Joan Ayers, owner of Homebody Refill, sells a variety of handmade soaps scented with essential oils at her booth at the Petaluma East Side Farmers’ Market in Petaluma, Calif., on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Joan Ayers wants to say just one word to you: Plastics.
“It’s just this thing, this blob,” she says. “It’s like, what do we do with it now? It doesn’t ever go away.”
Ayers, founder of the Occidental-based sustainable retailer Homebody Refill, thinks a lot about plastics. “I’ve always been a minimalist,” she explains. “I’d wash my Ziplocs — I’d have the same box for years.” Then, after decades of judiciously reusing her baggies, Ayers encountered a heart-wrenching video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw lodged up its nose. She realized, “It’s time for me to do something. I’m part of this problem, and I don’t want to be.”
Ayers — who still works by day as an executive assistant in commercial real estate — started researching the concept of refill shops, where customers fill their own reusable containers with bulk household products, and debuted the business last July. She sets up at local farmers markets with jugs stocked with dish soap, shampoo, and all-purpose cleaner, along with bamboo brushes, silicone covers, and reusable glass containers.
The response was immediate. “Lots of people were like, ‘Oh my God! I’ve been looking for a place like this!’” Ayers enjoys answering customers’ questions. “When people come by, and they had no clue this was available — I love those conversations,” she says. “Just talking to people, helping them understand that there are alternatives out there and, whatever they do, every little step helps.”
• Just say no to freebies, handouts, and other small bits of plastic you don’t need.
• Avoid plastic forks and spoons by keeping a reusable cutlery set in your car or purse for meals on the go.
• Make smart swaps. Ayers says there’s a non-plastic alternative for nearly every plastic item in your home — think shampoo bars, mesh produce bags, and silicone lid covers. “The silicone covers come in different sizes and shapes, they’re really stretchy, and they last a long time.”
Jessica Switzer Green, founder of JG Switzer, with some of her company’s Heritage Sheep Collection, in the Genesis fabric style, and needle loom. JG Swtizer produces luxury blankets and bedding out of a workshop at The Barlow, in Sebastopol. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
On a 7.5-ton loom affectionately named Luna, a group of women at The Barlow are meticulously crafting some of the most beautiful wool blankets in the world. Designer Jessica Switzer Green, a former Tesla executive, launched JG Switzer with the goal of creating textiles so luxurious and finely made that they will last not only a lifetime, but can be handed down to the next generation.
The bespoke blankets and throws, each elegantly edged in lustrous silk charmeuse, are primarily woven from the soft, sustainably harvested wool of rare breeds of sheep. These heirloom breeds produce distinctively different fleece—the Wensleydale, for example, has long, fast-growing fleece that must be cut twice a year.
Genesis fabric style, from the Heritage Sheep Collection, at JG Switzer in Sebastopol. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
“I’m really going for small flock animals at risk,” explains Green. “I’m choosing for the quality of the wool and the softness. And the color is really important, because I’m an oil painter, and I think of it as painting in wool.” Much of the company’s wool is sourced from nearby producers, including Sue Gustafson in Sebastopol, who keeps a small flock of rare Bluefaced Leicester sheep on her 8-acre farm. “The fiber grows in ringlets and it comes in white and in brown,” Gustafson says. “It’s a nice fiber to use for clothing and other projects because it’s not scratchy. You can wear it next to your skin.”
Green, who says she is motivated by sustainability and timeless design, is currently expanding into a broader array of natural-fiber textiles and products for the home. Says Green, “It’s about recreating and bringing excitement and a modern twist to old classics.”
hen it comes to producing world-class cabernet sauvignon, Sonoma County has long played second fiddle to its neighbor Napa. But now an Alexander Valley winery owner is looking to turn the tables.
“We’re going to spare no expense, climb to the top of the mountain, plant the flag, and claim victory,” said Crescere Wines founder Joe Reynoso, whose recipe to success contains three key ingredients: a deep connection to the land, a rock star winemaker, and familiarity with being the underdog.
Reynoso, the son of Mexican immigrants and the oldest of 15 children, spent his childhood years around California farms. His father, a teacher, would supplement his income in the summer by working on farms north of Bakersfield. But it wasn’t until years later that Reynoso got his hands dirty in the field.
At 19, back in California from Chicago and working as a truck driver, Reynoso made a discovery that was to change the course of his life.
“I delivered a piano to a vineyard in Napa Valley and said to myself, ‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen — I want one,'” recalled Reynoso.
Joe Reynoso’s Alexander Valley vineyard. (Charles Gullung)
What for many would have been an idle and passing dream became a serious and enduring aspiration for Reynoso. He began his dream quest by getting a degree from San Francisco State University followed by an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Reynoso, long fascinated by the stock market, then became a floor trader for the CME Group. Later, he started his own trading firm.
“Those guys you see in the movies with loud jackets, gesticulating and yelling, that’s what I used to do,” he said.
Fifteen years later and one day shy of his 34th birthday, Reynoso’s hard work in trading made it possible for him to purchase his very own vineyard in 1994.
Planting the flag
Reynoso had purchased a remote 500 acres in Alexander Valley featuring over a mile of frontage on the Russian River and hillside slopes that allowed for distinctly different vineyard blocks throughout. As he set about tending to his vineyard property, he developed an affinity for Sonoma County.
“It’s more diverse and it seemed more agricultural (than Napa),” he said. “Robert Parker has a quote that goes something like this: ‘In the California wine world, Napa is the sizzle, Sonoma the soul.’ I think there’s some truth to that,” he added.
Reynoso’s initial plan for the property, which had just 10 acres of vines at the time of purchase, was simply to farm the land and sell the grapes. He then added 140 acres of grape varieties to the vineyard, many of which you would rarely find together in one vineyard, especially in the Alexander Valley.
The Reynoso family hard at work during harvest. (Charles Gullung)
Today, the vineyard is planted with petit verdot, sauvignon blanc, merlot, petit sirah, and, of course, cabernet sauvignon. There’s also one block of syrah for what Reynoso cheekily called “domestic tranquility” (Reynoso’s wife, Elena, is a big fan of the grape).
In 2016, more than 20 years after purchasing the Alexander Valley vineyard, the Reynosos launched their own commercial wine brand, Crescere (the name means to grow; to increase; to thrive). Joe Reynoso had recently co-founded the Sugarloaf custom crush facility in Santa Rosa, giving him access to a state-of-the-art winery. He then hired the renowned California winemaker and wine consultant Philippe Melka, a Bordeaux native and the man behind some of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed wineries.
Melka became the final piece to complete the wine making puzzle that Reynoso had envisioned in 1994.
“We feel very fortunate to have a great piece of land that we planted over twenty years ago, and we’ve been meticulous in our care of it since then,” said Reynoso. “We have a vineyard manager who knows the land as well as he knows his children. And we have Phillipe. Everyone involved is dedicated to making the best wines possible, so we are all able to band together and take on any of the challenges that may arise.”
Melka’s involvement with a Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon producer signals that, as far as cab is concerned, things are on the up — not just for the Reynosos, but for the region as a whole. At Crescere, he now guides enhanced farming practices that involve planting unique clones that will help take cabernet sauvignon grown in the Alexander Valley to the next level.
“When we craft an Alexander Valley cabernet, we are not trying to copy a Napa wine or even compare it,” Melka said, “We are trying to capture the site and the soils. When crafting the wine, we want to capture the unique tannin profile, savory note, and the spice that Alexander Valley cabernet has.”
All in the family
In addition to producing their own wines — Sonoma Coast chardonnay and pinot noir, Russian River Valley sauvignon blanc, and estate syrah, cabernet sauvignon and a proprietary red blend — the Reynosos continue to sell the majority of their fruit to top Sonoma producers. Managing the vineyard and winery is a full-time job. Adding a luxury wine brand to the mix requires all hands on deck: the entire process is done by hand and with absolute precision.
“I would say that we don’t do anything ‘different,’ we do everything ‘harder,’ said Reynoso. While many wineries will do one pass of thinning through the vineyard to remove imperfect clusters, Crescere will do three or more. During harvest, the fruit is sorted in the field, then again by an optical sorter, which can remove even individual sub-par berries.
Crescere Wines is a small, family-owned winery. (Charles Gullung)
Elena Reynoso has worked in the wine industry for more than 30 years — Joe and Elena met in a fine wine shop in Chicago where Elena was working. She managed the Alexander Valley vineyard ranch for more than a decade before passing the torch to Joe’s son, JW, in 2015.
JW spent his childhood summers on the ranch in Alexander Valley but didn’t show an interest in joining the family business until he was older.
“A lot of kids who grow up out here in the country, and in wine, want to escape,” said Elena Reynoso. “They feel like it’s stifling. They usually go somewhere for a few years and then want to come back.”
Like his peers, JW eventually moved back to Healdsburg — a couple of months after he got married. Now that JW has two children of his own, Joe Reynoso is hopeful that the family business will continue for generations to come.
“To develop a good brand takes a long, long time,” said Joe Reynoso. “We understand this is not a turnkey type operation. We’re hopeful that maybe his kids will follow in his footsteps.”
In the meantime, the Reynosos hope to see the tide change when it comes to perceptions of Sonoma, and more specifically Alexander Valley cabernet. Their mission is to continue in the footsteps of notable Alexander Valley cabernet producers like Jordan Winery and Silver Oak Wine.
“These two labels were pioneers in the Alexander Valley and we all stand on their shoulders,” said Joe Reynoso. “However, there were not many small, artisanal producers here until fairly recently, while in comparison there is a rather prolific number from Napa.”
“We want to raise the profile of Alexander Valley,” said Elena Reynoso, echoing her husband’s sentiment. “We love it here, the wines are great, but it’s amazing to me the number of times I’ve run into people that don’t know the Alexander Valley. I’ve even run into wine people in Napa who don’t know where it is.”
Most Crescere Wines are allocated, but oenophiles can create an account to get access online. While there is currently no tasting room for Crescere, they have plans to build a cabana on their property and even partner with a helicopter company, which can land on the ranch for exclusive tasting experiences. creserewines.com
While the pandemic put an end to much of non-essential travel in 2020, that didn’t stop us from taking imaginary trips to destinations near and far that bring us a sense of adventure, serenity, beauty and joy. Many of us also found a renewed appreciation for our own backyards (figurative and literal) as we spent more time close to home.
In search of special places around the world, The New York Times asked their readers about “the spots that have delighted, inspired and comforted them in a dark year.” The resulting list, “52 Places to Love in 2021,” was published this week and includes one Sonoma County spot: Santa Rosa. Other places mentioned on the list are Isfahan in Iran, the Scottish highlands, Cordoba in Spain, Lake Michigan, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, and Hokkaido in Japan (see more places featured on the list in the above gallery).
Here’s what New York Times reader and Santa Rosa resident Ria D’Aversa had to say about the city she calls home:
“Santa Rosa is full of majesty. Everything is within reach, including the rough, beautiful Sonoma County coastline. The region brings together so many different experiences: manicured vineyards, a wonderful downtown with breweries and coffee shops, dark-green forests and snaking rivers, mountains and big agricultural valleys.”
D’Aversa, the co-founder of Pennrose Wine, a small natural wine company in Santa Rosa, also mentioned a favorite local park:
“One of my favorite places in Santa Rosa is Trione-Annadel State Park, which, along with other parts of the region, has suffered from wildfires in the last couple of years. People in this agricultural community see the seasons of destruction and renewal up close. They see how the fires hurt the economy and the land. I think of myself as a resilient person; I’ve gone through failures, traumas and upheaval. And I think that’s the ethos for Santa Rosa, too: resilience.”
What places have helped you get through this difficult time? Where have you traveled in your mind? Any favorite destinations in Santa Rosa or Sonoma County? Let us know in the comments.
The dining room at Central Market in Petaluma. (Crista Jeremiason/The Press Democrat)
A growing number of restaurants and food businesses are closing for a “winter break,” citing stay-home restrictions that show no chance of being lifted anytime soon. Since Dec. 12, restaurants have not been allowed to operate outdoor dining areas, reducing their business to takeout only, something most say isn’t worth the effort right now.
Winter always has been a tough season for Sonoma County restaurateurs, but now, many have all but given up after nine-plus months of unprecedented business interruptions due to the pandemic. While only a handful of restaurants have closed since last March in Sonoma County — including Bistro 29, Bruno’s, Local Barrel, The Whole Pie and Tisza Bistro — restaurateurs hope a temporary closure will allow them to conserve resources. With new paycheck protection money and unemployment benefits coming from the federal government, restaurants like Sebastopol’s Fern Bar see an opportunity to take a breather until stay-home orders are lifted.
“To-go sales are not even helping us break even,” said Sam Levy, Fern Bar’s general manager and managing partner. The restaurant in the Barlow closed for “winter hibernation” on Monday. “We’re trying to do right by our team and our bottom line and not exposing ourselves unnecessarily,” he said.
“It’s hard every day to be open and to lose just as much (money) as if we were closed,” he said. “But things are looking up and the stay-at-home order will be lifted and soon everyone will be safe. We’ll get some sunshine and we’ll all come back out and make the most of 2021.”
Other restaurants taking a winter hiatus include McNear’s Saloon & Dining House in Petaluma, Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, Hazel Hill (at the new Montage Hotel in Healdsburg), Chalkboard in Healdsburg and Central Market in Petaluma.
On a positive note: The joys of takeout
With a cold hunk of fried chicken in one hand and a fork in the other, my husband is gyrating around the kitchen to his own music. He’s not usually one for such outbursts of silliness, but his happy food dances are becoming rather frequent as we continue to suss out really good takeout food. “Oh my god, this is good,” he mumbles with his mouth mostly full, late on a Sunday night, rather awkwardly shaking his hips.
Such are the small joys of takeout, we’re realizing. Eating at our own pace, nibbling, grazing and re-enjoying a single meal for up to three days (the New Year’s black-eyed peas just kept on giving). Instead of gobbling up a meal at a restaurant and most likely throwing away the leftovers, we now savor each course hot, then cold, then refrigerated, then for lunch … and so on. Every time is a new experience, and every time is a new treat.
So when you order that $60 to $100 family meal from a spot like Backyard or Spinster Sisters or any of dozens of farm-to-table restaurants putting out seriously tasty takeout, take the time to enjoy it for as long as you like. And maybe do a dance or two in your kitchen.
Fish and chips at Santa Rosa Seafood Raw Bar and Grill at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Petaluma Hill Road in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin)
Petaluma fishmonger Annalicia Svedise has moved her fish market across town to 901 Lakeville St. The daughter of the late Mike Svedise of Santa Rosa Seafood, she’s built her own sustainable seafood empire with line-caught fish primarily sourced from local fishermen. Construction started before the pandemic, and now that it’s finally completed, she’s planning to open a seafood restaurant at the location as well.
Like most food purveyors, Svedise’s business was supported in large part by the restaurant trade and suffered significant losses in the early days of shelter-in-place restrictions. But Svedise said her farm market outlets, the retail store and deliveries throughout the Bay Area have helped her stay afloat.
“So many of the local commercial fishermen depend on my business to help them,” she said. Her products include oysters, clams, sushi-grade fish, smoked salmon, scallops, uni and crab (Dungeness when it finally comes, along with Alaskan). We’re eager to try it out soon! Order online at shopannasseafood.com.
While saxophonist Greg Johnson has recorded with jazz greats and performed with acts from Saint Motel to Barry Manilow, these days, the artist would rather talk about closer-to-home projects. He can’t wait to get back to gigs in clubs and bookstores, where he puts out music that, as he says, satisfies the soul.
Johnson, who holds a doctorate in jazz studies from USC, is a prolific composer. At his tranquil 1920s-era Petaluma home, he can churn out compositions and practice day or night. He attributes his creative pace to growing up in a military family in Pennsylvania; the discipline translates into daily focused writing practice. Many of his compositions are written in a Big Band style similar to that of his hero, Count Basie.
“I’m interested in capturing the authentic feeling of a person who lived a long time ago. A young person who might walk into a packed concert venue and say, ‘This is my jam.’”
Johnson’s latest album, “Philosopher’s Path,” is borne of his exploration of the famed Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto. He says his own “philosopher’s way” is the walk along the Petaluma River from his home to Lucchesi Park, where he’ll play a game of tennis with a friend. “I’m getting old,” Johnson jokes, “so some days, I’ll take a scooter.”
Interior designer Stephanie Meyer is the owner and operator of AVCO Design. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)
Stephanie Meyer never forgets a space. She can, for instance, still vividly recall an exhibit she visited at London’s Millennium Dome…in 2000. “It was almost like a garden at night. Warm incandescent lights, a lot of mirrors, and foliage you could walk through. I think about that space a lot; it’s stayed with me,” she says. Inspired by that exhibit, along with other incredible spaces she witnessed growing up, Meyer followed her passion into the field of interior design.
After earning her master’s degree, she landed a position with a large architectural firm in Orlando, Florida.
During her decade there, Meyer met and married her husband, moved to Sonoma County, and served as an interior designer on a pair of once-in-a-lifetime projects: the Legoland Castle Hotel in Carlsbad and the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. She loved the creativity but yearned to put down roots. And so, in 2018, Meyer departed to found her own firm, Aesthete Vagabond Co (AVCO Design) — its name a nod to her continent-hopping upbringing as the child of Jamaican immigrants, born in Southern California and raised in Okinawa, Japan, and East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
Through AVCO Design, Meyer partners with homeowners and business owners, “helping them edit their vision out into a space that supports what they’re trying to do, how they’re trying to live.” Since March, Meyer has been sheltering-in-place in Santa Rosa with her husband, Andrew, and their 20-month-old son.
7 a.m.
Maverick, our toddler, wakes up and lets us know we need to retrieve him — by singing. He has little phrases he takes from different things: “ABC,” “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” We then head to Trione-Annadel State Park to get some fresh air and burn off toddler energy. This is actually where Andrew and I had our first date, so it’s fun to see the park through different seasons of life and different seasons of the year.
8:30 a.m.
Back home, we find our FEED Sonoma CSA bin on our stoop. We get Green Star Farm eggs every week; they’re basically the backbone of our breakfast. I fry some up, along with sweet potatoes.
9:30 a.m.
Maverick is in the nursery, where Andrew is working; he also runs his own business. I sit down at the dining table and start checking emails. I’m texting with clients in Coffey Park who are rebuilding from the fires. They want to go sit on anything they’re gonna buy, so we’re organizing our sit-test day. These clients lost a lot of heirlooms, so going out and buying things is not easy. We’re going through the process of rebuilding and trying to recapture the essence of the home they had, so we’re working through that little by little.
11 a.m.
I make a quick salad lunch and eat with Andrew and Maverick, then leave to meet a client to visit antique shops in Petaluma. We’re looking for chairs to complement the slab table we created for their dining room. Because we’re trying to balance really organic lines, we need a really simple line, like a midcentury modern kind of chair. We check different spots, debate which chairs are appropriate. Then I drive to Sonoma County Shade Company for a drapery coordination meeting. We’re working on bespoke drapes in an embroidered linen. I am so stoked to see them hanging soon!
2:30 p.m.
Head home and get Maverick down for a nap. Once he’s asleep, I sit down and check if a contract was signed, do monthly invoicing. Then I start some catalog work for my online shop. It’s my little place to share things that I think are special, buy-well-once kind of things that are made ethically.
4:45 p.m.
Maverick wakes up; he and Andrew go for a bike ride. We had rotisserie chicken last night; I saved the bones and get those set in the instant pot for broth. Then I head to the post office to mail some orders and drop by Goguette Bread: we just love the owners; they’re so spirited. I pick up sablés and a loaf of pain d’athlète. Back home, the broth is ready. We got beets in our CSA box, so we’re having borscht for dinner! I learned about borscht when we visited friends in Graeagle. It’s super-simple — literally chicken stock, celery, carrots, and onions. We put sour cream and dill on top, and that’s it!
6:30 p.m.
We sit down to eat and talk about the day. Afterward, we read “Bear on a Bike.” It’s Maverick’s favorite; we read it at least once a day. He’s obsessed with bikes right now.
7:30 p.m.
I start Maverick’s bedtime routine. We take a shower, get dressed, brush our teeth, and read “Goodnight, Moon.” Sometimes he throws a tantrum because he doesn’t want to go to bed, and sometimes he just goes to bed, singing his way to sleep. Afterward, I sit with Andrew and we watch something on the iPad. With the earlier sunsets, by 9 we’re sleeping, too!
For information on Meyers’s design work, visit AVCO Design, avcodesign. com
Sonoma Valley author Gianna Marino has worked on over a dozen books for kids, but her latest, “We Will Live in This Forest Again” is her most personal. Written after the events of 2017, Marino explores the experience of living through a wildfire from the perspective of the animals of the forest, including deer, birds, and a mountain lion. “I wanted to use the animals to show how we all stuck together through this and we all worked together to get through this really difficult time,” says Marino.
“As people, we were all cleaning things up and trying to rebuild and get our lives back together, and so was nature in coming back and showing its strength.”
The story is gently told with simple, reassuring language to read aloud together and colorful, finely wrought watercolor illustrations. Marino has also chosen to add a personal essay and information at the back of the book for parents who would like to explore the topic of wildfire and resilience more deeply. “This is a time full of learning and change, and we wanted that extra information there to show that,” Marino explains.
There’s an honesty to Marino’s approach to writing for the kindergarten set which acknowledges the animals’ vulnerability to fire but also emphasizes renewal as new shoots arrive in spring. And after four years of difficult fire seasons here in Sonoma, it’s a natural cycle familiar to residents both young and old. The tender, forward-looking mood Marino creates in this book feels just right for the season.
“We Will Live in This Forest Again” is available at local independent bookstores and online. To learn more about the author’s other books for children, visit giannamarino.com.
Captain Aaron Orsini of SVA Marine Charters at Spud Point in Bodega Bay, California on September 30, 2020. (Erik Castro/for Sonoma Magazine)
Aaron Orsini is a second-generation Bodega Bay charter boat captain. His parents moved to town in 1989, shortly before he was born, and there he stayed. “I was born into it. I grew up on the charter boat dock here in Bodega Bay,” he says. Today, he serves as captain of the 23-foot Ghost for SVA Marine Charters, backed by his father, Vince, and his uncle Alex, as another crab season begins.
The Season Opens
The first Saturday of November is the opener for sport crab season. Our most popular trip is a combination of crabbing and fishing for rockfish and lingcod. For November and December, I am booked almost every single day. Bodega Bay is really blessed in that a lot of our sport boats keep producing throughout the season. Our guides really work extra hard, and we generally do get limits of crab [10 per person].
Pandemic Challenges
Covid has limited the number of people we can have on board. Most of the sixpacks— the smaller boats like mine—have gone from six to four people. We do encourage masks on the boat, and we have a discussion every morning about it. People have been very good about being conscientious and recognizing that this is a threat while trying to have a good time. But I don’t want to undersell the fact that a lot of charter boats have really suffered, especially with closures earlier this year. In more heavily populated places along the coast, a lot of guys have lost a significant portion of their revenue.
A Classic Trip
We meet at the dock around sunrise and get everyone oriented on the boat. We start heading up the coast, past the Russian River, past Jenner, past Russian Gulch. We’ll tuck in and fish, ducking from rock to rock, trying to figure out the fish throughout the day. On the way back home, we come in around the Russian River and pull crab traps. After we’re done throwing all the traps back with fresh bait, we head back to the dock, where we take photos, clean the fish, and steam the crabs. I send everybody home with a nice batch of crabs and a big bag of filleted fish.
