Category: Sonoma People

People of Sonoma County

Fernet Francisco: Sonoma is Falling in Love

Ben Flajnik has a new love, and her name is Fernet. For those out of the reality TV loop, Flajnik was the season 16 star of “The Bachelor,” which in 2012 brought national attention to Envolve Winery, the Sonoma brand he co-founded. Flajnik has since moved on from his chosen “Bachelor” mate and the winery […]

Top 100 Wines: Meet & Greet Theresa Heredia

She would have been a chemistry professor, if wine hadn’t gotten in the way. Theresa Heredia, winemaker at Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery, earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, was a scientist focused on cancer related peptide research, and a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at UC Davis. But her studies and enology-student colleagues led her […]
David Ramey’s 2013 Pedregal Vineyard Ramey cabernet sauvignon was one of the best wines in the Press Democrat 10 year cabernet tasting. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Top 100 Wines: Meet & Greet David Ramey

He’s produced wine at Simi, Matanzas Creek and Chalk Hill wineries, and Dominus and Rudd estates, all of which benefited from his experienced gained at the Moueix family’s famed Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, France. Yet David Ramey found his final winemaking home in Healdsburg, with Ramey Wine Cellars, where he produces spectacular Chardonnays from Russian […]
For 81 years, Mary Ferrario has faithfully visited her brother, Frankie Magliotto, at Sonoma Developmental Center. Frankie, a year older than Mary, was committed in 1934 to what was then known as Sonoma State Home. (Photo by Erik Castro)

A World Apart – Sonoma Development Center

As the state plans to close the 124-year-old Sonoma Developmental Center, families of the 392 residents wonder what closure will mean for their loved ones.

Fish and Wildlife warden Don Powers watches abalone divers from a bluff on the Mendocino Coast near Little River. (Photos by Christopher Chung)

In Pursuit of Abalone Poachers

Along the North Coast, the state’s attempt to protect the red abalone fishery takes a bit of undercover work.

(photo by John Burgess)

Shave and a Haircut

A former Petaluma bartender trades her cocktail shaker for a pair of clippers.