I last reported on California’s wine country in May 2013, but recent research uncovered some potential new properties in the north of the state, sufficient to convince me that a return visit would be worthwhile. I didn’t need to consider this at great length. With its coastal vistas, historic sites, charming towns, stands of redwoods and the unspoiled Anderson Valley wine area, I find the region hard to resist.

My Route

From San Francisco we headed north to Healdsburg, a place I have visited regularly for more than 30 years. In that time, I have seen it grow from a quiet agricultural town into a lively and cultivated place with restaurants, shops, wine-tasting rooms and galleries. (How many towns of 12,000 nowadays support two fine independent bookstores?)

Healdsburg Plaza has earned deserved accolades as one of the most beautiful town squares in the country, with a copper-roofed gazebo, fountains and more than 15 varieties of trees, including Canary Island date palms planted in 1897. Just a block away from the plaza’s northeast corner, on North Street, we found SingleThread Farms, a restaurant and five-room inn (with a nearby five-acre farm).