The four leaders of Breathless Wines in Healdsburg. The winery’s méthode traditionnelle sparklers are fresh and lively, with three new wines introduced in 2021: two single-vineyard blancs de noir from the Robledo Vineyard in Sonoma and a blanc de blancs from the McMinn Vineyard in Russian River Valley. (Courtesy of Breathless Wines)
Breathless Wines in Healdsburg, known for its refreshing sparkling wines, has been named “Winery of the Year” in LuxeSF’s Rising Wine Star Awards for 2020.
The awards are given annually by LuxeSF, formerly known as The Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, with the help of a panel of industry leaders.
The “Winery of the Year” award was established in 2017 and is given to an industry leader that is innovating and experimenting with new trends and generating excitement in the industry, according to a press release.
Breathless Wines is a female-led winery that specializes in sparkling wines created in the traditional French method. The winery was started by three sisters, Sharon Cohn, Cynthia Faust and Rebecca Faust, as a tribute to their mother. Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster is the fourth “sister,” who brings with her years of wine experience and expertise.
“We are humbled by this tremendous recognition,” said Sharon Cohn, co-founder of Breathless Wines, in a press release. “In what has been a very tumultuous year, we are so grateful for our loyal, inspiriting supporters and are honored to be the recipients of this award.”
Breathless Wines is now offering tastings on its outdoor patio and garden by reservation only. For more information, visit its website here.
Face to Face, which aims to end HIV in Sonoma County and supports the health of people living with HIV and AIDS, is getting extra-creative with its fundraising events this year.
After its Beerfest event was canceled in June because of the pandemic, Face to Face organizers knew they had to focus on their next fundraising event, the annual Art for Life auction, said Gary Saperstein, development director at Face to Face.
Now, Art for Life is going virtual, which Saperstein said is an opportunity for the organization to reach an even wider audience.
“It’s fun. As I say, it’s making lemonade out of lemons. We’ve been handed what we’re going through right now, so trying to make the best of it,” he said.
The Art for Life fundraiser, now in its 32nd year, is a widely popular event, drawing artists and art lovers from across the Bay Area and beyond. This year’s online auction will run Sept. 17-22 and feature art from many local artists that can be previewed before the auction goes live.
Face to Face also is hosting a Zoom reception for artists and sponsors who will receive a delivery of wine from MacRostie Winery in Healdsburg and refreshments from the girl & the fig restaurant in Sonoma. Donors can meet the artists who have worked with Art for Life for years.
The connection between artists and the cause is what makes the event special, said Linda Galletta, development assistant at Face to Face.
“Sometimes, with charity art auctions, you may get things from artists that they haven’t been able to sell or that have been around for a long time, but that is not the case with this event,” she said. “This event is supported generously by these artists.”
Art for Life was launched in 1988 as a way for artists to contribute to Face to Face’s work. A number of the artists involved donate their work every year to the fundraiser, typically held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.
“It really brings the art community together to help us in our mission while we work with our clients to maintain their health and well-being,” Saperstein said.
There are more than 500 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Sonoma County, Face to Face Executive Director Sara Brewer said.
“Just like we’re seeing with COVID, it’s very much a disease of inequity. The same is true of HIV and it has been since the beginning. So everything we’ve seen with COVID is something we’ve been dealing with for almost 40 years.”
What: Art for Life Auction When: Sept. 17-22, 2020 Where: Online at artforlife.f2f.org
Wit and Wisdom Tavern, a Michael Mina project at The Lodge at Sonoma, is slated for a September opening at the former Carneros Bistro. The restaurant, inspired by author Jack London’s collection of writings by the same name, will highlight locally sourced ingredients, open-fire cooking and a wood-burning stove. It’s the first Mina restaurant in Wine Country, so expect a stellar wine program as well.
Click through the above gallery for images. More details at michaelmina.net
Like many chefs who had planned to open restaurants in 2020, Top Chef contestant Casey Thompson has been patiently biding her time. Her previously-announced “Georgette”, located in the former General’s Daughter seems to be on hold while a new concept, Folktable, is now in previews at Cornerstone Sonoma.
Thompson and her crew are doing weekend pop-ups from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m with craft cocktails and an abbreviated menu at the gardens’ Sonoma Sunset Test Kitchen until the new restaurant opens at the former Palooza space also in Cornerstone. Over the years, that location has hosted a number of concepts that never really took off, but with backing from Sonoma developers (and now Cornerstone owners) Ken and Stacy Mattson behind her, that could change.
The pop-up menu will feature lobster, along with fresh tomatoes and seasonally-inspired dishes like Panzanella salad with peaches, mint and sumac, tostadas, hand-pulled mozzarella, a Wagyu hotdog, and funnel cakes.
Folktable is part of the Sonoma’s Best Hospitality Group, a Mattson-owned holding that includes Sonoma’s Best Mercantile and cottages, Dirty Girl Donuts, Ramekins, the General’s Daughter, Harrow Cellars and Cornerstone Sonoma. More info here.
Table Culture Provisions will be popping up for a fried chicken takeout dinner deluxe at Wishbone restaurant in Petaluma on Sunday.
The fledgling project from the Shuckery’s Executive Chef Stephane Saint Louis and business partner Steven Vargas is a toe-dip for a mobile bistro the two plan to launch in the future. The menu includes fig, capicola and baked Red Hawk cheese; fried chicken with farmers vegetables and caramel flan.
We’re looking forward to hearing more about this project, along with the reopening of Wishbone. It seems chef/owner Miriam Donaldson has been keeping herself rather busy lately with disaster relief and setting up emergency kitchens in her spare time.
The eastern flank of the Hennessey fire burns through the Rumsey Canyon along Highway 16 at the Yolo/Colusa County line, Friday, August 28, 2020. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2020
As wildfires raged in August, The Press Democrat photographers John Burgess, Christopher Chung, Alvin Jornada, Kent Porter and Beth Schlanker worked tirelessly to document the destruction and the efforts to contain the fires.
In one moment, just behind the fire line, they captured the dreadful, yet insidiously haunting flames and the firefighters’ valiant efforts to protect us from them — in another, they turned their lenses to the flight of the evacuees.
In more intimate scenes, we see sheltered people and animals, prepared community members, and those who have lost their homes. Finally, there are glimpses of hope — the arrival of air tankers, a neighborhood and trees saved, and signs that containment is near.
Click through the gallery to see some of the images.
After more than two years of sitting empty, the 10,000 square-foot SHED location in Healdsburg may finally have a buyer.
Little Saint is slated to open in the hulking “modern grange” once owned by Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel later this fall, according to a press release sent by San Francisco’s Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, an uber-chic arts incubator imagined by designer Ken Fulk and housed in a converted catholic church.
Though the owners have not been named, the project is launching as a non-profit arm of the Saint Joseph’s Art Foundation. Little Saint will be open to the public daily for all-day dining, retail and ticketed events. Acknowledging the vision of Lipton and Daniel, the new project will foster at least some of the ideals of its former owners by creating a space to talk about sustainability and support the local community. Plus some really cool art and music.
“Little Saint will continue the legacy of SHED by offering delicious food, unique retail and intriguing programming with an added focus on music and art,” according to the press release, adding that owners purchased the building to give back to their longtime home away from home.
The annual Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch on Saturday, September 5, 2015. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)
Taste of Sonoma has adapted its annual program of tastings and presentations by local chefs and vintners to an online format this year after the in-person event was canceled due to coronavirus restrictions.
The event, put on by Sonoma County Vintners, has planned a series of dates throughout September with at-home wine tastings, educational webinars, cooking classes and food pairings. Taste of Sonoma initially was scheduled for Sept. 5 at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens in Santa Rosa.
Here’s a look at seven virtual dates for Taste of Sonoma. Register ahead of time at tasteofsonoma.com, where you can also find more information about the event.
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Kendall-Jackson, with Winemaster Randy Ullom and Executive Chef Justin Wrangler, will present a farm-to-table wine and cooking class on Zoom at 4 p.m. For participants wanting to follow along with the wine pairings, Kendall-Jackson is selling a pack of three wines for $105 at kj.com/wine/sonoma-county-tasting-pack.
Randy Ullom, winemaster at Kendall-Jackson, will help kick off the Taste of Sonoma event this year. (C. Higley)
Friday, Sept. 4: “Sparkling Sonoma,” on Zoom at 4 p.m., will explore how sparkling wine is made and which varieties are produced in Sonoma County. Speakers will include Jen Walsh of La Crema, Chris Christensen of Bodkin Wines, Kathleen Inman of Inman Family Wines and Nicole Hitchcock of J Vineyards & Winery.
Wednesday, Sept. 9: Francis Ford Coppola Winery will host a virtual cooking and wine pairing at 4 p.m. with Sonoma County chefs Tim Bodell from RUSTIC, Dustin Valette from Valette Healdsburg and Mark Stark from Bravas Bar de Tapas. Each chef will demonstrate one course for a progressive dinner.
Friday, Sept. 11: In the “New Gen, Old Wine” webinar at 4 p.m., speakers will talk about the families of the Sonoma County wine community that have been participating in the business for several generations. Panelists will be Alan Ramey of Ramey Cellars, Nicole Bacigalupi of Bacigalupi Vineyards, Cecilia Enriquez of Enriquez Estate and Alexia Pellegrini of Pellegrini-Olivet Lane.
Wednesday, Sept. 16: Bricoleur Vineyards will present “Quarantine Kitchen” at 5:30 p.m. Executive Chef Shane McAnelly will host the virtual cooking class and demonstrate summer dishes.
Friday, Sept. 18: “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoods” at 4 p.m. is a virtual tour, presented by The Press Democrat, of Russian River Valley neighborhoods and a look at the role each location plays in the production of pinot noir.
Friday, Sept. 25: In “Harvest Beyond the Grape” at 4 p.m., winery representatives will talk about the importance of biodiversity in Sonoma County, plus what seasonal produce they are pairing with their wines now.
Outside of webinars, the Taste of Sonoma website has a number of wine pairings and recipes from local restaurants to make at home, from a summer peach gazpacho to pan-seared halibut.
“We are thrilled to curate these exclusive programs to continue to show the world how our wine community and our essential culinary partners are unique,” said Michael Haney, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners.
Santa Rosa hair stylist and make-up artist Vanessa Colombo runs her own business and has worked on a number of television shows and movies. (Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat)
Santa Rosa resident Vanessa Colombo is a mother, Tubbs fire survivor and a whizbang hair and makeup stylist.
To some of those in her inner circle, however, she’s known as “Hollywood Vanessa.”
This flashy nickname refers to Colombo’s career as a hair-and-makeup specialist for many of the hit movies and TV shows that have been filmed over the last few years in and around Sonoma County. Since 2017, she’s worked on “13 Reasons Why,” “Bumblebee,” “Wine Country” and “Venom 2,” to name a few. She’s styled hair and makeup for several commercials, as well.
When Colombo isn’t working with celebrities and actors, she runs her own business, hairdressing and doing makeup for women all over the Bay Area. The 39-year-old, who is Black, dresses all kinds of hair for all kinds of people, but specializes in styling members of the local Black community.
“I got into this business to make people feel good about themselves,” she said recently. “My main goal is that they feel comfortable and beautiful.”
Santa Rosa hairstylist Vanessa Colombo, right, has worked with Inde Navarette, who played a character named Estela de la Cruz in Season 4 of 13 Reasons Why. (Vanessa Colombo)
Humble beginnings
Colombo grew up in Petaluma, attended Casa Grande High School for one year before moving to Pennsylvania with her father, and returned to Sonoma County in 1999. After five years working sales in the home warranty business, she decided to go to beauty school at age 25.
She sharpened her craft at local salons including Joe Hamer Salon in Petaluma and Salon Luxe in Santa Rosa.
In 2015, she went out on her own.
One of her first solo clients in the Santa Rosa area was Letitia Hanke, CEO of ARS Roofing. Hanke asked Colombo to remove her relaxer, which essentially straightens curly hair, and cut her hair. For Black women, this is an incredibly personal request. Some refer to it as “the big chop.” Colombo was moved.
“Cutting a woman of color’s hair whose hair does not grow fast, especially if they’ve never worn their natural hair — it’s a really big deal,” Colombo said. “She cried. I cried. It was life changing.”
Colombo got connected with “13 Reasons Why” in 2017. She started as an intern in the hair department and joined the stagehand union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 16, two weeks after that. Then she went full-time, cutting hair, styling actors, fixing hairdos before cameras started rolling, and loving every minute of it.
Still, it was hard work. Most days ran at least 12 hours, if not more. First calls usually were before 5 a.m.
She had been working on the show for a few weeks when she went back to her home in Coffey Park one breezy October evening. That night she, her husband, Brent, and her then-6-year-old son lost everything in the Tubbs fire.
What followed were days of sadness, anger and grief. Colombo’s coworkers set up a GoFundMe for her and reassured her that her job would be waiting for her when she was ready to go back to work.
“My love for ’13 Reasons’ came from that,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d have done without them.”
Breakout star
The next season — Season 3 — Colombo’s career with “13 Reasons” skyrocketed. Show producers introduced a new character named Annie, played by the British actor Grace Saif. The 25-year-old Saif is Black and wanted to work with a stylist whom she felt she could trust with her textured hair. Colombo happily accepted the assignment.
Over the course of the season, the women became friends. Every morning, as Colombo took down Saif’s hair and got her ready for the day on set, the two would talk about the importance of hair to Black girls.
“It was so important to her that the message she wanted to convey was that you don’t have to straighten your hair or wear a wig,” Colombo said. “You can be beautiful and wear your natural hair. You don’t have to conform to what people think is beautiful. I think we really accomplished that.”
Daniel Curet, a hairstylist who served as the department head on the show, agreed.
“It meant the world to me that (Colombo) was so versatile,” said Curet, who is based in Los Angeles and is now working to become a real estate agent.
Curet cited one look that Colombo did for Saif as “genius,” and said it stole a scene filmed at a prom.
“The two of them came up with this idea for (Saif) to wear a wig that was all braids down to the middle of her back,” he remembered. “It was incredible. A show-stopper for sure. For (Colombo), it was just another look. But I’ll never forget it.”
Colombo stayed with “13 Reasons” for the fourth and final season, then moved on to other projects. She worked on “Bumblebee,” the Transformers film, doing hair in 111-degree heat in the Marin Headlands. Next she traveled to Oakville to work on “Wine Country,” and laughed her way through styling a cast that included Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Ana Gasteyer.
Most of the time Colombo would work on the actors’ actual hair. Sometimes she would style a wig that an actor or her stunt double would wear.
(In that scene at the end where all the women roll down a hill, their stunt doubles are wearing wigs.)
Her most recent gig was styling hair for the cast of “Venom 2,” which wrapped up in late February, just a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic began. At last check that movie was scheduled to be released in June 2021.
What’s next
Work has been slow for Colombo in recent months, due to COVID-19. It’s not Colombo’s fault; the entertainment industry is almost entirely shut down. She filmed a commercial for Albertson’s earlier this year and has picked up other small jobs here and there. When major filming starts up again, undoubtedly Hollywood Vanessa will be back on set.
In the meantime, Colombo is focusing on her private clients, including taking on new clients. She most often makes house calls. Every time she dresses hair, she wears two face masks and puts on a face shield for extra protection.
She also spends about an hour sanitizing her equipment before and after each appointment.
One of her most recent gigs was styling Hanke for an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show;” Hanke went on (via Zoom) to talk about her work with the LIME Foundation, which teaches vulnerable community members new skills to help them get jobs. Hanke said Colombo created the perfect look.
“(Clarkson) doesn’t wear any makeup anymore, so I didn’t want to be overdone,” Hanke said. “Vanessa did a great job of styling my hair and makeup in a way that looked natural and didn’t seem too much. I never have to give her much direction, she just knows how to come in and bring out the natural beauty in everyone.”
For Colombo, reviews like this mean everything — maybe even more than a credit at the end of a movie or show.
“Clients who have been with me from the beginning are more than clients; they’re like family,” she said. “In some cases, these are people who knew me since before I was pregnant with my son, knew me through the fire, and now know me afterward. Those kinds of connections are important in life.”
Sparkling wines at Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards in Sonoma. (Courtesy of Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards)
The skies are clogged with smoke from fires burning in Sonoma County, Napa Valley and throughout the state. Evacuations, warnings to evacuate and emergency alerts have us all on edge. Temperatures of 100 degrees and higher have eased for the moment but can return anytime, with almost a month left of official summer.
Sonoma wines are here to help: to quench the thirst during the remaining warm days before fall, for Labor Day (and COVID-19-safe) get-togethers and for celebrating small victories. In moderation, wine can bring people together, make food taste more delicious and give us some joy in difficult times.
But do check yourself. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, while drinking alcoholic beverages temporarily dampens the brain and body’s response to stress, feelings of stress and anxiety can return, and worsen, once the alcohol wears off.
The following Sonoma wines are a pleasure to drink, and buying them supports the grape growers, vineyard workers and wineries that produced them. These recommendations, good year-round, are also specific to this season of heat, smoke and uncertainty. They don’t have firm, drying tannins or heavy toast or smoky aromas and flavors (there are enough of those in the air). Instead, they have vibrant and flavorful fruit, succulence and crisp acidity. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot will have their starring moments in fall and winter.
Sparkling wines
They’re wonderful for celebrations of all kinds, from a negative COVID-19 test to the dog’s birthday to your first hair styling in months. Or enjoy them as simple, pure refreshment.
Breathless Wines NV Sonoma County Brut, in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. (Alvin A.H. Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Start with the Breathless Wines NV Sonoma County Brut ($27), an energizing burst of red berry, citrus and tropical fruit overlaying classic brioche-like yeastiness. It’s available in many Sonoma markets and restaurants, at the Healdsburg tasting room and online.
Even racier is the Iron Horse Vineyards 2016 Ocean Reserve Green Valley of Russian River Valley Blanc de Blancs ($55), an all-chardonnay, complex stunner. Sebastopol’s Iron Horse produces a vast lineup of exquisite bubblies, ranging in style and price; Ocean Reserve is the one for right now. Select wine shops carry Iron Horse sparklers, but it’s best to visit the winery or buy online.
Great value can be found in Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards’ mainline wines ($22), with the nonvintage blanc de noirs a personal favorite for its delicate pink color and crisp red-fruit and citrus personality. Gloria Ferrer has wide distribution of this wine and its companion Sonoma Cuvee in grocery stores, often at slightly discounted prices. Or taste first and purchase at the Sonoma Carneros winery.
This varietal is a love-hate for many, with some embracing the grape’s typical grapefruit, grassy and sometimes herbal character and others rejecting it for the same reasons. At a time when we all need to get along and support each other, a few sauvignon blancs allow détente between disagreeing factions.
Jesse Katz’s Aperture Cellars 2019 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc ($40) mirrors the Bordeaux blanc wines of France, which meld semillon with sauvignon blanc, fermented and/or aged in oak barrels. That formula rounds out the aggressive characteristics of sauvignon blanc and adds texture and mouthfeel to this Sonoma sauvignon blanc. It’s exotic and enticing, with tropical, peach and quince flavors; citrus appears in the snappy, grapefruit finish. Katz recently opened the Aperture hospitality center in southern Healdsburg. Check the website for visiting and purchasing options.
A more traditionally styled 2019 Dry Creek Valley sauvignon blanc from Dry Creek Vineyard is just as tasty, in a fresh-cut grass/English pea way with additional notes of nectarine, peach and red grapefruit. It’s an honest drink, with keen balance, and comes at an honest price ($20). It’s available in some local markets and at the winery.
Forget about the boring, lean, under-$20 supermarket pinot grigios from Italy and similarly priced pinot gris from Alsace, France and Oregon. Instead, invest the same amount of money in two local wines made from the pinot gris grape which deliver plenty of flavor and energy for summer, a salve for smoke-induced sore throats and also an excellent value.
The Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery 2019 Russian River Valley County Pinot Grigio ($16) is, in a word, awesome. Winemaker Sara Quider oversees the making of this wine, with brisk, mouthwatering acidity keeping the luscious white peach, nectarine and green apple fruit focused and pure. A spice note adds complexity to this generous wine that is widely available at chain grocers and at the winery.
Balletto Vineyards winemaker Anthony Beckman’s 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris ($20) is tighter and more minerally than the Ferrari-Carano version of the pinot gris grape. It’s a scintillating drink to beat the heat and accompany all sorts of shellfish and seafood. It’s citrusy and taut, with peach and Granny Smith apple accents. Some local markets carry this wine; you also can buy it from the winery.
The trend in Sonoma chardonnay is for less toasty oak and butter character and more fruit and refreshing acidity. And that suits the current drinking times. Richness is still very much alive, though it’s accompanied by refreshing acidity and oak that adds spicy accents and texture, without clobbering the fruit.
Look no further than Ramey Wine Cellars for balanced, finessed chardonnays for distressing times. David Ramey makes several chardonnays, from Sonoma appellational blends to vineyard-designates, and buyers can’t go wrong with any of his bottlings. From the 2017 Rochioli Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($70) to the 2017 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($42) blend, the wines are distinctive in character, yet uniformly mouth-filling and rewarding.
Kenwood’s Landmark Vineyards produced the 2017 Overlook Sonoma County Chardonnay ($27), a complete and balanced wine with subtle oak spice and lemon oil aromas. On the palate, it’s crisp and clean, with minerally acidity, white peach and tropical fruit flavors and a long, lemony finish. A sure crowd-pleaser.
By nature, Sonoma pinot noir has vibrant cherry/berry/plum fruit, medium body and moderate tannins, yet firm acid structure for refreshment.
The Flowers Vineyards & Winery 2018 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($55) fills the bill, with hints of forest floor, pomegranate and anise joining the luscious black cherry flavors. It has some local distribution, though your best bet for buying this wine is at the Healdsburg winery or online. At press time, the winery was still under evacuation order but not under imminent fire threat.
It will require an online purchase, but the Jacqueline Renee 2017 Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($54) hit the spot this week, with juicy red cherry and red-plum flavors, crisp acidity and just 13.6% alcohol. It’s made by Jaclynn Van Sant, assistant winemaker at Comstock Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley, and is low in oak character and high in refreshment.
Value-seekers will appreciate the Ron Rubin 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($25), which delivers juicy dark cherry and berry fruit, creamy vanillin oak and background notes of woodsy earth and forest floor. It’s both savory and fruity, a neat trick to pull off. Schedule a tasting appointment at this Sebastopol winery.
What would Labor Day be without zinfandel to sip with grilled burgers, sausages and ribs? The holiday might be muted somewhat by the smoke in the air and the pandemic restrictions of group gatherings, yet zinfandel rewards those who love bold, spicy, brambly fruit flavors, under any conditions.
Try the Beltane Ranch 2018 Estate Grown Zinfandel Heins Block Sonoma Valley ($46), a full-bodied wine boasting wild blackberry and blueberry fruit, Chinese five-spice, rounded tannins and a keen acid backbone. It’s a potent wine, at 15.7% alcohol, yet there’s no noticeable heat. Buy at the estate, which includes the winery and guest lodging.
A more moderate (in alcohol) zin than the Beltane Ranch, yet just as bold, the Ridge Vineyards 2018 Pagani Ranch Sonoma Valley Zinfandel ($40) is an old-time field blend of zinfandel, alicante bouschet and petite sirah. At 14.9% alcohol, it strikes a great balance of jammy red and blue fruit with shadings of white pepper and sage. Purchase online at ridgewine.com; at press time, the Ridge Lytton Springs winery in Healdsburg was closed because of its proximity to the Walbridge fire.
