Things are changing in Petaluma, Calif. The oldest city in Sonoma County is the gateway to wine country, but it has struggled to fully embrace that role. Wine, spirits, and beer tourists have been overlooking Petaluma for far too long. Now that is all about to change!

For decades the city has quietly been growing an impressive community of artisan beverage producers. Add to that a constantly expanding list of fantastic farm-to-table restaurants, boutique hotels, and world-renowned cheese makers, and Petaluma has quietly become a not-to-be-missed destination. Now all the craft beverage producers of Petaluma have banded together to form Petaluma Drinks!: a weekend tasting festival involving all of the wine, beer, spirits, cider, and bitters producers of the city.

“This is a small town that makes great alcohol. We all know each other, we all work together,” says local winemaker Mike Barber of Barber Cellars, “so it makes sense that a Petaluma event would involve everyone from all parts of our local fermentation family.” The beer, cider, and spirits industries have been exploding in Sonoma County, and the most unique aspect of this event is that it involves all these industries and not just wine. Tim Welch, head distiller at Stillwater Spirits, thinks it’s about time for an event like this. “Petaluma is a full circle destination for fans of all kinds of artisan things,” he says. “Why drive all over the North bay to find what is right here all along? We have everything: grapes, grain to glass, farm to table eats, charcuterie, artisan cheese!”

Happening June 2nd & 3rd, the festival is an invitation for everyone to experience the tasting rooms, facilities, and ranches of Petaluma’s tight-knit community of artisan beverage producers. Ticket holders will go on a choose-your-own-adventure tasting tour of whichever producer they wish to visit, many that aren’t usually open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to stay in town for the weekend and enjoy all that Petaluma’s historic downtown has to offer. Tickets are $65, and can be purchased at petalumadrinks.com. There are discounts for bottle purchases for tasters to bring home the products they fall in love with. 20% of every ticket goes to local charities, so you’re drinking for a good cause.

Taste amazing craft deliciousness, help local charities, and experience one of the most wonderful cities in Sonoma County and the last frontier of wine country. Caryn Reading of Petaluma’s Portworks says, “This is going to be an amazing event!” When you meet her – tell her she was right!

Press releases are generated outside of Spirited magazine and the information contained does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spirited or its parent company, Sonoma Media Investments.