Sober in Wine Country? Explore Napa Without the Booze

What’s there to do in California’s famed wine country without a single sip of vino? Tons! Writer Monica Corcoran Harel breezed past Napa’s and Sonoma’s many tasting rooms in favor of the region’s nonalcoholic offerings. Harel joins Alta Live to help kick off Alta Journal Issue 32’s road trip cover package and recount her sober sojourn to the wine capital of the United States. Harel will share her tips for the area’s best booze-free finds—from a hip mocktail trail to a coveted, tucked-away bakery. No matter your drink of choice, you won’t want to miss this new perspective on one of the Golden State’s most popular tourist destinations.

Here are some notable quotes from the event:

On experiencing Napa sober: “I’ve been drinking for most of my life, and I’ve been quitting drinking for most of my life. About two years ago—over two years ago now—I decided that’s it. I’ve made this decision a number of times. I am going to remain sober. And with my two-year anniversary coming up, I thought to myself, I want to do something alone. I also thought, Wine country is so beautiful, but I’ve never experienced it without being heavily buzzed. I’ve missed out on a lot of the landscape and the nondrinking offerings. So I thought, I want to go up there and see wine country and experience it without rushing from one winery to the next or without stoking a so-called buzz.”
On Napa’s and Sonoma’s food: “If you were on a road trip and hitting every winery, you should not be driving, let’s put it that way. I think it’s kind of funny that I did a road trip through Napa and Sonoma, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you are not drinking or have a designated driver—which most people do. But everything there is fantastic. I mean everything—even gas station food is gourmet. It’s really crazy. They prioritize quality when it comes to food and drink in a very profound way that I appreciated.”
On staying sober during the road trip: “Being up there, I thought I’d be tempted, but really I was so intrigued and bewitched by the region, talking to people, having meaningful connections with people. And what was surprising was, I don’t know whether this was the universe I live in, L.A., or kismet, but many people that I ended up having conversations with were either newly sober or cutting back on their drinking. It became a point of conversation. Not in a smug, sanctimonious way, more in a ‘Wow, how has your life changed?’”

Check out these links to some of the topics brought up this week.

Read Harel’s “Sober Sideways.”
Check out more of Harel’s work for Alta Journal.
Embrace the power of midlife with Harel at her upcoming retreat, Act 2 at Alisal, September 14–16.
Check out Bouchaine Vineyards.
Visit Jack London State Historic Park.
Read Joy Lanzendorfer’s “The First and Last Lives of Jack London.”
Grab a copy ofJack London’s John Barleycorn.