Consider theirs a love story of multiple meetings and second chances. In 2017, Taña Recacho, who works in real estate, and Robert Zimmerman, a chief revenue officer for a technology company, first crossed paths at The Battery, a club in San Francisco. For nearly a year, the couple continued to run into each other at social events, but didn’t think much of it, explains Robert, who was raised in Australia. But in 2018, the two met up at the BottleRock music festival in Napa, and this time, something was different. They ended up spending the entire weekend together, both at the festival and at Robert’s home in Sonoma, a stunning spot perched high above the valley floor with treetop views for miles. And this time, the two fell in love.
Just a year later, time stood still as Robert proposed to Taña, just as the sun sunk down over Sonoma Valley. The couple say it was an easy decision to celebrate their wedding at home, where they first fell in love. “We have these two beautiful oak trees in our backyard where the sun peeks through the branches sometimes, and we thought, ‘This would be a spectacular place for a wedding,’” says Robert. “The property has a great energy about it, too.”
Taña and Robert’s wedding. (Photo by Claire Lewis, Tia & Claire Studio)Photo by Claire Lewis, Tia & Claire Studio.
Taña had a vision of being surrounded by flowers throughout the day of the wedding. A lush ceremony arch of peonies, roses, and hydrangeas in nearly every shade of pink looked gorgeous against the backdrop of low stone walls and rolling oak woodlands. Verdant table arrangements incorporated even more roses and peonies in silver votives and low glass vases. The couple even had pink and white rose petals floating in the nearby swimming pool.
As the ceremony began in front of 20 vaccinated guests, Taña’s brother, Josiah, led the bride down the first part of the aisle, while her nephew, Andrew, joined her for the rest of the walk. Robert’s two grown children, Mason and Madison, were also present. “My son told me that his favorite part of the wedding was seeing how happy I was, waiting for her to walk down the aisle,” Robert says. The ceremony was led by Taña’s longtime best friend, one who gave her “stamp of approval” to Robert as a suitor early on in the relationship. After the couple said their vows, they took shots of tequila to launch into celebration mode.
As guests enjoyed dinner at long tables set up outdoors on the patio by the pool, the couple had their first dance to “Robarte un Beso” (Steal a Kiss From You) by Colombian singers Carlos Vives and Sebastián Yatra. The song has special meaning on several levels: Both Robert and Taña are half Colombian, and the song played on the radio during their car ride to BottleRock together. “We’d play it over and over again after hearing it when we first started dating. Robert would even sing it for me,” Taña laughs.
The couple spent the early evening hours enjoying cake and wine and connecting with their guests while two classical Spanish guitarists played softly in the background. Later, the newlyweds played pool with their families and opened gifts. Robert and Taña say the wedding weekend was everything they’d hoped for — an elegant celebration of love and second chances. “We’ve both been married before, so this relationship feels like we’re beginning again,” Robert explains. “It feels good to enter this new chapter of our lives.”
Gauri and Jeremy’s celebrations began with a traditional Hindu ceremony officiated by Gauri’s father. Later, the couple changed into Western wedding clothes for a second ceremony led by Jeremy’s brother. (Photo by Aly Tovar)
“It was quite the planning adventure,” says bride Gauri Namkung of her May wedding to Jeremy Namkung at his parents’ home in Sebastopol. Gauri, an education researcher, and Jeremy, a music executive and rapper, met way back in 2009 at a teacher training program in Oakland, where they now live, and both taught at public schools there for several years.
But it was Sonoma where they felt they could pull off the wedding they’d always hoped for. After Jeremy proposed quietly in their Oakland apartment in February 2020 (“Just no big public proposals, please,” joked Gauri at the time), they tabled wedding planning as the unknowns of the pandemic took shape. “But after a while, we just decided that instead of waiting for that big wedding sometime in the future, we really just wanted to be married,” Gauri explains. They felt a smaller celebration at the rural home in Sebastopol where Jeremy grew up would fit the moment. “It just honestly felt like a different world up there, this place filled with rolling hills and trees—so beautiful,” says Gauri.
Gauri and Jeremy. (Photo by Aly Tovar)Gauri and Jeremy. (Photo by Aly Tovar)
The couple mapped out a daylong event with a traditional three-hour Hindu ceremony in the morning, led by Gauri’s father, a priest, followed by a vegetarian lunch catered by a well-known South Bay chef originally from the Indian state of Maharashtra, where Gauri’s family has roots.
After a break to regroup and switch up some of the decor, the couple returned for a second, Western-style ceremony led by Jeremy’s brother. An evening wedding meal of Japanese noodles and sushi, also vegetarian in keeping with Marathi tradition, was served in individual wooden bento boxes.
Throughout the day, there were drinks and casual to-go snacks from a cocktail trailer parked at one end of the outdoor garden. “We created these smaller environments, special seating arrangements like little pods, which worked out well,” explains Gauri. “And then right before the wedding, most of the guests could be vaccinated. So those who felt comfortable could talk and move from pod to pod.”
Gauri and Jeremy. (Photo by Aly Tovar)
To pull off a multicultural celebration that felt so deeply joyful in uncertain times felt like a victory for the couple. Jeremy, who is half Korean and half Canadian, enjoyed the process of researching and planning the Hindu ceremony and wearing the traditional kurta. “It was fun, and also very meaningful, for us to sit down together with Gauri’s parents and have them guide us through the rituals,” says Jeremy.
During the first ceremony, there was a quiet moment when the couple stood facing each other, surrounded by their guests, as a symbolic curtain was held up between them. “That was one of the times I could take a pause,” says Gauri. “And in that moment, I looked around and realized, ‘Oh my gosh, these are our people.’ I’ll never forget that.”
Home for Marissa Rosenberg — a scientist who studies the physical effects of space travel on astronauts after they have returned to earth — is an aromatic slice of heaven in the small town of Kenwood. Marissa grew up there on a lavender farm next to Chateau St. Jean Winery. And while the farm was lost in the 2017 Nuns fire, her parents, Gary and Rebecca Rosenberg, built a new home with a formal ornamental garden of English lavender, purple salvia, and perennials in homage to what was lost.
The family calls the garden la Rêve de Lavande, or “lavender dream.” It made for a striking and sentimental spot for Marissa’s over-the-moon wedding to fellow scientist Jocelyn Dunn. “The garden has so much meaning for my family and friends,” says Marissa. “It just had to be there.”
Marissa Rosenberg, left, and Jocelyn Dunn.(Photo by Rebecca Gosselin)Lavender blooms in the garden. (Photo by Rebecca Gosselin)
The two met at a NASA conference when Marissa was a post-doctoral student and Jocelyn was an intern. Both later wound up at Johnson Space Center in Houston, with Jocelyn at the time serving as a human performance engineer helping crew members train in their space suits.
The couple had originally planned to wed in September 2020, but the pandemic forced a delay that later proved fortuitous. They reset for June 26, 2021, Marriage Equality Day, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld same-sex marriage. The new date fell during the peak of the lavender bloom, and 125 vaccinated friends and family members were able to attend from all over the country and overseas.
As the ceremony began, the brides started down two separate winding paths through the garden, each escorted by her father. They joined up at a bridge they helped create, then crossed together to the ceremony site underneath a hand-built octagonal bower adorned with flowers. The ceremony was officiated by Marissa’s cousin and included many family members and nods to their blended roots, from a Celtic Handfasting to a Jewish Seven Blessings. “It was really important,” says Marissa, “for us to honor our ancestors.”
Wedding “cake” made of stacked cheese. (Photo by Rebecca Gosselin)
The couple’s “cake” was made of stacked wheels of cheese, including their favorite, Manchego. After the ceremony, a pair of bubble machines that looked like space shuttles sent bubbles flying all over. Then, as the sun set, 40 large tie-dyed balloons illuminated with LEDs lifted off and hovered over the garden like bobbing planets. Standing watch over it all was a 500-year-old oak tree, the only survivor of the fire, and an inspiration to the Rosenberg family during the long rebuilding process.
“At the time, when we had to postpone the wedding, it felt like the whole world was falling apart,” Marissa says. “But it was not the end of the world. I’m happy for our family’s health and safety, and that we had each other during the quarantine. Things turned out quite a bit differently, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
After planning their wedding while living in different countries, Erica and Justin Lakovic were finally able to celebrate together last October. Justin built the wooden arch under which they were married. (Jana Contreras)
Erica and Justin Lakovic looked forward to an intimate, relaxed October wedding underneath the majestic redwoods at Healdsburg’s Riverfront Regional Park. But before the couple could tie the knot, they had to navigate hours of planning and paperwork just to land in the same country.
Erica and Justin met in 2019 at church in Melbourne, Australia, where Erica had recently moved to work as a nanny. “We just hit it off right away,” she says. Justin, a mechanical engineer, proposed the following June, exactly one year after their first date.
Then things became complicated. Australia closed its borders during the pandemic, and Erica later returned home to Santa Rosa on one of the few international flights. She initially thought she’d go back to Australia, but was denied entry 17 times. So the two planned their wedding while living thousands of miles apart. “We had to get approval for Justin to even leave Australia, so there was a lot of stress there,” Erica explains. “It all worked out. He got here in September, a few weeks before the wedding.”
The couple spent their wedding night at AutoCamp in Guerneville. (Photo by Jana Contreras)Flowers from Feather Flower Farm in Sebastopol. (Photo by Jana Contreras)
Erica and Justin married in the shade of the redwoods — trees they say remind them of their first date at an Australian park. For the ceremony, they stood in front of a wooden arch, which Justin built himself, draped in fabric and accented with blush, white, and burgundy flowers and feathery pampas grass. “After 14 months of wanting this moment, and for it to finally be there, it was just a magical moment,” Erica says.
Erica wore a flowing boho-style dress with floral details, and the couple wore Vans instead of formal shoes. “That was always something I dreamed of doing — wearing Vans to my wedding,” laughs Erica. The couple added other personal touches, too. Guests signed a globe instead of a guestbook, a nod to their trans-continental engagement. And the two took photos feeding each other burritos from Chipotle, one of their favorite spots.
For their honeymoon, Justin and Erica spent the night at AutoCamp Russian River, a gift from their wedding photographer and dear friend, Jana Contreras. Next up is spending a few months in Europe, says Erica. “We have a lot of adventures ahead of us, for sure.”
In west Petaluma, just a short distance from beloved neighborhood haunts like Ray’s Delicatessen and Petaluma Creamery, you’ll find a mix of historic residences, ranging from Victorian homes to 1940s properties. In this “charming pocket” of Petaluma, as realtor Yoko Kasai likes to call it, is an English cottage-style home from the 1930s, which is on the market for $1,295,000.
The 1,800-square-foot cottage, located on 509 Melvin Street, blends classic and modern design. Much of the original design elements have been preserved, including original wainscoting and arched doorways. White walls and modern light fixtures, like a black and gold drum pendant and white half-cylinder sconces, add a clean-lined crispness to the interior. Modern furnishings, including a midcentury modern dining table and upholstered chairs, look very much at home in the 1930s cottage. The original fireplace remains and is topped with a mantel ready for decorating. An original, built-in mail drop is another vintage accent. A rare bird’s eye pattern in the maple wood floors has caught the attention of prospective buyers, according to realtor Kasai.
Parts of the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home have been carefully renovated to blend with original design elements. For example, the bathroom boasts a modern marble shower stall with a bathtub nook and the kitchen has quartz kitchen countertops and new appliances.
In the home’s garden, there are dwarf lemon, lime and orange trees. Click through the above gallery for a peek inside the property.
“The story is redwoods and river,” says realtor Noel Flores of one of his new real estate listings, a 1980s condominium nestled among trees by the Russian River.
The shingle-clad two-story, three-bedroom home is just a short drive from Guerneville and, with a community clubhouse and storage for kayaks and canoes, it’s well-situated for fun on the river and forest bathing. The property is listed for $525,000, a price point that’s a bit of a rarity in Sonoma County’s red-hot real estate market.
Vaulted ceilings lend a sense of spaciousness to the nearly 1,400-square foot dwelling. The design highlights the natural setting: large windows in the living room offer a dramatic view of the towering trees outside and each bedroom enjoys forest views. A clean-lined interior, painted white, allows the lush outdoor setting to take center stage.
The home has an updated kitchen with blonde wood cabinets, durable quartz countertops and an electric cooktop. All three bedrooms have en suite bathrooms. A wood-burning stove in the living room adds charm and great potential for nestled-in-the-woods coziness.
The staging by Woodland Stylists gives an idea of the property’s potential. Modern lighting choices — lamps and pendants with drum shades — blend well with the 1980s architecture while punctuating it with contemporary style. Textiles throughout the home add earth tones, plus splashes of mustard and graphic patterns, that create a well-blended and sleek look.
The home’s attached private patio needs no adornments, only a few chairs, as the redwoods and river create a naturally beautiful setting.
The townhouse at 17247 Verba Lane in Guerneville, is listed by Noel Flores of Continuum Real Estate. For more information, call 415-730-0554, or email noel@continuumrealestate.com.
Kebab pizza, another unique dish from Sweden, is served at Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. (Stockhome)
Where diplomacy fails, pizza connects, because a crispy crust, sizzling meat and gooey cheese have no secret agenda other than being unified in deliciousness.
Pizza is the United Nations of food, offering a treaty in its toppings — which may be how banana curry pizza came to be one of Sweden’s most popular pies.
Banana. Curry. Pizza. Allow that to bend your mind. It’s now available in Petaluma at Stockhome restaurant, along with another Swedish favorite, kebab pizza, and, coming soon, steak and Béarnaise sauce pizza.
If you’ve never experienced the mixtape of Swedish pizza, prepare to be astounded. It starts with a thin cracker crust and a light-handed swipe of either traditional red (tomato-based) or white (cream-based) sauce. That’s topped with cheese and then, well, whatever Swedes think will go well on a pizza. Like bananas and curry.
Sweden also has “normal” pizzas, but some of the most nostalgic for expats are the uniquely Swedish creations, according to Roberth and Andrea Sundell, owners of Stockhome restaurant.
“Most people are like, ‘No,’” said Andrea Sundell about initial reactions to the banana-curry pizza combo. “But with anything new, it takes a minute to catch on. People are trying it because we love it, and we’re telling them to give it a chance. I took one bite, and it became my favorite pizza,” she added.
Banana Curry pizza and Pizza Bianco at Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. (Courtesy of Stockhome)More Swedish dishes at Stockhome in Petaluma. (Elise Aileen Photography)
Chef Roberth Sundell is a native Swede who likes to introduce restaurant visitors to the specialties of his home country, like tunnbrödsrulle (hot dog and mashed potatoes wrapped in a soft flatbread), Skagenröra (shrimp mixed with mayonnaise, crème fraîche, dill and lemon juice on toast), the traditional julbord (Christmas buffet) and street food classics, which, thanks to the immigrant population in Sweden, include dishes like kebab plates and pita wraps.
“We’ve always wanted pizza on the menu and realized now was the time to do it,” Roberth said.
An a-peeling history
The first pizzerias in Sweden were opened by Italian immigrants in the 1940s. They were later adopted by international guest workers and refugee communities as low-cost first businesses, bringing forth the kebab pizza (Turkish) with gyro meat; Balkan pizza salad (“pizzasallad” in Swedish) made with vinegar-marinated cabbage and red bell pepper; and the banana curry pizza, with Caribbean bananas and spice influences from North Africa.
Pizza is not the only Swedish dish that’s benefited from the addition of bananas. The sweet yellow fruit arrived in Sweden in the 1940s, far later than in other European countries. It soon took hold, not just as a snack and breakfast food, but in savory dishes like Flygande Jakob (Flying Jacob), a baked chicken dish that includes roasted peanuts, bacon and bananas. So why not throw it on a pizza?
Chef Sundell makes his version with a light housemade tomato sauce (onion, thyme and red wine vinegar), three kinds of cheese (including the tangy Swedish cheese Svecia), sliced bananas and curry powder sprinkled on top.
“It’s just fun and silly and nostalgic,” Andrea said.
More to try
If you’re nervous about the banana curry pizza, try the Pizza Bianco ($22) made with a three-cheese blend of Swedish fontina, Gruyere and mozzarella, lemon crème fraîche and thyme. It’s so good we ate it for three days straight, reheated and cold.
Kebab pizza ($25) is the darling of the lineup, with crisp slices of lamb, roasted tomato, pepperoncini and garlic yogurt with cheese and red sauce. You will become a Swedish pizza convert.
As for the Banana Curry pizza ($23), it’s one of those things that sounds horrifying but makes absolute sense once you’ve tried it. The sweet, thin slices of banana become infused with curry flavor. Think of them as Indian-style pepperonis? Just go with it.
The Sundells will be adding more Swedish pizza to the menu soon, like the Bea pizza (thinly sliced steak with Bearnaise sauce). Their restaurant also serves Scandinavian beers with the pizza to complete the Swedish experience — or to help your courage with that Banana Curry pizza.
The countdown to Valentine’s Day is on. This year, February 14 falls on a Monday, which means you’ve got a long weekend to celebrate (or come up with a last-minute gift/surprise/dinner). Need some help impressing that special someone in your life? From a private spa party to a jungle love tour to a relaxing beach getaway, here are our picks for romantic must-dos in Sonoma County.
The bar and outdoor patio experience on the third floor Roof 106 at The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking up on us. We’re just getting used to it being a new year and, all of a sudden, February 14 is just around the corner. If you’re anything like us, you’re probably reading this and thinking, “I sure could use some elaborate ideas right about now.” Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered.
To help a fellow (scatterbrained) romantic out, we’ve listed 20 local restaurants that are serving up special meals this Valentine’s Day. Fancy gifts and romantic getaways are lovely treats but sometimes a simple dinner date is a perfect way to show someone how much you care. After all, the best way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, right?
Looking for some conversation starters? If you and your partner just started dating, you could look deeply into each other’s eyes as they twinkle in the candlelight and ask the 36 questions that lead to love. If you’ve been together for a while, you could ask the same questions to spice things up a little.
Whatever you end up talking about, we can guarantee that the food and ambiance will elevate the experience — Sonoma County restaurants are going all out this year to provide guests with a special evening over Valentine’s weekend. We’ve also included some at-home treats that can be ordered for pickup or delivery. Click through the above gallery to see the restaurants and what they have to offer.
Santa Rosa
John Ash & Co.
The chefs at John Ash & Co. have crafted an extensive prix fixe menu for Valentine’s Day. The menu includes various gourmet dishes to choose from for a three-course dinner, such as Hog Island oysters, ahi tuna tartare, angus beef carpaccio, vegetable napoleon, tomato gnocchi and roasted prawns, herbs de Provence-crusted rack of lamb, grand marnier chocolate pot de crème and strawberry pomegranate sorbet. The meal is $79 per person and reservations are highly encouraged. Reserve your dinner on OpenTable.
Valentine’s-themed doughnut holes from Johnny Doughnuts in Santa Rosa. (Courtesy of Johnny Dougnuts)
Johnny Doughnuts
This Bay Area doughnut darling has released limited-edition sweet treats for Feb. 14. Their Valentine’s-themed Doughnut Hole Box ($27) features 12 assorted doughnut holes and is packaged with a handwritten card. The cut-off for online order of this limited-time box is Thursday, Feb. 10, at noon, and it is available for pickup from Feb. 11 to Feb.14.
Johnny Doughnuts will also be serving its classic doughnuts with a Valentine’s twist — such as the heart-shaped bismark filled with vanilla pastry cream, dipped in chocolate and coated with red sprinkles — in-store from Feb. 9 to Feb. 14. Custom doughnut gift boxes can also be ordered online for pickup or delivery during this time and will include a Valentine’s Day card and themed doughnuts.
Longtime California pizza staple Mountain Mike’s Pizza is serving up the love all month long with heart-shaped pizzas available on Valentine’s Day and the rest of February. The pizzas are served in love-themed pizza boxes and come with one topping of your choice, available at the same price as a large, one-topping pizza.
Heart-shaped pizza from Acre Pizza. (Courtesy of Acre Pizza)Heart-shaped pizza from Mountain Mike’s Pizza. (@archela)
Ricky’s Eastbound
Ricky’s Eastbound will host a Valentine’s Dinner on Feb. 14, from 4:30-8 p.m. The Valentine’s entree specials will include almond-crusted salmon, red wine-braised lamb shank, grilled filet mignon and a pizza special with pancetta, pears, leeks and fontina. The entrees, excluding the pizza, come with a variety of sides, such as mashed potatoes and veggies. Valentine’s desserts include a berry shortcake and a butterscotch pot de creme. Reservations are not required.
For Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11 through Feb. 13, Walter Hansel Wine & Bistro will have a special menu full of indulgences. The menu includes an assiette de fromage (a tasting of assorted cheeses), Shigoku oysters, escargot a la bourguignonne, lobster bisque, beet salad, chicken cordon bleu, vegetarian risotto, grilled filet mignon, crème brûlée and more. Call 707-546-6462 or visit OpenTable to reserve a table.
Tips Roadside will serve a special Valentine’s Dinner on Feb. 14, which features a prix fixe menu with some of the restaurant’s best Wine Country comfort food. The meal begins with a Cobb salad and a glass of champagne, the entree is a choice of smoked chicken or smoked prime rib, and the sides include creamed spinach, smoked mushrooms, baked potatoes and sourdough rolls. There will be a red velvet cake for dessert, and a full bar will serve local wines, craft cocktails and house-brewed beer. The meal is $95 per person and reservations are required. Reserve your table on Tock.
The cozy Glen Ellen Star will host a Valentine’s Day event on Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. with a prix fixe menu by Chef Ari Weiswasser. The Valentine’s menu features tasty seasonal fare including gougères (French puff pastries with cheese), wood oven-roasted golden beets, a winter salad with citrus dressing and whipped labneh, wood baked-scallops, grilled Snake River Farms zabuton steak, pommes puree with grated black winter truffle, and a chocolate mousse for dessert. The meal is $100 per person and reservations can be made on Resy.
Sonoma’s the girl & the fig serves French-inspired cuisine in a romantic atmosphere, making it a prime spot for a Valentine’s date night. The weekly rotating Bistro Plats Du Jour three-course prix fixe menu takes the guesswork out of what to order and features elegant dishes such as steak tartare, duck confit, wild flounder meunière and the chocolatey salted fig caramel trifle. Pair any of these signature dishes with an award-winning Rhône varietal wine. Wrap up the Valentine’s Day celebration with the girl & the fig’s sea salt chocolate chunk cookies.
Sonoma’s Wit & Wisdom will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a four-course menu, which has a vegetarian option. The meat and seafood menu ($115 per person) includes romantic delicacies such as kumiai oysters, reserve caviar, king crab and endive caesar salad, hamachi crudo, ricotta gnudi, seared ahi tuna and wood-fired filet mignon. The vegetarian menu ($95 per person) features mushroom toast, black perigord truffle, heart of palm and endive caesar salad, beet carpaccio, ricotta gnudi and winter vegetable pot pie. Both menus have a raspberry macaron with almond, white chocolate and fresh raspberries for dessert. Reserve your table on SevenRooms or OpenTable.
Bellini Flight at Cafe Bellini in Petaluma. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)
Petaluma
Acre Pizza
Another spot to pick up some heart-shaped pizza for your sweetheart. The thin-crust original comes with cheese; there’s an option to add pepperoni, potato or pesto. Also in Sebastopol.
Cafe Bellini has a special three-course Valentine’s Day dinner for $49 per person on Feb. 14. The first course is a choice between a burrata salad with tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic glaze and olive oil, or risotto with shallots, cremini mushrooms, asparagus and parmesan cheese. The second course is a choice between a 12-ounce New York steak with fresh asparagus and chimichurri sauce; chicken scallopini in a demi-glace with marinated artichokes, fingerling potatoes and baby spinach; or petrale sole in a lemon butter wine sauce with garlic mashed potato and asparagus. The third course is a choice between tiramisu or creme brûlée cheesecake.
Cattlemens will serve a special Valentine’s dinner from Feb. 11 to Feb. 14 for $45 per person. The dinner includes a 14-ounce New York grilled steak and steamed lobster tail, served with a garden salad, sourdough bread, ranch-style beans and baked potato.
Teaming up with local farmers and businesses, Grata Italian Eatery put together a “Show Your Love (for Sonoma County)” five-course dinner for two. The locally-sourced Valentine’s Day menu includes oysters on the half shell with two glasses of champagne for the first course; ricotta gnudi with duck confit for the second course; wild mushroom and chicories salad for the third course; and osso buco with polenta and ratatouille vegetables for the fourth course. For dessert, enjoy bon bons and chocolate covered strawberries. The dinner for two is $160. Call 707-620-0508 or visit OpenTable to book a reservation.
The culinary team behind Dry Creek Kitchen is offering a seasonal five-course tasting menu throughout Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11-14. The Valentine’s menu, which can be complemented with an optional wine pairing, includes a petite brie en croûte with mustard greens and dijon vinaigrette; crisp amberjack in a bonito broth; seared squab breast with a French onion tart; charbroiled filet and seared scallop with potato fondant and asparagus; and a blood orange semifreddo with dark chocolate and a fennel biscotti for dessert. The Valentine’s meal is $120 per person and the optional wine pairing is $75.
English Pea Soup poured at the table over lavender, coconut yogurt and vintner’s coppa from Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)Coconut Tapioca Pearls with tropical fruit salsa, black sesame and mango sorbet from Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Hazel Hill
Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg will have a four-course Valentine’s Day menu by Chef Jason Pringle on Feb. 14 from 5-9 p.m. The first course consists of white asparagus with hazelnut and cured egg; the second course is a choice between scallop quenelle with sunchoke, smoked onion and razor clam, or big eye tuna with blood orange and pistachio; the third course is a teleeka ravioli with baby artichoke and black truffle; and the fourth course is a choice between wagyu beef with polenta and wild mushroom, or lobster thermidor with fingerling potatoes, spinach and gruyere. There will be a chocolate semifreddo with hazelnut and passionfruit for dessert.
The restaurant will also have festive menus over the Valentine’s weekend, including the Romance Dinner on Feb. 12 from 5-9 p.m. and the Romance Brunch on Feb. 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 707-354-6900 or visit OpenTable to make a reservation.
The Matheson in Healdsburg will serve a five-course tasting menu for Valentine’s Day, with seating available in the main dining room, chef’s counter, bar table and the mezzanine level. The dinner is $150 per person and includes tai snapper crudo, Dungeness crab bisque, lobster gnocchi, Alaskan halibut, Flannery Beef New York and volo chocolate mousse. Reserve your table on Tock.
Aged Sonoma Duck with Okinawan sweet potato, persimmon and brussels sprouts from The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)From left, Sherry Sunset, Into the Mine and Best’s Bait cocktails from the rooftop bar at Roof 106 at The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Geyserville Grille
Geyserville Grille will host a Wine and Dine Your Valentine event featuring a four-course meal prepared by Chef Danny Nooris with a complimentary glass of champagne. The Valentine’s menu has a variety of seasonal dishes to choose from for each course, such as poke tuna furikake fries, roasted vegetable minestrone, house-made butternut squash and ricotta ravioli, herb crusted wild salmon, roasted pork tenderloin, chocolate lava cake and more. The meal is $80 per person and required reservations are available for Feb. 14 from 5-8 p.m. Call 707-857-3264 to make a reservation.
Sebastopol’s Gravenstein Grill will have a prix fixe menu over the Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11 through Feb. 13. The Valentine’s menu includes a seasonal amuse bouche, a choice of ahi tuna tartare, pork and duck pate, or a selection of local cheeses for the second course, and a choice of Pacific halibut, local NY strip steak or wild mushroom risotto for the third course. Dessert will be a choice of chocolate pot de creme or Chef Bob’s famous rum cake. The dinner is $80 per person and reservations can be made on Tock.
Canneti will serve a five-course Valentine’s dinner on Feb. 14, which you can enjoy while watching the 1958 movie Houseboat playing on the heated patio at 4:45, 6:30 and 8 p.m. The menu is $75 per person and includes a Belgian endive salad, shrimp croquettes, a seafood lasagnette pasta, stuffed polletto and a cherry meringue pie. Call 707-887-2232 by Feb. 12 to place your takeout order or reserve a table.
Dinucci’s Restaurant will offer a six-course Valentine’s Dinner featuring classic Italian cuisine and live music accompaniment. The menu will include an antipasti plate for starters, its famous minestrone soup with warm sourdough bread, a garden green salad with a house dressing of your choice, a side of pasta (chef’s choice) with bolognese sauce, your choice of Sonoma Mountain filet mignon or grilled local salmon for the main course (each served with assorted sides), and John and Jill’s Valentine chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert. The meal comes with a complimentary glass of brut champagne. Call 707-876-3260 to make a reservation.
For Valentine’s Day, this local cookie shop is selling festively-wrapped tins of assorted cookies. The tins range in price from $24.50 to $50 and include anywhere from 16 to 42 of its signature cookies, such as Lemon Moon, Ginger Honey Snap, Chocolate Cherry Bomb and Brown Sugar Hearts. Order online for delivery or pickup at the shop in the Larkfield Center.
Fleur Sauvage, run by husband-and-wife team Robert and Tara Nieto, specializes in artistic artisan chocolates. The couple recently opened a new storefront in Windsor. Robert, who previously was the pastry chef at Madrona Manor, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro and Jackson Family Wines, crafts the chocolates while Tara runs the front of the store, where you can order espressos, lattes and hot chocolate. For a luxe Valentine’s treat, order their Chocolate Heart Box with 12 assorted bonbons inside ($60). Place order via email and pick up at the store.
Chocolate creations from Fleur Sauvage in Windsor. (Chris Hardy/Sonoma Magazine)
Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts
Known for its artfully-prepared mini doughnuts, Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts is offering festive Valentine Donut-Grams for sweet-toothed lovers this season. The Donut-Gram is $5 and comes with your choice of sugar or chocolate glaze and topped with heart-shaped sprinkles. Pre-order by emailing harveysdonuts@yahoo.com. Pickup at Harvey’s Donut Bar, tucked away near the Sonoma Plaza, or get free delivery in the town of Sonoma on Feb. 13.
The Bodega Bay-based Nom Nom Cakes is offering beautifully decorated Valentine’s Day specials made with organic, locally-sourced ingredients. The specials include fun, decadent treats such as a Valentine’s Day decorating cookie kit, heart cocoa bombs filled with hot cocoa and mini marshmallows, and a chocolate-covered strawberry cake filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate covered strawberries. Order these and/or other Valentine’s specialties online for pickup or delivery.
Nourishing rains turn autumn’s golden hills and meadows to emerald velvet. Redwood forests stay shrouded in morning mist, sometimes giving way to brilliant sunshine in the afternoon. At the coast, the gray-blue ocean thrums with the rhythmic crashing of waves on otherwise quiet beaches. And all over the county, our 60,000 acres of vineyards are dormant after harvest. The leaves have dropped from the vines, exposing naked canes and trunks—slender and sleek on young plantings, thick and gnarled on the ancient vines.
In these gentle days, it’s easy to imagine that winery workers are enjoying some well-deserved rest. Except that winter signals the start of a very important annual task: pruning. More than a job, proper pruning is an art, learned over many years of hands-on experience, and it’s a key step in creating the extraordinary wines for which our region is known.
“Pruning is the first major decision we make in the vineyard for the new harvest,” says Chris Benziger of Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen. “It is a critical time that often gets overlooked by the public, because it happens slowly in the background, as we prune back the spent shoots of last year to focus the energy of the vine into the budding potential of the new grapes.”
For teams of vineyard workers who take on these long weeks of challenging work, pruning can also mean time for rejuvenation. Working one’s way down a row of vines, at a slower pace than at harvest time, becomes a kind of meditation, enhanced by the rich, damp smell of healthy soil, the echoes of hawks and other wildlife, and the methodical snip of the shears.
“Pruning is actually more important than harvest, because it determines the quality of the fruit for the next harvest season,” says Enrique Reyes, vineyard manager at Dutcher Crossing Winery in Geyserville. “But the crew can take their time, unlike harvest, where they need to very quickly get the fruit off the vine.”
A winter pruning crew makes its way through one of the terraced vineyard blocks at Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Shaping a Future Crop
Some vineyard managers begin pruning in December, while others spread the work out through January, February—even into early March, depending on the vineyard location, the weather, and the variety of vine. Choosing when to make the first cuts of the season requires careful consideration. “When you see all the vines with leaves still even just a little green, they are still working,” says Marco Garcia, vineyard manager at Capo Creek Ranch in Healdsburg. “When all the leaves have dropped, they are shut down. If you cut before they’re dormant, you’ve broken them.”
It can be a delicate decision, since any surprise frost or rain can damage freshly pruned vines, too. “Mother Nature has the final word,” says Chris Benziger.
Pruning dictates how heavy a crop a vine will bear in the coming season, and more grapes are not always the best choice. “There are so many things to think about as you go,” says Garcia. “Every vine is individual, like a person. So you look at each one — this vine looks a little bit weak, so it needs a little less fruit. This vine looks strong, so it can handle more spurs.”
Vineyard manager Marco Garcia of Healdsburg’s Capo Creek Ranch carefully prunes old-vine Zinfandel. (Rebecca Gosselin)Vineyard manager Marco Garcia of Healdsburg’s Capo Creek Ranch carefully prunes old-vine Zinfandel. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Pruning sets the course for a vine’s success—even decades into the future. “Visitors don’t understand how important the pruning is,” says Capo Creek Ranch owner Bob Covert, who often shepherds winery guests into the vineyards, which span 20 acres of Dry Creek Valley flats and hillsides. “I stop by our old-vine Zinfandels and then a couple of our new plants and talk about how they’re pruned differently to establish certain habitats. We’re creating the shape that is going to last a lifetime, so we have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we want a little more crop, or a little less crop?’ Everyone is fascinated by just how much you’re trying to accomplish with pruning.”
Benziger Winery in Glen Ellen. (Rebecca Gosselin)Grazing sheep, raised at Benziger Winery in Glen Ellen, provide green vineyard management. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Fifty Vines an Hour
“Our crews run between 15 to 20 folks, and they have been with us for decades,” says Chris Benziger, who runs vineyards on Sonoma Mountain, in the Russian River Valley, and along the Sonoma Coast. “It is important to have that institutional knowledge,” he says, “because with pruning we are looking backward to predict the future.”
At Dutcher Crossing Winery, Reyes usually sends out a crew of ten in January, wrapping things up in about two weeks across the winery’s 35 acres. Meanwhile, just three workers manage the boutique vineyards at Capo Creek, taking about six weeks to complete the meticulous job. They start with heartier, later-ripening vines to protect more delicate ones from unexpected frost.
A pruning crew at Kunde Family Winery in Kenwood. (Rebecca Gosselin)
A talented pruner can tackle 40 to 50 vines per hour, even as he or she takes the time needed to study each vine. Most wineries encourage crews to take frequent breaks from what is extraordinarily demanding work on hand, arm, and back muscles. And many crews organize communal lunches with barbecues or plancha-fired tacos prepared right in the vineyard, next to the ever-growing piles of freshly cut canes.
“Of course, we still do have to keep a time sequence within a vineyard block,” Covert explains. “Once you’ve started, you want to finish, because you set the tone for when you’re going to have budbreak and fruit. You want an even maturation.”
Garcia has been pruning for 18 years, and says he is still learning, particularly as the weather and climate evolves. “You have to have experience, especially to prune the older vines,” he says. “You need to know how many spurs you can leave and still get ripening – the old vines are more secretive about what their plans are for the coming year. To be perfect in pruning takes a long, long time.”
A pruning crew at Geyserville’s Dutcher Crossing Winery takes a break to cook lunch together. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Master viticulturalist Rene Muñoz has worked with the Kunde family since the early 1990s. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Soaking Up Nature
For those who understand the season, right now is one of the most beautiful and exciting times of the year in the vineyard. “Compared to harvest, pruning is totally different,” says Garcia. “It’s kind of relaxed, and you really enjoy it. Everywhere you look is green. We have such great views from Capo – Dry Creek Valley, and Mount Saint Helena is right there.”
“We might get fog the morning, afternoon sun, sometimes maybe a little bit of rain – it’s one of the best times to work. You start your morning with a coffee, play some music you love, and soak up the beauty of nature… Oh my goodness, it’s the best job in the world.”
Glorious winter mustard blooms at Kunde Family Winery in Kenwood. (Rebecca Gosselin)Kunde Family Winery in Kenwood. (Rebecca Gosselin)
Among the Vines: Pruning Tours and Tastings
Beltane Ranch: Each year, usually in late February or early March, the historic estate in Glen Ellen hosts an all-day pruning festival, including live demonstrations, a pruning contest, and mariachi music. 11775 Sonoma Hwy, Glen Ellen.707-833-4233. Check for date and details at beltaneranch.com
Benziger Family Winery: The Benzigers have farmed bio-dynamically for 21 years. The estate winery offers vineyard tours and tastings, where you may see pruning crews in action, typically through late February or so. 1883 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen. 707-935-3000, benziger.com
Capo Creek Ranch: On a tour and tasting, admire old-vine Zinfandel planted over 40 years ago, and compare them with hillside vines planted in 2016. Pruning is done by a small crew over about six weeks, often beginning in late January. 7171 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. 707-608-8448, capocreekranch.com
Dutcher Crossing Winery: Guests are welcomed to a 1900s-style farmhouse and 35-acre estate winery where pruning crews will be in action typically through mid-February (call for info). Bring your own picnic, and play a game of pétanque on the winery’s courts. 8533 Dry Creek Road, Geyserville. 707-431 2700, dutchercrossingwinery.com
Kunde Family Winery: The Kunde family have farmed the rolling hills of Kenwood for five generations. Special vineyard hikes allow guests to see the vines up close in pruning season. They offer dog hikes in the vineyards, too. 9285 Highway 12, Kenwood. 707-833-5501, kunde.com
