Biggest 2020 Sonoma County Restaurant Openings and Closings

By Heather Irwin

To say restaurants have had a tough year is an understatement. Ongoing restrictions since March on indoor dining because of the coronavirus pandemic have forced them to reconstruct their business models and increasingly depend on outdoor dining. Then the fires and smoke of recent months made even that a challenge.

Sadly, some restaurants couldn’t survive, but many did. And despite the odds, more than 25 local restaurants debuted this year.

With happiness and sorrow in our hearts, we’ve heard the incredible stories of both hope and loss. We anxiously hold our breath to see if those still open now will make it to spring or summer when life, hopefully, starts returning to normal.

Here are the openings and closings of 2020.

Top Five Openings

Wit & Wisdom: Stem to stern, every dish at this Michael Mina restaurant at The Lodge at Sonoma hits the mark, then exceeds it. Experience, a strong staff and an approachable, yet refined, menu made this the restaurant to beat when it came to 2020 openings. Duck wings and roasted carrots still haunt our food dreams. 1325 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-931-3405, witandwisdomsonoma.com

Blue Ridge Kitchen: Here’s another top contender for best opening of the year. Dishes are Southern-ish, but what we love best is the mix of elevated technique and passion from the kitchen. New dishes frequently grace the menu, like the recent cioppino, but favorites like the required croque madame make it a great spot to return to. 6770 McKinley St., Suite 150, Sebastopol, brkitchen.com

Grossman’s: This Jewish-style deli officially opened in March the week the shelter-in-place order began, putting a bit of a damper on what was slated to be one of the highest-profile openings in 2020. The Starks have pivoted endlessly to maintain enthusiasm for their incredible cocktails, matzoh ball soup, dumplings, smoked meats and bagels. Perfect for an upcoming Hanukkah nosh. 308½ Wilson St., Santa Rosa, 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com

Street Social: With just six closely spaced tables, this Petaluma restaurant took it hard when indoor dining was shut down. Owners Jevon Martin and Marjorie Pier reinvented themselves with takeout fried chicken and a handful of outdoor tables. They offer luxe takeout like bone-in short rib with red flint polenta and pomegranate jus. 29 F Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-774-6185, streetsocial.social

PizzaLeah: This small Windsor pizzeria opened during the early weeks of the pandemic, but what put them high on our radar was the incredible effort owner Leah Scurto made to feed neighbors and first responders during the fall fires. Her pizza is dang delicious, too. 9240 Old Redwood Highway, Suite 116, Windsor, 707-620-0551, pizzaleah.com

More Great Openings

Grata Windsor: Gnuddi shrimp diavola is a top pick at this family-friendly spot owned by a former Stark’s chef. 186 Windsor River Road, Windsor, 707-620-0508, gratawindsor.com

Cozy Plum: What we’re most taken with at Cozy Plum is their lighthearted approach to comfort food with a vegan twist and their passion for making beautiful dishes. 1899 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-526-3333, cozyplum.com

Seafood & Eat: Kin to Down to Earth Cafe in Cotati, this place makes seafood the star. Fish and chips and fish tacos are faves.

Los Molcajetes: Yes, this is a sibling to the popular Molcajetes restaurant in Santa Rosa which rose to fame after Guy Fieri featured it on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” As the names suggest, molcajete — a hearty stew of meats, seafood, vegetables, cheese and salsa in a stone bowl — is the signature dish. 6599 Montecito Blvd., No. 130, Santa Rosa, 707-791-7571.

Kivelstadt Cellars: A favorite “secret” spot just outside Sonoma is this cozy little world of delicious brunch and lunch dishes with a killer wine list. 22900 Broadway, Sonoma, kivelstadtcellars.com

4th Street Social Club: Finding restaurants with strong appeal for meat eaters and plant eaters alike is as rare as civil discourse on politics at Christmas. It’s a dream but rarely a reality. Enter 4th Street Social with faux “lox,” jackfruit “chick’n” nuggets and solid cocktails. 643 4th St., Santa Rosa, 4thstreetsocialclub.com

Chicken Nature: This addition to the Marlow shopping center in Santa Rosa serves Asian food and simple but hearty chicken dishes like chicken curry puffs, tangy tamarind chicken rice bowls, curry rice bowls and poached chicken and rice. 1791 Marlow Road, Santa Rosa, chickennature.com

Flavor Bistro: The popular downtown Santa Rosa eatery shuttered in November 2016 as construction on Courthouse Square lagged. This year, it reopened in a small bistro that formerly housed a Caribbean restaurant in Sebastopol near the former Peter Lowell’s. Expect a slightly reduced menu but most of the old favorites. 7365 Healdsburg Ave., Sebastopol, flavorbistro.com

Corner Project Ales and Eats: This family-run brewpub has one brother brewing and the other manning the kitchen. More than just fried pub grub, Chef Tom Adamian’s menu includes comforting dishes like meatball sandwiches, gem salad and tomato salad. Locally sourced, the menu changes weekly. 21079 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, cornerprojectales.com

Valley Bar + Bottle: Valley Bar + Bottle opened in July as a wine bar, restaurant and bottle shop. Housed in the Leese-Fitch Adobe built in 1836, which was most recently Harvest Moon Cafe, it feels like a French neighborhood cafe. The concept for the fare is California home cooking that’s ingredient-driven, rustic and simple. 487 First St. W., Sonoma, valleybarandbottle.com

April Pantry: Established at the former Ulia’s Deli in a Petaluma office park, April Pantry has some serious talent making crave-worthy sandwiches and salads. Menu favorites include the Billionaire’s BLT, the grilled cheese sandwich, the barbecue pork banh mi and the Aloha Plate with fresh macaroni salad and fried chicken. 1000 Clegg St., Petaluma, 707-658-1326, aprilpantry.com

Cielito Lindo: This Mexican cuisine spot opened in February in the former Pamposh Indian restaurant location on Mission Boulevard and Highway 12. 52 Mission Blvd. No. 110, Santa Rosa, 707-978-2070.

Simmer Claw Bar: Owner Nhat Le, whose family also owns Simmer Vietnamese restaurants in Rohnert Park and Petaluma, features Southern-meets-Saigon seafood boils at this restaurant. 595 Rohnert Park Expressway, Rohnert Park, 707-806-2080.

Acre Pizza: Detroit and classic pizza styles are available. 6760 McKinley St., Suite 150, Sebastopol, acrepizza.com

Vinoma: A Rohnert Park gas station is home to this place for authentic Argentine empanadas, a classic grab-and-go meal of meat, cheese and veggies filling pastry pockets. 5085 Redwood Drive, Rohnert Park, vinoma.net

Creperie Chez Solange: Authentic French crepes come in buckwheat flour savory or white flour sweet varieties. 462 Larkfield Center, Santa Rosa, 707-791-7633

Village Bakery: This popular bakery reopened in Santa Rosa. 2404 Magowan Drive, Santa Rosa.

Scowley’s Burgers: This spot for beefy burgers in Petaluma opened in the fall. 229 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, 707-981-7746, scowleys.com

The Mill at Glen Ellen: A lovely outdoor space and comfort classics grace the historic mill property. 14301 Arnold Drive, Suite 32, Glen Ellen, 707-721-1818.

Flavor Burger: This Windsor spot has great burgers and fries. 6560 Hembree Lane, No. 178, Windsor, 707-836-4096, orderflavorburgercafe.com

Let’s not Forget the Food Trucks

Charro Negro: The best ocean-to-table tacos and tostadas in Sonoma County, hands down. Rodrigo Mendoza is a former Willi’s Seafood chef who made the leap to a mobile kitchen. He runs El Charro Negro with business partner Ricardo Ibarra in a brilliantly colored, hash-tagged and social media-ready truck that’s impossible to miss at its usual Roseland spot, the Mitote Food Park. 665 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa.

Tamales Oaxacenos: California cuisine-inspired ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, finishing salt, edible flowers and microgreens add panache to this tamale seller at Roseland’s Mitote Food Park. Read more. 665 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa.

We Say Goodbye

It’s been a tough year for restaurants, and a tough winter is yet to come. Here are some of the restaurants we lost.

Osteria Stellina: This longtime Point Reyes pasta shack garnered national praise for its regional Italian cuisine before closing last summer.

Bistro 29: This French-inspired restaurant was an early loss last spring.

Tisza Bistro: This Windsor spot serving Eastern European-Californian cuisine had a three-year run that began during the Tubbs fire, when Chef Krisztian Karkus fed evacuees panini sandwiches. Tisza closed in August.

Whole Pie: Trish Davis’ buttery, crumbly crusts and toppings live on in our dreams.

Bollywood: Owner Sonu Chandi of Chandi Hospitality Group cited prohibitions on indoor dining and an early and prolonged fire season as reasons for the closure of this downtown Santa Rosa spot with modern Indian cuisine.

Meadowood: Napa’s Michelin-starred icon burned in this year’s wildfires.

Khum Koon Thai Cafe: The casual Thai eatery in downtown Windsor served satisfying, affordable Thai classics from an extensive menu.

Bruno’s on Fourth: The cozy McDonald neighborhood bistro in Santa Rosa that charmed Sunday brunchers and weeknight regulars for more than a decade closed, and owners Linn and Rick Bruno focused on their second restaurant, Ricky’s Eastbound in Skyhawk Village.

Three Twins Ice Cream: Petaluma ice cream entrepreneur Neal Gottlieb announced in April the company would cease operations after 15 years in business. Gottlieb said Three Twins’ business model had become financially unsustainable even before the pandemic, but the stresses of this year erased any chance of recovery.

Whisper Sisters: This bar and creative eatery opened in February 2019 in downtown Petaluma before it was lost to the pandemic.

Brass Rabbit: This ode to classic French cuisine on Healdsburg Plaza was another casualty of the pandemic. The restaurant’s small size and lack of any real patio seating may have been its death knell.

Jaded Toad Windsor: This barbecue spot closed its Windsor location, but its Cotati location remains.

5 Sonoma Wineries With An Italian Vibe

By Linda Murphy

Some of the most recognizable names in Sonoma wine are Italian: A. Rafanelli, Foppiano, Gallo, Martinelli, Pedroncelli, Rochioli, Sebastiani and Seghesio, to name just a few.

The founders of these wineries, largely from Italy’s Tuscany region, made their way to California in the mid- to late-1800s, many of them attracted by the Gold Rush. When the gold petered out, they scattered throughout the state, with large concentrations landing in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The the soil and arid climate here reminded them of home and the grapes, tomatoes, peppers and olives they grew there to feed their families.

It’s a testament to the determination of Sonoma’s transplanted Italians that so many of their wineries flourish today, having weathered Prohibition, war and financial depressions. The rustic zinfandels, petite sirahs, barberas, carignanes and “mixed blacks” field blends they bottled a century ago have evolved into wines with more refinement and superior quality. Sangiovese, nebbiolo, aglianico and dolcetto and white varietals pinot grigio, vermentino, malvasia and moscato are now fashionable, their production encouraged by the children and grandchildren of those first-wave Italians.

COVID-19 has made travel to Italy nearly impossible right now, but not to worry. Several Sonoma wineries exude an Italian vibe that will remind visitors of Tuscany, without the plane flight or need for an English-to-Italian dictionary. Here are five that deliver a sense of la dolce vita, for their Italian brand names, wines produced, architecture, design and experiences offered. All winery visits are by appointment only and conducted outdoors.

Acorn Winery

Owners Betsy and Bill Nachbaur are not Italian, although their devotion to Italian grape varieties and old-vine zinfandel is as strong as a Tuscan day is long. The couple purchased Alegría Vineyard in 1990, located in the southeastern, warmest section of Russian River Valley and originally part of the 1841 Sotoyome land grant. It was planted, beginning in the 1890s, to a dizzying array of varieties, among them zinfandel, sangiovese, alicante bouchet, petite sirah, carignane, syrah, bastardo and graciano.

Bill, who thought he would be a lawyer, instead jumped headlong into viticulture. Betsy soon joined him full-time in the business of growing grapes for other wineries. In 1994, they establish their own Acorn brand, holding back fruit for themselves and selling to a shorter list of producers. All their bold, hearty wines come from their vineyard — zinfandel, sangiovese, dolcetto, rosato (rosé), syrah, cabernet franc and proprietary blends Medley and Acorn Hill. Production is just 3,000 cases a year, and each wine is a “field blend” in which the primary variety is fermented with other grape types, adding depth and complexity.

Tastings are $30 per person and are personal, with Betsy or Bill pouring. Bill is happy to lead physically distanced, masked tours of the vineyard for those who are interested. Just say so at the time of booking.

12040 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg, 707-433-6440, acornwinery.com

Battaglini Winery & Vineyard

Everything old is new again at Battaglini. A visit here is refreshing for its lack of fussiness, reminiscent of tasting at a rural Tuscan winery where the ambiance comes from the rustic surroundings and hardworking people who obviously love what they do. Don’t be surprised if you smell food cooking on the stove, hear Italian music or see family members playing bocce when you arrive.

Giuseppe J. Battaglini came to the U.S. in 1956 with the desire to grow grapes as his family did in Tuscany. “Joe” met his wife, Lucia, in San Francisco in 1961, and in 1988, they were finally able to buy the Lagomarsino Winery in Santa Rosa. The zinfandel and petite sirah vines planted there, in what is now the Russian River Valley, date to 1885. They were sold under contract to Beringer Vineyards in Napa Valley; the Battaglinis were able to produce their first wines from their fruit with the 1994 vintage. Four zins and a petite sirah are made from the ancient vines; chardonnay, rosato (rosé) and late-harvest chardonnay are also poured.

2948 Piner Road, Santa Rosa, 707-318-8944, battagliniwines.com

Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery

Second-generation Italian Americans Don and Rhonda Carano, hoteliers from Reno, built this grand Italian-inspired estate (with a hint of French château) in 1981. Don honored his grandmother, Amelia Ferrari, by adding her to the winery name. F-C has been a visitor magnet for three decades, thanks to Rhonda’s exquisite gardens and fountain, the serene and expansive view of Dry Creek Valley from the north looking south and Villa Fiore, the hospitality center. The design is a modern replica of a northern Italian villa, with an Enoteca tasting bar in the underground cellar (not open during the pandemic) and tasting areas on terraces overlooking the vineyards.

Now part of the Foley Family Wines group, Ferrari-Carano debuted two new tastings this fall. The Sycamore Grove Tasting includes a flight of four single-vineyard wines paired with Italian-inspired bites, encompassing ingredients from the garden. $50 per person. There are two Il Terrazzo Tastings on the patio, with four wines and the option to purchase a cheese and charcuterie board. The Traditional tasting is $20 per person; Reserve is $30. The wines poured run the gamut, from Italian to Burgundian to Bordeaux varietals. Open Thursday through Sunday.

8761 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, 800-831-0381, ferrari-carano.com

Jacuzzi Family Vineyards

Fred and Nancy Cline, of Cline Family Cellars in Sonoma, opened Jacuzzi in 2007 to honor Fred’s grandfather, Valeriano Jacuzzi, whose family invented the famous spa pump. Valeriano, an immigrant from Carsasa, Italy, taught Fred how to grow wine grapes, and while the Clines first focused on Rhone-variety wines at Cline Cellars, Jacuzzi is devoted to Italian-style wines, among them arneis, moscato, pinot grigio, barbera, teroldego, aglianico, dolcetto and nebbiolo. Chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon are also produced.

The winery and visitor center, built across the street from Cline, were inspired by both the Jacuzzi family home in Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and medieval monasteries. The large farmhouse-style stone structure has a watch tower and a main piazza in its center, where guests taste wine and picnic. An 80-some-year-old fig tree, transplanted to Sonoma from the Valeriani ancestral ranch, provides shelter from the elements. The interior — which will reopen after pandemic restrictions are eased — is filled with rustic furnishings, Italian art and a Venetian chandelier. The tasting bar and gift shop are crammed with visitors in high, non-COVID, season.

In 2013, the Clines purchased The Olive Press, adjacent to Jacuzzi. Their own olive oils, and those of others who contract for pressing services, are a big draw. The winery and olive press area are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

24724 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-931-7575, jacuzziwines.com

Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery

Tuscan immigrant Samuele Sebastiani could not have predicted, when he founded his winery in the heart of Sonoma in 1904, that multigenerational squabbling over how to run the business would eventually force its sale. The saga is long and complicated, with a deep cast of characters, among them Samuele’s son and daughter-in-law, August and Sylvia, and grandchildren Don, Sam and Mary Ann, who eventually sold to Bill Foley, now of Foley Family Wines, in 2008.

The result today is a winery with a pared-down approach to producing a wide range of wines from Sonoma County grapes (in its heyday, Sebastiani’s second-label wines sourced grapes from throughout California) and offering visitor experiences that include telling the history of the Sebastiani family. Prior to Foley’s purchase, the hospitality center underwent a major redesign in 2001, with then-President and CEO Mary Ann Sebastiani Cuneo modernized the tasting room with an 80-foot curved bar of concrete and limestone, vaulted ceilings and retrofitted stone walls, columns and archways. Under coronavirus restrictions, Sebastiani offers daily seated tastings on its courtyard, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Seated Wine Tasting is $35 for the Classic Flight and $40 for the Signature Flight. The Cherryblock Vineyard Tour and Tasting ($75) takes place in the vineyard north of the winery, planted to mostly cabernet sauvignon in 1961. Space heaters and a covered tent are available for cold or rainy days.

389 Fourth St. E., Sonoma, 707-933-3200, sebastiani.com

Healdsburg Restaurant Offers Immersive Winter Fantasy Dining Experience

By Heather Irwin

The wild and mystical winter forests of northern Japan are coming to Healdsburg this holiday season.

“Usu-Zan” at the upscale Single Thread restaurant will be a five-nights-per-week immersive outdoor dining experience inspired by the food and wild spaces of Hokkaido, a far-flung island prefecture of Japan. The event is a collaboration between Chef Kyle Connaughton and Katina Connaughton of Single Thread and interior designer Ken Fulk.

Tasked with creating a misty forest that marries the tranquility of an old-growth forest with the energy of a Japanese countryside restaurant, the team plans for river rock-lined pathways and fountains leading to a verdant open-air tent filled with Japanese cypress trees. Guests are invited to journey through gates, past an altar and over a footbridge on their way to their tables. Shoji screens and tatami mats offer a warm stage for rustic tables, while softly lit lanterns made from rice paper are suspended overhead.

“We wanted to create an imaginary Hokkaido forest providing a cinematic backdrop for an otherworldly meal,” Fulk said. “Rather than be limited by the current dining constraints, we saw (this) as an opportunity to craft spaces that reveal themselves and recapture that childlike sense of wonder in all of us.”

Expect an over-the-top luxury environment that showcases Fulk’s unique ability to join story, art and design in a space. He is also working on the reopening of the former SHED space in Healdsburg as Little Saint.

The food, of course, will be up to the standards of the three Michelin stars that Single Thread has been awarded. But it is also a very personal homage for the Connaughtons, who credit their time living in Hokkaido and learning the cuisine, culture and artisan lifestyle of the region as the inspiration for Single Thread.

The opening nine-course menu is focused on seasonal winter ingredients — seafood from the cold waters of Hokkaido; local Wagyu beef prized for its tenderness; uni and scallops; konbu (kelp) and Single Thread Farm’s onions, turnips, chrysanthemum greens, daikon and eggs. The highlight of the meal will be family-style donabe hot pots that include Hokkaido Seafood and Miso Nabe; Roasted Duclair Duck Nabe and Vegetable, Mushroom and Tofu Nabe, along with A-5 Wagyu beef Shabu Shabu. DuMOL wines will be offered as a special pairing with the donabe course.

“In Hokkaido, all of our friendships were forged over a simmering hot pot of rich miso broth with local seafood and vegetables” Kyle Connaughton said. “We’d sit for hours fortifying the broth, sharing sake and talking. It was a way of cooking and a way of life that changed us forever. We are excited to bring this to a new dining experience for our guests, when everyone can use fun, excitement, nourishment and comfort.”

In a moment when fairy tales and far-off worlds sound pretty good, Usu-Zan fulfills that fantasy, according to Fulk.

“We all need a little escapism now and then, perhaps now more than ever,” Fulk said. “The dining experience at Single Thread is so exquisite that Usu-Zan needed to be equally magical but also whimsical and transportive. It feels like you stepped into a Japanese fairy tale.”

Usu-Zan will take place Dec. 10 to March 28, with seating from 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Dinner bookings are $375 per guest with a transferable, nonrefundable $100 deposit required at the time of booking. A special “experience within an experience” will be offered for parties of four with King Crab from the Okhotsk Sea, roasted crab broth and other crab goodies along with Connaughton’s book, “Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking,” for $475 per person. Details are at singlethreadfarms.com/blog/usuzan.

Living in a Landmark: A Look Inside This Historic Santa Rosa Home

By Abigail Peterson

After 30 years, Noreen and Rick Carvolth are used to rolling with the surprises that come with living in a landmark.

Sometimes, it’s a note left on the porch from someone who grew up in the neighborhood saying how much she has always loved the home; other times it’s a tentative ring of the doorbell from some passers-by wondering about the woodwork or the second-floor Union Jack-style windows. “I feel proud that people take interest in the history,” says Noreen, who in pre-Covid times was known to invite folks in for an impromptu look around.

The Craftsman home in downtown Santa Rosa’s graceful McDonald Avenue neighborhood was built in 1910 by a prominent turn-of-the-century pharmacist and designed by architect Brainerd Jones, who was known for building homes and libraries throughout Sonoma County. In its hundred-plus years, the home has been owned by just four families, including the Carvolths, who raised three sons and a daughter here and now welcome back their young grandchildren for sleepovers and romps in the backyard pool.

Noreen, a former member of the Santa Rosa school board, and Rick, an emergency-room physician turned healthcare executive, knew a bit about challenges of living in a historic home before purchasing it in 1987. They’d renovated a 1928 bungalow in Mill Valley to fit their young family before making the leap to Santa Rosa for Rick’s medical career. Moving into the neighborhood with three energetic young kids in tow was a bit of a barrel-ofmonkeys proposition. It was a hot, muggy summer that year and the home still needed plenty of work, Noreen remembers. The couple didn’t have their phone hooked up in time for Rick’s first on-call shift at the hospital, so they had to ask a neighbor to borrow the land line. “The neighbor said to me, ‘Well, we were wondering who’d bought that house. What did you spend so much money on that house for?’” laughs Noreen. “We attracted some attention.”

But they settled in, sending their children to Proctor Terrace Elementary School and living with the house as-is for a year before hiring architect Mark Quattrocchi to reimagine it for a family of six (the Carvolths’ fourth child was born two years after they moved in). Quattrocchi added a separate shingled garage to match the house and a large kitchen overlooking the backyard. Over time, they also worked on the bedrooms and baths upstairs and enclosed a side porch to make space for their daughter’s piano. “It was so easy to imagine,” says Noreen.

“The bones of the house were a livable home. It had been designed for a family, and we’ve tried to keep everything in the spirit of the house.”

Now that their children are grown, the extra bedrooms have become guest rooms, craft spaces, and offices for Noreen and Rick, who maintain busy schedules of work, volunteering, and home projects. (“Since the pandemic began, I’ve cleaned out every cabinet in the house!” says Noreen.) Her second floor office is a showstopper, with a rosy paint job, period furniture, and a line of stained-glass windows featuring stylized pink and green tulips, a Craftsman-era motif that repeats in the room’s wool rug. Noreen oversaw the restoration of the stained glass windows, one of which bowed dangerously outward—but fortunately, did not shatter—after being hit by a basketball.

Period details abound throughout but particularly on the first floor, including beautifully maintained Douglas fir paneling, built-in cabinetry, coffered ceilings, pocket doors, and original multi-pane windows and light fixtures. “The wood was milled right here on-site, all the custom trim,” says Rick.

“It was a time where there was a high value placed on people’s craft, their artistry. Everything was handmade.” In the living room, a wide couch flanks the wood-paneled fireplace, with a chess table and glass-fronted bookshelves alongside. The formal dining room across the hall has its own extensive glass built-ins, vintage sconces, and custom gold-textured walls. And above the large round dining table is one of the few decidedly non-Craftsman details, a fanciful Murano glass chandelier the couple purchased on a trip to Venice.

Noreen and Rick feel deeply connected to the others who raised their families in the house over the years. Noreen has the original blueprints and a collection of hundred-year-old photographs of the exterior that she shares with her grown children and now her grandchildren. She keeps files of newspaper clippings from the society pages of the Press Democrat that mention parties held in the home in the 1930s. And in the basement, next to a newly-added wine cellar, there’s a small “jam closet” tucked underneath the stairs with vintage wooden shelves where the wife of the home used to line up stockpiles of homemade preserves. It’s now where Noreen stores board games for her grandchildren. But the 1920s housewife’s jam labels are still there, marking the shelves in exquisitely tiny, perfectly scrolled handwriting. The labels—“Strawberry Jam, 1924” and “Blackberry Jelly”—are a moment of connection that delights Noreen.

“I think about who has handled these things in the past, who has touched these shelves or this doorknob.”

The home’s history still comes knocking every so often. Noreen once met

a man who’d rented a room in the house in the late 1970s when the downstairs was turned into practice rooms for a rock band (he told her how they’d broken one of the living room windows, solving the question of why, to this day, it doesn’t match the others).

The children of a family who rented the house in the 1960s told how they played hideand- seek in the crawlspace. And a few years after they moved in, Noreen met three of the children of the house’s original builder, by then in their 80s, who told her how as teenagers, they’d climb out the windows, Pollyanna-style, to meet up with friends.

Noreen and Rick almost sold the house a few years back, thinking it was time to downsize. But now they’re glad they didn’t and look forward to making more memories as the house, and its people, meet the changes brought by time. “Our kids still come home and sit at the same spots around the kitchen table,” says Noreen. “I feel thankful that this house is such a steady force in their lives.”

15 Unique Gifts Under $35 Available at Sonoma Stores

By Karen Kizer

You can shop small and local and still spend just a little. Thanks to the curation efforts of Sonoma shopkeepers, you can find small gifts that are big on style. Here are 15 unique gift ideas, all under $35. Click through the above gallery for details.

Best Holiday Gift Ideas from Sonoma County Businesses

By Karen Kizer

There are so many wonderful things made, grown or cultivated in Sonoma. So giving the gift of Sonoma is always a wonderful way to go, whether the person on your list is across the country or across the street. Here are just a few favorites finds that are just so Sonoma. Click through the above gallery for details.
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Shop Online at These Sonoma Stores This Holiday Season

By Karen Kizer

If you’re planning on holiday shopping but prefer to stay out of stores altogether, there are still ways to shop small in Sonoma. Here are just some spots with great online shopping, whether the person on your list loves food, style, nostalgia or fitness. Click through the above gallery for details.

Our Favorite Soups in Sonoma County This Year

By Heather Irwin
Onion soup at Fandees Restaurant (7824 Covert Ln, Sebastopol). (Heather Irwin/Press Democrat)

A well-crafted soup says a lot about the temperament, creativity and patience of a chef.  In fact, learning to make a basic stock is one of the first (and most important) things a chef learns. Fail that, and you fail in the kitchen.

Deceptively simple, making soup is about time, seasoning and ingredients. No matter what the cuisine, every good restaurant has a massive pot of stock bubbling away on a back burner. Skimmed and simmered for up to 24 hours, it’s a literal melting pot for roasted bones and vegetable trimmings that comprise the foundation of a hearty, flavorful, steaming bowl of soup.

As the weather cools, now’s the time we really start looking for a warm cup of minestrone, posole, French onion or beef barley.  Here are some favorites…

Have a soup you’d like to see added to our list? Send a picture and a description to us.

Local Pastry Chef Featured on Food Network’s ‘Candy Land’

By Heather Irwin
Robert Nieto, Pastry Chef of Jackson Family Wines. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)

Now that the Great British Baking Show has broken all of our hearts, there’s something so much sweeter to love: “Candy Land.”

The Food Network show hosted by actress Kristin Chenoweth features a life-size, edible version of the much-loved children’s board game including a peppermint forest, chocolate mountain, lollipop woods and a licorice swamp. Thousands of pounds of candy, chocolate ganache, fresh cookies and other goodies were a dreamy larder for the contestants. According to the Food Network website, the contestants must forage for ingredients to use in their sugar masterpieces they then present to the judges.

Local pastry chef and chocolatier Robert Nieto of Jackson Family Wines and Fleur Sauvage Chocolate has helped his team sail through the first two rounds as they created a chocolate bridge (complete with gumdrop troll) and a fantasy chocolate blimp with cocoa nib race cars.

Before the show began taping in Long Beach last August, Nieto had to quarantine for a week in a hotel, where he made the cocoa nib molds — just for fun — because, well, that’s what he does.

“With the chocolate, I was just in my element,” he said.

Nieto, who has competed internationally with the US Pastry Team, joined four other bakers to make up Team Pink on the six-episode series, which premiered Nov. 15. None knew each other before the contest.

“You just show up on set and it’s go time,” he said, acknowledging that the first challenge was the hardest as they figured out where each of them fit in. His other teammates are primarily cake bakers, while Nieto has a strong background in chocolate and sugar modeling.

Nieto can’t say what happens on the next “Candy Land” episode, but he will confess that he gets a chance to be team leader (at some point) and watchers are in for a sweet treat.

If you’re dying to taste one of Nieto’s gourmet chocolates, he’ll be at the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market and Windsor Farmers Market through December. Or try his incredible desserts as part of the Jackson Family Wines’ wine pairings at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens.

Other BiteClub News

Marla Bakery: One of Santa Rosa’s best-kept bakery secrets is popping up each Saturday throughout the month of December at Miracle Plum (208 Davis St., Santa Rosa, miracleplum.com) in Santa Rosa. Superstars of the SF bakery scene, Joe Wolf and Amy Brown, have moved to Sonoma County with their kids and are now bringing us their famous English muffins, bagels, pastries and bread starting Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You will want to get in on that breakfast action. They’ll also be doing pre-order pickups at their new Windsor bakery on Sundays for those in the know. Stay up to speed at marlabakery.com.

Where to Get Traditional Doughnuts for Hanukkah in Sonoma County

By Michele Anna Jordan

From late November through December, nearly 20 million jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyot, are devoured in Israel as one of Hanukkah’s traditional treats. As their popularity has grown, so has the range of fillings, from the traditional raspberry and cherry jam to the more unusual rose petal jelly. Israeli versions include nutmeg in the dough and a final dusting of powdered sugar.

Why doughnuts for Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights? The holiday celebrates the miracle of the oil, specifically lamp oil that should have lasted for only one night somehow lasting for eight. Doughnuts, like the more familiar latkes, are fried in, yes, oil.

Over the last few decades, sufganiyot have grown in popularity in the United States, including in Sonoma County. If you have a neighborhood doughnut shop, ask if they offer them during the holidays. If not, you’ll find delicious versions of the traditional recipe at these spots.

City Garden Doughnuts & Coffee

1200 Fourth St., Santa Rosa 707-595-1932

Grossman’s Noshery & Bar

308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa 707-595-7707

Johnny Doughnuts

1617 Fourth St., San Rafael 415-450-1866