Sonoma Mountain mansion gets its TV debut

By SUZIE RODRIGUEZ / Sonoma Valley Correspondent

Here’s an idea that may wow your Sig Other on Valentine’s Day: rent the most famous love nest in the nation. You won’t even have to travel, since it’s right here on Sonoma Mountain.

An estimated 7.2 million viewers recently got an up-close view of the gorgeous love nest named Vineyard Knoll. They watched a handsome bachelor cavort through its many rooms, vineyards and swimming pool with 18 lovelies in tow, each vying for his merest glance.

And since the stunning mansion’s debut on the Jan. 9 episode of ABC-TV’s The Bachelor, property managers say the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

“The next day we had so many web visitors that our site came close to crashing,” said Arlene Wimmick, spokesperson for Sonoma-based Beautiful Places. The company got several bookings from the frenzy and continue to play on the property’s fame by adding a “Featured on ABC’s The Bachelor” banner to the website listing.

See more photos of the property

When ABC decided to film a Sonoma episode, Wimmick said, a location scout and a producer flew out to see a bunch of homes. “They knew what they needed: five bedrooms, a pool, a hot tub, lots of eye candy, a romantic setting,” she said. “So we showed them what was available. They really liked Vineyard Knoll.”

ABC liked it iso much, in fact, that bypassed the “stager,” a designer usually hired to temporarily decorates the set for filming.

“They thought the place was perfect just the way it is,” Wimmick said.

Who wouldn’t? It’s a gated property off Warm Springs Road that is well situated for a dramatic entrance.

“You drive into the property through vineyards,” said Lorna Taylor, Sonoma-based director of operations for Beautiful Places. “ Then it’s up a small knoll, and there’s the house surrounded by a huge lawn area, vineyards in every direction, the biggest swimming pool I’ve ever seen anywhere except at a hotel.”

The house has two floors, the second devoted entirely to a master suite with a fireplace, soaking tub that looks out over vineyards, a sitting room and two balconies that offer extensive valley views.

The ground floor has a formal living room with a second fireplace, a baby grand piano and plenty of cushy seating. The great room is intended for relaxation, with a wet bar, huge flat screen TV, sectional sofa and chairs.

The big kitchen has a central island and the best in appliances. The dining room, which contains the third fireplace, seats 10 and offers amazing views of the swimming pool and valley beyond.

All told, the property sleeps 12 comfortably. In addition to the second-floor master suite, a junior master bedroom and two smaller bedrooms are on the first floor, and a spacious guest cottage is steps away from the main house.

“The amazing thing,” said Taylor, “is that the downstairs is built in a sort of circle. In the middle is a big atrium with a fountain and chaise lounges. Three glass doors open into it.”

The house was built as a horse ranch some time around 1995, she said. New owners purchased the property nine years ago and replaced the horses with vineyards.

“Where the sloping vineyards are now used to be the horse coral,” she said.

Like the original owner, the current owners use the property only part of the year. The rest of the time it’s rented to others.

“People who come here really feel that they’ve experienced wine country like a Wine Baron,” said Taylor. “They have the privacy of their own pool. They’re with their own family or their own group of friends.”

Of course, with the current low season price tag of $1,775 per night or $11,275 per week ($2,200 and $13,925 in high season), it would help if you really were a Wine Baron.

Unless you’ve got company.

“If five couples chip in, it’s comparable to the cost of a high-end hotel,” Taylor pointed out. “And for that they have the privacy of their own house and pool. They can have a chef come in and cook in the fabulous kitchen, they can drink the wines they collect. It’s an incredible experience.”

Adds Wimmick, “It’s great for Sonoma. Our guests often stay for a week to a month. They spend more, and spend it within a range of local businesses. They go shopping in local markets, get their hair done at local salons, go out to local restaurants, take their kids to Traintown, go to movies and hit antique shops.”

According to Tina Luster, Communications Manager for the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, the crew and staff brought in for the five-day film shoot sold 690 room nights (65 rooms at six nights, 25 rooms for 12 nights).

“And that doesn’t include Ben and the girls,” she said.

Luster added that the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau and the City of Sonoma were “very helpful in making this happen, with regard to the film permits and so on.

“It has been a great opportunity to showcase the beauty of Sonoma Valley and Sonoma County.”

Want to see where else Ben and the gals have been? Visit the Tourism Bureau’s ongoing list of places that have hosted “Bachelor” visits.