Get Uncorked With Biteclub

By biteclub

Each year I participate in a handful of events benefiting charities and the community. I’m really excited about these two, which will benefit fire survivors and your belly.

Harvest Uncorked: Sample wines from more than 30 wineries and nibble dessert bites from John Ash & Co., Jackson Family Wines, Criminal Baking and Whole Pie at the inaugural Harvest Uncorked event on June 2 at Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club.

Raffle prizes include an 11-course dinner with wine pairing for four at Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg, a four-course private dinner with wine in the private dining cellar of Stark’s Steakhouse, a two-night stay at an estate carriage house with five-course tasting menu for two in Healdsburg and many others, including a trip to the new Willi’s Wine Bar with me.

The event benefits Sonoma Family Meal and tickets are $80. $15 discount with promo code SFMUncorked. getharvestcard.com.

North Coast Wine and Food Festival: 90 gold-medal wines and 25 of the region’s best chefs will be serving up their best this annual tasting event.

Wines are selected from gold medal winners of The Press Democrat’s North Coast Wine Competition. Chefs participating include the creme de la creme: Mark Stark, Tom Schmidt of John Ash and Co., Mateo Granados of Mateo’s, Niven Patel of Bollywood, Dustin Valette, Shane McAnelly of Chalkboard, Liza Hinman of Spinster Sisters, the gents of Ramen Gaijin, Scott Romano of Dry Creek Kitchen, Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu and many others.

I’ll be working with Chef John Ash (who is the nicest chef on the planet) making mushroom street tacos that, if I do say so myself, are pretty darned tasty.

Saturday, June 8 at SOMO Village Event Center. Tickets $50 to $135, details at northcoastwinandfood.com.

Sonoma County Chefs Win Best Cookbook of the Year

By biteclub
Season cookbook from Jackson Family Wines.

The luxurious “Season: A Year of Wine Country Food, Farming, Family, and Friends” (Cameron + Company) by the chefs at Jackson Family Wines has been giving top honors at the 2019 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference.

Co-written by Executive Chef Justin Wangler, Tracey Shepos Cenami, in partnership with master culinary gardener Tucker Taylor, pastry chef Robert “Buttercup” Nieto and master sommelier Michael Jordan, the book won both “Book of the Year” and a nod for best of “Chefs & Restaurants.”

Structured around seasonal recipes and the year-round growing cycle of Wine Country, the cookbook follows the threads between farm and ranch, kitchen and well-paired wines. What keeps it from being a stuffy tome is the charm of its central characters — Justin , Tracey, Buttercup, and Farmer T — whose side notes and “True Confessions” on each recipe are as personal as their longtime friendships. “My favorite way to serve caviar is with crème fraîche and chives on low-sodium Pringles. Try it before you judge,” writes co-author and executive chef Justin Wangler alongside the recipe for blini with caviar.

“People who visit us are always asking for recipes, they’re enthralled with how we cook,” says Shepos Cenami. As a longtime Sonoma County chef, she knows just about every farmer, cheesemaker, and producer within 100 miles. “We want this to … inspire them to go to local farm markets or even grow their own food,” she says. “Not everyone has the gardens we have, but everyone can get a taste of that.”

The recipes can be ambitious, requiring things like verjus, finishing salts, or sunchokes and referring to Liberty Duck Leg Confit as a “basic.” The K-J team has ready access to the best ingredients in the world and for them, sorrel aioli is a pretty simple recipe. But that’s also a Sonoma idyll — a vision of vineyard farm tables where women in gauzy dresses eat nasturtium leaf salad with local goat cheese in the summer sun. Tuna casserole in the microwave we ain’t.

Congrats to the team!

 

Best Sonoma County Restaurants Under $40, California Bib Gourmands 2019

By biteclub
Meal at Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. Courtesy photo, Elise Aileen Photography.
Meal at Stockhome restaurant in Petaluma. (Elise Aileen Photography)

In advance of its first-ever statewide restaurant listings, Michelin has announced it’s inaugural class of value-priced California restaurants, referred to as Bib Gourmands.  (See previous Bay Area Bib Gourmands here.)

Tapping into previously unrecognized food scenes in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, the San Gabriel Valley and Carmel, a total of 151 restaurants were included in the forthcoming 2019 California Michelin Guide, 88 of them new additions that include Petaluma’s Stockhome and Yountville’s La Calenda.

The Bib Gourmand category allows more accessibly-priced restaurants — pizzerias, taquerias and even burger spots — to be noted for their exceptional quality.

Inspectors described Stockhome as providing “Swedish food as found in Stockholm today; that is, with an intriguing global influence as found in kebabs and Swedish meatballs offered side by side.” Napa’s La Calenda, which opened in January, is “a casual walk-in-only restaurant that’s full of finesse. The chef’s Oaxacan upbringing shines through in regional Mexican cuisine.”

“We are so very honored to be included among the culinary best, and grateful to the Michelin Guide for including us.  We hope to continue sharing popular cuisine in Swedish culture with a wider audience, given this new notoriety,” said Stockhome chef and co-owner Roberth Sundell.

A total of 15 local restaurants were tapped as 2019 California edition, and most were already on the Bay Area list released in November. They include Backyard (Forestville), Bravas (Healdsburg), Chalkboard (Healdsburg), Diavola (Geyserville), El Molino Central (Sonoma), Glen Ellen Star (Glen Ellen), Ramen Gaijin (Sebastopol) and Risibisi (Petaluma). In Napa, Ciccio, Cook St. Helena, Farmstead, Gran Electrica, Oenotri and Redd Wood were named. Shuttered restaurants SHED and Two Birds/One Stone (which transitioned to Roadhouse 29) were named in the 2019 Bay Area Guide. Grace’s Table also fell off the list.

To be considered, restaurants must “serve high-quality meals which include two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less,” according to Michelin inspectors. Michelin stars have a more vigorous rubric and are considered the pinnacle of culinary stardom. Most starred restaurants cost well over $100 per person. Statewide Michelin stars, which include the vibrant Los Angeles and Sacramento food scenes for the first time, will be released on June 3.

Stay tuned for more details…

See the full list of California winners.

New Sonoma Events to Check Out This Weekend

By Dana Rebmann

With sunny skies on the forecast, it’s finally starting to feel like summer will make an appearance in Sonoma County. Temperatures are expected to climb into the 80s this weekend. Click through the gallery to discover how to spend your days off, enjoying new wine country events that pair food, wine and fun with doing good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio Documentary Features Mendocino Organization Working to Reverse Climate Change

By Maci Martell
Actor Leonardo Di Caprio, a United Nations Messenger of Peace, speaks at the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio produced and narrated the upcoming documentary “Ice on Fire,” which highlights a local environmental organization, among other climate change practitioners, that is working to reverse climate change and its damaging effects.

The documentary, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 22, and will premiere on HBO June 11, touches on the impending devastations climate change will invoke and focuses on what people are doing to stop it. Some of those people include members of the Mendocino-based organization the Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc., according to the non-profit’s press release.

Linwood Gill, RFFI chief forester, being filmed by the Tree Media film crew for "Ice on Fire" in Usal Redwood Forest. (Jeff Becker)
Linwood Gill, RFFI chief forester, being filmed by the Tree Media film crew for “Ice on Fire” in Usal Redwood Forest. (Jeff Becker)

In addition to featuring scientists, innovators, farmers and others from around the globe, the film visits RFFI’s 50,000-acre Usal Redwood Forest and interviews the chief forester, Linwood Gill, who highlights the foundation’s carbon-storage project and reforestation practices. The manager of RFFI’s North Coast Biochar operation, Raymond Baltar, is also featured in the film to discuss removing excess brush to prevent forest fires and convert the eco-waste into carbon-rich biochar soil.

"Ice on Fire" film crew filming Raymond Baltar, RFFI Biochar Project director, at RFFI’s North Coast Biochar facility near Piercy, Calif. (Jeff Becker)
“Ice on Fire” film crew filming Raymond Baltar, RFFI Biochar Project director, at RFFI’s North Coast Biochar facility near Piercy, Calif. (Jeff Becker)

Lin Morgan Barrett, RFFI community development director, said she’s hoping the film will inspire others to take action in reversing the effects of climate change.

“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to be able to get the word out about our projects – reforestation, forest management, basically sustainable forest practices,” she said.

Barret noted that the documentary highlights the frightening effects of climate change and problems at the North Pole, but it also emphasizes those who are helping to curb and reverse the effects through numerous, innovative techniques.

“It’s actually quite technical,” she said of the film, noting the scientific aspects along with the beautiful scenery. “It does urge people to take action.”

"Ice on Fire" director Leila Conners interviewing Linwood Gill, RFFI chief forester, in Usal Redwood Forest in Mendocino County. (Jeff Becker)
“Ice on Fire” director Leila Conners interviewing Linwood Gill, RFFI chief forester, in Usal Redwood Forest in Mendocino County. (Jeff Becker)

“Ice on Fire” is directed by acclaimed director Leila Conners, who has worked on a number of other environmentally-focused documentaries and shorts, such as “The 11th Hour,” which also stars DiCaprio.

“My partners and I made ‘Ice on Fire’ to give a voice to the scientists and researchers who work tirelessly every day on the front lines of climate change,” DiCaprio said in a statement for Warner Media. “We wanted to make a film that depicts the beauty of our planet while highlighting much-needed solutions across renewable energy and carbon sequestration. This film does more than show what is at stake if we continue on a course of inaction and complacency – it shows how, with the help of dedicated scientists, we can all fight back. I hope audiences will be inspired to take action to protect our beautiful planet.”

Wine On Wheels: A Mobile Tasting Room Is Rolling Into Wine Country

By Jess Lander

Considering the ever-growing popularity of the food truck, it’s no surprise that some wineries are now taking the tasting room on the road. This weekend, Malene Wines of San Luis Obispo is bringing SoCal rosé to Napa Valley via a vintage airstream trailer, aptly named Mini-Malene.

The chic mobile tasting room will be pouring pink wine at the CIA at Copia—next to the Oxbow Public Market—for three consecutive weekends, starting Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parked just a few blocks from the BottleRock grounds, the Mini-Malene is sure to become a hotspot this festival weekend. 

Since its founding in 2016, Malene Wines has garnered attention for their Provence-style rosé made from Central Coast fruit, served at the winery’s ’69 Airstream—a full-size version of the Mini-Malene, which is parked next to Chamisal Vineyards in the Edna Valley. In addition to their flagship rosé, Malene Wines also produces a rosé of mourvedre and an old vine rosé of grenache, made from 44-year old vines.

The Napa sojourn marks the beginning of a series of pop-up events for Malene Wines and their Mini-Malene. At Copia, they will take advantage of the expansive gardens—complete with a new alfresco lounge, The Grove, serving up other alcoholic beverages, pizza and barbecue. Rosé by the glass will cost between $10 and $14, a flight is priced at $12, and patrons can also purchase a bottle ($22-35) to take home or enjoy in the gardens for an extra corkage fee.

Following BottleRock weekend, Mini-Malene will return to the CIA at Copia June 1-2 and then June 8-9, celebrating National Rosé Day on Saturday, June 8. 

Sonoma Magazine Named Best Small City and Regional Magazine in the U.S.

By Sonoma Magazine Staff

Sonoma Magazine has received three coveted magazine awards in the 34th Annual National City and Regional Magazine Awards competition, including General Excellence – the top national award for city and regional magazines. The awards were announced Monday at the City and Regional Magazine Associations’s (CRMA) annual conference in Minneapolis.

This is the second time Sonoma Magazine has been awarded “General Excellence” in its circulation category. This year, the CRMA judges highlighted the magazine’s coverage of the October 2017 wildfires:

“Wrapped in a package that is stunning and beautiful, Sonoma [magazine] is a top-notch regional magazine that exudes local know-how. Visual features sit comfortably alongside reader service stories, and these attributes came together in extraordinary fashion in a special issue about the area’s wildfires.”

Sonoma Magazine also won the Feature Story category for Julie Johnson’s evocative retelling of the 2017 wildfires, “October Inferno,” published in the Jan/Feb 2018 “Fire Issue.” The judges commended Johnson’s “great reporting” and “clear, clean style,” and called the piece “a harmonious amalgamation of writing and reporting.”

(Sonoma Magazine was awarded best Feature Story in 2016 for “Up Against the Wall,” Phil Barber’s gripping account of Kevin Jorgeson’s and Tommy Caldwell’s historic Dawn Wall climb.)

A woman floats on a inflatable circular raft on the Russian River in Monte Rio, California. (Photo by Ron Koeberer)
A woman floats on a inflatable circular raft on the Russian River in Monte Rio, California. (Photo by Ron Koeberer)

The magazine’s July/Aug 2018 photo essay “River of Dreams,” which featured Russian River images by Windsor-based photographer Ron Koeberer, won the top award in the Photography category. “These images possess a dream-like energy, allowing the reader to float from one page into the next,” said the judges, “Ron Koeberer builds thoughtful tension between the still and active moments to maintain the same vantage point throughout the feature.”

Commenting on winning three awards in this year’s CRMA competition, Sonoma Magazine publisher Michael Zivyak said: “With three wins out of only 35 categories in competition, Sonoma Magazine remains the Jack Russell terrier of the magazine world – the small magazine that acts like a big one.”

Other winners of the general excellence awards for their category of circulation were D Magazine (Dallas) and Washingtonian.

Subscribe to Sonoma Magazine here. 

25 Favorite Food Trucks in Sonoma County, 2019 Edition

By biteclub

Want to find food trucks in Sonoma County? Your best bet may just be at one of the many taprooms opening up from Petaluma to Windsor. Rather than opening their own kitchens, they’re inviting a new fleet of mobile food purveyors to pull up and feed their hungry crowds while they swizzle some of the region’s best beers. It’s a win-win for everyone, and spots like Cooperage Brewing, Hen House, Barrel Brothers, Moonlight Brewing Company and Shady Oak Barrel House have regular truck nights weekly. The Block in Petaluma also has trucks pulling up several days each week, along with the usual stops at farm markets and summer events. Click through the gallery for some of our favorites (and check their websites or Facebook page for hours and locations, as these vary). 

Honorable mentions
Frequently paired up with food trucks, these guys are fully mobile, but usually set up tents instead of working out of trucks. So, you know…we had to include them.

Camacho’s Southern Style BBQ: Seriously spectacular bbq. facebook.com/CamachosSouthernStyleBBQ
Chaco’s Catering: Tacos to paella, American to Thai. Classically trained chef Sergio Valencia Trejo brings his passion for cooking to locations throughout the county. chachoscateringnco.com.
Hopwurst: Craft beer and artisan sausage company based out of Marin. 

How to BottleRock Like a Pro: Tips and Tricks from a Napa Local

By Jess Lander

As a Napa local, I’ve been attending the BottleRock music festival since its inception in 2013, which featured The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, and the Zac Brown Band as headliners. I’ve only missed one year—in 2017, I was on my honeymoon—and have mastered how to make the most of the festival weekend even as BottleRock continues to grow in popularity and size.

From where you can find free nearby parking to why you should always pack extra toilet paper, here are some of my top tips and tricks for BottleRocking like a local.  

Pack like a Pro

It’s important to note that BottleRock has a new bag policy this year, which bans backpacks. As for what you should put in your bag: a hat and sunscreen (lotion, not spray; aerosol cans are banned) will keep you protected from the sun—there is very limited shade in General Admission—and a jacket will keep you warm at night. I can’t stress this enough: the temperature will drop significantly when the sun goes down.

Toilet paper and hand sanitizer always come in handy when the porta potties inevitably run out of TP and soap. I also like to bring a portable charger to power up my phone, which always ends up dying before the headlining act from all of the photos and videos I take.

An empty stainless steel water bottle is an absolute must. It’s good for the environment and your wallet, for BottleRock has free refilling stations throughout the festival so you can keep hydrated. But the water bottle can have a dual purpose. My trick: I purchase two alcohol beverages at once, drink one, and pour the other in my water bottle to keep it cold. This saves you from having to weave through thick crowds and wait in line every time you’re ready for a drink. For this, I recommend a bottle that keeps beverages cold.

Getting There

There are many transportation options available for getting to and from the festival. BottleRock is selling tickets to chartered buses going to and from San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, Fairfield, Sonoma, Mill Valley, Palo Alto, and Santa Rosa. Uber and Lyft are always great options, especially if you’ll be drinking, but expect them to have surging prices due to high volume, which also means you could end up waiting a while to get one.

If you’re staying in or near Napa and are close enough to bike, there is free bicycle parking (don’t forget a lock), but Napa Valley’s local Vine bus is one of the most underrated ways to get to the festival. It’s extremely clean, efficient, and most importantly, free, plus they have extended the hours on their routes for concert goers.

Driving should be a last-resort option, but if you do take your own vehicle, don’t worry about shelling out the big bucks for a parking pass. It’s totally possible to find non-metered street parking on the outskirts of downtown Napa, especially earlier in the day. I like to search in the area around the St. John the Baptist Church on Caymus St. From there, it’s roughly a 15-minute walk to the gates.

Getting In

At last year’s festival, it took me at least 30-45 minutes each day to get through the gates. The earlier you arrive, the shorter the lines will be, but unless you snagged a VIP or Platinum wristband, I suggest arriving an hour ahead of showtime for the first artist you want to see to ensure you don’t miss them.

There are two entrances. The main one is a bit of a free-for-all, but the side entrance on Brunel St. tends to be quicker, more civilized, and less claustrophobic (it’s a single file line, whereas everyone really just clumps together at the front entrance).

I’m hopeful that the BottleRock team has found a way to speed up the entrance process this year, but at the very least, they are offering a fast track option for anyone enrolled in TSA Pre ✓® . Find the TSA Pre ✓® RV parked on the corner of Bailey and 3rd, show your known traveler number, and they’ll give you a Fast Pass wristband to use at the main gate. You can also sign up for TSA Pre ✓® there; just bring your passport or proof of U.S. Citizenship and $85.

Keep Your Friends Close

There are tens of thousands of people at BottleRock, so it’s very easy to lose track of your friends as you separate to use the restroom, find food and drink, etc. When you return to the stage to find them, it can be nearly impossible as the crowds fill in. Moreover, cell phone service can be quite finicky.

Creating a totem is a great tool for keeping your group together. This consists simply of a stick and something your friends can identify tied to the top, perhaps a stuffed teddy bear or a cowboy boot. Bonus points if it lights up at night. Take turns holding the totem up throughout the festival and your friends will have a much easier time reuniting with you.

Top Picks for Food & Drink

The number one thing that separates BottleRock from every other music festival is its world-class wine and food offerings. It’s a great opportunity to experience some of the top wineries and restaurants in Napa Valley—at a fraction of the price of a full meal or bottle—so I recommend keeping it hyper-local.  

As someone who visits these wineries and restaurants regularly, I’m providing my top BottleRock food and drink picks: for wine, get your bubbly from Schramsberg, rosé from Blackbird Vineyards, and sauvignon blanc from St. Supery. Personally, I don’t think red wine pairs great with warm festival days.

The Citrus Mistress from Hop Valley, an Oregon brewery, is my favorite festival refresher (find it at the Beer Bend), but if you want to keep it local, try the Hatchet from Trade Brewing, which has a taproom just a few blocks from BottleRock. As for cocktails, the Sun God from Hendrick’s Gin (with Lillet Blanc, fresh cucumber, lemon, and soda) is the definition of a porch pounder.

This year I will be going straight for a bucket of fried chicken from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc (if you haven’t had his fried chicken before, you haven’t lived). As an alternative option, the fried chicken sliders from Brix are a longtime BottleRock favorite. The Menchi Katsu Burger from Morimoto has become a BottleRock standby, but the wait in line is worth it. Like Ad Hoc, Boon Fly is also new to the roster this year and they’re bringing their famous donuts, a perfect treat if you want something sweet. For a snack that’s both light and refreshing, head to FARM for a cup of spicy watermelon.

Beyond the Music: 6 Things You Can’t Miss at BottleRock 2019

By Jess Lander

You come to BottleRock for the music—this year’s festival features headlining acts Imagine Dragons, Neil Young, and Mumford & Sons—but there’s so much more to see and do over the course of three days than “just” rock out. From pre-festival parties to dancing in a porta potty—yes, you read that right—here are six things you can’t miss at BottleRock this year.