known for fine dining. While you might have to make a deep run in a tournament to afford a tasting-course meal at The French Laundry, there are many other great options everywhere including the 630 Park Steakhouse inside the casino.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the beverage tree when it comes to beer in this area as well. Russian River Brewing is just up the road in Santa Rosa, and it is widely considered one of the best breweries in the country if not the world. And just within walking distance from the casino is Parliament Brewing. That’s where you can find us on dinner break from the tournament.
If you’re looking for outdoor activities this region has that in spades as well. There are a number of great beaches dotted along the Pacific Ocean just over a half hour away. If you want to go for a hike then Point Reyes National Seashore and the John Muir National Monument are both great options.
It’s burying the lede to say that San Francisco is your top option for a day-trip if you bagged up during an earlier flight. You could spend a month exploring the city, but some top options if you have just one day would include driving into town across the Golden Gate Bridge, taking a boat tour out to Alcatraz, eating fresh dungeness crab at Fisherman’s Wharf, catching a Giants baseball game at Oracle Park or Warriors basketball at the Chase Center.
And all of that is in addition to the excellent dining and gambling fun to be found inside Graton Casino & Resort, which includes one of the nicest pools you will find at any tournament series just a few steps away from the poker action.
We also recently found a diamond in the rough just a short walk from Graton that came highly-recommended on Yelp (No. 1 in the SF Bay Area in fact).
Stashed away on the side of a Shell gas station and surrounded by the usual suspects of In-N-Out and Chick-Fil-A just off a freeway stop from US-101 is Vinoma. Do yourself a favor and make a stop there on dinner break during the weekends. We tried each of the 16 different tasty empanadas they make, both savory and sweet, and the hype is real. And it you don’t want to take our word for it, ask any local player in the room what the best food option is off-property here, and they will point you in the right direction.
Ryan is one of the original PokerLiveUpdates team members, a veteran poker tournament reporter who provides live updates reporting from the World Poker Tour, along with other tours and locations. He developed the FunTour2.0 concept of providing tremendous tournament coverage while exploring the world's best craft beer venues.
