Category: What’s New in Wine Country

The "Raw Fish of the Day" is the chef's selection. This day it included cucumbers and blood oranges at Oso restaurant in Sonoma. (Photo by Charlie Gesell)

Sebastopol’s Ramen Gaijin Leads Sonoma County’s Passion for Japanese Restaurants

Written by Heather Irwin for BiteClubEats. Don’t know an izakaya from an omakase? Don’t worry, you will. Although nearly a third of Americans included in a 2015 National Restaurant Association survey said they regularly eat sushi or “Japanese” food, the lion’s share of that is Americanized sushi, strip mall teriyaki and Top Ramen. But homestyle […]

Sonoma County Events Happening This Week

Written by Crissi Langwell & Dan Taylor for The Press Democrat. Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few ideas. This weekend, celebrate the start of salmon fishing season with the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival. On Saturday, discover your new favorite beer at Battle of Brews. Or you can run in your […]

Trail of the Week: Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail

Written by Diane Peterson for The Press Democrat. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail is a popular destination for dog lovers such as Genevieve Jago of Sebastopol, who hooked up her energetic, 8-month-old English Cocker Spaniel in the Highway 12 parking lot and embarked on a restorative walk on a warm, spring day in early […]
Sebastiani Tasting Room

Sonoma County Wine Tasting Rooms for Spring

Early spring is a time of renewal in the vineyards, with naked vines beginning to sprout. It’s a beautiful season to enjoy what’s in bloom and the beginnings of longer days and sunshine. Wineries offer new releases as well as barrel sampling, a spring ritual sure to make you feel like a connoisseur. Wine writer […]
Writer Dana Gioia served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and was appointed California State Poet Laureate by Jerry Brown in 2015. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)

California Poet Laureate Returns to Santa Rosa

Santa Rosan Dana Gioia is the new California Poet Laureate, appointed to the post by Gov. Jerry Brown in December 2015. During his two-year term, Gioia will spread the art of poetry and inspire a new generation of writers while visiting schools and libraries in many of the state’s rural counties. He picks up where […]
Photo by John Burgess.

Upcoming Sonoma County Events in April

APRIL 9: Battle of the Brews Now that Wine Country also includes Beer Country, this 20th annual event promises to be bigger than ever, with a full day of beer and food tastings and pairings, a professional brewing competition and more. 1-8 p.m. $50-$95. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, 707-545-4200, battleofthebrews.com […]

Sonoma Film Fest Puts on a Show

Who doesn’t adore a rich bit of parody, bawdy comedy and a magic trick or two — particularly when it’s in the middle of gracious downtown Sonoma? The 19th annual Sonoma International Film Festival will be even more glamorous this year (March 30-April 3), thanks to a new entertainment village anchored by Le Tigre, a […]

Nice to Meat You: Legendary Butcher at Sonoma Broadway Market

By Ariana Reguzzoni Tom Geney arrives at Sonoma’s Broadway Market at 4 a.m. each day, flips on the lights and prepares for the steady stream of customers seeking steaks, chops, ribs and fowl prepared the old-fashioned way: by hand and to order. Geney, 75, is one of the longest-serving butchers in the county, having plied […]
Boston Terriers by Tim Shorten. (Courtesy of The Alchemia Gallery)

The Alchemia Gallery is Fostering Creative Gifts in Petaluma

For the artists who show at The Alchemia Gallery in Petaluma, art is not only good for the soul, it’s a pathway to independence and self-empowerment. Opened in 2010, the Kentucky Street storefront showcases the work of a unique collective: adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, autism and cerebral […]

LikeWine: Sonoma Wines for Springtime

Springtime is swing season, when white and rosé wines become more tempting, particularly for brunch-time meals and Easter. The additional sunlight of daylight saving time encourages the firing up of grills — a siren call for Zinfandel. Sauvignon Blanc For Easter If you like: Quivira Vineyards 2014 Refuge Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($28) A […]