Stephanie Gwilliam throws mugs on a wheel in her Hayes Ceramics studio in Windsor on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Stephanie Gwilliam’s hand-thrown pie plates will have you dreaming of baking. Gwilliam found her inspiration at the annual Gravenstein Apple Fair and developed a series of hand-scalloped pieces with a distinctive speckled glaze and a swirl detail on the bottom. After selling pieces at the fair, she wondered how they might work with the prized apple, and she began experimenting with pie and pie-plate making.
“My first pie did not turn out well at all,” admits Gwilliam, laughing — but the 6-inch pie plate design was a keeper.”
Gravenstein apples aren’t the only food to inspire her work, which Gwilliam sells under the name Hayes Ceramics. Her sizable garden, right next to her home studio in Windsor, has prompted projects like a small berry colander that fits over a plate, a set pretty enough to keep out on the counter all the time.
“I will probably use this every single day of my life,” she says, holding another of her favorite creations, a coffee mug marbled in different colored clays.
Gwilliam finds the everyday usability of her serveware satisfying. “I love how non-exclusive it is,” she says. “Everyone can relate.”
Stephanie Gwilliam throws mugs on a wheel in her Hayes Ceramics studio in Windsor on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Behind all the perfect lines and pretty shapes is Gwilliam’s love of the practice. As mother to a young daughter, she rushes to her studio to work on designs as soon as it’s naptime. Her current signature look features speckled clays and neutral glazes for a rustic farmhouse look. Gwilliam works in batches, and it can take days or weeks to see a piece from start to finish. It’s the wait, she says, that keeps her interested.
In fact, her path to success has been marked by that patience. Gwilliam began exploring ceramic design while still a high school student. Early on, she had trouble centering her pieces on the pottery wheel and, for a time, switched to more abstract ceramic sculptures instead.
But through the years, she kept at the wheel. After transferring to San Francisco State, “something clicked,” she said, and she eventually earned a degree in fine arts.
Now her perfected plates can be a stage for your own baking trials and triumphs.
Purchase Hayes Ceramics pie plates, mugs, and more directly from the artist on Etsy (etsy.com/shop/ HayesCeramics).
Last spring, as the pandemic closed down much of society, people across the world turned to their yards, balconies or any plot of land available for digging in the soil and planting veggies and seeds, while getting some much-needed stress relief. Now, with a new stay-home order and colder temperatures, indoor plants can provide a mood boost and add pops of color to your home. But some of us may feel reluctant to buy plants, which, based on experience, are unlikely to thrive or even survive under our supervision.
“Most people love plants and want them, but have a fear of not succeeding,” said Carlisle Degischer, co-owner of Dragonfly Floral in Healdsburg. But don’t let that fear or guilt from previous bad luck stop you from flexing your green thumb at home, she added.
Houseplants were growing in popularity before the pandemic, especially among younger people. Now that we are spending more time at home, they are in even higher demand according to local nurseries and garden centers. A few simple tips from the experts can help you in your quest to make your home greener.
How to get started
All houseplants are not created equal — that lush and leafy plant trending on social media may not do very well in your living room. Try to set yourself up for success by selecting a hardy, easy-care plant that doesn’t cost a small fortune.
Lindsay Wallstrum, owner of interior plant design firm Leaf + Lolo, recommends first-timers start out small with just one or two plants, like Sansevieria (snake plant) and Pothos. Initial growing success can then provide the confidence boost necessary to up your plant game down the road.
“To me, plant care is a form of self-care so the last thing you want is to be stressed over caring for them,” Wallstrum said. “Once you feel comfortable, you can always add more to your mini jungle!”
“Gardening is like cooking,” said Molly Bockelman, manager at Prickett’s Nursery in Healdsburg, “Everyone does it a little differently.” When bringing a new plant home, she recommends letting it acclimate in the spot where you plan on placing it for at least a week before transplanting it into a bigger or nicer pot.
Don’t drown your plants
Over-watering is one of the most common ways to kill a houseplant. Before giving plants a drink, Wallstrum recommends plant newbies perform the “finger test.” Stick your finger several inches into the soil. If soil sticks to your finger, wait a couple of days and try the test again. When your finger comes up dry, with no soil, you know it’s time to water.
Bockelman says first-timers also need to remember that plants in bigger pots require less watering since more soil retains more water. She also encourages people to consult the staff at their local nursery and not be shy about asking questions.
Decorative pots can add even more to your houseplant garden.
Design with plants
Houseplants offer an easy and affordable way to change the look of a room. But if you want your plants to thrive, you have to take sunlight — or lack thereof — into consideration. That dark corner in your living room may be crying for a pick-me-up but if there’s no light, you’re setting yourself up for growing pains.
Decorative pots can add color and texture to a space. Wallstrum recommends using a favorite chair and some plants to create a “zen space where you can read, relax and take in the serenity.” She’s also a fan of trailing plants along the wall.
Along with making you space look better, studies also have shown that indoor plants help purify air and lower stress.
Don’t beat yourself up and don’t give up
Growing houseplants comes with a learning curve. So, if you give it a go and you don’t succeed, just try again.
“Houseplants should bring you joy, never guilt,” said Degischer. “As soon as it brings you any emotions other than joy, release yourself from it and compost it. Move on. It’s OK.”
At the start of 2020, Papapietro Perry Winery in Dry Creek Valley operated a typical tasting room, with a belly-up bar inside and a covered patio outside for sunny days, overflow crowds and private pinot noir and cheese pairings.
That was B.C., before coronavirus. Then tasting rooms closed in mid-March by county order, later reopening to outdoor-only, physically distanced visitor experiences and shuttering again on Dec. 12 and until at least Jan. 9, 2021. Except for online sales, order shipments and curbside pickups, Sonoma tasting rooms are currently limited to virtual means to reach customers.
What’s a winery owner to do to sell wine and stay in business? “Get creative,” said Renae Perry, partner, CEO and general manager of Papapietro Perry. “We’d introduced ‘Pinot on the Patio’ and cheese pairings before the pandemic and had already expanded the patio. But how many times can you ask people to buy your wine? We had to do more.”
“More” for Perry has included virtual tastings on Zoom and FaceTime; online bingo nights; “Wine & Whatever” — freewheeling virtual happy hours with partner and winemaker Ben Papapietro and wine club manager Kristen Greenberg; cooking demonstrations with winery chef Jim May; caviar, chocolate and cheese pairing sessions; cellar videos that demonstrate how wine is made and “Paint & Sip,” a live painting lesson with wine and a finished piece at the end.
Unable to physically host their traditional parties for wine club members, Perry and Greenberg converse with them online when wine shipments go out. “As they unbox and uncork the wines, we tell our members about each one,” Perry said. “They can taste along or just listen. We’ve learned that our club members want the same information we give our staff about each wine and have the same questions. Our ‘Vino at Home’ Zoom tasting sessions let us to share that information with people across the country. We’re now in their living room, tasting with them, since they can’t come to the winery.”
Perry’s efforts are a snapshot of what so many other small- to medium-sized Sonoma wineries have done since March and plan to continuing doing into 2021, in order to keep their heads above water, financially. Virtually delivered “edu-tainment” has become a crucial marketing component, evolving from throw-it-against-the-wall experimentation at the start of the pandemic to why-didn’t-we-do-this-before queries once staff got the hang of it.
Merriam-Webster’s word for 2020 is “pandemic;” No. 2 for the wine industry could very well be “pivot.” As Perry said, maintaining customer loyalty is paramount. To do so, and to welcome new customers, nontraditional outreach is necessary. Wineries must continually offer new experiences that resonate with wine lovers, likely for the long term.
Here are some of the many wineries whose innovations and approaches to staying in contact with current and potential wine buyers have been successful. In most cases, costs vary.
Adobe Road Winery
Gearheads, start your engines. This tasting room at the Great Petaluma Mill (a new riverside venue is under construction) is all about the matchup of motor sports and fine wine. CEO and sports car driver Kevin Buckler heads the Racing Group, which has won such prestigious races as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Buckler and winemaker Garrett Martin bring the whine their virtual tastings, with endless options for guests to customize their own events. Name your budget, choose your topic and wines and the hospitality staff does the rest. Virtual celebrity guests in 2020 included Texas star chef Dean Fearing, Napa grapegrower Andy Beckstoffer, professional drivers Lyn St. James and Derek DeBoer and “Cars Yeah” podcaster Mark Greene. Talk cars while enjoying the Racing Series tasting of four red blends (Redline, Shift, The 24 and Apex) named for elements of Buckler’s career.
Not an automotive enthusiast? Not to worry, because Adobe Road also offers several other virtual tastings, including wine and food pairings, wine education and barrel sampling. Bordeaux varietals, chardonnay, pinot noir and grenache are among the best bottles, exceptionally made and definitely not gimmicks.
6 Petaluma Blvd. N, Petaluma, 707-774-6699, adoberoadwines.com
Buena Vista Winery/JCB Collection
Leave it to the always-inventive, effervescent Jean Charles Boisset to turn wine sales in a pandemic into a three-ring circus of fun and infotainment for his Sonoma brands Buena Vista, DeLoach and Lyeth and Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley. Boisset hosts numerous multi-week virtual happy hours in which pair his wines with a broad cast of characters and subjects. Most virtual events are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. They’re free to watch on Facebook Live, and wine kits can be ordered in advance to taste along. A recent session, “The Legacy of Prohibition with Carla de Luca Worfolk,” explored, with the filmmaker, how California’s fine-wine industry (including Buena Vista founder Agoston Haraszthy, of course) was shaped by Prohibition. Buena Vista Jovita’s Selection Chardonnay and Buena Vista Alexander Valley Zinfandel were tasted during the session.
On Jan. 6, 2021, the guest will be British Master of Wine Tim Aikin, who will discuss New World classic wines while tasting Chateau Buena Vista Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and DeLoach Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Private virtual tastings are also available on Zoom by appointment.
Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma, 800-926-1266, buenavistawinery.com
Wise Vineyards
With their Kenwood tasting room closed and Moon Mountain estate cave visits on hold, Brion and Ronda Wise have introduced the tool Corovin to their virtual tastings. One of the drawbacks of tasting wine online is that it usually requires the purchase of full bottles to play along (though a handful of wineries, among them Passalacqua in Dry Creek Valley, sell tasting kits with 2-ounce mini bottles). Once opened, those 750-ml standard bottles can oxidize in a couple days, even when stoppered.
Corovin solves that problem, and the Wises sell tasting kits equipped with the tool so the cork does not need to be removed to access the wine. Corovin has an extracting needle that draws wine from the bottle through the cork and a spout that dispenses the wine into the glass, leaving a blanket of argon gas in the bottle as a preservative. The B. Wise wines are exceptional, with the Moon Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon selling for $95 and the difficult-to-acquire BRION proprietary red going for whatever one is willing to pay. Chardonnay, pinot noir, syrah and zinfandel also are produced. Corovin, which sells for $150 and up at retail, lets aficionados enjoy every drop of B. Wise wines whenever they want, and the virtual tastings include instruction on the use and care of your Corovin. Tasting kits also are available without Corovin, and estate-grown olive oils are other options.
This Dry Creek Valley winery, which specializes in pinot noir and also offers a silky, seductive zinfandel, has rotated several successful virtual experiences in and out of its offerings since the initial March 2020 shutdown of its tasting room. On Jan. 21, 2021, Bay Area artist Sonya Paz will join a winery host in a step-by-step interactive lesson, “Paint & Sip,” on painting a private masterpiece on an oak-barrel stave. Order in advance the stave, paint, brush and one bottle of Peters Vineyard Pinot Noir, then log on to find your inner Van Gogh. Order more bottles and become Jackson Pollack. 5-6:30 p.m. $100 per kit, includes wine. Additional painting kits are $35, without wine.
4791 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 707-433-0422, papapietro-perry.com
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Where else but in Sonoma can one taste a crunchy Marin County riesling alongside a single-vineyard Russian River Valley chardonnay, a Green Valley Fox Den Pinot Noir and perhaps an old-vine Morelli Lane Russian River Valley Zinfandel from the comfort of one’s home? Dutton-Goldfield affords this opportunity, with hospitality manager Greg Johnson hosting one-on-one Zoom tastings of flights offered in the Sebastopol tasting room and creating groupings of wines grown in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, per customer request.
Grapegrower Steve Dutton and winemaker Dan Goldfield produce elegant, fresh-tasting yet rewarding wines at their Sebastopol winery, with gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, rosé and syrah joining the lineup. Russian River Valley is the baseline for Dutton-Goldfield wines, yet Marin and Mendocino’s Anderson Valley chime in to create a robustly varied tasting experience that expands on the RRV chardonnay-pinot noir theme. Email Johnson at greg@duttongoldfield.com to order the wines and schedule a tasting.
This was a year that fundamentally altered everything about how we eat. Grocery store shelves went bare. We learned how to make sourdough starter. We cooked for ourselves and we watched restaurants struggle to stay open despite repeated blows to their business models.
In 2021, we’ll still have plenty of fallout to address, but there’s also a lot to look forward to as we move into the future and see what changes will stick, and which will mercifully go away. Hopefully by this time next year, sheltering in place will be a thing of the past and we’ll be toasting together in restaurants, cafes and clubs. But until then, here are some predictions about how we’ll be eating in 2021.
Forget diets: Comfort food will continue to reign supreme, with braised meats and carb overloads. We’ll stick with eating our feelings for awhile because, hey, we’re supporting restaurants! And because sitting in front of a computer all day in your stretchy pants doesn’t really make for strong dieting incentive.
Eat-ertainment: Diners are still craving entertainment and fun with their food, and restaurants are heeding the call. Zoom cooking classes and interactive dinners will continue to be popular as eaters share a meal virtually.
Outdoors is the new indoors: When sheltering-in-place orders subside, we’ll probably be able to eat outdoors again before eating indoors. Throughout the summer and into the late fall, restaurants created fun outdoor oases in parking spots, on sidewalks, on back patios and anywhere a patch of land could support a tent and some heaters. We’ve become more comfortable with the idea of eating outside, and restaurants have gotten better at making outside areas more than an afterthought.
Takeout transformations: The energy it’s taken for restaurants to revamp their kitchens and menus to accommodate takeout won’t disappear anytime soon. Though takeout isn’t a huge moneymaker for high-end restaurants, which rely on the in-person experience, they are seeing a lot of interest in luxe takeout meals. We will continue to see takeout evolve throughout 2021.
Family meals are here to stay: The simple, hearty meal shared by restaurant staff before starting work — the “family meal” — has become a household word as restaurants reacted to the increased interest in takeout from actual families. For moms and dads, it’s a night off from the kitchen and a brief moment of family togetherness that doesn’t involve a computer screen. For restaurants, it’s a simplified menu that’s usually cheaper and easier to make.
Spinster Sisters (thespinstersisters.com) was an early adopter of weekly family-style meals for takeout and is still one of the best. Two favorite family meals of the year were fried chicken and mashed potatoes from Sally Tomatoes (sallytomatoes.com) and a Father’s Day feast from Ricky’s Eastbound (rickyseastbound.com).
Pop-ups continue: Whether it’s a restaurant temporarily changing its menu to be more takeout friendly, a chef doing a delivery-only dinner club or culinary entrepreneurs taking advantage of how we’re eating now (i.e., mostly at home), we’re excited about this clever new class of eats. Among them is Gravenstein Grill’s temporarily makeover into Sonoma Burger (sonomaburger.com) and Pleasant Hill Pie (gravensteingrill.com), eliminating the need for long menus and complicated ingredients and focusing on simple comfort food. Others include Street Social’s “The Coop” traveling fried chicken pop-ups (streetsocial.social), Table Culture Provision’s (tcprovision.com) weekly pop-up kitchen in Petaluma, Noodle Spring Ramen from Sondra Bernstein’s girl and the fig team (noodlespring.com) and Wild Bird fried chicken takeout at the Flamingo Resort (flamingohotel.com). Also impressive are specialty companies like Tilted Platter’s charcuterie boards, family-run Ethel’s Bagels (ethelsbagels.com) and Wooden Petal pretzels (woodenpetal.com) that focus on one thing and do it right.
More Pivots to Come: Local restaurateurs and chefs have been forced to pivot so many times in 2020 that it’s become less of a dance and more of simply spinning in dizzying circles.
Servers masked up and learned more than they cared to about health protocols with each new outbreak. Chefs became construction workers, building thrifty outdoor dining rooms with pallets and reclaimed tents. Each new health order required new business models for delivery and takeout, not to mention filing endless paperwork for financial assistance. Yes, 2020 was a sizzling dumpster fire of agony for everyone in the food business.
But 2021 will bring more confusing directives, and restaurants will have to stay on their toes, whether that means reopening outdoor dining, limiting indoor dining or eventually reopening indoor dining.
Technology advancing: The silver lining for those who can hold out until spring or summer, when life hopefully returns to some semblance of normalcy, is radical progress in technology and efficiency for an industry that’s long needed some disruption.
Restaurants that struggled with a simple Facebook presence now have extensive online ordering systems. Delivery, once the sole domain of pizzerias and Chinese food, is going gourmet and is easier than ever. Michelin-starred restaurants are doing luxury takeout. Social media has become critical to lure diners with glossy, mouthwatering images. Communicating quickly and directly with diners also will become increasingly important as restaurants bank on preorders from repeat guests.
Crowd support: Word-of-mouth has become invaluable for restaurants, especially when those words come with delicious pictures and tasty testimony. Save Sonoma County Restaurants on Facebook has surpassed 20,000 members and has become an invaluable free resource for restaurants and diners to share information about local restaurants. Restaurants like the Gypsy Cafe in Sebastopol (gypsy-cafe.com) have taken to crowdfunding platforms to raise money to support them during hard times.
Never the same again: We can never go back to the halcyon days of restaurant dining again. Too much has changed. We’ve cooked more at home, we’ve seen too many restaurants go under, we’ve tightened our belts and restaurants have fundamentally changed how they do business.
Aaron Rosewater, co-owner of Levin & Company, organizes the shelves at his bookstore in Healdsburg on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. (Beth Schlanker/ The Press Democrat)
Bookseller and avid reader Jude Sales, of Readers’ Books in Sonoma, sometimes has difficulty giving book recommendations. Not that there aren’t plenty of good books to recommend, rather because, “There are so many titles that are worth our time,” she said.
After asking local booksellers for a few recent titles seen flying off of Sonoma County bookstore shelves, we’ve compiled recommendations for works of fiction and non-fiction with strong narrative style that make for great stay-at-home companions. Books with stories that, in Sales words, “take you out of yourself.”
(Find a few favorite independent bookstores here).
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Booksellers unanimously recommend the Barack Obama memoir, A Promised Land. In its first day on sale, 890,000 copies were sold in the US and Canada; in the week following, it sold 1.7 million copies.
Whether speaking or writing, Obama knows how to turn a phrase. In A Promised Land, he colorfully captures his early life and political career, then goes on to chronicle his 2004 Senatorial campaign, his presidential campaign and his first presidential term.
If you’re prone to suffering end-of-a-good-book blues, no worries here: Obama is busy writing a sequel that will cover the second half of his presidency.
Readers’ Books store owner Andy Weinberger can sell them and write them too. His second installation in a three-part murder mystery series is high on the list of bestsellers at the Sonoma bookstore.
Sometime retired PI Amos Parisman isn’t the fastest or most stylish walker in LA, but he can still out gumshoe any of the other 20 million passing him as he saunters down the cracked sidewalks of the city. He knows that “the race isn’t always to the swift.”
“He writes a pretty damn good book,” said Readers’ Books buyer, Jude Sales, about Weinberger’s latest novel.
Jude Sales gives high praise to this fictionalization of Shakespeare’s life with his wife Anne Hathaway and their two children. In this book, you will not “just” read of Shakespeare’s marriage and the death of his son Hamnet in plague years — O’Farrell’s rich storytelling makes you feel as if you were there. This Elizabethan period drama enchants; it even brought tears to Sales’s eyes.
Treehorn Books, Santa Rosa’s bibliophile paradise, well known for its veritable ocean of used and rare books, also carries a robust selection of contemporary bestsellers. Obama’s A Promised Land and Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist are in high demand, according to bookseller Casey Colby.
Colby mentioned David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue as a particularly transporting read; a colorful chronicling of the 1960s music scene. A refreshing read in an era of pandemic, “It brought me back to a different time, when live music was happening,” he said.
Treehorn Books, 625 4th St, Santa Rosa, 707-596-3845, treehorn.com
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
Casey Colby highly recommends this historical and inspirational non-fiction book which chronicles the first year in office of Britain’s intrepid wartime leader Winston Churchill: a year when Adolf Hitler expands his invasion of Europe while conducting a massive bombing campaign (the Blitz) of Britain’s cities. According to Colby, the book tells a gripping story at a breakneck, page-turning speed, focusing on Churchill’s leadership and eloquence during a year in which Britain stood alone against Hitler.
Treehorn Books, 625 4th St, Santa Rosa, 707-596-3845, treehorn.com
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet
The staff at Pages Books on the Green in Windsor recommend a few bestsellers. The Vanishing Half tells the story of twin sisters — inseparable growing up, they then move apart and experience contrasting lifestyles: one in a Black community and the other in a white community.
In the author’s words, this is a story that explores the “lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.”
This biography on the late food luminary James Beard is front and center on the recommendations section of Copperfield’s Books website. Award-winning food writer John Birdsall uses “novelistic detail” to describe Beard’s notion of what an American cuisine could be and his complex life as a gay man closeted in a society in which being gay was allowed “only as long as it stayed enigmatic and implied.”
Copperfield’s Books, 138 N. Main Street, Sebastopol, 707-823-2618, 140 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, 707-762-0563, 106 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, 707-433-9270, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 707-578-8938, copperfieldsbooks.com
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Another recommended title on the Copperfield’s Books website is this story about Gitty, a young Ghanaian-American neuroscientist at Stanford, who is looking to science to make sense of the diseases that have plagued her family: addiction and depression. Named one of “The Best Books of 2020,” by The Washington Post, Gyasi’s second novel “interrogate(s) medical and religious issues in the context of America’s fraught racial environment.”
Copperfield’s Books, 138 N. Main Street, Sebastopol, 707-823-2618, 140 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, 707-762-0563, 106 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, 707-433-9270, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 707-578-8938, copperfieldsbooks.com
BBQ burger at Sonoma Burger, a pop-up at Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol. Photo: Sonoma Burger.
Phew, we’ve almost made it, folks. Though the light at the end of the tunnel may still seem dim, we can wish 2020 goodbye and hope for a better 2021. To start off the new year right, many restaurants will be open for takeout with their usual menus on Thursday, Dec. 31. But we also found a few special events to share:
Fried Chicken Zoom Party at Backyard: What are you gonna do on New Year’s Eve (besides wish 2020 good riddance)? How about hanging out with the Backyard crew and MC Clark Wolf? Welcome 2021 with a lesson in making fried chicken — the online class will cover chicken brining and frying along with how to make buttermilk biscuits and Chef Daniel Kedan’s infamous smoked hot sauce. Class is 6 – 7 p.m. on Dec. 31. The ingredient list will be sent 48 hours in advance of the class. You also can pre-order an already prepared fried chicken dinner as well as Balletto wines at backyardforestville.com. ($100 and up, available for pickup). Deadline to order the dinner is noon, Dec. 29. Editor’s note: This event will donate 20% of proceeds to Sonoma Family Meal, a nonprofit founded by Heather Irwin, dining editor for Sonoma Media Investments, owner of The Press Democrat.
Single Thread: For a lavish New Year’s meal, Single Thread is offering a finish-at-home menu of Royal Sturgeon Caviar and Steelhead Trout Roe from the Caviar Co., Chilled King Crab Legs, Chilled Poached Prawn, Cured Sliced Wild Salmon, Shucked Oysters on the Half Shell, Smoked Black Cod Mousse, 72-hour Braised American Wagyu Short Rib with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Liquid-Center Fondant Cake with Charred Orange Cream. Available for pickup. $150 and up per person, with instructions for cooking at home. Order at exploretock.com/singlethreadfarms.
Girl and the Fig: Bubbles and caviar seem an appropriate way to ring in 2021, and you can pre-order Tsar Nicoulai California White Sturgeon or Israel Golden Osetra along with Duck Liver Mousse, Quiche Lorraine, veggie frittatas, cakes, cheese and charcuterie from Sonoma’s Girl and the Fig. $28 and up. Deadline to order is Dec. 26 at noon. Details at 2020figholidays.square.site.
Dia de Reyes: Celebrate the Feast of Three Kings on Jan. 6 with a delicious King Cake pastry from Tia Maria by Costeaux. The specialty decorated sweet bread, or rosca, resembles a crown to honor the epiphany. In addition to the roscas, there will be other pan dolce including conchas, chocolate and breads. Order by calling Tia Maria at 707-540-9864 or order and pick up at any Costeaux location. Tia Maria is located at 44 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa (across from Sonoma County Meat Company).
Smash that Burger: Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol has transformed into a pop-up burger and hot dog concept during shelter-in-place. Featuring locally sourced meat from Bodega, bacon from Sonoma County Meat Company and Willie Bird Turkey, Chef Simontacchi’s smashed burger patties are topped with griddled onions, lettuce, bread and butter pickles and “Sonoma Sauce” on a fresh bun. Add-ons include Mycopia mushrooms, American cheese and crispy onion strings. Also check out the Pimento Burger ($9) with beef chili and pimento cheese or the barbecue burger with Pt. Reyes blue cheese and ginger barbecue sauce. Tempeh burger and turkey burgers available, too. If you’re a hot dog lover, there’s the classic dog, Ranchero dog (with bacon, ranchero salsa and habanero aioli) or pimento chili dog, plus chili cheese fries, truffle fries and crispy Brussels sprouts with garlic aioli. Order online at sonomaburger.com. 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol.
They’re also doing a pop-up pizzeria with a wild chanterelle mushroom, bacon and gorgonzola pie and Joe Matos cheesy garlic sticks and boozy eggnog. Order online at sonomaburger.com.
With more sheltering at home, it might be time to expand the comfy section of the wardrobe. But comfy doesn’t have to mean unstylish. Sonoma County stores have lots of fashionable and cozy outfits that will help you feel your best on your own, on Zoom or during your next socially-distant and masked outing. So before heading to that superstore to shop for expandable waistbands and soft fabrics, check out our local independent stores. There’s so much unique style to be found. Click through the above gallery for a few favorites.
One of the things the New Year bestows on us is the opportunity for a fresh start. As we near the end of this year, many of us are more than ready to close the book on 2020. But how can we kick off 2021 in a way that feels just right? We certainly don’t need more restrictions in our lives, like extreme diets or exercise regimens. Here are a few items that are full of fun and that can also help you lead a happier and healthier life. An added bonus? They are all made in Sonoma County. Click through the above gallery for details.
ITALY, Campo Fina in Healdsburg: Pizza Salsiccia (Kent Porter, PD)
Tired of preparing three meals per day for the whole family? We’re here to help. Sonoma County has plenty of restaurants serving up both adult-friendly and kid-friendly fare for pickup and delivery — we’ve rounded up a few favorites in the above gallery. And don’t forget to check out these restaurants offering family meals to go.
Where are you ordering takeout for the family? Let us know in the comments.
Sonoma is locked down again, just in time for the holidays. That’s a mean one, Mr. Grinch, another diabolical way to keep families at home and in small numbers at what normally is the most celebratory time of the year. Wineries, bottle shops and restaurants are closed, except for online sales, curbside pickups and takeout. Bah humbug.
Yet there is a small yet satisfying silver lining to this holiday season: the availability of half-bottles of excellent Sonoma wines — holding 375 ml instead of the more standard 750 ml. Sparkling wine, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and zinfandel, they’re all available in a size (often called a split) that suits the coronavirus times, meant for sharing or for two generous pours for those home alone.
“Half-bottles have always been a great way to introduce our wines to new customers,” said Robert Wetzel, family partner and national sales manager for Alexander Valley Vineyards in Healdsburg. “In any year other than 2020, they are the top sellers at restaurants and hotels across the country, and many restaurants use them as premium-by-the-glass pour, which guarantees the guest will always have a fresh glass.”
The role of the split has shifted to home enjoyment this year, Wetzel said, “and I can’t think of a better ‘adult’ stocking stuffer than a half bottle. Plus, they are priced right so you can put together a really nice Sonoma-based gift basket with a couple of half-bottles, some local cheese and charcuterie.”
Mari Jones, president of Emeritus Vineyards in Sebastopol, knows a thing or two about half-bottles. Her father, Brice Cutrer Jones, founded Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor in 1973 and was a huge proponent of half-bottles, placing his 375-ml chardonnays in seemingly every hotel honor bar in California and beyond. He sold Sonoma-Cutrer to Brown-Forman Corp. in 1999 and started Emeritus, which Mari now directs.
“We love making half bottles because (they’re) a little more accessible and less intimidating than opening a full bottle,” she explained. “Whether you want to try multiple wines over the course of a dinner, are drinking solo or like to enjoy something different from your partner, half-bottles are the perfect size. It’s also a great way for people to try our wine without such a big commitment.”
Half-bottles of wine are meant to be consumed when they’re young, so buy the latest vintage possible. The amount of oxygen trapped between the wine and cork is the same in both half and full bottles, so there is more air exposure in a 375-ml bottle. This makes the wine mature more rapidly than the same wine in a 750-ml bottle. But this can also be an advantage: tannic red wines will soften more rapidly in the smaller vessel, with no cellaring required.
Here are 10 Sonoma-made half-bottles to provide full drinking pleasure for the holidays. Many wineries don’t bottle 375 mls, and some that do don’t promote their availability on their websites. So call ahead and order for pickup or delivery, or shop at grocery stores and wine shops allowed to remain open during the stay-home order. Large chain stores tend to have the broadest selection of both local and international wines.
Alexander Valley Vineyards 2018 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $15: Cabernet sauvignon is joined by splashes of merlot, malbec, cabernet franc and petit verdot in this fruit-forward wine that also has complex notes of cedar, vanilla and dark chocolate. Juicy dark fruit, supple tannins and a lingering finish make it a serious wine in a small package. The Wetzel family also bottles and sells chardonnay ($11), merlot ($14) and Sin Zin ($11) in 375-ml sizes; a sampler pack ($51) includes one bottle of each, all finished in screw caps for tool-free opening.
8644 Highway 128, Healdsburg, 707-433-7209, avvwine.com. Also sold at Bottle Barn, 3318 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-528-1161, bottlebarn.com
Bedrock Wine Co. 2019 Bedrock Vineyard Sonoma Valley Heritage Red, $25: Winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson and business partner Chris Cottrell look to their old-vine Bedrock Vineyard in Glen Ellen for this multi-variety blend. Zinfandel, mourvedre, syrah, tempranillo and other grapes appear in this wine, depending on vintage, and the result is a complex, spicy, peppery wine with solid tannins, graphite-like minerality and intense black and blue fruit. Beef and lamb roasts are good companions for this wine. The Sonoma plaza tasting room is temporarily closed, so call or email for wine purchase opportunities.
Dry Creek Vineyard 2019 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $10: Consistently one of the best sauvignon blancs produced in Sonoma, it delivers layers of citrus, lemongrass, white peach and tropical fruit flavors and gains complexity from the addition of sauvignon gris and sauvignon musque grapes. Winemaker Tim Bell ages the blend in oak, acacia and chestnut barrels, and this combination contributes mouthfeel and depth to a varietal that can be simple, lean and assertive. For those eating fresh crab for the holidays, here’s your wine.
3770 Lambert Bridge Road, Healdsburg, 707-433-1000, drycreekvineyard.com. Also available at Oliver’s Markets in Cotati, Santa Rosa and Windsor, oliversmarket.com and Big John’s Market, 1345 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-7151, bigjohnsmarket.com
Emeritus Vineyards 2017 Hallberg Ranch Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, $25: From the winery’s estate vineyard comes this luscious pinot noir with vibrant black cherry and dark raspberry fruit, savory spice and supple tannins. It’s both energetic and silky-smooth, with fine depth and a long-lasting finish. It’s textbook Russian River Valley pinot noir in the hands of winemaker Dave Lattin.
2500 Gravenstein Highway N., Sebastopol, 707-823-9463, emeritusvineyards.com. Also available at Sonoma’s Best Modern Mercantile, 1190 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-996-7600, sonomas-best.com
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards NV Carneros Blanc de Noirs, $11: Traditionally made sparkling wines such as this, in which still wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles, mature remarkably fast in 375-ml glass bottles. For this reason, most California producers don’t make them, yet Sonoma Valley’s Gloria Ferrer does, and thankfully so. A pretty pink in color and brimming with refreshing strawberry, raspberry and citrus fruit, it has a slightly creamy mid-palate and brisk acidity. It’s a perfect holiday-time aperitif and New Year’s Eve corker for in-your-bubble celebrating.
23555 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 866-845-6742, gloriaferrer.com. Also available at some chain grocery stores and Glen Ellen Village Market, 13751 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, glenellenvillagemarket.org
J Wine Co winemaker Nicole Hitchcock. (Courtesy of J Vineyards & Winery)
J Vineyards & Winery 2018 California Pinot Noir, $10: J winemaker Nicole Hitchcock may focus most of her efforts on Russian River Valley-grown still and sparkling wines, yet her three-appellation blend from Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties offers a solid bang for the buck and is widely distributed in half-bottles. Blackberry, black cherry and cola aromas and flavors from Sonoma, red fruit and black tea from Santa Barbara and forest floor and subtle leafy herbs from Monterey meld in this smooth-drinking wine, which has a whiff of holiday baking spice upon opening and pouring.
11447 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 707-431-5430, jwine.com. Among the local stores that carry this wine are Bottle Barn and Pacific Market in Santa Rosa, Lucky, Safeway, Whole Foods, Wilibees Wine & Spirits and Petaluma Market.
La Crema 2018 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, $12: This wine has a little bit of everything most chardonnay fans love: juicy tropical, peach and citrus fruit; palate-cleansing acidity and subtle notes of oak and baking spice. Head winemaker Craig McAllister, a native of New Zealand, sources grapes from throughout the Sonoma Coast AVA and is able to bottle this wine with a consistency of style, no matter the vintage. If you find another vintage of the La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, expect a very similar wine (though the older the vintage, the more evolved the wine will be).
3575 Slusser Road, Windsor, 800-314-1762, lacrema.com. Also available at Oliver’s Markets in Cotati, Santa Rosa and Windsor and many other chain supermarkets.
Ramey Wine Cellars 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, $23: In the past, chardonnay master David Ramey has bottled this flagship wine in half-bottles for key accounts such as hotels and restaurants. COVID-19 restrictions have increased demand at the winery for this smaller-size bottling, and Ramey has obliged, making “splits” of this generously fruited, focused, oaked-spiced, mouthwatering wine available to more consumers. It’s not listed on the winery website, though an email sent to the winery will give buyers the opportunity to purchase this chardonnay. Ramey has an equally strong (and international) reputation for Bordeaux-style red wines; his 2018 North Coast Claret ($23), based on cabernet sauvignon, hails from Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties and also is sold in half-bottles at the winery.
Seghesio Family Vineyards 2018 Sonoma County Zinfandel, $16: Of Seghesio’s many fine zinfandels, this one is the easiest to find in markets, particularly in the 375-ml format. Rich in juicy blackberry and blueberry flavors, it’s accented by notes of espresso, licorice and pepper. Winemaker Andy Robinson has been with Seghesio since 2003, recently taking over in the cellar for longtime winemaker Ted Seghesio. Seghesio’s Old Vine and Home Ranch Zinfandels are treasured by zin fanatics, yet this county blend over-delivers on price.
700 Grove St., Healdsburg, 707-433-3579, seghesio.com. Also available at Sonoma’s Best Modern Mercantile, 1190 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-996-7600, sonomas-best.com
Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, $11.50: This refined, racy wine is widely available in supermarkets and hotel minibars, with an easy-to-remove screw cap to suit all occasions. Winemaker Mick Schroeter has maintained the chardonnay style established by winery founder Brice Cutrer Jones, with a precise balance of citrus and green apple character, background oak spice and energetic personality that complements a wide range of foods. Fruit- and butter-bomb lovers should look elsewhere for chardonnay. Sonoma-Cutrer’s Russian River Ranches Chardonnay also comes in half-bottles ($14) and is a step up in complexity, with a bit more oak influence.
4401 Slusser Road, Windsor, 707-237-3489, sonomacutrer.com. Also available in most chain grocery stores.
