Page 160 – Sonoma Magazine

Our Dining Editor Quarantined. Here’s Where She Ordered Food Delivery

January 2022

By Heather Irwin

I wasn’t planning on writing a story about my favorite Sonoma County restaurants for food delivery this week, but then the pandemic hit. My family was exposed to COVID-19, so we quarantined and ate like a bunch of bored people whose biggest thrill of the day is a pile of delivery boxes left on our doorstep.

It was delicious.

Gaining confidence in the online delivery process, we explored the variety of food our local restaurants have to offer: Korean, Chinese, Greek, American, healthy, not-so-healthy, tacos, tempura and on and on and on.

By now, most restaurants have adjusted to the ever-changing pandemic landscape, and we soon realized you can get almost anything delivered — hot dogs, wine, banh mi, warm cookies, milkshakes and munchies and much more.

Santa Rosa, where we live, has the most delivery options in Sonoma County, including late-night eats and alcohol. The Petaluma Food Taxi has partnered with just about every restaurant in Petaluma, making this local third-party delivery service a great choice for more upscale meals when you get sick of fried chicken and pizza.

Those who live in Windsor, Rohnert Park and Cotati benefit from the proximity to Santa Rosa and Petaluma restaurants with delivery services, as well as neighborhood restaurants. In Healdsburg and Sonoma, pickings are a bit slimmer for delivery, though expanding (takeout is more popular there).

Click through the above gallery for 23 local spots that delivered excellent meals during our quarantine in recent weeks, with restaurant websites and phone numbers for placing orders, as well as third-party services such as Doordash and Grubhub for restaurants that only use these for delivery.

About Third-Party Delivery Services

If you eat food, you’ve probably heard the ambivalent feelings restaurant staff have toward third-party delivery services like Grubhub, Doordash and UberEats.

These third-party delivery services charge commissions and fees for providing restaurants with drivers, a seamless ordering system and marketing. Restaurants pay a high — some say excessive — price for the convenience and so do customers. It’s an unwelcome surprise when your $70 order skyrockets to $100 with taxes, service charges and tip.

Local delivery services like Redwood Food Taxi and Petaluma Food Taxi also take a percentage of restaurant sales, but only charge a flat $5 delivery fee for an entirely local service. The best bet, when possible, is ordering directly from the restaurant, allowing local business owners to keep most of their profit.

As a side note, a new state law is coming into effect this year that aims to ensure delivery drivers get tips directly; it’s now illegal for food delivery apps to keep tips. And when you order through one of these apps but choose pickup instead of delivery, the food delivery app now must pass the gratuity on to the restaurant.

Beyond Wine: 8 Sonoma Tasting Rooms for a Taste of Something Different

January 2022

By Kaila Bohler

Sonoma County may be known for its wine, but locals are concocting a variety of drinks, from vodka, whiskey and gin to cider and aperitifs — even mead. If you want to change things up in the new year, here are nine local tasting rooms to visit, perhaps once pandemic conditions improve (or order your drinks online on company websites for delivery or pickup). Click through the above gallery for a peek at the tasting rooms and drinks.

Hanson of Sonoma

Move over grains and potatoes — Hanson of Sonoma is one of a few distilleries to produce vodka from grapes. The finished product can be enjoyed on its own or in one of the creative cocktails made and served in the distillery’s tasting room. Pair your drink with a wood-fired pizza, available Friday through Sunday.

Hanson has a variety of tasting options, from a standard tour and tasting to martini and caviar or vodka and chocolate truffle pairings. Their current vodka lineup includes the award-winning Organic Original as well as flavored vodkas — cucumber, Meyer lemon, mandarin, habañero and other limited-edition flavors, such as boysenberry, ginger and espresso.

22985 Burndale Road, Sonoma, 707-343-1805, hansonofsonoma.com

A Mandarin Greyhouse made with Hanson Organic Mandarin Vodka and garnished with a dehydrated grapefruit peel at Hanson of Sonoma Distillery in Sonoma, Calif. on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. (Photo: Erik Castro/for The Press Democrat) — A Mandarin Greyhouse made with Hanson Organic Mandarin Vodka and garnished with a dehydrated grapefruit peel at Hanson of Sonoma Distillery in Sonoma. (Erik Castro/for The Press Democrat)

Young & Yonder

Young & Yonder was founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife team Joshua and Sarah Opatz. One thing that makes this tasting room stand out is its variety of spirits. While most distilleries specialize in one or two spirit types, Young & Yonder serves a flight of five: vodka, whiskey, gin, absinthe and amaro.

Visitors can lounge on the tasting room patio and sip on cocktails made with Young & Yonder spirits. The menu features classic cocktails and rotating seasonal drinks. The tasting room is open for cocktails and tastings noon to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday. Reservations are encouraged; groups larger than eight people must make a reservation.

449 Allan Court, Healdsburg, 707-473-8077, youngandyonder.com

Crooked Goat Brewing

This brewery started as a hobby project for a group of friends and eventually turned into a full-time business. Since opening in 2016, Crooked Goat has brewed more than 350 types of beer. They offer a wide selection of brews on rotating taps, including traditional and nontraditional ales, sours, IPAs and even a seltzer.

The brewery’s west county taproom, located in The Barlow in downtown Sebastopol, has a friendly and lively vibe. The taproom doesn’t have a kitchen, so the brewery has partnered with Barlow restaurants to offer a variety of dishes to pair with your brew. Partner restaurants include Acre Pizza, The Farmer’s Wife and Sushi Kosho.

120 Morris St., Suite 120, Sebastopol, 707-827-3893, crookedgoatbrewing.com

Wila Imhoff heads across the street to Crooked Goat Brewing with a to go Acre Pizza in Sebastopol's Barlow district. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat) — Wila Imhoff heads across the street to Crooked Goat Brewing with a to go Acre Pizza in Sebastopol’s Barlow district. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

HenHouse Brewing Company

Since opening in 2012, HenHouse Brewing has become a staple on the Sonoma County craft beer scene. Their Big Chicken IPA, available for only for a few days each February, has achieved cult status in the beer world.

The brewery’s original tasting room is in Santa Rosa, but you also can get HenHouse brews at the Palace of Barrels in Petaluma. Each location is visited by a different food truck every day — January’s food truck schedule includes Damn Dogs, Galvan’s Eatery, Red Horse Pizza, Streetside Asian Grill and Tacos Los Iñiguez.

HenHouses’s selection of IPAs and constantly changing limited releases are top-notch. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, HenHouse has partnered with nine American breweries and one in England to create 10 beers that will be released over five weeks, ending on Feb. 5.

322 Bellevue Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-978-4577; 1333 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, henhousebrewing.com

Golden State Cider

Hard ciders are having a moment. In Sonoma County, cider makers are reviving local orchards; among them is Golden State Cider, owned by Jolie Devoto-Wade and her husband, Hunter Wade. The Devoto family has been farming apples in Sonoma County since the late 1970s, and Jolie and Hunter continue to make great things with the fruit.

Visit the Golden State Cider taproom in The Barlow and try their 12 ciders, available on rotating taps. Don’t miss Save the Gravenstein, a heritage-style cider made exclusively from Gravenstein apples grown in the Sebastopol hills. The cidery’s Harvest Series features ciders made from local fruit and includes Fool’s Gold, an aromatic cider made from organic apple varieties grown on Gold Ridge Road in Sebastopol, and The Elder Tree, with Newtown Pippin and Arkansas Black apple varieties.

180 Morris St., Suite 150, Sebastopol, 707-827-3765, drinkgoldenstate.com

Tilted Shed Ciderworks

Tilted Shed Ciderworks was launched in 2011 by husband-and-wife team Scott Heath and Ellen Cavelli. They use organically grown heirloom and cider apples from local orchards, as well as fruit from their Sebastopol farm, where they grow more than 120 cider apple and Perry pear varieties. The couple founded and managed the first Sonoma County Cider Week in 2018 and launched their own cider-focused quarterly print magazine, Malus.

Each Tilted Shed cider is inspired by the people, places and flavors of Sonoma County. The 2020 Block Party is a collaboration with neighboring Two Shepherds Winery (“love thy neighbor, share thy fruit” reads the label) and includes organic dry-farmed Jonathan apples from Nana Mae’s Organics in Sebastopol. The 2020 Still Standing canned cider is a wild-fermented blend of locally grown and organically farmed apples — Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, Wickson, Nehou and Muscat de Bernay. The cider is “a testament to the resilience and tenacity of Sonoma County.”

The cidery taproom is open Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. for tastings in a barn or outdoors (due to the omicron surge, the taproom is currently open for socially distant outdoor tastings only; guests need to be vaccinated — preferably boosted — and wear an N95 or other high-quality mask).

7761 Bell Road, Windsor, 707-657-7796, tiltedshed.com

Haus’s Grapefruit Jalepeño apertif. (Courtesy Haus)

Haus Apéritifs

Aperitifs rarely make the traditional American cocktail list, but they can be just as dynamic as wine or spirits. Popular in France and Italy as a post-work, pre-dinner drink, the aperitif is a fortified alcoholic beverage infused with fresh herbs, fruit and other botanicals — vermouth, pastis and Campari are common aperitifs.

Based in Healdsburg, Haus was founded by Helena Price Hambrecht and Woody Hambrecht, who previously ran a wine label together called Alysian. Their concoctions contain a fraction of the sugar of big-brand aperitifs and have a low-alcohol content “for more hangouts and fewer hangovers.” The aperitifs are naturally colorful, with refreshing flavors that range from citrus flower to bitter clove.

Haus doesn’t have a tasting room, but you can order their unique beverages online as single bottles or in custom sampler kits that include four smaller bottles of your choice. Each purchase includes information about each drink and suggestions on how to best enjoy them — sipped as they are or mixed into cocktails.

Healdsburg, drink.haus

Hoocha Brewing

Hard kombucha is a growing trend and can be a healthier alternative to beer, wine or cider. Like its nonalcoholic counterpart, hard kombucha is a fermented tea packed with probiotics and prebiotics and is gluten-free.

Hoocha Brewing was started in Petaluma by a group of friends who wanted to turn the popular beverage into an evening favorite. They create simple yet refreshing beverages in flavors like grapefruit, crisp apple and their original flavor, a slightly tart dry kombucha with a kick. Their current offerings include cocktail-inspired flavors like Mojito and Moscow Mule.

Hoocha doesn’t have a tasting room, but you can find one of their beverages at local markets and restaurants, including Trail House in Santa Rosa, HopMonk Tavern in Sebastopol, Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma, Jack’s Filling Station in Sonoma and at all Oliver’s Markets. Also available online.

Petaluma, 707-583-1997, hoochabrewing.com

Heidrun Meadery

Heidrun Meadery is located in the hills of Point Reyes in Marin County, but their floral sparkling beverage makes the trip across the county line worthwhile. The meadery, founded in 1995 by geologist-turned-brewer Gordon Hull, was originally located in Arcata. It moved to its current spot in 2012.

Mead is made by fermenting honey in water and is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages. Heidrun meads are produced with a Champagne method and feature floral honey from local hives in Northern California and around the world. Each honey adds a unique flavor, depending on what flowers the bees feed on.

Heidrun Meadery is open for tastings by reservation from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Try their famous California Orange Blossom or one of their more unusual meads, the Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Blossom. Then wander through their bee foraging gardens and see the buzzing hives of worker bees that make this effervescent beverage possible.

11925 Highway 1, Point Reyes Station, 415-663-9122, heidrunmeadery.com

44 Best Places to Get Delivery or Takeout in Sonoma County

January 2022

By Heather Irwin & Grace Yarrow

Korean Burrito with Marin sun Farms ground beef marinated with soy, brown sugar, garlic and ginger, Korean BBQ sauce, avocado, mint cilantro, pickled daikon and carrot, organic brown rice, and kimchi at Zoftig in Santa Rosa. (Chris Hardy/For Sonoma Magazine)

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Sonoma County health officials have asked residents to avoid leaving their homes except for work, school or necessary trips, alongside a ban on large gatherings.

Those who want to support local restaurants while helping to prevent the spread of the coronavirus can still enjoy delicious meals via takeout, curbside pickup or delivery. We’ve compiled a list of local favorites, from delicious burritos delivered to your doorstep to takeout dim sum and French cuisine. Scroll through the gallery above for some stay-at-home inspiration.

Acclaimed Chef Leaves Napa for Sonoma County

January 2022

By Heather Irwin

Barndiva in Healdsburg won a 2021 Michelin star, making it one of only two Michelin-starred restaurants in Sonoma County. (Jil Hales)

Chef Erik Anderson has left the recently-opened Truss Restaurant and Bar at the Four Seasons Napa Valley in Calistoga for Michelin-starred Barndiva in Healdsburg.

Before taking the reins at Truss, Anderson was Executive Chef at the groundbreaking, two-starred Coi restaurant in San Francisco. He previously was a founding co-chef of Catbird Seat in Nashville and has a lengthy resume that includes stints at the French Laundry in Yountville, three-Michelin-star restaurant Noma in Copenhagen (named “best restaurant in the world” in 2021) and other top-rated restaurants.

At Barndiva, Anderson will replace Executive Chef Jordan Rosas, who started at the Healdsburg restaurant just as the pandemic took hold in 2020. Rosas, together with Executive Pastry Chef Neidy Venegas, led Barndiva to its first Michelin star in 2021.

In addition to Anderson, Barndiva has announced the hiring of several new staff members following a temporary winter closure. Mixologist Scott Beattie will join the restaurant as Beverage Director after a stint at Montage Healdsburg and a longtime gig at St. Helena’s Meadowood. Sally Kim of the Delfina Restaurant Group will head Barndiva’s wine program.

Finally (but certainly not least), Executive Pastry Chef Neidy Venegas will expand her Viennoiserie and bread program at the restaurant.

Tour Design Duo The Hommeboys’ Stunning Sonoma Homes

January 2022

By Karen Kizer

Sonoma-based design duo Austin Carrier and Alex Mutter-Rottmayer have made a name for themselves creating interiors that seamlessly blend the elegant and sleek with the eclectic.

Their work has been featured in Elle Décor, Sunset, Real Simple and The New York Times’ T magazine. Their 2019 wedding at Scribe Winery in Sonoma, which, of course, they designed themselves, made the pages of Martha Stewart Living. They’ve collaborated with Crate & Barrel, CB2 and Anthropologie among other notable home decor brands and have over 50,000 followers on Instagram, where they are known as “the Hommeboys.” Among their recent projects is the new Marine Layer Wines tasting room in Healdsburg.

The recipe to the couple’s interior design success?

“We just spend all of our time doing it,” says Mutter-Rottmayer. “We talk about it late at night. We’ll be cooking and chatting about design. It’s just taking a stab at it that many times you get to a point where it’s perfect.”

“We’ve kind of used our own place (an apartment in Sonoma and a property in Glen Ellen) as a test kitchen for things we wouldn’t want to test out on our clients just yet. We’ve gone through a lot of trial and error,” adds Carrier.

One such error was an attempt at creating an accent wall — a design trend the couple usually stays away from — using charred Shou Sugi Ban wood planks. They found the design didn’t create a cohesive look. ‘We were…” says Carrier, searching for the words. “Guilty!” adds Mutter-Rottmayer.

‘We were guilty of doing that,” Carrier laughs. So they painted the rest of the room a dark color to make it blend with the charred wood planks. Now they love the room.

The Hommeboys’ living room in Sonoma. (Hommeboys)

Sonoma-based design duo Austin Carrier, right, and Alex Mutter-Rottmayer, left, aka the Hommeboys.(Hommeboys)

In a phone interview, the couple finish each other’s sentences. When asked to identify themselves before speaking, for the sake of clarity, Mutter-Rottmayer says, “You don’t need to be accurate if you’re quoting either of us.” “It’s fine to mix up the quotes (between us). It makes no difference to us,” adds Carrier. Mutter-Rottmayer sums it up: “We share a brain.”

A current of joy fuels Carrier and Mutter-Rottmayer’s artistic process —“we are a passionate, addicted and crazy-in-love design duo,” says their website. The couple also brings years of experience to each project: Carrier studied design at the Art Institute of Chicago and then designed furniture for Pure Timber, a company that produces bendable wood furniture and products; Mutter-Rottmayer was practically raised on a construction site — his family owns and operates Rottmayer Design + Build in Glen Ellen.

The Hommeboys’ Glen Ellen property, called the Cliff House. (Hommeboys)

Main bedroom in the Cliff House. (Hommeboys)

5672533 — Main bath in the Cliff House. (Hommeboys)

Carrier and Mutter-Rottmayer moved to Sonoma County seven years ago to join the Rottmayer family business and are now involved in every step of the home build process, “from the initial design and project consultation to plans, construction, cabinetry, interior finishes and furniture,” according to the Rottmayer Design + Build website.

The design duo likes to layer textures and materials in the spaces they design, while keeping things minimal, refined and “effortlessly chic.” But their signature style also involves whimsical elements.

“We want the space to evoke some playfulness,” says Mutter-Rottmayer. “And some…” “Emotion,” adds Carrier.

The two designers use different colors, textures and materials to create a particular feeling in a room. For example, metals add a “flashy, swanky vibe,” while “plush things” and “little nooks” lends a “cozy vibe,” says Mutter-Rottmayer. “The layering of textures (creates) this sense of feeling very cozy and comfortable,” adds Carrier.

This living room at the Hommeboys’s Cliff House in Glen Ellen features a desk from the design duo’s new line of bespoke furniture, Haus of Hommeboys. (Adam Potts)

The Marine Layer Wines tasting room in Healdsburg, designed by the Hommeboys. (Gretchen Gause)

Whether they are designing a room, a home or a business interior, one question is always at the forefront of the process: “How do we make this less boring?” This quest to make spaces more interesting and fun led the couple to launch their own line of bespoke furniture, which they create in their Glen Ellen cabinetry workshop. The new line, Haus of Hommeboys, will include custom pieces, like a leather-topped plaster desk with a fluted edge, that will infuse rooms with new life.

Another secret to interior design success, says Carrier and Mutter-Rottmayer, is the ability to plan out a space; to see its potential and think creatively about how to optimize both function and form. The design duo will sometimes suggest that clients stay away from costly expansions to their homes and instead focus on making existing, smaller spaces more beautiful.

“You can go into big homes where the rooms are abnormally large,” says Carrier. “So much money (is spent) on volumizing the space and the rooms. Our rooms are very intimate. That helps create a warm feeling versus (a space) feeling very big and very cold.”

But there’s no one-size-fits-all formula when it comes to interior design, emphasizes Mutter-Rottmayer. The way people like to use different spaces in their homes is very personal, adds Carrier.

“We like to dance on our coffee tables. So we need a stable base (for our furniture). But that’s just us,” laughs Mutter-Rottmayer.

Sonoma Home with Spectacular Views Listed for $3.7 Million

January 2022

By Karen Kizer

Those who favor Mediterranean-style interiors will have something to swoon over in a property currently for sale in the Sonoma Ranch area. The three-bedroom home, nestled among oak trees in the hills outside the town of Sonoma, boasts Tuscan-style columns, mosaic tiles, marble bathtubs and an expansive terrace with a pool. The asking price is $3.695 million.

Designed by the previous owners and built in 1995, the Sonoma Ranch property blends with the surrounding landscape. According to listing agent Maria Lounibos, it was positioned to take in the sweeping views while not obstructing the views of neighboring properties.

The 4,000-square-foot home is situated on a 14-acre lot just a mile into the hills from the Sonoma Ranch entrance on Seventh Street, which, in turn, is only a mile and a half from the historic Sonoma plaza. In addition to three bedrooms, the expansive layout includes three full bathrooms, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen, a large living room and an office. All rooms are spacious with beveled stained wood cabinets that add warmth to the rooms and provide plenty of storage. There are three gas fireplaces in the home and every room has spectacular views.

A rounded terrace with balusters wraps around the back of the home, creating a spot to barbecue, lounge or just enjoy the top-of-the-world views of distant hills and vineyards. A simply-designed pool overlooks the valley, through some framing by majestic oak trees.

The landscaping is deliberately understated, yielding focus to the setting. The bulk of the lot is un-landscaped, so the property is low maintenance. The homeowner has tended to the property’s defensible space and, according to Lounibos, has recently passed the fire safety inspection with “a green light.”

This home at 1025 Rover Rd. is listed by Maria Lounibus of Sotheby’s International Realty – Wine Country – East Napa Brokerage, 27 East Napa Street, Sonoma, 707-696-4070, 707-935-2266, sothebysrealty.com

Traditional King Cakes Get a Local Twist at Santa Rosa Bakery

January 2022

By Heather Irwin

Galette des Rois at Sarmentine in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin/ The Press Democrat)

As if warm baguettes, flaky croissants, buttery sandwiches and rustic boule (round loaves of crusty bread) weren’t enough gluten-y temptation in these winter months, Sarmentine Bakery in Santa Rosa is baking authentic galette des rois, or king cake, throughout the month of January.

The round, crown-shaped cakes are a French tradition to celebrate the Epiphany, when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus. The fun of the traditional sweet dessert shared with family and friends is discovering the “feve” (bean) hidden inside the cake. The fortunate person who finds the bean in their slice is assured luck and prosperity and is named king, or queen, for a day.

For a local twist, Sarmentine has replaced the bean with a tiny porcelain Snoopy for the king or queen to find. This is Santa Rosa, after all, and the “Peanuts” puppy is a local icon. Along with luck and prosperity, the person with the fortuitous slice has the tab covered for next year’s cake.

You’ll have to sign a waiver to buy the cakes, however, taking personal responsibility if someone breaks a tooth or accidentally swallows the hidden treasure. We kid you not — a lawsuit about gobbling up a porcelain pup is no laughing matter.

Prices are $18 and $25 for the brioche galette de rois and $32 and $40 for the frangipane version. Order by calling 707-623-9595 or emailing order@sarmentine.com. 52 Mission Circle, Suite 112, Santa Rosa, sarmentine.com

Easy Rider Opening: A Southern-inspired restaurant with California flair is slated to open in Petaluma this week, featuring dishes like hush puppies with strawberry jalapeño jam, wild mushrooms and whipped goat cheese on a Meyer lemon loaf and Duroc pork chop with sweet potato grits and green beans.

Easy Rider will open in the former Drawing Board/Whisper Sisters space at 109 Kentucky St. The interior has been revamped to evoke a roadhouse feel, and there will be a large by-the-glass wine list, local beers and specialty cocktails. Chef Jared Rogers and restaurateur Dustin Sullivan of Marin’s Guesthouse are behind the project, with Executive Chef Mario Chivarria (Picco, Zero Zero) helping to craft the menu. Expect dinner daily and a boozy Southern brunch menu to come. More details at easyriderpetaluma.com.

The Most Exciting Tasting Room Openings of 2021

December 2021

By Linda Murphy

The Marine Layer tasting room in downtown Healdsburg. (Gretchen Gause)

Coronavirus restrictions, wildfires and uncertain business conditions in the last two years gave pause to many Sonoma County wineries over how to operate their tasting rooms and still stay in the black.

Yet remarkably few local tasting venues have closed during the pandemic. In fact, many are now thriving after adjusting from pouring for to the masses to offering more customized visits for fewer guests willing to pay more for the extra attention.

Even more remarkable, some confident winemakers opened new tasting rooms in the second half of 2021, pandemic be damned. They recognized that the thirst for wine tasting remains unquenchable, no matter the conditions, and that direct interaction with customers is the best route to immediate sales and customer loyalty.

Here are 2021’s most exciting tasting room debuts, all of them highly recommended for ringing in 2022. There’s a heavy focus here on Healdsburg, which continues its run as a travel and tourist darling, and where some projects long-delayed by politics, remodeling, wildfires and COVID-19 have finally come to fruition.

Abbot’s Passage Winery & Mercantile

Katie Bundschu established Abbot’s Passage in 2021 at the former site of Valley of the Moon Winery in Glen Ellen (where grapevines were planted in 1863 and the stone cellar built in 1887). It’s her personal branch on her family’s Gundlach Bundschu winemaking tree. Many wine tastings take place at tables in the Olive Grove, weather permitting.

There are also food-and-wine experiences among old zinfandel vines, with crackers, cheeses, charcuterie, dried fruits and pickled vegetables — many of them housemade. The standouts are Rhone-style, field-blend reds; the brisk Sunblink, a mix of roussanne, marsanne and grenache blanc; and The Traverse, a Bordeaux-style red blend. Visitors can try out the shuffleboard courts at this kid- and dog-friendly winery, and the indoor Mercantile sells glassware, jewelry, hats, totes and other goods chosen by Bundschu, who embraces women-owned businesses and locally sourced crafts.

777 Madrone Road, Glen Ellen, 707-939-3017, abbotspassage.com

Bacchus Landing

This six-winery collective with tasting rooms, a large piazza, event spaces, rooftop terrace, bocce courts, picnic tables and a gourmet marketplace opened in late summer 2021 on the western outskirts of Healdsburg. It’s among the most ambitious and anticipated wine-centric venues to open in Sonoma County since the pandemic began and already has become a spend-the-day spot for families with kids and canines and for wine lovers seeking hard-to-find wines.

Aldina Vineyards owners Al and Dina Lopez and their children, Monica and Francisco Lopez, took three years to build the Mediterranean-style facility, central piazza and the family-friendly Frank’s Place area outside the southern wall, with bocce, picnic tables, piped-in music and opportunities for noshing and wine tasting.

Bacchus Landing’s winery tenants, each with their own tasting bar and outdoor patios, are Aldina Vineyards, AldenAlli, 13th & Third Wines, Montagne Russe, DOT Wine and Smith Story Wine Cellars. They’re open Thursday through Monday for walk-ins, though appointments are recommended, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays by appointment. Most offer pairings, with bites from the Bacchus Landing kitchen and marketplace. Contact each winery, via phone or website, for details and reservations.

The event schedule for 2022 includes Sunday Fundays starting in March, with food trucks and other activities; live music on the piazza on the first Saturday of each month, beginning April 2; a spring bazaar (May 7); Independence Day weekend celebration with live music and artisanal food experiences; and a pop-up art gallery (Aug. 6).

A bonus: There is plentiful parking in the Bacchus Landing lot, which is outfitted with several electric-auto charging stations.

14210 Bacchus Landing Way, Healdsburg, bacchuslanding.com

Wineries:

AldenAlli, 707-494-2045, aldenalli.com (chardonnay, pinot noir, zinfandel)

Aldina Vineyards, 707-799-1821, aldinavineyards.com (chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon)

DOT Wine, 707-385-9855, dotwinery.com (chardonnay, pinot noir, sparkling)

Montagne Russe, 855-467-8773, russewines.com (chardonnay, pinot noir, syrah, cabernet sauvignon)

Smith Story Wine Cellars, 707-494-5575, smithstorywinecellars.com (pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, sparkling)

13th & Third Wines, 917-940-6653, 13thandthirdwines.com (grenache blanc, roussanne, viognier, grenache, syrah, mourvedre)

Brooks Note Winery

Many terrific wines are produced from grapes grown in the Petaluma Gap AVA (American Viticultural Area), though the number of winery tasting rooms in the city of Petaluma could be counted on one hand. In August 2021, Garry Brooks added another finger when he opened the Brooks Notes Winery tasting room downtown.

Brooks and his wife, Joanne Note, planted a small vineyard in Sonoma in 2002 while they worked tech jobs. In 2004, Brooks took a leap of faith and left technology to make wine. Starting at Ravenswood, he went on to production work at Kosta Browne and Dutton Goldfield and also earned an enology and viticulture degree at UC Davis. Brooks and Note started their label with the 2011 harvest. Current releases include pinot blanc, pinot noir, a grenache/syrah/mourvedre blend and cabernet sauvignon, all made in tiny quantities. The starter flight is $25; a tasting of five pinot noirs, with a cheese plate, is $40; six single-vineyard wines, paired with cheese and charcuterie, is $75.

426 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-981-8470, brooksnotewinery.com

Jeff Cohn Cellars

Jeff Cohn worked for years as director of winemaking at zinfandel superstar Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda. On the side, he created JC Cellars in 1996. In a long story made short, Kent Rosenblum sold his winery and brand to the Diageo corporation, and Cohn pushed all his chips into JC Cellars, later renamed Jeff Cohn Cellars.

After building their brand, Cohn and his wife and business partner, Alexandra, eventually established a tasting room in downtown Sonoma. In June 2021, they relocated to Healdsburg to be closer to the vineyards from which they buy grapes and to Grand Cru Custom Crush in Windsor, where Jeff produces the wines. He calls the wines “unapologetic” — boldly-flavored zinfandels, syrahs, grenaches, mourvedres and white Rhone-varietal viogniers, roussannes, marsannes and grenache blancs that remain wonderfully balanced for their robust nature. Tastings of five wines are $35; the Vault Private Tasting ($60) includes eight reserve-level wines, served in a private tasting room.

34 North St., Healdsburg, 707-938-8343, jeffcohncellars.com

Marine Layer Wines

Baron Ziegler and winemaker Rob Fischer were among the founders of Banshee Wines in downtown Healdsburg in 2012 — a tasting room that attracted the younger wine drinkers so many older wineries covet. The partners sold a majority share of the business to Foley Family Wines in 2018 and Ziegler and Fischer moved on to create Marine Layer Wines, producing truly exceptional chardonnays and pinot noirs from cool-climate Sonoma Coast vineyards.

After leaving Banshee, Ziegler leased the former Flight Deck Tasting Lounge (across Center Street from Banshee) for Marine Layer and initiated a major remodeling of the space, now with an inviting mix of elegant, crisp, casual decor. Seating is on couches, before an enclosed glass fireplace and at a long bar. After building delays related to the pandemic, Ziegler opened the 3,200-square-foot space in September 2021, offering five-wine flights for $35 and five wines with a mezze plate from soon-to-open Little Saint that includes dips, spreads, housemade crackers and crudités, for $50.

308 B Center St., Healdsburg, 707-395-0830, marinelayerwines.com

Knights Bridge Winery

For several years, Knights Bridge Winery proprietor Jim Bailey and his partners poured their estate-grown cabernet sauvignons, sauvignon blancs and chardonnays at a tasting room in the former Calistoga National Bank building in downtown Calistoga. Now, Bailey and his wife, Kelley, have brought tastings to their Knights Valley estate with the opening of a wine production facility and tasting salon in eastern Sonoma County.

The estate winery processed its first fruit in 2021, though grapes have been planted there for more than 160 years. The salon, which debuted in December, offers views of Mt. St. Helena and vineyards to the east, visible through floor-to-ceiling windows. Entering through the state-of-the-art production facility, guests follow the same route that grapes do, past five custom tulip-shaped concrete tanks, through the barrel cave and into an art-filled, natural-light well for private seated tastings of the wines, plus local cheeses and charcuterie. The wines, made by Doug Danielak since 2006, are of an elegant, restrained — dare I say classic French — style, with fruit character balanced by savory notes and sturdy tannins for aging.

Call the salon at 707-341-3391 or email contact@knightsbridgewinery.com for more information, appointments and tasting fees.

17134 Spencer Lane, Calistoga, knightsbridgewinery.com

La Prenda Wines

Ned Hill, proprietor of La Prenda Vineyard Management, farms multiple sites within Sonoma Valley. A few years ago, he began producing wines from his clients’ grapes and selling them under the Sonoma Collection and La Prenda labels. In October 2021, Hill and his wife, Erika, opened a tasting room in downtown Sonoma to showcase the wines made from the grapes they farm. Their portfolio is broad, including sparklers, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, malbec and Bordeaux-style red blends.

Tastings are $20 for the Sonoma Valley Tasting, $25 for the Signature Tasting and $35 for the Reserve and Library Tasting. Most of the wines, produced by former Schug Vineyards winemaker Mike Cox, are nicely priced and textbook examples of what Sonoma (and some Napa) grapes can produce. It’s a great place to taste a broad range of wines at a fair price.

535 First St. W., Sonoma, 707-938-7228, laprendawine.com

Here’s What the Local Dining Scene Will Look Like This Year

December 2021

By Heather Irwin

A selection of Nigiri Sushi from The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Gazing into the crystal ball to predict what we’ll be eating and drinking in the coming year is always one of my favorite stories to write as the new year approaches. It’s a combination of guesswork, wishful thinking and piecing together the breakout ideas of the previous 12 months that have gained traction.

During the pandemic, however, there have been few straight answers, though more frequent shifts that have moved the entire food industry in new directions.

Here are some of the innovations I predict will continue in 2022, finding new audiences or becoming significant trends for Sonoma County eaters.

Plant-based everything

If you’re still calling a plant-based diet vegetarianism, catch up. Reducing meat, dairy and egg consumption has gone mainstream, and most of us already have tried meatless burgers, Meatless Mondays and increasingly creative meatless dishes at restaurants that are less about “going without” and more about enjoying without.

We’ll see a continued explosion of alternatives for grocery staples (egg-less “eggs,” meatless frozen entrees, jackfruit everything) as well as chefs adding even more meatless menu items as demand grows.

Chef Crista Luedtke squeezes a lemon on a plate of roasted cauliflower, pureed chickpeas, and topped with roasted figs, chopped green olives, pine nuts, and parsley at her restaurant Brot in Guerneville, Calif., on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.(Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat) — Chef Crista Luedtke squeezes a lemon on a plate of roasted cauliflower, pureed chickpeas, and topped with roasted figs, chopped green olives, pine nuts, and parsley at her restaurant Brot in Guerneville. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)

Santa Rosa’s Cozy Plum Bistro (1899 Mendocino Ave., 707-526-3333, cozyplum.com) has created a comforting, approachable menu with dishes like “loaded tots,” crispy tater tots with taco “meat” made with soy, nondairy cheese, cashew sour cream and pico de gallo; and Philly cheesesteak with meatless steak, peppers, onions and a vegan herb cheese sauce. Little Saint is a plant-based restaurant slated to open in Healdsburg in February. Branch Line, another meatless eatery, opens in Railroad Square this spring.

Restaurants open fewer days

Staffing issues have forced restaurants to rethink their hours. Restaurateurs simply can’t afford to stay open on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon or a ghostly Monday night. Instead, they’ll only open during peak times.

After struggling to find back-of-house workers, John Ash & Co. at Vintner’s Inn and Resort recently announced they’ll be closed two days a week. Reservations are becoming required more often everywhere, and you may be directed to reservation apps like Tock that require you to enter a credit card number with your reservation. That way, if you don’t show up, you might have to pay a hefty fee, which discourages no-shows that dent restaurants’ bottom lines.

Diversified business models

Restaurants aren’t simply restaurants anymore. They sell pantry items, kitchen goods and lifestyle home goods, too, to bring in more revenue. Stockhome (220 Western Ave, Petaluma, 707-981-8511, stockhomepetaluma.com) sells Swedish candies and home goods along with jewelry, clothing and other locally made products. Franchetti’s Gasthaus (1229 N. Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-526-1229, franchettis.com) rents their restaurant kitchen during off-hours as a commercial kitchen to caterers and up-and-coming food businesses.

"Saturday candy" is available for sale at Stockhome Restaurant on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 in Petaluma, California . (BETH SCHLANKER/The Press Democrat) — “Saturday candy” is available for sale at Stockhome Restaurant in Petaluma. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)

Ceramic bowls for sale at Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. (Courtesy of Stockhome)

Local delivery options

National delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and UberEats have almost entirely cornered the market on food delivery, and the hit on restaurants — up to 30% of the tab — is brutal. Local delivery options like Redwood Food Taxi, Petaluma Food Taxi and Sonoma Food Taxi keep dollars local and work with restaurants to make the process more equitable.

High-end dining isn’t going away

Luxury dining is booming. After being holed up at home, many want to spend their dollars on a food experience that delivers, whether that’s hosting clients with deep pockets or a special splurge for a couple. Expensive restaurants like Single Thread (131 North St., Healdsburg, 707-723-4646, singlethreadfarms.com) and The Matheson (106 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 707-723-1106, thematheson.com) are booked out for months. Cyrus restaurant, a reprisal of Chef Douglas Keane’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant that closed in 2012, is expected to open in late 2022.

Uzu-San at SingleThread in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine) — Uzu-San at Single Thread in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)

The Ken's Sushi Roll from The Matheson in Healdsburg on Friday, November 5, 2021. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat) — The Ken’s Sushi Roll from The Matheson in Healdsburg. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Streamlined menus with hyperlocal ingredients

Lengthy menus with everything but the kitchen sink will be curated so restaurants can cut down on skyrocketing meat prices, take advantage of seasonal products and insulate themselves from supply-chain issues.

Expect menu prices to keep increasing as the cost of ingredients and operations rise for restaurant owners who can’t offset those costs with volume or cheaper ingredients. We’ll also see prices rising at supermarkets as consumers question the environmental and other impacts of industrial farming and meat production and supply issues become the norm.

Luxury steaks

Concerns about the environmental impact of beef are growing, pushing many consumers to buy from smaller-production ranches. And there are only so many cuts of prime rib and filet on a cow, making them increasingly expensive.

Watch for more braised meats from cheaper parts, ground meat, creative uses of offal (still a tough sell for many Americans) and consumers willing to buy high-end, sustainable steaks as a luxury at restaurants. At home, meat CSA (community-supported agriculture) options like Panizzera Meat Co.’s subscription boxes will allow local meat producers to sell directly to consumers, lower costs and offer locally raised meat (panizzerameatco.com).

A whole new cocktail hour

Booze drinking is evolving. Takeout cocktails are a boon to restaurants with full liquor licenses and will continue in the state of California post-pandemic (whenever that is).

Lower-alcohol or alcohol-free cocktails are rising in popularity, focusing on flavor rather than buzz potential. Brands like Seedlip have pioneered nonalcoholic spirits, and a new generation of zero-alcohol gins that express the botanical qualities are exceptional. On the other side of the fence, canned full-strength cocktails are on the rise, with several local companies jumping on the bandwagon. Cappy Shakes Cocktails from former Duke’s founders Cappy Sorentino and Steven Maduro lead the pack with not-too-sweet versions of gin and tonic, Tiki-inspired Sidewinder Fang and Cucumber Cooler. Griffo Distillery, Zaddy’s, Alley 6 and Barrel Brothers are also making top-notch canned party-starters.

Cans of Tomales Collins and Whole Lotta Sunshine cocktails at Griffo Distillery and Tasting Bar in Petaluma in June 2021.(Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat) — Cans of Tomales Collins and Whole Lotta Sunshine cocktails at Griffo Distillery and Tasting Bar in Petaluma. (Beth Schlanker/The Press Democrat)

Mushrooms as tonic

Mushrooms aren’t just for pizzas anymore. The healing properties of funky fungi are becoming big business. Farmacopia (95 Montgomery Drive, No. 90, Santa Rosa, 707-528-4372, farmacopia.net) is one local seller with a lot of variety.

Commercial kitchens as launchpads

Unused or lightly used commercial kitchens are worth their weight in gold for new restaurant entrepreneurs looking to get a foothold.

Old Possum Brewing in Santa Rosa (357 Sutton Place, 707-303-7177, oldpossumbrewing.com) has helped several restaurant concepts come to fruition, including Austin’s Southern Smoke BBQ and Bayou on the Bay. The combo of a brewery and outside food service has become big business, allowing each to stick to what they know best. We’ve also seen a boom in local food truck traffic at places like Shady Oak (420 First St., Santa Rosa, 707-575-7687, shadyoakbarrelhouse.com), Cooperage Brewing (981 Airway Court, Santa Rosa, cooperagebrewing.com), Hen House Brewing (322 Bellvue Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-978-4577, henhousebrewing.com) and others.

Rethinking Charcuterie: Local Brand Creates Plant-Based Meats

December 2021

By Heather Irwin

Renegade Foods charcuterie. (Renegade Foods)

Of all the meaty dishes I thought never could be delicious without meat, charcuterie tops the list.

Creating the smoky, spicy, fatty flavors of traditional fermented meats is an art that requires time, precision and skill. But the owners of Renegade Foods have cracked the code on recreating the mouthfeel, umami and spice of excellent charcuterie with an entirely plant-based lineup of salumi that will enliven your next cheese board.

Iona Campbell and Kalie Marder have followed a vegetarian diet for most of their lives and went vegan several years ago. The like-minded sisters-in-law share a passion for food, but as plant-based eaters they were unsatisfied by traditional imitation meats on the market.

“They were so boring and had no flavor,” Marder said.

Campbell became interested in meat preservation and charcuterie — despite not eating meat — while living in Spain and working in the food industry throughout Europe.

The experience inspired her to think about how to incorporate the smoking process, fermentation and spices of traditional charcuterie into a meatless product. While living in Sonoma in 2010, she started testing recipes and sharing the results with friends and family.

Now the recipe is perfected. Campbell and Marder mix seitan (wheat gluten), herbs and spices to make a dough that is smoked and fermented to create meatless salumi that mimics the texture and flavors of smoky chorizo, spiced soppressata and sweet Toscana. They also make a winter salami with Champagne and truffles. With traditional salumi-making processes, their meatless products develop a rich, marbled interior and deep-red color.

“It’s been a lot of trial and error, but what we find is … fermentation and slow smoking bring out the umami flavors,” Campbell said.

Renegade Foods salumi is made in Petaluma and is available at several Sonoma County wineries, including Gloria Ferrer Vineyards and Three Sticks Wines in Sonoma, Kunde Family Winery in Kenwood and Thumbprint Cellars in Healdsburg. It’s a product that works well in Wine Country, where many like to share their meals over a glass of wine.

While vegans and vegetarians are a target market for Renegade Foods, Campell and Marder also are hoping to entice flexitarians, who embrace a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eat meat.

“People are realizing that they don’t need to go vegan,” Marder said. “It’s about little changes and providing a delicious alternative.”

So how does the salumi taste? The mix of smoke and fermentation flavor, spices and texture is rock-solid. The taste of seitan is pronounced, so if you’re not into that (or you’re gluten-intolerant), you might not like it so much. Paired with vegan or traditional cheese, it’s an excellent addition to any charcuterie board, no meat required.

A three-pack sampler is $39.75, available at renegadefoods.com.