To most of the world, Sonoma and Napa are synonymous with wine. But in recent years, the region known as Wine Country has also become known as a mecca for craft beer lovers. Now, a new addition to the local beverage scene is merging wine and beer.
St. Clair Brown, a Napa winery, recently revealed that they have added a “nanobrewery” to their operations. The winery, which opened four years ago in the city of Napa, bills itself as an “urban winery,” and is nestled among culinary gardens with a greenhouse tasting room. The winery hosts music performances and locals nights, and offers wine tastings of their small production wines, which include sauvignon blanc, muscat, rosé, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. And now, there’s craft beer, too.
Since opening the winery in 2014, St. Clair Brown co-founder and winemaker Elaine St. Clair had dreamt of adding a brewery to the operations. A former winemaker at Domaine Chandon and former brewmaster and co-owner of Napa Ale Works, she founded St. Clair Brown with co-owner Laina Brown with the intention of creating small batch wine (they make about 1,000 cases a year) and small production craft beer.
“I’ve always wanted to get back to beer,” shares St. Clair, “If we were going to be here for the rest of our lives, I really wanted to be able to do both again.” (St. Clair holds a degree in Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis, with a focus in both winemaking and brewing).
St. Clair Brown’s nanobrewery (“a scaled-down microbrewery”) is the first of its kind in the city of Napa, which has seen an uptick in breweries over the past few years as more locals and visitors have become thirsty for something more than wine. The brewery produces ten beers, about 60 gallons of each batch, which are bottled by hand in re-sealable Champagne bottles. The beers are unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and malt-driven, with a preference for a less bitter or heavily hopped profile.
“I’m a traditionalist in my palate choices. I want to make beers that are just wonderfully balanced,” says St. Clair.
St. Clair Brown winery serves three beers on tap, with weekly rotations through the beer lineup. Their current beer offerings include a little something for everyone: pilsner, honey wheat ale, farmhouse saison, pale ale, red ale, Scottish ale, brown ale, black IPA, porter and oatmeal stout. Tastings, glasses and growlers are offered.
St. Clair Brown Winery & Brewery is located at 816 Vallejo St., Napa, CA 94559. 707-255-5591. stclairbrownwinery.com.
4/6/2014: D3: The BN Ranch Hanger Steak with Jalapeño charmoula, demi-glace and
salt & pepper frites at Seared in Petaluma.
PC: BN Ranch Hanger Steak with Jalapeno charmoula, demi-glace, salt & pepper frites at Seared in Petaluma, thursday April 3, 2014. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2014
Sonoma County Restaurant Week is here!Now in its 9th year, the event features more than 120 restaurants from every corner of the county serving up multi-course lunches for $10 or $15 and dinners for $19, $29 and $39 per person.
We just like to call it an opportunity to stuff your face at great local restaurants for a bargain. And this year, you have more than a week to enjoy the bounty; from Friday, March 2 all the way through Sunday, March 11. Other than a few stretches, pulling out your most forgiving pants and sharpening those fork tines, the most important thing you need to do is a little planning.
We’ve pulled together a few tips to make your experience a little easier to navigate, as well as some Restaurant Week menus that got us salivating (in the gallery above).
Top Tips
1. $15 lunches are the best way to see if you want to go back for a $29 or $39 dinner at the restaurant. Most have completely different lunch and dinner menus, but you’ll get a good sense of the restaurant’s style. Others offer similar lunch and dinner menus— adding a salad, soup or dessert to the dinner menu for evening diners. In that case, we’ll take the $15 version and skip the dessert.
2. Look at restaurants by price range on the website. We like to compare what folks are doing in the same price range. We’d probably skip over spots that aren’t offering anything different from their regular menu, or that haven’t put much effort into their menus. Seek out the restaurateurs that are putting extra oomph into their offerings.
3. Expect something impressive for $39. Don’t expect that same level of wow for $19. We tend to make a rule that we expect higher-end restaurants to really impress us with their $39 menus. We’re very impressed with menus from John Ash ad Co., Dry Creek Kitchen, and Seared at the higher price point. Also, look out for restaurants that aren’t staying in their usual lanes. For a value-priced fast-casual spot, a $39 dinner might be a bit overambitious.
4. If you hate to wait, go early or go late. But really, go early. Restaurant Week is very popular, so restaurants can get crowded. Also, make a reservation if possible. Weekdays tend to be quieter than weekends, natch.
5. Tip your servers well. Let me repeat that, tip well. Whether its a $10 lunch or a $39 dinner for two, restaurant staff are put to the test during this busy week. All restaurant participants want to impress their guests, but service can be a bit harried during crush hours. You may be getting a great deal, but everyone from dishwashers and bussers to servers still depend on that extra percentage of your bill to stretch their paychecks.
High school is hard. Let us who’ve been through it count the ways. Add to this the grand, but sometimes fraught finale called “the prom”—wherein pressures of surviving grade-getting and social scenes are heightened by the challenge of finding the perfect dress, date or group to go with, as well as the cash flow to make it all happen—and you have some familiar teen woes in need of a fairy tale-type fix. (According to a 2015 study by VISA, the average prom night costs for a teen range from $500 to more than $700.)
Well, Fairy Godmother has arrived in the form of The Princess Project, a nonprofit, free retail pop-up that provides a wide selection of dresses at no cost to teens with a financial need. Sonoma County will hold its first dress giveaway March 24 and 25 at the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets mall.
The Princess Project was born in 2002 when founders Laney Whitcanack and Kristi Smith Knutson were managing youth programs at COROS Northern California and learned that an intern wasn’t attending her prom because she couldn’t afford a dress. Whitcanack and Smith Knutson were moved to email a number of people in search of a dress, and when many responded to this one request they knew there was an ample supply of dresses and generosity ready to meet a demand.
Now the all-volunteer organization has hundreds working to transform donated spaces into pop-up boutiques where teens in need of a no-cost dress can “shop” for the perfect fit. With chapters in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Silicon Valley, The Princess Project each year outfits an estimated 5000 teens of all shapes, sizes and genders in new and gently used dresses.
The Princess Project’s number one core value is to celebrate bodies of all sizes. To that end, they commit to using no body imagery in their promotional materials.
Volunteers are tasked to help match teens with their idea of the perfect dress, and, according to Princess Project Board of Directors member, Jennifer Lynch, “to be supportive of teens without focusing on individual body traits.”
“We try to position every question designed to make the teen think, ‘How do I personally feel in this dress? Am I physically comfortable? Can I dance in this dress?,'” says Lynch.
“Our volunteers honestly dote on all of the teens,” says Alisa Sharp, co-founder of the Sonoma Princess Project. “From the minute you walk in the door, you have someone assigned to you to help be your personal shopper. They compile an entire armload of dresses to take back to the dressing room. If the teen gets to the dressing room and isn’t happy, (the volunteer) runs back out to grab another handful. It’s fun!”
Lynch expresses gratitude to the Petaluma Premium Outlets for being “a great support,” and for providing valuable space for the dress giveaway on March 24 and 25.
Teens interested in getting a dress through the Princess Project can sign up here for an appointment time and need only provide a valid student ID at their appointment.
Volunteers, dress and monetary donations are needed around events and throughout the year. For more information visit: princessprojectsonoma.org/volunteer-1
Princess Project Sonoma’s dress giveaway will be held March 24 and 25 at the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets Mall. Please visit princessprojectsonoma.org for more information and to schedule an appointment.
Sonoma Ecology Center biologist Caitlin Cornwall, left, leads a walk past California poppies at the Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve in Sonoma, on Sunday, March 30, 2014. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Spring’s sweet arrival calls us to spend more time outside. Here are some Sonoma products to help you enjoy the changing weather and take to the trail for some exhilarating exercise and wildflower gazing. Click through the gallery above for details.
Beets and greens salad with walnuts, pickled onions, black pepper buttermilk dressing. Heather Irwin/PD
Fine dining was never a perfect fit for Matt and Sonjia Spector, the chef/owners of the critically acclaimed JoLe restaurant in Calistoga and Mattyson in Philadelphia.
“My grandmother always said live life with zoftig,” said Matt. A Holocaust survivor, she often used the Yiddish term that roughly translates as “fullness” that comes with being well-fed. “My uncle would constantly tell me to make sandwiches more zoftig –– or chubby,” Matt laughs, referring to the word’s more cheeky translation––a plump frame which literally means “juicy.” A life of late nights and Instagram-worthy menus just wasn’t the couple’s idea of finding abundant happiness –– or juiciness –– in their lives.
A sign at Zoftig in Santa Rosa. Facebook
“Matt and I aren’t fancy people,” said Sonjia, who was JoLe’s pastry chef. “We would come greet guests (at JoLe) with flour on our shoes,” she said. Most folks found the informality charming. But some weren’t amused by the casual vibe in tony Napa. “Matt was always trying to fit into a box he wasn’t comfortable in.”
Matt Spector, chef and owner of Zoftig restaurant in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
So after selling the restaurant in 2016 (and doing a chef stint at Sonoma’s Girl and the Fig) the couple began looking for a restaurant to call their own again. This time, however, it would be close to their Santa Rosa home and only open for breakfast and lunch, giving them more regular daytime hours rather than perpetual night shifts. With two sons, the couple was ready for more zoftig. Which is exactly why they named their new cafe after that elusive feeling — Zoftig.
Porchetta banh mi from Zoftig in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Focused on simple, yet well-made sandwiches, salads, and bowls, the concept doesn’t sound particularly fascinating at first pass. Until you realize that Matt makes everything from scratch — from the roasted chicken and Diestel turkey to oven-roasted tomatoes, and fresh porchetta for his own take on a Vietnamese banh mi. It’s a grab-and-go lunchtime spot near downtown Santa Rosa that’s far better than it actually needs to be, featuring bread from their next-door neighbors at Goguette, fresh chicories, and kale from FEED Sonoma and salad add-ins including paprika roasted cauliflower, goat Gouda, and grilled crimini mushrooms.
If, like us, you’ve been jonesing for a giant DIY salad packed with healthy arugula, farro, grapefruit slices and decadent Point Reyes blue cheese or a harvest bowl full of roasted squash, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries, we’ve found the spot where you’ll be well-fed.
Best Bets
The breakfast menu is still in flux and chances are some of the dishes will change up over time, but we brought our leftovers to the newsroom and the consensus was, essentially — yum. Build-your-own salads are $8.95, and wraps and bowls are between $10.50 and $13.50. Most are easily splittable for two. Beer and sodas available.
Go Light
Roast chicken sandwich with apple Brussels sprout slaw, sharp cheddar, Dijon. Heather Irwin/PD
Roasted chicken ($11.50): This is what every deli sandwich aspires to be. Shredded, seasoned chicken with apple and Brussels sprouts slaw, tangy dijon mustard, sharp cheddar cheese and aioli on an airy ciabatta roll. We could easily eat this daily.
Falafel Wrap ($10.50): Grilled lavash stuffed with thick falafel patties, hummus, crisp cucumbers, sweet pickled red onions, tahini, and avocado. Too often this Middle Eastern staple is drier than the Negev desert, slathered with bitter, gritty tahini and stuffed with tasteless tomatoes. The sweetness of pickled onions, and moisture of good hummus, avocado and cucumber make it a lunchtime mitzvah.
Go Green
Beets and Greens Salad ($10.50): A giant bowl of greens studded with roasted beets, walnuts, pickled onions and a light buttermilk dressing. I might swap out a vinaigrette, but a solid meal of a salad.
Hanna salad with quinoa, kale, arugula, olives, red peppers, chick peas and tahini dressing at Zoftig. Heather Irwin/PD
Hanna Salad ($11): Virtue in a bowl. Peppery arugula with kale, quinoa, tomatoes olives, cukes, roasted red peppers, chickpeas and tahini dressing. Named after Matt’s mom. And as a mother, we know she’d be happy you’re eating your greens.
Go Big
Korean BBQ Burrito ($12.50): This food truck mashup is stuffed with sweet grilled short ribs, kimchi, daikon and short-grain brown rice inside a tortilla. It’s rib-sticking and hearty — not for dainty eaters.
Philly Special ($11.50): A nod to the Spectors’ time in Philly, where they ran a BYOB small plates restaurant, there’s no steak or cheese whiz in this version (though I’d be totally into that). Instead, fried chicken cutlets, bitter broccoli rabe, roasted garlic and provolone (natch) tell your tastebuds to fuggetaboudit and get to chompin’. Tart oven-roasted tomatoes class the whole thing up a notch.
Porchetta banh mi from Zoftig in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
Banh Mi ($12): Porchetta is the secret ingredient. This rich, crispy rolled pork is paired with tasty chicken liver mousse, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro mint and jalapeño mayo. If you aren’t a huge fan of heat, skip the jalapeños sprinkled on top. They’re often a sizzling mask for lower-quality ingredients, but here, you’ll want to actually taste the ingredients. My favorite sando on the menu.
Film festival staffer Alejandra Hernandez of San Francisco gives a thumbs up after a friend snapped her photo standing in the Sonomawood sign at the Sonoma International Film Festival in Sonoma, California on Thursday, March 31, 2016. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
The Sonoma International Film Festival has earned a reputation for blending Wine Country lifestyle with world-class films from around the world.
This year’s festival, which takes place March 21-25, will feature 110 films from 18 countries and 200 filmmakers. The festival will celebrate food, wine and film and, in the wake of widespread sexual harassment and assault accusations in the movie industry, it will also explore gender roles in Hollywood.
The opening night headline film is Borg vs McEnroe, which explores the story of the legendary 1980 Wimbledon match between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. The film is directed by Janus Metz and stars Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe.
Two other films will headline the festival: Back to Burgundy, a French film, directed by Cédric Klapisch, about three siblings trying to save their family winery, and Chef, an Indian remake of the 2014 American hit film.
Film star Karen Allen (Animal House, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Malcolm X, The Perfect Storm, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), will grace the historic Sonoma Plaza. Allen will serve on the film jury and will participate in a panel discussion titled “Reversing Gender Inequality by 2020.” The panel will also include Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, August: Osage County), actor and casting director Pamela Guest (Blue Velvet), JD Heyman, Deputy Entertainment Editor for People, Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, and Ingrid Rudefors, former head of the Stockholm Film Commission.
Additional star power will be provided by actor and director Ed Begley, Jr. (Ghostbusters, Better Call Saul, Arrested Development), who also serves on the film jury.
As usual, food and drink will rule at the festival. Local restaurants including Oso, the girl & the fig, and Umbria will serve small bites paired with wine from Gloria Ferrer, Petroni, Adastra and more. There will be parties from opening to closing night at the backlot located just blocks from the Sonoma Plaza.
Thursday, March 22, features a unique five-course dinner. Each course will be prepared by a celebrity chef and will be paired with a short film. Foodie stars include Dominique Crenn of San Francisco, Evan Funke (Felix Trattoria) from LA, and two local favorites: John McReynolds (Stone Edge Farms) and John Toulze (the girl & the fig).
The Sonoma International Film Festival runs March 21-25 in Sonoma. Tickets start at $35. sonomafilmfest.org
Seth Rogen is a fan of Sonoma County. The American-Canadian actor married screenwriter and actress Lauren Miller at the Kunde Estate in Kenwood in 2011 and the couple later gave back to the area by pledging to help fund Sonoma County school projects in 2016. In the days preceding their 2011 wedding, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller were spotted kayaking with friends on the Russian River and giving their dog a pre-nuptial grooming at the Healdsburg Dog House.
This weekend, Rogen returned to Sonoma County and dined (to many locals’ excitement) at the Glen Ellen Star. The restaurant posted a photo of a casually dressed Rogen posing with chef Ari Weiswasser on their Instagram. The photo got 743 likes (and counting). We are investigating what Rogen had for dinner at the Glen Ellen Star, and where he stayed in Sonoma County. More details to follow. Rogen is apparently not the only comedy actor that likes Sonoma County, Amy Schumer was spotted here only last weekend.
Sonoma’s Scribe Winery is well known as a hangout spot for the hip and chic. During warm weather, the winery’s historic hacienda is flush with daytrippers sipping the coveted rosé and estate pinot noir that helped put Scribe on the wine map.
This past weekend, Scribe’s cool factor skyrocketed with a little celebrity assistance.
Comedian Amy Schumer, who stars in her own sketch comedy series, Inside Amy Schumer, was spotted hanging out on Scribe’s sunny patio with friends. She made her film debut in 2015’s Trainwreck and has gone on to win a Peabody Award for her comedy show. Her memoir, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, was a New York Times best selling upon its 2013 release.
Schumer was at Scribe to support her husband, Chris Fischer, the James Beard Award-winning chef at Beetlebung Farm in Masschusetts. Fischer teamed up with San Francisco chef Chris Kronner, of Kronnerburger, for a dinner hosted at the winery.
Scribe posted on their Instagram Story a snapshot of Schumer pouring wine for friends during a wine tasting
Perhaps Schumer will be back in Sonoma Valley just in time to enjoy “rosé all day” when she returns to the Bay Area in June to perform at Clusterfest, a comedy festival, in San Francisco. We’ll just have to wait and see…
Medio riders climb Coleman Valley Road during the King Ridge GranFondo. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat)
Celebrate cycling and the arrival of spring with a ride in Sonoma County. Whether you’re a lycra-loving road racer or a leisurely, laid back bicyclist, there’s always a reason to put those feet on the pedals. So adjust your helmet, check your tire pressure, saddle up and ride with us on some of Sonoma County’s best biking bets. More details – including route maps and pit stops – in the gallery above.
With spring around the corner, green thumbs are getting ready to prune, plant and prepare their gardens. Sonoma County serves up a series of events in March and April for gardening pros and amateurs looking for inspiration. From friendly fungus and veggie gardens to natural beekeeping and flowers paired with sparkling, click through the gallery above to discover how to spruce up your garden this spring.
