Sonoma County hotel properties are rolling out new experiences and offerings for the sunny days ahead. From wildflower walks to outdoor concerts to a revamped cocktail bar, here are a few things to look forward to in Sonoma County. Click through the above gallery for details.
If you already knew everything there was to know about where you live — well, that wouldn’t be much fun, would it? To wander off the beaten path, if only for a day, is surely worth the leap of faith in this new year. Here’s our list of 50 secret Sonoma destinations and insider tips, all meant to be shared.
Click through the above gallery for a peek at our favorite secret spots in Sonoma County.
Based in Bodega, Jerry Dodrill travels the world teaching photo workshops, from Kyrgyzstan to Death Valley — but he always comes back to Sonoma eager to capture the latest sunset or stellar view. His secret spots:
“To the south of Stump Beach in Salt Point State Park are wild tafoni rock formations. To the north, when the rains are right, there’s a stunning coastal waterfall at Phillips Gulch. And north of Fisk Mill Cove is a coastal prairie with whimsical rock formations along the bluff.” Download maps at parks.ca.gov.
“Hidden in plain sight, Mount St. Helena lies at the crossroads of Sonoma, Lake, and Napa counties. The North Summit, guarded by an arduous walk or bike up a steep service road, beginning on the Napa side in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, is the highest point around at nearly 4,500 feet. Spectacular 360-degree views stretch all the way to the Sierra on a clear day.” parks.ca.gov.
“Fort Ross Road offers a visual feast, especially on days when the coast is socked in with fog. You can drive or, if you feel ambitious, bike up the steep single-lane road from Highway 1. Once out of the deep forest and above the fog, take in big views up and down the coast range at sunset.” East of Highway 1 near Fort Ross State Historic Park.
At night, the narrow alley alongside La Gare French Restaurant in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square is a magical dining spot, as lights twinkle overhead and retro favorites like cherries jubilee flambé glow against the red-brick walls. As a line cook told us, “People call up and reserve the alley because it’s the only place they want to eat.”
208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. 707-528-4355, lagarerestaurant.com.
Think Prometheus meets the Jetsons: The retro, free-standing fireplaces from Malm have been built by a family-owned business in Santa Rosa since 1960. Made of porcelain, brass, copper, or stainless steel, the designs are coveted by collectors around the world.
368 Yolanda Ave., Santa Rosa. 707-523-7747, malmfireplaces.com.
Miracle Plum is a downtown wine and kitchenware shop full of treasures. But our most delightful discovery there? The 2-inch paletas in the freezer, just $1 each, and just right for a messy preschooler — “or a not-very-hungry grown-up,” quips co-owner Sallie Miller.
208 Davis St., Santa Rosa. 707-708-7986, miracleplum.com.
Hit the road less traveled with the keys to a Land Rover Defender 110 in your hand and a rooftop tent overhead. Bohemian Highway Travel Co. provides the uber-cool Rover, camping equipment, and a map. You bring your sleeping bag and sense of adventure.
707-204-9660, bohohwy.com.
On Sundays during growing season, the designers at Dragonfly Floral leave the week’s leftover blooms out on a cart in front of the farmstand. It’s take what you like and pay what you will — or leave a small gift like a jar of jam in trade.
425 Westside Road, Healdsburg. 707-433-3739, dragonflyhealdsburg.com
Candy cap mushrooms, which taste sweet and smell like maple syrup, are foraged along the Sonoma Coast, mixed with spices like star anise and cloves, then extracted with rye spirit to create Alley 6 Craft Distillery’s Candy Cap Bitters. Co-founder Jason Jorgenson recommends them in a Manhattan or Old-Fashioned, or, above all, in this warm winter cocktail, dubbed “The Fun Guy.”
1401 Grove St., Unit D, Healdsburg. 707-484-3593, alley6.com.
“The Fun Guy” Recipe
Café Scooteria is an only-in-Sonoma mash-up of scooter mechanic shop and open-way-early coffee stand. Their lattes are pretty darn terrific.
455 W. Napa St., Sonoma. 707-938-0800.
Visit stunning Knights Valley, taking Highway 128 from Alexander Valley near Healdsburg east toward Calistoga. Along the way, you’ll pass a trout farm, a Wagyu cattle ranch, and several remote wineries all nestled in a quiet valley where it seems as if time has stopped.
Coleman Valley Road, heading west from Occidental to the coast. Once it emerges emerge from the woods and the road plateaus into prairie pastureland (but before it descends to Highway 1) is one of the best spots around to watch the sunset.
Stewarts Point—Skaggs Springs Road from Lake Sonoma to Stewarts Point is a delightfully curvy run through the redwoods and passing over the charming truss Haupt Creek Bridge, with plenty of pullouts for vistas and trails along the way. The prize at the end: A delicious lunch at Twofish Baking at the tiny Stewarts Point Store.
Hard-core birdwatchers use “owl” as a verb, as in, “Let’s go owling tonight.” And one of the best spots to owl is at the wooded corner of Salmon Creek Road and Fitzpatrick Lane, a few miles northwest of the town of Bodega (there’s a small pullout along the road, with space for a few cars). Really, it’s more “bird listening” than “birdwatching,” as just after dusk, you will start to hear high-pitched pygmy owls with their sharp hoots, followed by saw-whet owls, and, if you’re really lucky, perhaps a spotted owl. Happy night-birding!
Nearly hidden alongside Juilliard Park in Santa Rosa, the Church of One Tree was built in 1873 from a single, massive, 18-foot-wide, 275-foot-tall redwood tree milled in Guerneville.
492 Sonoma Ave. 707-543-3733, srcity.org.
From baguettes to brioche, all of the breads and pastries from the new Deer Park Bread Project are crafted from naturally fermented sourdough with an emphasis on organic, ancient grains and flours. deerparkbreadproject.com.
The world-class open-air sculpture collection at the Donum Estate, nestled in the southern Carneros, can come as a surprise to guests focused more on single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Tastings include a tour of works from Yayoi Kusama, Ai Weiwei, and other superstars.
24500 Ramal Rd., Sonoma. 707-732-2200, thedonumestate.com.
Lea Goode-Harris describes herself as not only a Ph.D., but also “an artist for the body, mind, and soul.” If that seems puzzling, put it this way: her hand-built labyrinths are mesmerizing, experiential works of land art, meant to be walked, retraced, and cherished from a bird’s-eye view. For an introduction to her work, try the lavender labyrinth at Bees N Blooms (3883 Petaluma Hill Rd., Santa Rosa) or the Snoopy Labyrinth at the Schulz Museum (2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa).
707-418-0019, creativelabyrinths.com.
The Lost Church isn’t a church at all — it’s a new, speakeasy-style music hall shepherded by local bandleader Josh Windmiller. Featuring a varied lineup of jazz, blues, and singer-songwriter types, it’s just the kind of small-scale independent performance space we need. A must-go this winter.
Enter on Ross Street between Mendocino Avenue and B Street, Santa Rosa. Show schedules at thelostchurch.org.
Gina Gutierrez recently opened Storia Home in Sebastopol to share her thrill of discovery with others. Here are a few places she loves, plus a rare find from her own shop.
“Elizaberry Shop is a woman-owned, primarily online small business in Forestville that makes stunning polymer clay earrings, drawing inspiration from the desert, coast, and flowers.”
Follow @elizaberry.shop on Instagram for info on in-person popups. elizaberryshop.com.
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“I always love dropping by B-Side Flower Farmstand, where in winter, owner Lennie Larkin has seasonal dried wreaths perfect for your front door as well as ranunculus bulbs ready for planting.”
3855 Roblar Road, Petaluma. 617 407-9272, b-sidefarm.com.
“Storia Home, my shop, has decor, art, textiles, and furniture, and everything tells a story. Check out the antique butter press from the late 1800s —it would make a showstopper of a coffee table.”
961 Gravenstein Highway S., Sebastopol. 415 501-0024, storiahome.com.
Climb atop a logjam, glide down an embankment slide, or get comfortable in the super-sized replica of a red-tailed hawk nest at Taylor Mountain’s Red Tail Play Area.
3820 Petaluma Hill Rd., Santa Rosa. 707-539-8092, parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov.
Hike past lush ferns and towering redwoods to stick your toes in the sand on the isolated beach at Stillwater Cove Regional Park. After that, it’s a 20-minute drive north for a meal in the newly-renovated dining room at The Sea Ranch Lodge.
Stillwater Cove, 22455 Highway 1, Jenner. 707-847-3245, parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov. The Sea Ranch Lodge, 60 Sea Walk Drive. 707-579-9777, thesearanchlodge.com.
It should come as no surprise that Melanie Wilkerson of Sonoma’s FolkTable knows where to find the good stuff — after all, the restaurant was just named a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Sonoma Garden Park: “When you think of community, think Sonoma Garden Park. From vegetable and pollinator gardens to space for yoga and meditation, it gives that sense of grounding we all desire.”
19996 Seventh St. E., Sonoma. 707-996-4883, sonomagardenpark.org.
Valley Bar + Bottle: “It’s one of my favorite places — maybe not as much of a secret now. The wine list is approachable and imaginative, and their cuisine shows off the locally curated menu and the attention to detail I love as a chef.”
487 First St. W., Sonoma. 707-934-8403, valleybarandbottle.com.
Goguette Bread: “If you can get your hands on this perfection, it’s worth the wait. I was introduced to them when I first arrived in Sonoma in 2020, and have dreamed of their bread ever since.” Order ahead online.
59 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. goguettebread.com.
In Petaluma’s historic district, Maude Rare Finds is an exquisitely assembled boutique full of hand-loomed textiles and small-batch perfumes. And after a few years moonlighting as a small shop in the back room of Maude Rare Finds, mother-daughter team Laural and Lily Reid just opened the standalone version of Good Gray, their housewares and design boutique, in nearby Penngrove. The airy, modern space is a wonderland of difficult-to-find treasures such as Japanese stationery, linen aprons, beeswax candles, and more.
10 Western Ave., Petaluma. 707-763-1858, maudeshop.com. 9591 Main St., Penngrove. 707-755-4535, goodgray.com.
A rite of passage for many a bored local teenager, and the inspiration for a song from indie singer Danny Sorentino, Gravity Hill is a surreal spot up in the hills overlooking Sonoma State University, where it feels like your car breaks the laws of nature. Instructions: The spot is located 2.4 miles up Lichau Road off Roberts Road, which is off Petaluma Hill Road. At the top of the hill on Lichau Road, look for a sign that says “Gracias Santiago.” When you cross the cattle guard, look for a sloping grade that clearly seems to run downhill. Go forward about 20 feet, stop, throw the car in neutral, and get ready to lose your mind as the car appears to roll uphill back toward the cattle guard. Trippy, right?
The extraordinary display of canned goods — house-made preserves, ketchup, and vinegars — at reopened slow-food mecca The Naked Pig is well worth a look. Weekend brunch is super-yum (try the whiskey-caramel waffles), and chef/owner Dalia Martinez says she is adding dinner service two nights a week in the new year.
640 Fifth St., Santa Rosa. 707-978-3231, thenakedpigcafe.com.
Jack’s Filling Station in Sonoma is the only place we know (probably the only place anywhere!) where you can fill up your tank and walk out with a vintage vinyl record and a bottle of natural wine from an up-and-coming winemaker. We love their tiger sweatshirts, too — locals-only swag for sure.
899 Broadway, Sonoma. 707-343-7203, jacksfillingstation.com.
Witness the creative process as master bronze sculptors at Santa Rosa’s Bronze Plus Art Foundry pour liquid metal into molds or fire-polish designs destined for galleries and libraries.
120 Todd Rd., Santa Rosa. Open by appointment; call 707-829-0716.
It’s been decades since Ernie Sr. put up a sign at Ernie’s Tin Bar advertising “$1.75 Cold Beer” at the corner of Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road. It may well be one of the cheapest beers you can swill in a bar ’round here. But just so you know, you’ll be getting Hamm’s in the can. “People usually just have one of those, and then go to a beer they can actually stand,” says Ernie Jr.
5100 Lakeville Hwy., Petaluma. 707-762-2075.
Ashby Marshall is a devotee of the organic, grain-to-glass movement at Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol. Her favorite local bars share an undiscovered, independent spirit.
“The Starling Bar in Sonoma is extra-awesome because of its secret menu of cannabis-infused spirit cocktails. You have to ask at the bar to see it.”
19380 Hwy. 12, Sonoma. 707-938-7442, starlingsonoma.com.
“Another great place is the extra-divey Whiskey Tip in Santa Rosa. Not only do they make Manhattans with Spirit Works rye whiskey, but their Friday night karaoke events are very popular. “They’re as good — and as bad — as you can imagine.”
1910 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa. 707-843-5535
“Valley Ford’s Rocker Oysterfeller’s has expanded dining options in the gardens, among mounds of discarded oyster shells, and it’s really lovely. But the real secret is this: Their ‘hot butter’ sauce is great on oysters, but it’s even better in your Bloody Mary. You’ve got to ask the bartender for it.”
14415 Highway 1, Valley Ford. 707-876-1983, rockeryoysterfellers.com.
Botany Zhi is an urban jungle of carefully cared-for indoor plants, featuring an enormous, overarching monstera plant that practically takes over the store.
311 D St., Santa Rosa. 346-289-4004, botanyzhi.com.
Barn 5400 is a new marketplace and maker space inside a former lumberyard outside Petaluma. One of many standouts here: Kickwheel Sonoma, the working studio of ceramicist Andrew M. Kontrabecki, who has created custom designs for chefs, and offers ceramics classes to the public (kickwheelsonoma.com).
5400 Old Redwood Highway N., Petaluma. barn5400.com.
From routers to stud finders to wheelbarrows, the Santa Rosa Tool Library lends tools for free to any Sonoma County resident over the age of 18. That’s right — totally free. Why? Because it’s the neighborly thing to do, and founder Dustin Zuckerman believes money shouldn’t prevent weekend warriors from basking in all their DIY glory.
642 Fifth St., Santa Rosa. 707-2293949, borrowtools.org.
As much museum as shop, Sebastopol’s Sagestone Gallery is filled with fossils, crystals, agates, ammonites, and polished round stones that look for all the world like crystal balls straight out of a Disney movie.
112 N. Main St., Sebastopol. 707-827-6316, sagestonegallery.com.
More and more, restaurateurs are incorporating unique finds into the design of their spaces.
At Healdsburg’s The Matheson, the walnut wine tasting table was custom-carved in the shape of the state of California (thematheson.com).
The Lodge at Sonoma features a vintage horse trailer turned into a poolside bar (thelodgeatsonoma.com).
And at the Seismic Brewing Co. tasting room at The Barlow in Sebastopol, a swoopy, floor-to-ceiling wood-paneled nook with a built-in bench is perfect for settling in with a made-in-Sonoma craft beer (seismicbrewingco.com).
You don’t have to be religious to marvel at architect James Hubbell’s Sea Ranch Chapel, a wondrous creation of local wood, wrought iron, stained glass, and slate. The magical winged roof is just visible from nearby Highway 1.
40033 Highway 1, The Sea Ranch. thesearanchchapel.org.
The branches of a beautiful, century-old live oak tree, surrounded by vineyards at the Belden Barns winery, are flush with hopes and dreams.
5561 Sonoma Mountain Rd., Santa Rosa. 415-577-8552, beldenbarns.com.
The Santa Rosa Junior College’s Culinary Café and Bakery is a cutting-edge training kitchen for chefs on the rise (Steven Vargas of Petaluma’s Table Culture Provisions trained there). Try a Korean fried-chicken sandwich with kimchi slaw (just $12) or a winter salad with beets and Cara Cara oranges grown by sustainable ag students at the college’s Shone Farm ($9). The café was closed last fall because of the pandemic but hopes to reopen in February.
1670 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. 707-522-2796, culinary.santarosa.edu.
If you’ve never stopped at the little pink-and-white striped building along Highway 1 in Bodega Bay, you’re missing out. Patrick’s of Bodega Bay stocks more than 80 flavors of salt water taffy, including sugar-free varieties and our pick, peppermint.
915 Highway 1, Bodega Bay. 707-875-9816, patricksofbodegabay.com.
Founded in 1858, Petaluma is brimming with old-school charm. Add in a pedestrian-friendly downtown full of excellent restaurants, wine tasting rooms, craft distilleries and shops and you’ve got all the makings of a primo Wine Country getaway. Click through the gallery above for a few favorite things to do in Petaluma.
Mya Constantino and Maci Martell contributed to this article.
Alfresco food and wine pairings are a dime a dozen in Wine Country this time of year, but a special outdoor dinner at the end of May at Healdsburg’s Preston Farm and Winery is creating a lot of buzz this spring.
While culinary experiences at Sonoma County wineries usually focus on wine, the upcoming dinner in Healdsburg is all about honeybees.
“It’s going to be something totally different,” said Candice Koseba, the founder of Sonoma County Bee Company, who is organizing the event in collaboration with Preston Farm and Winery and Field Day CA.
A first of its kind in Sonoma County, the Bee Inspired Dinner on May 20 is shaping up to be a delicious event for people passionate about bees, food and wine.
Preston Farm and Winery will provide the wine and the beautiful Dry Creek Valley setting, to the tunes of live music. Chef Aaron Koseba (Candice’s husband and former chef de cuisine at Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg) will prepare a multicourse meal. And the Field Day CA bus, a school bus turned prep kitchen by local chef Naomi Mcleod, will be parked in the vineyards.
“The dinner will be constructed around what’s available on the farm and the bounty of Candice’s hives,” said Ken Blair, Sales Director at Preston Farm and Winery. “The wines will be chosen to complement Aaron’s dishes that he constructs from these raw materials.”
The dinner menu is yet to be revealed but it will, of course, feature honey as its star ingredient. Guests also will be able to taste different kinds of honey side by side and with the aid of a colorful honey flavor wheel, making it easier to detect differences in flavor, aroma and texture.
“I am infusing herbs and flowers into honey as we speak, and also fermenting garlic in honey,” said Koseba. “I want [guests] to taste some fun honey creations that I enjoy at home … I want everyone to feel a little more love for bees than they already do and have a tasty meal.”
In addition to serving up honey for the dinner — in collaboration with her beloved bees, Koseba plans to take dinner guests on a journey through the lifecycle of a honeybee colony. While showing guests the newly designed beehives she tends to at the Healdsburg winery, she will explain how beekeepers determine when it is safe to harvest honey and why bees are so fiercely loyal to their queen.
The Bee Inspired Dinner on May 20 at Preston Farm and Winery is $165 per person, which includes a Sonoma County Bee Company gift set to take home. Preston Farm and Winery, 9282 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. Purchase tickets at fielddayca.com
Sonoma County Bee Company’s Instagram account has a wealth of information for people eager to learn more about bees and beekeeping. It features videos and posts on a variety of bee-related subjects, from an enthralling video of Koseba rescuing and relocating honeybee nests to educational posts on how to infuse honey or what to do if you see a honeybee swarm (don’t panic, give Koseba a call).
You can learn more about how Koseba got into beekeeping in this Sonoma Magazine article, and purchase raw honey and other products, like beeswax candles and herb salves made with beeswax, lavender, calendula and olive oil, on the Sonoma County Bee Company website. Koseba’s products also are available at Montage Healdsburg, where she leads excursions that offer guests a fascinating glimpse into the daily lives of Wine Country’s hardworking honeybees.
After nearly 25 years as the lead chef of Madrona Manor (now The Madrona), chef Jesse Mallgren is stepping down from the Michelin-starred restaurant he put on the map.
Best known for his forward-thinking menus and dedication to locally sourced ingredients, Mallgren brought a refined approach to California cuisine that made the restaurant a star long before Healdsburg became the internationally known dining destination it is today.
Mallgren will take over as executive chef of Jordan Vineyard & Winery, named one of the top 50 wineries in the world in 2022.
“It’s better for my family and me,” Mallgren said from the Jordan kitchen on his first day of work earlier this month. He said family obligations and an increased workload contributed to his decision. When new owners reopened The Madrona last year, they added lunch and brunch services open to the public.
“Twenty-one meal services a week was just difficult to have a family with. With the staffing issues in Sonoma County, it was impossible not to be at the restaurant every moment,” Mallgren said.
“I had dinner with my family this Saturday night, which is insane. I don’t think I’ve ever done that,” said the 53-year-old father of two who started his career at Madrona Manor as a dishwasher.
Jordan’s culinary program has long been a notable standout, using 2 acres of culinary gardens and offering everything from wine-tasting menus and casual outdoor wine club events to elaborate private dinners for colleagues and friends of owner John Jordan.
“I’m looking at dishes that are really planned out to go with the wine. There’s a lot of room for creativity. It’s just a different way of looking at food,” Mallgren said. He will replace chef Daniel Beal, who had a short stint at the winery after another brief engagement at the Farmhouse Inn.
Before Beal, chef Todd Knoll headed the Jordan kitchen for many years. Knoll took on a chef position at Bricoleur Vineyards in 2022.
J Vineyards & Winery has announced a second year of its groundbreaking culinary series Shifting the Lens, highlighting underrepresented cuisines and chefs.
Curated by chef Preeti Mistry, the mission of the four-part program is to expand Wine Country’s narrow vision of wine and food pairing — cheese, charcuterie, European cuisine — to include global ingredients and the culinary talents of women, people of color and international food thought leaders.
Chef Tu David Phu kicks off the series with a residency at the winery from May 11 to 21. Guests can experience his personal take on Vietnamese food — inspired by his mother — at the J Bubble Room tastings or on May 13 and 21 for a multicourse seated dinner and conversation.
According to the website, each Shifting the Lens residency includes weekend tasting experiences in the Bubble Room as well as two special dinners where guests may partake in the five-course pairing menu and join an intimate discussion with the guest chef, winemaker Nicole Hitchcock and other winery leaders about their perspectives on food, wine and culture.
Other chefs in this year’s series include Ana Castro of Lenga Madre restaurant, named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs of 2022 (Sept. 14-24).
Mistry (who uses they/them pronouns) will take their Indian-inspired menu on the road to share the concept outside the Bubble Room and create “a greater platform to showcase these important conversations and experiences.”
I went to two events last year, and both were palate- and eye-opening experiences that reflect — sometimes painfully — the lack of diversity in fine dining and wine pairing. Find more details and reservations at jwine.com.
The Good Food Award, the blue seal of approval from the Good Food Foundation, is a big deal for artisan producers.
The Good Food Foundation celebrates sustainably made, socially conscious, credibly-crafted beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, cider, coffee, confections, drinks, elixirs, fish, grains, honey, oils, pantry items, pickles, preserves, snacks and spirits. Chosen by panels of food and drink professionals, the awards are an honest reflection of the best food and drink in America.
This year, Good Food Awards judges sifted through more than 2,000 entries, choosing 237 winners from 18 categories. For a complete list of winners, go to goodfoodfdn.org.
The North Coast (and a few other nearby friends) had 16 winning products, including:
Bellwether Farms: Organic A2 Whole Milk Cow Milk Plain Yogurt (Petaluma)
Ethic Ciders: Pommeau (Sebastopol)
Tomales Farmstead Creamery: Atika (Petaluma)
Wine Forest: Sea Buckthorn Shrub, Haskap Berry Shrub (Napa)
Pond Farm Brewing Co.: Dark Mast Black Lager, Devil’s Gulch Hazy IPA (San Rafael)
Pennyroyal Farm: Reserve Boont Corners, Boonter’s Blue cheese (Philo)
Humboldt Distillery: Humboldt Organic Vodka (Fortuna)
Fiocco: Canteen Meats (San Rafael)
Local Culture Ferments: Garlic + Ginger Kimchi, Golden Beet + Dill Sauerkraut (Grass Valley)
Gowan’s Heirloom Cider: Estate Gravenstein Cider, Estate Spiced Apple Cider, Classic Dry Cider (Philo)
Abundant winter rains have set the stage for some spectacular spring hikes in Sonoma County. Gushing waterfalls, vibrant green hillsides and carpets of wildflowers in vineyards, meadows and on coastal bluffs await those who venture outdoors this season. Click through the above gallery for a few favorite springtime hikes.
Sofia Englund, Maci Martell and Dana Rebmann contributed to this article.
I am a huge fan of the “Today” show. Before I joined Sonoma Magazine and became editor in chief, I was an at-home parent working harvest as a side gig. And for all those years at home with my two boys, the “Today” show was my constant morning companion, kicking off the day with a sunny positivity and sense of community.
So attending the taping of the Sonoma County edition of the show at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, right in my hometown of Kenwood, was a true full-circle kind of moment. I loved the window into how the show comes together and did more than my fair share of whooping and cheering for the cameras.
Here’s some of what you might not have seen if you watched the show on TV Friday morning:
The team behind the scenes was huge—more than a few dozen, including producers, assistants, camera people, and security—all wearing special Today show lanyards. My press badge made me feel extra included in all the action. Funny story: more than a few times, fellow audience members approached me to ask about this or that on the show, maybe because I had a badge. But of course, I didn’t know any more than they did!
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I was relieved to run into a couple of familiar faces right away. In the parking lot at St. Francis, I saw Ari Weiswasser of Glen Ellen Star, who was there for the food segment that closed the broadcast. (Glen Ellen Star has been on every Best Restaurants list we’ve done at the magazine since the restaurant opened.) Once inside, I spent a bunch of time with the charming Stéphane Saint Louis from Table Culture Provisions in Petaluma, who was a part of the same food segment. I saw later on Instagram that Al Roker ate at Glen Ellen Star the night before the taping—great call!
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Press people and audience members were shepherded through metal detectors and then out onto the lawn next to the St. Francis vineyards. I was there with Sara Edwards and Dan Taylor from our sister publication, The Press Democrat, and we were next to Brent Alan from KZST Radio and Kari Hall and Marcus Washington, morning show hosts from NBC Bay Area’s Today in the Bay. Lots of people recognized Kari and Marcus and approached them for selfies, which they were super gracious about. Kari said how happy she was to be out of the studio on such a gorgeous day, and we all laughed when Marcus did a Golden State Warriors rally dance with a woman all decked out in Warriors gear.
The set was impressive. The main table where the hosts sat for the intro was set up on a raised stone patio just off the tasting room, with several cameras and big white scrims overhead to filter the sun and avoid harsh shadows in the bright midday light. There was a separate area on another patio set up for the cooking segment, and the walking interview with track star Allyson Felix circled the lawn where we all gathered. The vineyards were a little on the bare side given that it’s still so early in the growth season—but I heard the hosts remark several times how lush the setups and scenery looked on camera.
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Stephanie Mansour, one of the Today show contributors, arrived about 15 minutes before taping began to warm folks up with a stretching and cheering practice. Stephanie chatted people up about the signs they’d brought from home and asked people where they were from. Several people shouted out that they were from out of town—Arizona, Seattle, Atlanta. The producers asked us to cheer and wave our arms in the air, whooping it up with lots of enthusiasm to welcome the team. And when host Dylan Dreyer came out to shake hands and say hello, we knew the main event was about to happen.
Taping took about two hours, which included the intro with the wine sabering, the cooking segment, the walk with Allyson Felix, the chat with the Garcia Twins, and the small business shopping segment, plus lots of waving and cheering and a few separate little intros and throwbacks. For logistical reasons, including the time difference with the East Coast, the show wasn’t taped in real time. They did the “buddy up” segment at Bricoleur Vineyards in Windsor on Wednesday—that’s where the hosts did the wine blending seminar, the olive grove bathing, and the hot air balloon ride. The main taping at St. Francis was on Thursday from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and it aired here in Sonoma on Friday at 9 a.m. Because it was being taped in advance, there were one or two times when we heard the crew stop and ask to do something over again. At the very beginning, for example, Al Roker stopped the intro because he said his teleprompter was lagging a bit behind. In general, it’s impressive how utterly unflappable the hosts are, just rolling with it every time!
If you ever get to go to the Today show, by all means wear a costume! If you’re going to do it, you might as well go all in. There was a woman dressed up as a bunch of grapes to fit the Sonoma County theme, and she got to be on camera a ton! People who had clever signs or who were extra enthusiastic in the crowd also got lots of attention from the hosts and camera operators—a group of school nurses with a sign about healthy living got a callout, as did a woman with a sign about how she’d made her husband into a Today show fan!
I loved that the hosts and guests were extremely generous with their time. Sheinelle, Craig, Dylan, and Al (look at me, calling people by their first names, haha!) each approached the crowd at breaks in the taping to chat and shake hands. Al Roker was kind enough to take a moment with an older woman sitting near me, one of the few who needed a chair to rest in, who was attending with her two grown daughters. You could tell she was over the moon at the attention!
I had been prepped the week before to be a backup host for the Shop Today segment with Sonoma County small businesses. Evidently, they weren’t sure if regular contributor Jill Martin’s flight was going to land in time for her to make it to the taping, and so they asked me to be ready to go on backup. But then she did indeed make it to the winery with plenty of time, so I didn’t have to—and to be honest, it was so much more fun to be able to enjoy Jill’s banter with the hosts. She is a pro! (A shoutout to the very kind—and remarkably organized—Today show producers Kayiu Wong and Phoebe Curran, who reached out to me at the magazine and took time to chat yesterday, in the middle of a super busy production. I’m happy you had such a good time here.)
I got to spend a few minutes interviewing the hosts after taping was finished, and they came across just as warm, natural and genuinely friendly as they appear on TV.
Dylan Dreyer reflected on the beauty of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge from the airport the night before, and how, waking up in Sonoma the next morning, everything looked “more and more beautiful as it all lit up.”
Al Roker picked up on something we all appreciate about Sonoma when he remarked on how beautiful, accessible and family-friendly Sonoma feels to him.
Sheinelle Jones said everything in Sonoma had been “absolutely delightful”—and joked with me about my old-school habit of recording interviews on my laptop.
Craig Melvin talked about his dad, who worked in the postal service for over four decades, and how that reminds him of the long-term commitment of many of his NBC family.
And Al Roker also called out the Today show staffers. “It is really a team,” he said. “We are literally the tip of the iceberg, but underneath, supporting what you see at the top is this massive cohesive team.”
Thank you so much to the Today Show and to Sonoma County Tourism for making Friday’s show possible. Sheinelle, Al, Craig, and Dylan: please do come back–we’d love to share even more with you about this beautiful place we call home!
Beloved by wine geeks near and far, the Garagiste Wine Festival: Northern Exposure will return to Sonoma County on Saturday, April 29, at the Sonoma Veteran’s Memorial Hall.
Launched in Paso Robles in 2011, with satellite events in Sonoma County since 2018, the Garagiste Festival invites winemakers who produce 1,500 cases of wine or less per year to share their wines with consumers at the one-day event. The Northern Exposure edition will feature wines from Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and El Dorado counties, as well as Lodi, Sierra Foothills, Suisun Valley, Anderson Valley and Santa Clara Valley.
More than 40 micro-wineries will be on site to pour their limited-release wines, tiny gems that are often difficult to come by given that 90% of these winemakers don’t have a tasting room. This year, 17 new wineries are scheduled to participate, including Monroy Wines of Geyserville.
“As a virtual winery, we don’t have many opportunities to pour wine for people, so it’s easy to get lost in the crowd,” said Adolfo Hernandez, who founded Monroy Wines with his wife, Nohelia, in 2018. “The Garagiste Festival lets people to sample our wines. Once they taste them, they love them.”
Hernandez, who also works as an associate winemaker for Benovia Winery in Santa Rosa, produces about 400 cases of wine per year for Monroy Wines, which focuses on barrel-fermented cabernet sauvignon from Chalk Hill and sauvignon blanc from the Fountaingrove District.
“Barrel-fermented cabernet sauvignon is a unique, labor-intensive process, and it’s something I like to share with others,” Hernandez said. “I’m really looking forward to telling people what we’re about.”
Coined in Bordeaux, France, in the early 1990s, the term garagiste was given to rebellious winemakers who were fed up with the region’s strict, centuries-old rules for winemaking. Rather than adhere to tradition, these adventurous men and women made small lots of uncharacteristically robust wines in garages, warehouses and anywhere else they wanted. Threatened by this novel way of making wine, the traditionalists called these turncoat winemakers garagistes. While the term was intended to insult, it became a badge of honor to those who took pride in going rogue.
The Garagiste Festival was inspired by these independent French winemakers and their determination to forge a new path.
For Ashley Holland, founder and winemaker at Read Holland Wines in Santa Rosa, the Garagiste Festival is not only a chance to connect with fellow winemakers. It’s an opportunity to share her story with consumers.
“I am often so busy that it can be difficult to get my wines in front of people,” said Holland, who launched Read Holland in 2016. “The Garagiste Festival gives me a huge advantage to make my brand come alive and tell the story I’m often too busy to tell.”
You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @whiskymuse.
