(From left)Ryan Farley, Chris Wardell, Lance Retherford, Alan Le and Spence Harrell swim during pool party as part of Gay Wine Weekend at MacArthur Place on Sunday, June 21, 2015 in Sonoma, California . (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Summer may be months away but that doesn’t stop us from getting excited about one of Sonoma County’s most iconic summertime events: Gay Wine Weekend. And it seems others are, too. The three-day event, held every year in July, was recently named “Best Summer Event” by Gay Travel Awards, beating out more than 100 national nominees.
Every year, an estimated 700 LGBTQ wine lovers and friends from around the world attend Gay Wine Weekend, not only to indulge in Sonoma County’s fine wine and food but also to celebrate the welcoming atmosphere Sonoma County offers – no matter who you love.
“Gay Wine Weekend stands out because they represent everything that is special about coming together to celebrate,” shares Victoria Prisco, Sponsorship Director of Gay Travel, “A beautiful venue, great weather…did we mention wine?”
In true Sonoma fashion, the event ensures that guests always have a glass of wine in hand whether attending LGBT winemaker dinners, winery tours and luncheons, or dancing the night away to the beats from famous gay club DJs.
Mark Vogler, partner at Out in the Vineyard; the company that produces Gay Wine Weekend, calls the award an honor and says that it “validates our vision of putting Sonoma on the global map as a top LGBT travel destination – not only in wine, but as the top gay event destination in the world.”
The weekend wraps up with the Gay Wine Auction & Recovery Brunch, which benefits Face to Face Sonoma County AIDS Network. The auction and brunch is a key component to Gay Wine Weekend earning the “Summer Event of the Year” award says Prisco. Last year, the auction raised over $50,000 for Face to Face, which provides fresh food and meals, and support, to individuals in Sonoma County living with AIDS and HIV.
The 2018 Gay Wine Weekend is July 20-22 in Sonoma. Visit outinthevineyard.com to learn more.
Take your on-the-town enthusiasm into the comfort of your own home with these shopping ideas from Sonoma. Save money and avoid traffic, yet achieve maximum togetherness – a night in is a great alternative to painting the town red.
Petite filet steak at Salt and Stone Restaurant in Sonoma County, Kenwood. Heather Irwin/PD
The roadhouse at 9900 Sonoma Highway has once again returned to life.
For the last month, since the opening of Salt and Stone in the iconic location, the parking lot has been packed, the bar once again a gathering spot for the Valley and the restaurant is doing such a brisk business that owners David and Diane LaMonica are hustling in the kitchen and dining room of the Kenwood restaurant as hard as any of their staff.
“I’ve been here every day since we opened,” chirps Diane, as she flutters about seating guests, filling water glasses, expediting bar food and creating a generous warmth as inviting as the restaurant’s crackling fireplace.
Salmon and couscous with orange at Salt and Stone Restaurant in Sonoma County, Kenwood. Heather Irwin/PD
For more than a decade, LaMonica and her husband owned Mendocino’s Cafe Beaujolais, also known for its combination of charm and destination-worthy food. As residents of Santa Rosa, they’ve long dreamed of opening a restaurant here, and when the former KenWood spot shuttered and then floundered between potential new owners, they decided to jump in with both feet.
One of the reasons they’re succeeding so spectacularly out of the gate? My theory is their welcoming attitude to nearby Oakmonters. With more than 4,500 residents, local restauranteurs ignore them at their peril. Eschewing the disposable incomes, passion for food and weekday patronage of these seniors has been the death knell for several restaurants in the area, and the LaMonicas have created an atmosphere, price point, and menu the community is embracing. Not that the Oakmonters are the only patrons, but on one visit, a single young couple sat in the window as the dining room filled with mostly mature diners. A second Thursday night visit found both the bar and dining room full by 5:30 p.m., with jovial retirees gathered around the bar fireplace, filling tables in couples and foursomes, opening expensive wines and relishing in the food.
Tuna tartare at Salt and Stone Restaurant in Sonoma County, Kenwood. Heather Irwin/PD
It’s also a homecoming for many. For decades, Chef Max Schacher’s served simple French-California cuisine in the space, with approachable dishes like Caesar salad and Dungeness crab cakes and salmon. Schacher sold the Kenwood Grill in 2013 to restaurateur Bill Foss, who brought a high-concept vibe and frequently-changing seasonal menu to the space–something that didn’t always fly with Schacher’s longtime regulars.
The LaMonicas, who hired Meadowood and French Garden alum Arturo Guzman to head the kitchen, have taken a more moderate approach, with an extensive—like really, really extensive—menu of classics including Caesar salad, onion soup, steak, and roasted chicken, and there’s not much to dislike. With a full oyster selection, specialty cocktails and classics, charcuterie and cheese boards, eleven appetizers, eleven entrees, 3-course bistro night selections (beef bourguignon, coq au vin, braised lamb shank), nine desserts and a happy hour menu, it’s more a matter of narrowing choices after perusing both the daily menu, dinner menu and wine list. Eager staff, however, are more than happy to guide your choices, should things get overwhelming.
“Everyone will come once,” said Diane, “but our job is to keep them coming back.” If the packed parking lot is any indication, they’re coming back in droves to Kenwood’s gathering spot.
Best Bets:
Grilled octopus at Salt and Stone Restaurant in Sonoma County, Kenwood. Heather Irwin/PD
– Marinated Grilled Octopus ($18): When you can cut octopus with a single stroke of a butter knife, it’s something to rave about. Tender and flavorful, beautifully plated with chickpeas, pickled red onions, and arugula. Guzman’s plating is spectacular, and little touches, like homemade potato chips (gaufrette) with the ahi tuna poke or delicate couscous with salmon make dishes feel special rather than ho-hum.
– Ahi Tuna Poke ($18):Too many chefs phone in this classic, but Guzman pumps up the flavor with seaweed salad, wasabi cream, and shiso oil, along with plenty of sesame oil.
– Steak Tartare ($19): Raw beef can be a turn off for some, but with 25-year sherry vinegar, a raw quail egg and crispy crostini, it was almost impossible not to shovel this into my face as fast as possible. The sharp tang of vinegar, the velvet texture of beef and creaminess or a raw egg are a revelation.
– Crispy Skin Salmon ($25): We’re taking a guess on Atlantic salmon, due to the mildness of the fish and lighter color, but the true test of this fish is in the cooking: Just cooked in the center, flakey throughout, with a crisp skin on a bed of lemon couscous. A solid choice for lighter eaters.
– Petit Filet ($25): Steak is steak is steak, in my book, which is why I don’t often order it. Here, though, it’s a staple, with ribeye, filet mignon, and flat iron selections, along with the petit filet. Cooked rare, the flavor is delicate, and almost doesn’t stand up to the blue cheese butter (still slightly frozen) atop the filet. Push the pat aside, and let it melt into the duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes and wild mushrooms.
– Happy Hour 1/4 lb. house ground burger ($6): Though tiny, this is a mighty burger, served with cheddar aioli on a brioche bun. No shortcuts here, with lots of beefy, juicy flavor. Nom.
Needs Work:
– French Onion Soup ($9): I like my french onion soup to take command of the bowl, with pungent caramelized onions, a bit of sherry, and Gruyere that can stand up to a broiler and win. This version was a bit of a wallflower.
Steak tartare at Salt and Stone Restaurant in Sonoma County, Kenwood. Heather Irwin/PD
The Takeaway: Solid classics and an extensive menu in an affable and iconic Sonoma Valley roadhouse.
Perks: Great Happy Hour deals from 2:30 to 5:30pm Monday through Friday; 3-course bistro nights include a hearty entree, soup or salad and dessert with a glass of wine for $35 (M-W); excellent local wines by the glass and in 20 oz. carafes, along with a value-oriented by-the-bottle program from sommelier Krista McCracken.
Salt and Stone, 9900 Sonoma Hwy., Kenwood, 707-833-6326, saltstonekenwood.com. Open daily from 5 to 9p.m., happy hour from 2:30 to 5:30p.m. Monday through Friday.
Former professional cyclist Andy Hampsten, center, talks with BMC CEO Gavin Chilcott before they go on a ride with members and supporters of local cycling team, Team Swift, in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Hampsten is known for being the first American to win the 1988 Giro d’Italia, where he rode over the Gavia Pass during a snowstorm. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
Bike enthusiasts are in for a special treat on January 18 when celebrated cyclist Andy Hampsten will be leading a free 38-mile ride to commemorate the official opening of a new Sonoma County cyclist’s destination: the Astro Motel in Santa Rosa.
At 9 a.m. on Thursday, Hampsten will take participants on a scenic route from the motel in downtown Santa Rosa through Freestone and Sebastopol, into West Sonoma County and back to the Astro. Before he retired from professional cycling at the end of the 1990s, Hampsten trained in Sonoma County for several years and benefitted from the area’s revered roads, challenging climbs and technical turns. He picked this particular route as it allows all levels of cyclists to participate and showcases what Hampsten considers the best biking landscape in the world.
While Andy Hampsten may not be a familiar name to those new to the world of professional cycling, it evokes memories of astounding athletic achievements for those who like to keep an eye on all things bikes. Hampsten rose to cycling stardom between the mid 1980s and 1990s, a time during which professional cycling entered the American consciousness from its previous place in oblivion, in part thanks to the accomplishments of Hampsten and fellow countryman, three-time Tour de France-winner Greg LeMond. By making advances in a sport so heavily dominated by Europeans, going toe-to-toe with organizations that had engineered race winners for decades, Hampsten and LeMond managed to forever transform the public’s image of U.S. professional cyclists from underdogs to topnotch.
Hampsten soon became renowned for his smooth climbing and stage-winning abilities, which he used on countless occasions to deliver impressive results — most notably during the 1988 Giro d’Italia. It was there, while battling blizzards at the treacherous 8,600-foot Gavia Pass in the Alps, that Hampsten put in the ride of his life. His Giro d’Italia performance, now regarded as one of the greatest in cycling history, was the result of Hampsten’s dauntless decision to distance himself from his rivals in order to protect his lead despite ascending into punishing cold and heavy snowfall. The moment of truth was immortalized in iconic photographs of Hampsten’s snow-crusted face; Italian newspapers declared it “The Day the Big Men Cried.” To this day, Hampsten remains the only American to win the race.
The relationship between Hampsten and Sonoma County stretches back to 1980 when his friend and racing partner Gavin Chilcott invited him to stay with his family and train in the area. Hampsten fell in love with Sonoma, which he described as “the center of the cultural universe” compared to the North Dakota town where he was raised. Over the next few decades, he would return many times while also running a bike tour company in Italy, an olive oil company, and a custom bike-building business, which he owns together with his brother Steve.
Hampsten has since stayed connected to Sonoma County, most recently as an investor in the Astro Motel. A derelict motor lodge for decades, the Astro was purchased in spring of last year by the team behind Santa Rosa restaurant The Spinster Sisters. Since then, it has been transformed from eyesore to midcentury modern motel, with a touch of Sonoma and a slice of cyclist’s heaven: the renovated rooms are furnished with sleek Scandinavian-style finds from the late 1950s to mid 1960s; the former parking lot is now a landscaped courtyard — complete with fruit trees — and the hotel lounge has a full service bike shop and fuel in the form of espresso and beer.
The Astro was originally slated to have a “soft opening” on October 27, 2017, but as fires struck Sonoma County on October 8, the Astro team asked for special permission from the city of Santa Rosa to open early and filled the 34 rooms with evacuees, who stayed free of charge for the first few weeks. The Astro then applied for, and received, FEMA eligibility and began housing Sonoma County residents who had lost their homes in the fires. About a third of the motel’s rooms are now occupied by FEMA-eligible guests.
Joining a group of local visionaries (including chef Liza Hinman of The Spinster Sisters) who have made it their mission to create community spirit and inject a hefty dose of hip in Santa Rosa’s SOFA (South-of-A-Street) district, Hampsten has helped turn Astro into an “affordable haven for cyclists” (room rates start at $160). The motel channels the spirit of Italian bike hotels and inns by offering particular perks for visitors who like to explore Sonoma County by pedaling down country roads. In addition to the full service bike shop, there are Shinola bikes to rent, bike lockers for those who like to bring their own and — in true Sonoma fashion — there’s an on-staff “bike sommelier” or “bike somm.” Sam Hamby has years of experience working at some of the county’s best bike shops and has high hopes for what the future holds at his new job, including plenty of organized rides, guided tours, collaborations with local bike shops and, of course, quality lodgings for participants in the numerous bike events Sonoma County hosts.
If you’d like to celebrate cycling and community spirit on January 18, RSVP for the free public ride with Andy Hampsten by emailing shamby@theastromotel.com or calling 707-200-4655. If you’d like to celebrate the opening of The Astro Motel but not participate in the ride, there will be ribbon cutting, tour of the motel, drinks and hors d’oeuvres at 2 p.m. RSVP to frontdesk@theastromotel.com
Whether you’re a seasoned secondhand shopper with a good eye for a find, or venturing into vintage for the first time, January is one of the best months for old-but-new-to-you purchases. As the gifted-goods influx of the holidays is followed by the purge-and-organize instinct of the new year, vintage, resale and thrift stores now find themselves fully stocked. For those on the lookout for unique fashion finds, Sonoma County has many treasure troves of secondhand delights. We’ve listed a few of our favorite shops in the gallery above.
Fried chicken waffle sandwich at Sonoma Crust in Santa Rosa. (Heather Irwin / The Press Democrat)
I’d pretty much given up on chicken waffles before Sonoma Crust.
What was once a nod to a proud southern tradition has become compulsory on too many restaurant menus–along with kale and beet salads, baked macaroni and cheese, and something with way too much applewood smoked bacon.
Beignets at Sonoma Crust in Santa Rosa. Heather Irwin/PD
But Anne Sanusi, the lone baker/chef at the cozy Sonoma Crust Bakery has dialed in what hundreds of chefs before her couldn’t: The perfect chicken waffle sandwich. Rather than fried chicken perched atop a waffle, Sanusi hand breads and fries a fat breast while simultaneously ironing a fluffy Belgian-style waffle that she cuts in half and tops with aioli, tart coleslaw and just a soupcon of magic.
It is the best chicken waffle we’ve had. Ever.
The Nigerian-native has long garnered a passion for European-style baking, honing her skills at the JC Culinary program and serving perfectly crisp, powdered sugar beignets throughout the summer at the Downtown Farmer’s Market in Santa Rosa. Proudly scrappy, she runs her one-table catering cafe, and has built out much of the interior herself.
Anne Sanusi of Sonoma Crust Bakery. Heather Irwin/PD
She’s expanding her offerings to include soups, a breakfast waffle sammie filled with an omelet and covered with sweet tomato jam, along with forthcoming chicken parmesan and BLT waffles.
Want to try one? Her tiny cafe has just one table inside, and you’ll need to be patient as Anne makes each waffle sandwich by hand.
Dreams take time, after all, and the widow and mom of two kids is building that dream one waffle, one beignet and one bowl of soup at a time.
Chances are, if you’re a cat-owner, you’re taking hundreds of photos of your feline friend (trust us, we do the same). Now, in addition to posting those photos all over Instagram, you can submit your favorite shots of your kitty to Sonoma Magazine’s Cutest Cat Contest!
A full-page photo in Sonoma Magazine with cat’s name and bio.
A professional Sonoma Magazine photo shoot (and you will get to keep the photos!).
All applicants will get:
A digital faux Sonoma Magazine “Cutest Cat” cover with their cat’s image and name.
A photo in the “Cutest Cat” gallery on the contest page on sonomamag.com.
A complimentary 1 year (6 issue) subscription to Sonoma Magazine valued at $14.99. (If you are already a subscriber, your subscription will renew at the term of 1 year at the end of your current subscription.)
The top 10 cutest cats will be voted on by the public during the voting period (July 16-27). A winner will be chosen from among the top 10 vote earners by a panel of judges from Sonoma Magazine and our beneficiary, Pets Lifeline.
Deadline to enter the Cutest Cat Contest is July 12 at 11:59pm.
The fee for each submission is $30, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Pets Lifeline.
Voting for the top 10 entries will be open July 16 – July 27, 2018.
To celebrate International Cat Day (August 8), we give you the winner of Sonoma Magazine’s Cutest Cat Contest 2018: Leo!
A panel of independent judges selected Leo from the Top 10 vote-getters in the contest. Leo isn’t just cute, he’s “spunky, fun and curious” too, and a “true troublemaker.” But, at the end of the day, he greets his owner Laurie at the door and waits for his tummy rub. “I have honestly never owned a cat who was anything like Leo,” says Laurie.
Thanks to everyone who entered. And thank you to Leo for being such a wonderful cat.
Gerald Blodgett of Coffey Park was up late the night of October 8, 2017, preparing a Schumann “Novellette” for an upcoming musicale. As always, his Bösendorfer grand piano, built in Austria in 1965, responded intimately to his touch.
Up in Fountaingrove, Gail Embree, who would host the musicale, was practicing the lilting sonorities of Tchaikovsky and Chopin on her Steinway Model B.
That night, fires swept through Wine Country. Blodgett and Embree escaped, but their homes, pianos and music libraries were destroyed. It was Embree’s second such loss: her Santa Barbara home burned in the 2008 Tea Fire.
The Oakland Hills fire in 1991 destroyed more than 150 pianos. In the North Bay fires, over 10 percent of the more than 6,200 homes destroyed contained a piano, estimates Larry Lobel, master piano technician at the Green Music Center. “Just about every pianist I’ve tuned for has an emotional connection with the instrument, even the most humble spinet or console piano,” says Lobel.
For all their bulk, pianos are fragile creations, made of thousands of parts. Smoke, heat and water can damage them irreversibly. Their only indestructible part is the cast-iron frame, and you can’t carry a piano with you, no matter how much you love it. When she evacuated her home on Sullivan Way in Santa Rosa, piano teacher and performer Peggy Nance came close to losing her cherished Yamaha C7D. “It’s not that you can’t express yourself on another instrument,” she reflected after coming home. “But when I sit down at this one, I know what kinds of stylings, colors and touch I can get out of it.”
One of Nance’s students, Nancy Novak, an amateur pianist who plays cello in the Santa Rosa Junior College Orchestra, had 15 minutes to evacuate her home on Linda Lane in north Santa Rosa. She was able to carry out two cellos and a violin, but her music library and beloved 1919 Steinway Model O went up in flames. For musicians, the loss of a music library, with teachers’ comments and techniques for learning passages, can be as hard as losing a piano.
Gerald Blodgett spoke lovingly of his Bösendorfer a week after the fire. “I realized that precious things are like friends who have graced my life and made it better. For 52 years my piano brought beauty to me. It’s gone, but the beauty it brought to me — I can carry that on.”
Less than a month later, on November 5, he did. The musical event Gail Embree envisioned took place at pianist Terence McNeill’s Santa Rosa home. Embree played Tchaikovsky and Chopin; Blodgett played Schumann. It was a celebration of music, survival and friendship.
A rock with works acknowledging firefighters sits on a picnic table in an area spared by the fire at Sonoma Valley Regional Park in Glen Ellen, on Wednesday, November 1, 2017. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)
Catastrophic wildfires that claimed lives and destroyed property around the North Bay also took a toll on public parklands and open space, scorching ridgelines and setting undeveloped mountains ablaze.
In the weeks that followed, the post-fire assessments in Sonoma County were stark.
Sonoma Valley Regional Park was entirely burned over by fire and 93 percent of Shiloh Ranch Regional Park was burned. At Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 80 percent burned, including five homes for park personnel that were destroyed. More than 60 percent of Trione-Annadel State Park and Hood Mountain Regional Park were damaged by flames, officials said.
But the resilience built into nature already has begun restoring many formerly bleak landscapes with the brilliant green of new life. Nearly all the trees and native plant life in the region’s fire-affected parks, well-adapted to flames, are expected to recover, said Melanie Parker, natural resources manager for county regional parks. Plant species will be re-sprouting from existing plants or germinating from seeds stored in the soil.
Spring is expected to reveal unfamiliar wildflower species blooming from seeds that until now have been latent, Parker said.
“I’ve seen oak trees putting new leaves on,” she said two months after the firestorm started.
“I’ve seen shrubs, like coyote bush and manzanita, already putting new leaves on. I’ve seen soap root re-sprouting. It has this big root, so it’s putting up new leaves.”
Park managers already have reopened Sonoma Valley and Shiloh Ranch regional parks, as well as the unburned parts of Trione-Annadel State Park. They hope soon to have some portion of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park open to the public.
Even some areas of badly scarred Hood Mountain Regional Park may be admitting visitors soon.
“I think people are going to be so shocked,” she said. “Even by February, as you walk along trails, you’re going to see significant re-sprouting and reseeding.”
Park personnel have done most of the work possible to rehabilitate firelines and stabilize slopes at risk of erosion. But they mostly want to make room for nature to work its own magic.
They also know that opportunities to get out in nature are needed more than ever, given the widespread anguish, and have worked hard to get parks reopened. Visitors initially taken aback by evidence of fire can quickly be made to focus on signs of renewed life, she said. They are eager to share their own experiences with the fire.
“People are telling their stories, and it’s becoming this storytelling thing,” Parker said. “There’s a lot of interesting healing going on.”
