Page 228 – Sonoma Magazine

How to Support Small Sonoma Wineries During the Coronavirus Pandemic

March 2020

By Linda Murphy

Enjoyment of wine is an essential part of life for many who live in Wine Country, though we can’t now justify — as the governor of California has made clear — visiting tasting rooms to sample and purchase wine. Not during a pandemic, even if the pantry has run out of pinot noir.

Those blessed with stocked wine cellars and cooling units can drink up. What better time than now to pull the corks on those bottles you’ve been hoarding for a special occasion? It’s here.

For everyone else, there are options for buying wine without hitting the tasting room trail. Grocery stores are the most obvious choice. As providers of “essential” services, they have stayed open during the coronavirus closures. From the chains (BevMo, Costco, Safeway, Lucky’s, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods among them) to the locally-owned gourmet grocers (such as Oliver’s Markets, Big John’s in Healdsburg, Petaluma Market and Sonoma Market), wine selection is typically diverse and covers all price points, although virus-related delivery and restocking slowdowns might occur.

Supporting local wineries

The best way to support Sonoma County’s small wineries, many of which don’t produce enough vino to place their wines in stores, is to order directly from the producers and have the bottles delivered to you while you’re hunkered down.

According to Rob McMillan, executive vice president of Silicon Valley Bank’s wine division, the typical small winery gets roughly 30% of its business from tasting-room activity and another 30% from wine-club sales. With tasting rooms closed and special events for wine club members canceled, the “little guys” are struggling. Wine lovers can help.

In the two-day gap between the closure of California tasting rooms on March 17 and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-in-place order on March 19, wineries scrambled to get wines to their fans via self-delivery and curbside pickup. Now that staying at home is the prudent thing to do, ordering wine to be shipped to your door not only reduces risk of coronavirus exposure, it’s a boost to small businesses.

As an example, Serena Lourie and Alan Baker, proprietors of Cartograph Wines, have a hefty rent for their downtown Healdsburg tasting room space and sell most of their wines direct to consumers through the tasting room, wine club memberships and online ordering. After two days of curbside pickup and hand-delivering wines themselves, they moved to shipping via UPS to keep the bottles flowing. Those phoning the tasting room have their calls forwarded to the couple’s cell phones so they can assist with orders and answer questions.

The Mariani brothers at Scribe Winery in Sonoma recently offered free shipping on four selected wines ($198) as part of their “Hacienda at Home” program and included recipes and a link to the Hacienda tasting room and farm playlist. Others, such as Comstock Wines and Gary Farrell Winery, both in Healdsburg, are offering virtual tastings. Customers order a specific set of wines and taste them, via Zoom or Skype, along with the winemaker at an appointed date and time.

Shipping deals

The cost of having wine shipped to homes and businesses through common carriers such as UPS and FedEx is prohibitive for many consumers. A 12-bottle case of wine can cost up to $60 for two-day delivery, in addition to the purchase price of the wines inside. Ground rates are less expensive but come with no guarantees on when the box will arrive or the travel conditions for the bottles. One afternoon of high heat can “cook” wines as they sit on shipping docks or in delivery trucks. Time of year is everything with ground delivery.

To lessen the shipping-cost impediment, the Sonoma County Vintners association created the “Sip from Home with Sonoma County Wines” program, where dozens of local producers post shipping deals and bottle discounts. Some include portions of the proceeds being donated to charitable causes.

Balletto Vineyards in Santa Rosa offers free deliveries within Sonoma County and 1-cent shipping on six or more bottles. Westwood Estate Wines in Sonoma Valley offers a 10% discount on wine purchases and complimentary shipping on three bottles or more. In Alexander Valley, Stuhlmuller Vineyards charges 1 cent for shipping and offers a 15% discount on wines. Ram’s Gate Winery in Carneros has complimentary shipping and 15% off wine purchases.

These are online offerings only, short-term solutions to what vintners hope is not a long-term problem. The pandemic situation is fluid, regulations can change in an instant and so can winery’s offerings to consumers.

Retail options

On the retail store side, Willibees Wine & Spirits owner Vikram “Sunny” Badhan said his two locations, in Petaluma and downtown Santa Rosa, are able to remain open because they have restaurant licenses. Alongside the to-go food sold at the store, Willibees’ wines, spirits and beers are sold for takeout. Scheduled tastings and special events are off the board for now.

Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa, a popular warehouse-style store with a vast selection of wine, beer and spirits, closed on March 17 and announced March 19 that it would resume fulfilling online orders, shipping them via common carriers. On March 22, it initiated a program for same-day, local deliveries through the app Drizly, available in the Apple app store.

Sonoma Wine Shop, on the plaza in Sonoma, is closed, though its sister site, La Bodega in Sebastopol, is open for takeout food and wine sales.

It should be mentioned that wine shipping is not guaranteed to continue through the pandemic. UPS, FedEx, Golden State Overnight and other shippers could postpone operations at any moment, making now the time to order the chardonnay you can’t live without.

Note: Someone 21 or older must be present to sign for all alcoholic beverage deliveries, no matter which delivery service is used.

Bottle Barn: 707-528-1161, bottlebarn.com

Cartograph Wines, 340 Center Street, Healdsburg, 707-433-8270, cartographwines.com

La Bodega, 2295 Highway 116 South, Sebastopol, 707-827-1832

Scribe Winery, 707-939-1858, scribewinery.com

Sip from Home with Sonoma County Wines: sonomawine.com/sip-from-home

Willibees Wine & Spirits: 309 Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma, 707-762-2042; 700 Third St., Santa Rosa, 707-978-3779, willibees.com

Santa Rosa Home Cook’s Instagram Feed Will Make Your Mouth Water

March 2020

By Heather Irwin

Pickled strawberry salad with green apple, pickled shallots, micro radish, passion fruit white balsamic and chili oil. Photo: Steve Roybal

You can have your virtual museum tours. Steve Roybal’s leaning tower of double beef brisket patties with gooey melted American cheese, fry sauce, pickle chips, and a toasted everything bagel barely holding the whole thing from certain collapse is my kind of vicarious entertainment.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Roybal Supper Club (@the_roybal_supperclub) on Mar 21, 2020 at 12:44pm PDT

Though he’s neither photographer nor chef, Roybal’s Instagram feed, The Roybal Supperclub (@the_roybal_supperclub) is a haunting, mouth-watering collection of painstakingly-plated dishes the Santa Rosa hobbyist makes just for fun.

“It’s a creative outlet,” said Roybal, who works as an internal investigator for a pharmacy company. That means he spends his days doing anything but thinking about food.

“I get rules and structure all day. This is my way of relaxing and unwinding with no rules, no instruction, and no direction,” he said.

The self-taught cook who says he hates the structure of cookbooks uses nothing but his cell phone and a $15 LED light to take his social media followers on a passionate culinary journey.

Using mostly local products he finds at grocery stores (Oliver’s is a favorite) and farm markets around Sonoma County, Roybal gets a lot of his elaborate plating ideas from local restaurants and chefs including “all the Stark’s restaurants”, Shawn McAnelly (formerly of Chalkboard and Brass Rabbit), Dustin Valette and Dry Creek Kitchen.

“I’d just see one thing, try to focus on one thing, like how to replicate how that sauce is swirled on the plate,” he said.

Another inspiration is color. “I’ll just see something or look at the color, like the romanesco or sunchokes right now. They’re just beautiful to cook with,” he said.

He’s clear that his success has been hard-won. “If you could have seen my dishes ten years ago, you’d be like ‘This is a disaster’. I had no idea what I was doing,” said Roybal. He particularly loves cooking “sous vide”, a culinary technique of low-temperature cooking using vacuum-sealed bags placed in water.

He uses it so often in fact, he’s become something of an expert. Two of his recipes were recently featured in “Champions of Sous Vide”, a cookbook focused on immersion cooking.

Roybal is still gobsmacked at any attention he gets. “I’m a nobody. I feel like I’m faking it, I feel like I don’t belong,” he said of his attention as a cook and photographer. “I guess I credit this all to the Internet. You don’t have to be a well-credentialed person if you can cook well.”

As for whether the food actually tastes as good as it looks?

Roybal has hosted several small “underground” dinners as fundraisers for local charities and hopes to do more soon. He said he welcomes people to weigh in on his efforts.

For now, however, he’s content with having his wife as the barometer of his success. “It always feels good when she gives me the thumbs up,” he said.

Online Yoga and More: How to De-Stress at Home While Supporting Local Businesses

March 2020

By Karen Kizer

Following the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent shelter-in-place orders, local businesses are scrambling to take their products and services online now that their storefronts are closed.

Along with restaurants, hotels and other businesses that have been hit hard by COVID-19, retail stores are going to need the support of loyal customers in the weeks and months to come if they are to remain open in the longterm. One way of doing so is to buy gift cards from your favorite store, another is to shop online — some local businesses offer products and services that are particularly suitable in these stressful times. Here are a few worth checking out.

Retail therapy

Perlé Sonoma store owner Erica Heald was to celebrate seven years in business this week with a champagne and shopping party. Instead, she had to close her store due to the shelter-in-place order issued last week.

To keep sales going, Heald has taken to her store’s Instagram account—10,000 followers strong–offering video shopping appointments and shipping.

“We’re really trying to do everything we can to stay present and in the forefront,” says Heald.

Some of her video shoppers are out-of-state, many of them tourists, who, after visits to her Sonoma store, became regular online shoppers. Many have contacted Heald offering to make a purchase to support Perlé.

“Since pajamas are now everybody’s daily attire, people are embracing the new outfit,” says Heald. Perlé’s loungewear offerings by PJ Salvage are in demand. The heightened style and comfort of the pieces match what people are seeking right now.

Adding to Heald’s eagerness to re-open her store, is the planned launch of her new business on the Sonoma plaza. The store, Miriad, will be selling accessories such as hats, scarves, wallets and more. Its April 1st opening has been pushed back until the shelter-in-place order is lifted.

“When they say we’re opening, we’re ready to rock and roll,” says Heald.

Perlé Sonoma, 124 W Napa St., Sonoma, 707-935-5800, perlesonoma.com

Your new casual work look from Perlé Sonoma.

Getting lost in a good book

Twice Told Books proprietress Rachel Mutterperl is busy answering phone calls, texts and emails even though her store has been closed since March 18. It seems the shelter-in-place order has made many of us more eager to read.

Mutterperl sanitizes her used and new stock, packages selections, and mails them directly to customers.

The Guerneville storekeeper is clear about her mission. “I’m a career bookseller. This is what I set out to do when I was a teenager.”

Since Amazon is focusing their orders on food and medical supplies, independent booksellers who ship out of different warehouses—those of Ingram Book Distributors—are stepping in.

Mutterperl is also working to create a website, twicetoldbooks.com, to streamline the process for online orders.

“Books are essential to survival. In my mind. I’m providing an essential service,” says Mutterperl. “(E-books) don’t provide the same feeling of escape we all need from this crisis … preserving our mental health is as important as physical health.”

Other local independent bookstores, such as Treehorn Books in Santa Rosa, are offering “to-go” book purchases. Call and pay in advance and they will prepare your order for pick up. Check with your local bookstore to see what they are offering.

Twice Told Books, 14045 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-869-1479.

Treehorn Books, 625 4th St, Santa Rosa, 707-525-1782.

Crafting your cares away

It’s been said, and proven, that knitting is good for your mental health, and Cast Away Yarn is ready to answer the call while we all shelter in place. Their existing website for patterns, place-marker.com, offers a variety of downloadable projects for fiber crafters.

Owners Justine Malone and Cleo Malone have sprung to work posting video tours of their store on Instagram that zoom in on their yarn offerings. The duo will mail orders so those stuck at home without supplies can direct their minds to crafting.

Cast Away Yarn Shop, 100 4th St., Santa Rosa, 707-546-9276, castawayyarnshop.com

Vinita Laroia, a yoga instructor at Well Sonoma, teaches classes via Zoom. (Courtesy of Vinita Yoga)

Breathing together with yoga

If there ever was a good time to do some deep breathing and gentle movements, it is now. While local yoga studios are temporarily closed, some of them — including Santa Rosa’s Well Sonoma and Soul Yoga — are live-streaming their classes online. They’re also offering Zoom invitations to their classes via their websites and Facebook accounts. Some encourage users to turn on their own cameras so everyone can be in the space together, however digital it may be.

Soul Yoga, 2801 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-696-4382, soulyogasr.com, facebook.com/soulyogasr.

Well Sonoma, 416 B St Suite D, Santa Rosa, 707-542-9644, wellsonoma.com, facebook.com/wellsomomahealth, instagram.com/wellsonoma.

Learning an instrument

Singer-musician Rachel Walters Steiner typically teaches at Petaluma Music Studio, Old Adobe Elementary School and Music To My Ears in Cotati, but now she meets students via her laptop.

It’s important to keep singing, playing and teaching during this time says Steiner, who performs with Latin acoustic and jazz band Manantial and in churches as a soloist. “The use of music to soothe souls is not going anywhere. It’s here to stay.”

Steiner believes maintaining connections is important right now, especially for children. “However we digitize and keep things as much like before (the shutdown) is going to be huge. Everything that’s a reference to the classroom—inside jokes and relationships—it’s going to be like beacons.”

Steiner believes there will be a renaissance after the pandemic passes, a new appreciation for the energy in a room where people gather, but for now she’s tapping into the stories her grandparents shared about living during the Depression and World War II.

“All their stories of getting by and having no clue of when life was going to be better … it’s about putting one foot in front of the other and finding fun.”

Petaluma School of Music, 620 North Petaluma Blvd Suite C, Petaluma, 707-775-3655, petalumaschoolofmusic.net

Virtual Farm Tours From Sonoma Will Instantly Make You Happier

March 2020

By Dana Rebmann

As we hunker down indoors due to the coronavirus, staying positive is one of our biggest challenges.

Many of our fantastic neighbors have taken to social media, and are doing what they do best to keep us upbeat and entertained. For example, Big Bottom Market co-owner and cookbook author Michael Volpatt is offering virtual cooking classes every day at 3 p.m., and East Bay musician Michael Franti and his family are giving people near and far a reason to sing and dance.

Yesterday, using Facebook Live, 140 Sonoma County residents at Charlie’s Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary came together to give us many more reasons to smile via a virtual farm tour.

“When the shelter in place orders came through we knew we’d have to shift quickly to continue having people connect with our animals residents,” said Tracy Vogt, founder of Charlie’s Acres. “We also know people could use a bright spot in their day, seeing animals outside, happy in the sunshine. Even if we bring a smile to just one person’s face with our tours, we would consider that a win.”

Normally, meeting the residents of Charlie’s Acres would require signing up for a tour. But now, every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., you can say hello from the comfort of your couch. Parents with kids home from school will be happy to know that all virtual tours will be family-friendly and include some fun animal facts.

“Our plan is to feature a different species during each of these videos, and once we’ve made it through all 140 of our animal residents we’ll start doing special tours such as ‘breakfast with the pigs’ and ‘bedtime for animals,’” said Vogt.

Charlie’s Acres is a non-profit farm animal sanctuary. Located in Sonoma, their mission is to rescue farm animals that were abused or destined for slaughter. Staff strive to teach the public about the animals, by sharing stories surrounding their rescues and unique personalities.

“Our goal is to show how intelligent and beautiful our animal residents are, share their stories of resilience, and promote compassion for the billions of farmed animals they represent,” said Vogt.

With the cancellation of tours, Charlie’s Acres has lost a key source of income. Tax-deductible donations are needed and greatly-appreciated. And if you fall in love with a furry face you meet online – which is highly likely – you can sponsor an animal at Charlie’s Acres. And once shelter in place orders are lifted, you can head to the farm for some quality one-on-one time.

Charlie’s Acres Virtual Farm Tours, every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Facebook.

Curbside Veggies? Sonoma County Farms Offer Pickup, Delivery

March 2020

By Heather Irwin

The FEED Sonoma team is providing CSA boxes directly to locals. (Courtesy of FEED Sonoma)

Wishing you had some fresh local produce delivered to your door, or available for pickup? Local farmers are ramping up ways to get their products directly to consumers during the pandemic. Here are a few favorites…

F.E.E.D-Bin

Recommended: O’hana Food box, $35. Includes fruits/veggies aggregated from local farms. shop.feedsonoma.com/Products.

Restauranteurs have long used F.E.E.D. (Farmer’s Exchange of Earthly Delights) for their specialty agricultural items, but the business is pivoting to offer those tasty products to the general public. O’hana box with 8 to 9 items (family) is $35, single boxes with 6 items is $25.

F.E.E.D has recently become California’s first farmer and employee-owned fresh-produce co-op. Boxes can be picked up in Petaluma, at one of 10 drop spots, or for delivery (for an additional fee). Details at shop.feedsonoma.com/Products.

Sonoma County Farm Trails

Shelter-In-Place Food resources, including CSAs accepting sign-ups, those offering local delivery and drop points, online orders and take-out or on-line sales.

Participating businesses include farms, ranches, creameries, restaurants, grocers, farm and feed stores, nurseries, producers of pantry items and personal care goods, wineries, cideries, and breweries and others.

Sonoma County Farm Market Curbside

Local farmers’ markets are now offering curbside pickup at the markets. Lists of available products from vendors are on the website, with tabs for each market and prices. Select products, then email it to info@ilovefarmersmarkets.org.

Orders must be placed by 9 p.m. on the day before the market. They will be available for pick up at 1 p.m. You will be invoiced through PayPal or you can call 415-999-5635 in with your credit card. There will be a $3 service fee added for your order. The organization is working to improve the process.

With Tasting Rooms Closed, Local Wineries Move the Experience Online

March 2020

By Matt Villano

For many wineries in Sonoma County, news of a regional shutdown and shelter-in-place order due to coronavirus triggered confusion, freak-outs and serious anxiety.

At Comstock Wines in Healdsburg, it sparked a stroke of creativity.

Instead of panicking about losses in tasting-room revenue, General Manager Kelly Ferris and her team hit the drawing board and fast-tracked a plan to deliver their tasting room to the world. Their idea, “S.I.P. Comstock,” (a nod to “shelter in place”) is a series of weekly video tastings over Facebook Live during which Winemaker Chris Russi and other members of the hospitality team walk customers through some of the label’s wines.

The videos, which air on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting March 20, correspond with three-bottle shipments customers can pre-order to receive the wines in time to drink along with the video.

The Comstock crew tastes through one wine in each video. Videos are free to access; shipments are $125 apiece with an extra $1 for shipping.

“There is something different about tasting and learning about wines with the people who make the wines, rather than buying a bottle off the shelf,” Ferris said. “Now that we are unable to host guests on property, we still feel that the final personal connection is just as important. We’ll just do it differently.”

Comstock isn’t the only winery embracing virtual wine-tasting. With all Bay Area wineries forced to shut down tasting room operations for the foreseeable future, several wineries in Sonoma and Napa counties have opted to move their hospitality efforts into the virtual space.

Much like the Comstock experience, these virtual tastings mix direct-to-consumer sales with online videos and input from wine educators. The goal is to connect with customers at a time when many of them wish to consume wine but no one can leave the house.

At last check, nearly two dozen wineries on either side of the Mayacamas Mountains had launched virtual tasting programs in some capacity. More were expected to come online by the end of the month.

“People are getting creative,” said Wendy Hilberman, executive director for the Russian River Valley Winegrowers. “Given the current state of the world, given how much uncertainty there is right now, people need to look at different ways of marketing their product.”

One of the first wine brands to think about virtual tastings was The Good Life Wine Collective in Napa. Even before COVID-19 made national headlines, executives with the Jessup Cellars and Handwritten Wines labels that are part of the collective were contemplating ways to bring the Yountville tasting room experience to customers around the world.

General Manager Tracy McArdle said the labels went live with the program when guests started canceling appointments last week.

“Whenever someone called to cancel, we gave them the opportunity to reschedule with a video tasting,” she said. A handful of those customers rebooked with a virtual tasting. In the days since, others have signed up for tastings on Skype, Zoom or Facetime.

According to McArdle, Jessup and Handwritten work with customers to customize the wine selection based on their personal wine preferences. Once the wine is selected, the brands ship the wine and tasting notes. The brands also work with the wine club member or customer to assist with any culinary pairings, such as cheese or charcuterie. Finally, McArdle and her staff schedule the virtual tasting, selecting the platform that works best for the customer.

Other Napa wineries that soon will be offering virtual tastings include Parallel Wines, St. Supery and Biale, to name a few.

Here in Sonoma County, in addition to Comstock, some wineries moving tastings into the virtual space include Portalupi and Ferrari-Carano in Healdsburg, Dirty and Rowdy Family Wines and Belden Barns in Santa Rosa. Rene Byck, vice president and co-owner of Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, said his winery is looking into the offerings, too.

Gary Farrell Winery in Healdsburg is trying a different approach, a one-two video punch.

This week, the winery sent to wine club members and previous customers an email touting a six-bottle selection of single-vineyard wines from around the Russian River Valley. The email featured tasting notes for each wine and an edited video about each of the source vineyards.

Customers who purchase the $380 half-case (with $10 shipping) also have an exclusive opportunity to schedule private Zoom tastings with estate sommeliers Tyffani Kuhn and Kevin Patterson.

“For a brand like Gary Farrell Winery, with members throughout the country, we are always looking for opportunities to innovate and bring the experience of tasting in our beautiful salon directly to our guests when they cannot join us in person,” said Brian Shapiro, business development manager. “This is no different.”

Customers said they were excited about the opportunity to bring a bit of Wine Country into their living rooms.

Ashley Strickland Freeman, a food stylist and author in Charleston, South Carolina, describes herself as a “big wine-drinker” and a fan of Sonoma County. She said she loves the idea of supporting local wineries while continuing her wine education.

“I know a little bit about wine but am always wanting to learn more,” she wrote in a recent email.

Strickland Freeman added that with her 4-year-old in tow, often it’s difficult for her and her partner to visit breweries and wineries and enjoy the experience. For this reason, she noted, even without the threat of a global pandemic, virtual tastings appeal to her.

“With virtual tastings, [my son] can play Legos and [the grown-ups] can drink,” she wrote. “Everybody wins.”

A number of local wineries are also offering curbside pickup and delivery. Check websites for more information.

Amy’s Kitchen Ramps Up Production As Other Businesses Close

March 2020

By Heather Irwin

As businesses around the world go dark due to the coronavirus outbreak, Santa Rosa food manufacturer Amy’s Kitchen is redoubling efforts to keep grocery stores stocked and production humming.

With $600 million in sales worldwide, Amy’s Kitchen is among thousands of large food manufacturers considered “essential” for ongoing distribution of food to grocers around the country.

“We’re doing everything we can to ramp up production. The U.S. government has stressed the importance of food companies to continue to produce food,” said Jessica Adkins, Senior Director of Company Affairs for the organic and non-GMO food specialty company founded in Sonoma County.

Heading their production list: Soup. Though the company also makes frozen entrees and other specialty foods, their canned soups offer both social distancing for employees and are in high demand by consumers.

“The way we make it naturally allows for distancing for employees, and we’re seeing soup aisles quickly depleted right now. We are no longer in a situation of business as usual and are mobilizing our efforts as much as we can to ensure that people can continue to put food on their tables,” Adkins said.

She added that changes in production could make other Amy’s food products temporarily unavailable, but that they are fast-tracking as many products as possible.

“As stores restock, there is new food being made,” she said, adding that no supply lines of raw materials they typically use have been interrupted. “The situation continues to evolve, but we feel we are in a really good place.”

In recent weeks, Americans have seen grocery shelves empty with alarming speed due to hoarding and fears that food stocks may run low. Government officials have created special allowances for businesses whose function is crucial to ongoing food supplies to continue to operate.

This has caused a shortage of workers, and Adkins said the company is actively hiring. The company currently has 2,600 employees worldwide and three kitchens in Santa Rosa, Oregon and Idaho.

Like most businesses around the country, Amy’s had only days to prepare staff and production facilities to operate safely during the outbreak. Though they are held to rigid national standards for food production, the coronavirus requires even stricter measures. That meant allowing staff at high-risk for infection or uncomfortable in a work environment to stay home and providing adequate safety measures for those who remained.

Adkins said they have added heated tents outside to allow for distancing, are staggering breaks and lunches and not allowing any external visitors into the buildings. They’ve also asked non-essential employees to work at home.

Though much of the soup and meal production happen outside of Sonoma County, the Amy’s Kitchen facility in Santa Rosa is a command center and houses their research and development operations, new product development and supports their drive through restaurant in Rohnert Park. Adkins said safety procedures have also been rolled out here.

Amy’s Drive Thru has continued operation for pickup only.

Amy’s Kitchen is one of several national manufacturers in Sonoma County, including Traditional Medicinals, Guayaki, Miyoko’s Kitchen and others.

For more details about hiring, go to amys.com or call 707-568-4698.

These Sonoma County Breweries Are Offering Curbside Pickup and Delivery

March 2020

By Shana Bull

Now that shelter in place orders have been implemented in Sonoma and Napa counties, local businesses like wineries, restaurants, and breweries are pivoting their operations to focus on to-go and delivery orders.

(Here is a list of Sonoma County restaurants currently offering curbside pickup and delivery)

For those who would like to sip on a craft beer while supporting local businesses, orders can now be placed via email, phone or online and be picked up curbside at a number of breweries — listed in the above gallery.

While we will do our best to keep this article up-to-date, changes happen daily so please call in advance to make sure the brewery is open. Also make sure to wash and sanitize your hands before and after you pick up your order, and please refrain from going out if you are sick.

Breweries that are temporarily closed:

Moonlight Brewing in Santa Rosa. Learn more on Facebook.
GravSouth Brew Co. in Cotati. Learn more on Facebook.
Parliament Brewing Company in Rohnert Park. Learn more on Facebook.
Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma. Learn more on Facebook.
Stumptown Brewery in Guerneville. Learn more on Facebook.

Craft Cocktail Hand Sanitizer Now Available From Local Distillery

March 2020

By Dana Rebmann

From Limoncello and whiskey to hand sanitizer — Prohibition Spirits Distillery is helping fill the shortage during the coronavirus pandemic. The family-owned Sonoma distillery is now producing and selling craft cocktail hand sanitizers along with its popular spirits.

After hearing about the hand sanitizer shortage, Prohibition Spirits distiller and owner Fred Groth took a look at a bottle of sanitizer he had and noticed the main ingredient was alcohol. He got online and, following a formula recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had the first lot of craft cocktail hand sanitizer ready on March 5.

“We had all the ingredients on hand. Alcohol, glycerin and essential oils and scents,” said Groth, who owns Prohibition Spirits Distillery with his wife Amy. “We had bottles from other projects and made labels we printed at home. Understanding alcohol, and having everything we needed, it was an easy transition.”

The couple sold about 800 bottles during the first week.

“It was really just a fun passion project in the beginning,” said Groth. “I had no idea of the need and demand.”

Craft Cocktail Hand Sanitizers come in four scents: Key Lime Margarita, Old Fashioned, Pina Colada, and Lemon Drop Martini. The alcohol content is 70%. (The CDC has advised hand sanitizer must contain at least 60% alcohol.)

“I wanted to have scents that were enjoyable and reminded me of the pleasures of alcohol. Drinking not cleaning,” said Groth.

The tasting room at Cornerstone Sonoma is currently closed, but drive-up service is available at the distillery, located at 21877 8th Street East in Sonoma, weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. The craft cocktail hand sanitizers come in 2-ounce spray bottles and cost $6 each. Along with hand sanitizer, Prohibition Spirits Distillery has about 40 types of spirits for sale. Orders are being accepted online. Free shipping is available for purchases of more than $100.

The Distillery is also working on getting the hand sanitizer onto shelves in other local businesses that are still open.

“As a small, local, family business, we need support. We need people to shop and buy locally and try to keep a sense of normalcy,” said Groth.

Know of any other local businesses getting creative to keep going and helping the community? Let us know in the comment section below.

25 Spectacular Photos of Spring in Sonoma County

March 2020

By Sonoma Magazine Staff

Today is the first day of spring but, instead of being outside enjoying the warmer weather, cute baby animals and wildflowers, most of us are hunkered down indoors due to the coronavirus. To bring a little sunshine into your lives, we’ve created a gallery with spring photos from around Sonoma County. Click through the above slideshow and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram.