Prepare to party, Sonoma County, because Mardi Gras is happening Feb. 25 — in case you live under a rock and haven’t noticed already. It’s time to have a little fun, eat lots of beignets and pretend you’re in the French Quarter (shirts on, please) for a day. Click through the above gallery for some great spots to check out this year.
In case you haven’t noticed already, Sonoma County Restaurant Week is here (Feb. 21–March 1). While the discounted food feast offers the opportunity to try higher-end restaurants that you haven’t been to before, parents can also enjoy great deals for their entire family. We went through the menus of participating restaurants and picked out a few parent-approved favorites. Click through the above gallery for details.
Restaurant Week tips for parents: Check out both the Restaurant Week and the kids menus before you go, make a reservation, arrive early before the location fills up, tip well, and be respectful of other patrons.
Boutique shopping isn’t just for humans. Whether your kitty needs a collar worthy of her sassiness, or you’d like to keep your dog warm with a snazzy parka, there’s lots of style available for pets in Sonoma County. Here are four local stores with great accessories and food options to keep your pets healthy, happy and on-trend. Click through the above gallery for details.
Wine tasting in Sonoma is practically perfect, complete with food pairings and rolling vineyard views. But for those who like to shop, here’s an upgrade to a day of sipping. These four wineries offer mini-to-mighty sized boutiques and an opportunity to take home a token of Sonoma style—from barrel stave art to picnic backpacks. Click through the above gallery for details.
Aquavit, the national spirit of Scandinavia, will be the guest of honor at a special spirit-pairing dinner on March 2 at Whisper Sisters in Petaluma.
The vodka-like tippler is typically infused with caraway, dill, cardamom and other spices and will sync up with a Swedish tasting menu from Stockhome’s Roberth Sundell.
Multiple Nordic aquavits will be partnered with dishes like Tomales Bay oysters with lingonberry mignonette; Icelandic yogurt with caviar; “gubbröra,” an egg and anchovy dish on Swedish bread; aged herring with brown butter, pomegranate and horseradish; cold smoked king salmon; beet tartare with huckleberries; and aquavit sorbet with citrus salad.
Tickets are $95 per person. wspetaluma.com/groups-events.
A Rohnert Park gas station is now home to authentic Argentinian empanadas.
Vinoma opened last week in a former Subway restaurant, featuring the original grab-and-go meal — meat, cheese and veggie-filled pockets of pastry dough.
Start with the traditional beef “carne suave” with scallions, red onions, olives, chopped eggs and spices, then move on to steak and cheese, ham and cheese, al pastor with caramelized pineapple or less traditional plum and bacon, creamy corn, spinach artichoke or Buffalo chicken.
Early birds can try breakfast empanadas with sausage and cheese, and for dessert, grab a blueberry cobbler or apple crisp “open” empanada.
Each empanada is just $3.19, or you can get a dozen for $32.99. It’s a perfect fill-up while you fill up. 5085 Redwood Drive, Rohnert Park, vinoma.net.
Travel + Leisure magazine just released its 15th annual “It List,” a selection of the top new and renovated hotels in the world. Among the more than 70 properties to be recognized this year is Sonoma’s MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa, which recently received a $25 million upgrade.
“For a long time, the town of Sonoma has been the sleepy spot you visit on your way to or from Healdsburg, which several years back managed to become Sonoma County’s premier destination for wine travelers. But the multimillion dollar restoration of MacArthur Place, four blocks off the Sonoma town square, may disrupt that situation,” said Travel + Leisure about the property.
The new MacArthur Place, unveiled in August 2019, features a blend between its mid-19th-century origin and contemporary comforts and style. The Victorian-style manor’s historic structures have been modernized and transformed into bright and airy spaces and the Western-themed Saddles Steakhouse has been replaced by the Mediterranean-focused Layla Restaurant.
“Order wild Pacific black cod with harissa cauliflower and Greek yogurt together with a side of patatas bravas (crisp-fried perfect potato cubes drizzled with whipped garlic aioli — basically tater tots that have gone to heaven) and you will be a happy person indeed,” recommended Travel + Leisure.
The boutique hotel also has a new bar and coffee shop/marketplace, The Porch, and its 64 rooms have been upgraded with original art, custom-designed furniture in light and serene tones and large bathrooms with walk-in showers, soaking tubs and natural light filtering in through the windows.
You can find the Travel + Leisure list of best new hotels here. The list features more than 70 properties around the world, including 19 hotels across the United States, four in California, three in New York, and two in Hawaii, as well as in places such as Asbury Park, Detroit, Miami, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
Bocce ball anyone? Showing off your impeccable form seems to get easier by the day, as more Sonoma County wineries add bocce courts to the mix. Fun for any age, it’s a great way to take in the scenery while sipping and swirling. You’ll even get a little exercise while you’re at it. So gather some friends and get a date on the calendar. Click through the gallery above for some of our favorite Sonoma County winery spots to have a ball. Please note that reservations are required at most wineries.
Twenty dollars is the new $10 when it comes to purchasing interesting, well-made wines from Sonoma and Mendocino counties (Napa is a whole other story). So where can thrifty wine lovers find great bottles, outside of winery tasting rooms? There are several stores in the region that offer good deals. We picked Oliver’s Market for this article.
Why Oliver’s? Because it has four stores that are accessible to shoppers in Santa Rosa, Windsor and Cotati. It’s locally owned and focuses on local products and makers. The first store opened in 1972 and the company isn’t going anywhere soon. And Oliver’s offers smartly chosen, well-made wines that are affordable by today’s Wine Country standards.
To corporate wine and spirits buyer Richard Williams, an 11-year Oliver’s veteran and the one responsible for selecting the bottles and cans for the adult beverage aisles, “Local at Oliver’s means Sonoma County. We have products from elsewhere, of course, but if a wine is labeled as ‘local,’ it’s from Sonoma.”
Williams and his team taste every wine presented to them before they stock it, and value is always top of mind. This doesn’t mean all wines are inexpensive (check out the Champagne section), but they are appropriately priced for the interest and satisfaction they deliver.
According to Williams, all the Oliver’s Market stores stock the same wines, allowing him to place large orders and receive volume discounts. His current wine and liquor inventory is worth $1.4 million, he said, warehoused off-site and delivered to the stores to keep shelves and coolers stocked.
Some of those wines are made specifically for Oliver’s, by a Sonoma County winery Williams won’t name. “Oliver’s Own” wines — merlot, pinot noir and sangiovese are current fan favorites — cut out the middle men (and middle pricing) and give Williams the opportunity to dial up wines he thinks his customers will like.
Recent reports of California being awash in unsold wine in tanks and barrels, and of grapevines being pulled because there are no buyers for the fruit, are certainly discouraging to the wine industry. But it could be a boon for consumers, who might see a lowering of prices, albeit at the expense of growers and winemakers.
“There will be a lot of reasonably priced wines coming up in the next year or two,” Williams said. “A lot of discounts will be offered, and we’ll see new labels from the people who work the bulk market (buying finished wine and bottling it under their own labels).”
It’s a grape-glut cycle that comes along every decade or so, and there will be years of shortage, too. It’s how the wine business works, and it will be to shoppers’ benefit in the near future.
For now, here are 12 excellent-value wines from Oliver’s shelves, priced under $25.
Pech Merle Winery 2018 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($12.99). This any-day sipper offers ripe white peach, mango and citrus aromas and flavors, balanced by bright acidity and with a wet-stone flintiness on the finish.
Leo Steen Wines 2017 Saini Farms Dry Creek Valley Chenin Blanc ($17.99). Vines planted more than 40 years ago produced this generously flavored wine with apple, pear, citrus and honeysuckle notes and a crisp finish. Few chenin vines remain in Sonoma County. Here is an opportunity to taste a fine example of the variety.
LIOCO 2016 Sonoma County Chardonnay ($19.99). This winery founded by sommeliers is trendy with, yes, other sommeliers and fans of subtle, elegant wines. This one is a fine and affordable introduction to LIOCO, coming mostly from Russian River Valley vineyards and showing racy Meyer lemon, golden apple and high-acid character. It’s a great mate with seafood.
MacRostie Winery 2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($21.99). This classy, cool-climate chardonnay from multiple vineyards comes at a remarkable price for the quality. It smacks of clean lemon meringue, pineapple and baked apple flavors, with hint of caramel and spice.
Paradise Ridge 2018 Brides Blush Russian River Valley Rosé ($14.99). Winemaker Dan Barwick produced this wine that’s simply a joy to drink. The wild strawberry, red raspberry and watermelon character comes out in a juicy, full-flavored way, finishing crisp and refreshing.
Balletto Vineyards 2018 Russian River Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir ($16.99). The longtime, family-owned company grows its own grapes and makes a beautiful pink wine that’s elegant, bone dry on the palate and brisk. The mouthwatering finish goes on and on.
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards Carneros Blanc de Noirs Brut ($16.99). This moderately rich yet racy wine is predominantly pinot noir, with a delicate pink color and vibrant red berry, cherry and strawberry personality. The price is right for this level of quality.
Cline Cellars 2018 Sonoma Coast Syrah ($12.99). The Cline family’s Diamond Pile Estate in the Petaluma Gap AVA produced this wine that balances savory notes of black pepper, espresso and pleasant earthiness, with sweet, ripe blackberry and dark cherry fruit. Syrah skeptics, give it a try.
Highway 12 Vineyards and Winery 2016 Merlot Sonoma County ($14.99). Supple and juicy, as most expect merlot to be, it’s filled with black cherry and plum aromas and flavors and a lushness that invites another sip.
Gundlach Bundschu 2017 Mountain Cuvée Sonoma County ($18.99). This merlot- and cabernet sauvignon-based wine is a perennial crowd pleaser. Medium-full-bodied and with supple tannins, it‘s ready to drink now, without the challenging tannins of many Bordeaux-style reds this young.
L’Oliveto 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley ($16.98). This mouthful of black cherry and blackberry juiciness and vibrant texture has a pleasant earthy edge and a hint of spice. It’s produced by Brack Mountain Wine Co. in Sebastopol and is a real find in the increasingly pricey world of Sonoma pinot noir.
Elizabeth Spencer Wines 2017 Proprietor Selection Special Cuvee Grenache Mendocino ($24.99, sale price $19.99). This winery produces high-end cabernet sauvignons in Napa Valley. Wanting to offer an affordable extension of its business, it looked to Mendocino for this crisp, red-fruit-loaded grenache that’s spicy and mouthwatering with hints of cranberry and pomegranate.
Vintages and prices were current as of Feb. 12.
9230 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor, 707-687-2050
546 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati, 707-795-9501
560 Montecito Center, Santa Rosa, 707-537-7123
461 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, 707-284-3530
oliversmarket.com
Nearly 140 restaurants from Petaluma to Geyserville (and everywhere in between) are rolling out the red carpet Feb. 21 to March 1 for Sonoma County Restaurant Week.
The annual celebration of gastronomy allows for some serious exploration of the local culinary culture at approachable price points ($19, $29 or $39 per person for dinner, and $10 or $15 for lunch) as well as “Sweet Perks” ($5) at local bakeries.
Now firmly entrenched as a Sonoma County tradition, the event is designed to bring locals out of hibernation (come on, your diet is toast by now) and give restaurants a much-needed winter boost. This year’s lineup looks especially good.
Click through the above gallery for a few of our favorite menus for Sonoma County Restaurant Week 2020.
