Cornerstone Sonoma

I love it here! We came with a big group for a friend’s birthday and it was the perfect place to celebrate. It is set up in a very unique way with a few building almost like a small village. You can wine taste, grab a bite to eat and do some shopping, it actually sounds like the perfect little village. Can I move in?
Anyways, if you are in the Sonoma area you have to stop here and snap a picture on the iconic big blue chair!

I love this place. I hope they continue to get new artist/​landscape architects to do new works, and also continue to upkeep those that are there already. This is a great place to stop on your way to Sonoma or Napa. Starting here and continuing to DiRosa for a tour would be an awesome wine country alternative to wine tasting (although u can do that at Cornerstone too). This is also a really cool event venue. I’ve been to weddings and parties in the barn, both were great! I’ve been here over 30 times in the past 6 years and I STILL can’t get enough of it!

He asked, «Where should I proposed to her?»
I replied «How about Cornerstone in Sonoma»
After months of coordinating, we were able to get everyone together to witness his proposal. Now that was something to remember at Cornerstone.
There were plenty of grounds to cover at Cornerstone. From the beautiful row of pinwheels to wire trees to the birdhouse following the waterfront and finally to their signature huge blue chair that you’ll see as you drive by Hwy 121.
Cornerstone is a place where you can easily spend hours taking amazing photos, admiring the stunning art gardens, browse around their retails shops, and even plan a wedding event here too! This place is the total package.
I hope you give this beautiful fun site a visit. Cheers!
The simple things in life.

A nice place to stop — surprised what was all there — and heck it smelled good from all the cooking going on. Nice lil shops to explore. Gardens were different roam but not wildly notable. If you have kids, great pit stop to stretch their legs. Plus find the big chairs (used to be blue now orange) and strike a pose! Oh and ask about Axel the bulldog — he sells his own t-​shirts! I didn’t get to see him but would love to next time (love dogs!)

Great spot to stop in to break up the day whilst exploring Sonoma and/​or Napa. Cute little cluster of shops, restaurants, and wine tasting rooms.
And don’t forget to take your picture in the big chair :)

What a lovely place and unique idea – and it’s free!
Cornerstone Sonoma is located about 30 minutes from Vallejo and offers a pretty and serene tour of the art collections and gardens. It’s a great place to just walk around, enjoy the scenery, and take photos of all the cool art installations.
There’s also a few boutique wineries and shops that you can stop by after your walk around the Gardens. I enjoyed the wine tasting and a charcuterie plate which, in conjunction with the perfectly sunny yet breezy weather, was just heavenly.
Love this place.

We attended a wedding event at the Cornerstone Sonoma this last weekend. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Plenty of parking and it was easy to find. The grounds were lovely and the seperation of the ceremony garden, the cocktail/​dance garden barn, and the dinner tent was thought out nicely. I do wish they had a closer restroom to the cocktail area so you didn’t have to walk such a distance away from the party, but this complaint comes from a pregnant lady :). The appetizers were great and the dinner came out family style which was nice because you were able to try a bit of everything. The staff was pleasant and very helpful and seemed to take very good care of the bride and groom. I’d recommend this place to other individuals for events and casual experience as well as it seems the gardens are open to the public until 4 pm.

I could’ve spent a full day here.
When we pulled up, my friend looked at me and was like «you’re gonna like this place.» She was right.
I mean, you can only use so many words to describe an interactive art experience. If you’re in the area I think it’s definitely worth a stop.
Highly Insta-​friendly.

Walked around this cool little area for photo opts. They have the famous big cornerstone chair, 2 of them that was pretty cool. Lots of other little things around. There’s a few restaurants and shops around as well, however I didn’t really check em out. I know lots of people have their weddings around here as well, great place!

Cool gardens that are great for kids and a potentially awesome wedding venue. We explored this location as a potential wedding site, but it was beyond our budget. But it’s still fun to visit the free gardens and explore the shops within the complex.

Can’t decide if you want a vineyard, art museum, or a barn style wedding?
Guess what? You can get the best of all three at Cornerstone Sonoma.
Throughout the grounds, you’ll find art pieces and a variety of interesting landscaping. As a guest of a wedding held here, I was completely wowed by the degree of visual interests everywhere you looked. I’m someone who peaces out usually around the time the DJ plays a dance-​floor-​opener-​song– wedding fatigue is real folks– but this place had me stayin’ til the very end.
The couple was married by a picturesque lily pond in a backdrop of the vineyard, followed by cocktail hour, where people could wander the grounds. The reception was in the tent, then dancing and cake cutting in the barn. The night progressed outside the barn where the couple arranged a taco truck and photobooth. Others lingered about socializing around the firepit or continued to play cornhole nearby. The event was always generously topped off with some form of wines, signature cocktails, then coffee and water later in the night.
By far the most fun I’ve had a wedding and by far the best wedding I’ve attended. There’s no question that if you’re looking to break out of a cookie cutter banquet event, this is the place to do it.

A Unilocaler let me know they didn’t have a specific caterer and the wedding party decided. So I updated my rating to a 5 because other than the food the place was awesome

a cute venue to stop in for lunch. most wineries in the area don’t serve substantial food, so if you’re in the area, this is your best bet to stop in for a real meal to soak up all that wine you’ve probably been drinking all morning (and will continue to drink all afternoon).
their sandwiches and salads are refreshing, and there is a great cheese and charcuterie plate — pairs perfectly with that wine tasting in the hut next door to the restaurant.
the décor is some mix of rustic and contemporary, which makes for a comfortable atmosphere with lots of fun things to look at. and in the case of the big blue chair out front, fun things to climb on and entertain yourself with.
the grounds are actually quite expansive and made up of multiple gardens. i haven’t had time to properly check it out as there’s just so much to see and do when in napa/​sonoma, and always so little time. but definitely worth multiple return visits!

Such a gem in Sonoma! They have a little lunch spot, gardens with artwork everywhere, and a few wine tasting rooms which are seriously delicious.
Also, you have to meet the two adorable dogs that are «mascots» for the art galleries. :)

Everything from the art to the plants, the barn and even the cottage were all great! My sister-​in-​law had her wedding here and everything was gorgeous and beautiful. Makes me want to get married here, too! Hehe…
Just walking through the venue was relaxing… my fiancé and I stayed at the on-​site cottage to make sure everything was cleaned up after the wedding. It was like our own little apartment! Not sure how much it would have costed, but it’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with full kitchen and living room.
There are 2 – 3 parking lots with ample parking, but I noticed that there can be a lot of people around on the weekends.

BEAUTIFUL!!! It’s not super huge but the unique art pieces around the garden are the perfect backdrops to your professional Instagram pictures or for special occassions. I love the clouds the raindrops the best.
It’s a relaxing, peaceful, and beautiful place to roam… eat…drink…and be merry.
I’d definitely recommend checking this place out at least once. It’s closer than Napa or go on the way to Napa.
I’ll meet you in the Corner anytime! (sounds scary)

Returned here after several years. This is an utterly unique, unexpected, improbable delight.
I’d seen this place for almost a couple decades and avoided it, from the road it looks like a very dangerous tourist trap with a huge oversized chair and silly signs. You know, tourists come in, they never come out.
When I think of little towns and destinations around the world, most people who try to open up a quirky antique village, art commune, restaurant, tasting room, and shopping center fail miserably. The location doesn’t work, it loses it’s heart, basically, just empty and sad.
Cornerstone, by contrast, is the impossible vision all these little foo-​foo shopping centers are failing to achieve. It is actually lively, and vibrant, the art is good, the food is good, there are lots of tourists but also lots of people from surrounding towns. People in the know from San Francisco love to stop here.
The art /​sculpture /​landscaping garden is like a museum. There is some seriously interesting and moving stuff, all outdoors, and it is okay if you touch it and your dog comes and sniffs the art and pees on it. On this visit there was a big wedding underway. There is so much to see it’s hard to take it all in on one visit.

This is a must stop for me when in the area and use it as a jumping off point prior to any other adventures in wine country. Typically I spend about an hour here and find their shopping and galleries to standout amongst the town of Sonoma’s shopping and dining options. However, the grounds and sculpture gardens are the real stars here!
You can easily spend an hour or more roaming the different displays (some rotate and others have been here for quite a while.) All the while you have amazing views of Sonoma, birds and sunshine to accompany your walk. I would say it’s a nice place to let your kids roam around in for a little while-​they have some interactive scuplture areas like the Wishing Garden and even a recently installed smaller «Children’s Garden.»
Cornerstone is truly one of my favorite places in Sonoma and I have taken out of town visitors here, who I knew would appreciate the gardens and serenity to be found here. Stop in, use the restrooms on your road trip, take an obligatory photo in the big blue chair and enjoy!

If you travel to Napa to visit all the wineries, make sure you add this place to your stop. If you like seeing creative structures, wine tasting, shopping and getting a bite to eat, then this is your go to place.
The first time I came here was for a wedding I was coordinating. The grounds are perfect for a ceremony, reception and taking beautiful unique pictures. The catering service was very good.
Planning a wedding:
1. They have a large outdoor tent. The tent is only enclosed on the top and not on the surrounding areas. Make sure you talk to onsite coordinator as it can get very windy during certain times of the year. Centerpieces can blow everywhere if they are tall and not weighted down.
2. Outdoor barn where you can have the reception inside.
3. Restrooms are located in the middle area of the shopping stores closest to the tent sight.
4. Parking is great (private lot) and you can drive your car right to the tent sight for setting up.
5. One of the best features is the white roses that surround the entire Tent sight. When in bloom it is breathtaking.
6. Cost: Surprisingly it is moderately affordable, even for the budget bride. This is Sonoma/​Napa it can be worse. You might want to consider checking it out.
Aside from having a wedding here, In my opinion this place is for taking a stroll with your honey and seeing the beautiful structures and taking lots of pictures versus going here solely for wine tasting.

I’ve been here a few times now, and every time, I find something new to like about it. There’s a beautiful fountain (when it’s on at least), and a front patio of the winery that’s reminiscent of mid-​west ranch homes. There’s actually a rocking chair I can never get my a%# off of when I’m here. It’s a two seater that’s like heaven [if heaven had a seat like that]. ;)
There are also a bunch of birds in cages (odd, I know), that you can walk by and say «hi» to.
There’s some good wines — but I come here for the scenery. The last time I was here, there was live music and great venues in the grassy areas (fresh oysters, hot dogs, ice cream, shaved ice…). I got to try the grilled oysters and these were dang good. Along with a tangy red sauce, it was drenched with garlic butter! This made a good snack.
I’m coming back for that rocking chair! It better be free, too!