As the season cools, it’s time to replenish the wardrobe, filling in the gaps with warmer options. But during a Sonoma County autumn, you have to be prepared for anything weather-wise. These fall fashion finds for women are on trend and good for in-between temperatures. Click through the gallery for more information.
Sonoma County may be a wine lover’s playground but following the emergence of a band of brewery brothers and sisters pioneering the production of artfully crafted local beers, the region has evolved into a mecca for microbrew maniacs. Pliny pilgrims now descend on Santa Rosa during the month of February and beer enthusiasts from around the world populate local brewery patios and taprooms year round.
So how does a beer lover best explore Sonoma County? No doubt, it is easy to get overwhelmed. We’ve picked out a few gems, inside and outside the taproom, to help you structure a trip that will match the county’s beer ratings. And don’t forget to get on a bike, and see the coast between beers!
Click through the gallery above for all the details, and remember to bring a designated driver, or arrange for transportation – Uber and Lyft are available, as well as beer tour buses.
(Left to right) David LaMonica, Diane LaMonica, Krista McCracken, Chef Arturo Guzman
The former owners of Mendocino’s critically-acclaimed Cafe Beaujolais are opening Salt & Stone restaurant in Kenwood. Chef David LaMonica and his wife, Diane LaMonica, have purchased the shuttered KenWood restaurant space with plans to open a “casual-chic” California eatery and oyster bar this fall.
“We’re so excited to meeting and serving locals and visitors alike. Everything about our new venture feels just right, ” said Diane. The LaMonicas have hired Arturo Guzman as executive chef and Krista McCracken as GM and sommelier.
Since last year’s closure of the KenWood restaurant, rumors have been circling as to who would snap up the historic Sonoma Hwy. roadhouse. Earlier this year, a deal fell through for the former Olive & Vine restauranteurs, who planned to open it as Crush Bar & Grill.
The Salt & Stone menu is still in the works, but owners promise “fresh seafood, quality meats and charcuterie” with indoor and outdoor dining, full bar and lounge.
Chef Arturo most recently was executive chef at The French Garden in Sebastopol and Dawn Ranch Lodge in Guerneville. He spent 20 years at Meadowood Resort in Napa Valley.
Investor and restaurateur Bill Foss purchased the Kenwood Restaurant in 2013 from longtime chef Max Schacher. Schacher’s 26-year tenure gained the restaurant a strong local following, especially among the nearby Oakmont community. Looking to modernize the menu, Foss and his team worked to create a locally-sourced lineup of dishes that had some impressive moments–but didn’t always translate for the weeknight crowd. In other words, many of Schacher’s fans weren’t wild about having his signature Caesar salad, poached salmon and cheesecake suddenly replaced with rabbit legs, $16 burgers and hamachi crudo.
Diane LaMonica says she is definitely hoping to bring back local diners with a more approachable menu and “gathering place” feel.
Before becoming the Kenwood Restaurant, Bunny’s Country Kitchen, a favorite fried chicken restaurant in the community, occupied the space.
Salt & Stone, Kenwood’s Gathering Place, is located at 9900 Sonoma Hwy (CA 12). Kenwood, California. Stay tuned for details when the restaurant opens.
For years, Russian River Vineyards was like a blind date with amazing potential and a great personality who shows up wearing stonewashed jeans and a Members Only jacket. You didn’t really want a second date, but hey, maybe we could be friends?
Recently renovated, Russian River Vineyards has become hot-list worthy. It’s revitalized tasting lounge, in the shadows of a historic hop kiln, new chef, and updated dining patio is an entirely new experience at this oft-overlooked restaurant, winery, and farm.
Though there are still rough edges around the property, the imperfections somehow add to the authentic Sonoma County experience. A blue-haired singer belts out pop tunes on an acoustic guitar as visitors meander around the outdoor lounge, snagging picnic tables for plates of charcuterie and sips of the winery’s pinot noir. The restaurant’s outdoor patio shares the other half of the backyard space, making for a lively if sometimes slightly noisy dining experience. We can’t complain too much, however, since on a warm summer evening the space feels like a convivial beer garden rather than a stuffy restaurant.
The winery and restaurant (previously named Corks), filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after acquiring the property in 2008. Over the last six years, several chefs have come and gone as the property slowly underwent improvements.
What makes Russian River Vineyards and Farm so special, however, is the food.
The 1.25-acre farm just behind the hop kiln is the foundation of Chef Ben Davies’ menu, a gold mine just feet from his kitchen. Farmer Kayta Brady has worked several acres of the property, providing edible flowers, fruit and produce from tomatoes and green beans to lettuces and ground cherries. Davies mixes up the menu with the most recent harvest.
During such a bountiful season, that means melons, tomatoes, fresh amaranth greens and Sonoma County’s favorite pepper, the Jimmy Nardello. In the kitchen only about four months since his departure from the now-shuttered County Bench, Davies has assembled a solid team focused on technique and presentation of local products, including truly sustainable seafood like San Francisco Bay Halibut. Though we’ve long admired Davies’ passion for local food, he seems to be stretching his wings with this unique opportunity.
Prices range from $6 for a plate of compressed melon or $10 for halibut rillette to a $26 to $36 for main entrees. Suffice it to say if you’re not passionate about the where and why of what’s on your plate, this may not be a good fit. (The restaurant is open for lunch and brunch, along with the tasting lounge for more thrifty eats).
Sitting with Hawaiian-shirted co-owner Chris O’Neill, sharing a bottle of his 2014 Horseridge Vineyard pinot noir, he says he’s optimistic about this next phase for the property as well as continued renovations. With the taste of still-warm tomatoes and beans from the farm still on our palates, we can only hope that the Davies and his team remain a signature part of Russian River Vineyards. Because suddenly, this blind date has become the very dateable Sonoma County destination it’s always had the potential to be.
Here are some best bets:
– Roasted Heirloom Beets, $15: The prettiest dish of our summer. Sweet, earthy beets in brilliant ruby and gold get even more grounded with smoky creme fraiche (why did we never think of this?). Golden beet puree seems like an afterthought, especially when poured a bit clumsily on the jewel box of a plate. Otherwise, perfect.
– Warm Burrata, $16: I’ve never met a burrata I didn’t like, and this is no exception. Served with Nightingale bread and summer tomatoes, it’s enlightened.
– Seared Octopus, $17: Perfectly cooked, these tiny tentacles work well with the intense flavor of compressed melon, lemon cucumber and baby basil leaves.
– Halibut Rillette, $10: These adorable potted rillettes are almost impossible to put down. Mixed with creamy caper onion aioli, it’s a decadent spread atop house made herb crackers. A seal of clarified butter between you and the rillette can be a bit confusing—just remove it with a knife and spread it on crackers when it softens.
– Grilled Akaushi Coulotte, $36: Yeah, we had no idea what that was either. Akaushi is a breed of Japanese wagyu now raised in America. It’s prime, it’s expensive, it’s like butter when properly cooked. Coulotte is a very tender cut of sirloin. The pool of blue cheese mousseline underneath doesn’t overpower this tender steak, simply adding an umami note. Charred Jimmy Nardello peppers add just the right amount of sweet and bitter to the mix.
– San Francisco Bay Halibut, $32: We all want to eat sustainably, but seafood is one of the worst offenders in the food chain. Even for chefs, knowing the backstory on where their seafood has been caught, and how, is something of a mystery. San Francisco Bay Halibut is caught, well, here and is a highly sustainable fish. It’s also a delicious white fish that’s seared, served atop beans, roasted cherry tomatoes, and eggplant. Roasted corn broth is the essence of summer, with coriander vinegar to sass up the whole dish.
– Dessert: Leave room is all we can say. Talented pastry chef Victoria Madrigal has come with Davies from County Bench, where her sexy desserts were always a show-stopper.
Overall: A stunning organic farm is the foundation of this truly farm-to-table restaurant. With Davies at the helm and a talented kitchen staff, Russian River Vineyards has become a Forestville dining destination instead of a Hwy. 116 drive-by.
Russian River Vineyards is located at 5700 CA-116, Forestville, 707-887-3344, russianrivervineyards.com.
Heather Irwin is the fork behind the long-running weekly dining column, BiteClub. She pays for all meals unless otherwise indicated.
Hungry for something new? Here are spoon-size portions of hot restaurant picks from our food critic. Bon Appétit!
Alioto’s Healdsburger: A locals’ favorite at a former A&W, it’s pricey, but the burgers and hot dogs are top-quality stuff. Sixteen regular-menu burgers and several specials are available, including the hangover burger with fried egg, bacon, cheese, Sriracha sauce and mayo, paired with fries and a drink. 48 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-473-9604, healdsburger.com.
Boathouse Asian Eatery: The former M.Y. China has been reborn as a swanky restaurant featuring Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Flavors are fresh, portions are big and signatures impress, such as duck soup, classic sushi and pork belly kimchee lime fried rice. 630 Park Court, Rohnert Park, 707-588-9440, gratonresortcasino.com/dining.
Calistoga Kitchen: A local’s secret, this classic cottage bistro deserves to be on everyone’s radar. Chef-owner Rick Warkel is a Culinary Institute of America graduate, and his training shows in his meticulously crafted panroasted Grimaud Muscovy duck breast in sour cherry jus and skillful rabbit gumbo. 1107 Cedar St., Calistoga, 707-942-6500, calistogakitchen.com.
Coast Kitchen: Since 1963, the redwood and stone Timber Cove resort has been a fun, if somewhat funky, retreat. A lavish renovation in 2016 turned it into a truly deluxe destination, with a luxury Cal-cuisine restaurant to match. Inventive bites shine, like fried quail drizzled in sweet chile vinaigrette, and King salmon over lentils and tangy sorrel salad. 21780 Highway 1, Jenner, 707-847-3231, coastkitchensonoma.com.
Click through the gallery above for the full list.
The grape crush isn’t the only harvest happening September through October in Sonoma County. Not by a long shot. Though the scent of fermenting grapes is our Sonoma aroma during these final warm months, here are a few more things being picked in Wine Country.
From Berkeley Tie Dye and Early Girl to Paul Robeson, Indigo Jewel, Cool Chocolate Pear and literally thousands of other specialized heirloom breeds, it’s that time of year when gardens and markets are overflowing with summer’s favorite fruit (or vegetable, depending on how botanically precise you want to be).
Soda Rock Farms is synonymous with summer tomatoes in Sonoma County, and the Healdsburg family farm often yields up to 1,000 pounds of heirloom tomatoes each day during their peak time, which is late August through September. Look for Soda Rock, along with dozens of other locally grown tomatoes, at farmers markets throughout the county.
Want to pick your own? The Black Piglet at Davis Family Vineyards in Healdsburg encourages diners to hunt out their favorite tomato at the farm for a fresh u-pick BLT that will be the best thing you eat all fall. Open through October.
From mid-August through September, the apple orchards of Sonoma west county are in full swing. Though the coveted Gravensteins are often picked clean by late August, dozens of other varietals grown throughout the county last well into fall.
A few farms allow CSA members, groups and occasional passers-by to come pick, including Chileno Valley Ranch, Gabriel Farm and Apple-A-Day Ratzlaff Ranch. It’s also high-season for cider apples, usually tart heirloom apples used for the county’s flourishing hard cider industry. Ask around, and you’ll probably find a friend more than happy to help you harvest their apples.
There’s no shortage of pumpkin patches and corn mazes around Sonoma County. The Petaluma Pumpkin Patch and Amazing Corn Maze, just north of Petaluma and visible from Highway 101, allows locals to watch the corn rise and pumpkins grow throughout the summer. Though it’s also a source of some consternation (and serious slowdowns) throughout the season as lookie-loos drive by, there’s no doubt it’s still a favorite destination. Open to visitors from late September.
With recreational marijuana legalized, and coming into the marketplace early next year, outdoor cannabis farmers have been busily growing the county’s biggest cash crop. While marijuana grown indoors or with light-deprivation techniques to foster quicker flowering can be harvested multiple times each year, sun-grown marijuana has a relatively short window of harvesting — beginning in late October through November. Cannabis then goes through a drying and trimming process before being sold. The Emerald Cup, held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in early December, is a competitive celebration of the year’s harvest.
Remember a time, before social networks like Instagram and Facebook, when photos were developed or printed, carefullly put into albums and shared with friends and family after the vacation ended? Over the past decade, smartphones have radically changed the dynamic of traveling and sharing our experiences. Today, Instagram lovers post photos in real time, reaching larger audiences and providing word-of-mouth hype to destinations and businesses.
In Sonoma County, there are many visual experiences that will stand out on Instagram. Click through the gallery above to see some of the most fun spots, both natural and man-made, to pose for a Sonoma selfie.
Because we can’t always make it out to the ballpark, game-viewing at home can be upped in fun and flavor (hello, cheaper hot dogs). Whatever your sport or team, gather with family and friends to graze gamely, through glorious victory and heartbreaking defeat, with the help of these Sonoma finds. Click through the gallery above for more information.
When life gives you clutter, get rid of most of it, and then organize what you have left. With the help of a few decorative pieces, would-be clutter can be managed and even attractive to look at. Of course, select carefully because sometimes clutter storage becomes clutter. Taking the time to pick the right quality piece can protect against the I-suddenly-hate-it syndrome. Click though the above gallery for more information.
Harvest is a great time to visit wineries. Whether you’re trying to get away for an afternoon, show some out of town guests around, or observe some of the action of the crush season, here are some picks to enhance your wine tasting ensemble. Click through the gallery above for more information.
