West Sonoma County – or simply West County to locals – is one of the most beautiful rural areas of the North Bay. From farm to ocean, the area west of Highway 101 offers boutique and luxury wineries producing highly coveted wines in settings that inspire a deep admiration for nature and an appreciation for the craft of winemaking. Check out the gallery above to discover five wineries in West Sonoma County to visit right now.
Every year AAA sends some 60,000 anonymous hotel inspectors to hotels across the country to find out which lodgings are most deserving of its highly anticipated Diamond awards. Diamonds are diligently assigned based on a variety of factors such as facilities, amenities, cleanliness, and comfort – out of the 28,000 hotels reviewed, only 2.1 percent have a Four Diamond rating.
Wine Country is certainly known for its world-class wineries, but what about its hotels? Click through the gallery above to see the AAA inspectors’ favorite diamond-rated hotels in Sonoma and Napa.
For the past 15 years, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) has polled readers of Zymurgy magazine (a publication by AHA) to compile the annual cult list “Best Beers in America.” For the last eight of those fifteen years, Pliny the Elder from Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing Company (RRBC) has been voted the number one beer in America.
This year, however, a Michigan beer has managed to impress the 4,000 voters enough to knock Pliny into second place. Two Hearted Ale from Bell’s Brewery in Galesburg, MI, took the top spot on AHA’s 2017 list. The Michigan brew had been voted the number two brew for the last two years and, this year, Bell’s Brewery also made the number five spot with Hopslam, a triple IPA that is now available in cans.
Bell’s founder Larry Bell started as a homebrewer in the 1970’s in the Michigan town of Kalamazoo. In 2001, the company expanded and built a new brewery and larger production facility in Comstock, MI. Since then, the brewery has increased distribution, including California in 2015, making Bell’s beers readily available to beer drinkers across the U.S.
Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo first brewed Pliny the Elder in 2000, for the first double IPA festival in Hayward, CA. The beer, brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ and Simcoe Hops, is named after Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher Pliny the Elder – the uncle of Pliny the Younger). The beer is sold at the Santa Rosa brewpub, both on draft and by the bottle and is produced in limited quantities. Because of the limited production, the beer is only available for purchase in select states and cities including California, Philadelphia, PA, Colorado and Oregon. Pliny the Elder is smooth, clean and well balanced with floral aromas and notes of pine and citrus.
Here are the top 10 beers in America, according to AHA (the “T” indicates a tie):
1. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (Comstock, MI)
2. Russian River Pliny the Elder (Santa Rosa, CA)
3. Founders Breakfast Stout (Grand Rapids, MI)
4. Three Floyds Zombie Dust (Munster, IN)
5. Bell’s Hopslam (Comstock, MI)
6. T6. Founders KBS, Kentucky Breakfast Stout (Grand Rapids, MI)
7. T6. The Alchemist Heady Topper (Stowe, VT)
8. T8. Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA (Bend, OR)
9. T8. Sierra Nevada Celebration (Chico, CA)
10. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (San Diego, CA)
To see the full Best Beers in America list, click here.
When you’re out on a first date, you want to shake things up a little. Sure, you could always do dinner at the latest farm-to-fork restaurant or sample craft cocktails at a hip Healdsburg bar, but really, where’s the fun in that? To create that special spark, show your date some originality and that you’re different – Santa Rosa serves up a selection of unique activities that are sure to make a lasting impression. (We’ve also added two rambunctious Rohnert Park options)
Friday Night Swing at Ellington Hall
Ellington Hall hosts swell swing parties on Fridays, suitable for novices and veteran dancers alike. This is an opportunity to dress up – and then tear up the dance floor! Oh wait…what’s that? You’ve never swing danced before? Don’t worry, shortly before they open up the dance floor for the swing dance session, they teach a beginners course. At $10 a piece, you’re getting a lot of fun for your buck.
535 Industrial Dr, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, (707) 545-6150, ellingtonhall.com
DJ Trivia Night at Third Street Aleworks
On Wednesdays, Third Street Aleworks puts on a trivia night that will allow you to showcase your knowledge – or put your two pretty heads together. The trivia consists of a variety of categories and gives players the chance to compete for a myriad of prizes. The hosts are funny and charismatic, which adds some charm to the night. And there’s more on tap than just trivia, including a great selection of local brews and fantastic food (order the BBQ burger, you won’t regret it). The food is fairly priced and there’s no fee if you only want to participate in the trivia. A Wednesday night visit is basically a no-brainer – but don’t forget to switch it on for the trivia!
610 3rd St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, (707) 523-3060, thirdstreetaleworks.com
Redwood Empire Ice Arena
Looking for an excuse to hold hands and enjoy each other’s company? Go ice skating! The Redwood Empire Ice Arena – or Snoopy’s Home Ice – offers a sweet setting for your date. If neither of you know how to skate, don’t worry, they offer lessons to help you hit the ice. And don’t forget to bring some hot cocoa.
1667 W Steele Ln, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, (707) 546-7147, snoopyshomeice.com
Shuffle’s Magical Ice Cream Shoppe
Shuffle’s Ice Cream is unlike any experience you’ve ever had at an ice cream shop. Yes, they offer 40+ flavors of delicious ice cream (shoutout to Apple Pie Crumble), but the real reason this is a great date night option is because they offer magic shows throughout the week. Magicians put on small sets as people enjoy their ice cream, and they also have a magic shop for people to browse. This is all the sweet magic you need for a special date.
123 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, (707) 544-3535, shufflesicecream.com
Safari West
If you want to go all out and spend a few hundred dollars, Safari West is a good first date investment. Locally known as the Sonoma Serengeti, a visit to this wildlife preserve is an authentic African adventure. Guests can explore 400 acres on outback vehicles and encounter herds of exotic wildlife ranging from giraffes to rhinos. Date going well? Spend the night “glamping” in a luxury tent.
3115 Porter Creek Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, (707) 579-2551, safariwest.com
Two Rohnert Park options…
Mini-Golf at Scandia
Thought miniature golf was just for kids and retired people? Think again. This activity can be one of the most romantic dates ever. How? Because it can be incredibly intimate at times, offering the opportunity to playfully embrace and joke around in attempts to better the game. Scandia offers two 18 hole courses, featuring ponds, fountains and a variety of obstacles, best enjoyed on a starry night.
5301 Redwood Dr, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, (707) 584-1398, scandiafunland.com
Driven Raceway
Go-karting might seem an unorthodox choice for a first date, but there’s nothing more exciting than getting the adrenaline going at high octane speeds. Driven Raceway in Rohnert Park bills itself as Northern California’s premiere indoor kart racing facility, with Italian-built electric kars that are fine tuned for quicker acceleration than gas powered karts. They supply the helmet, race suit and instructions – everything you need to get your hearts pumping.
4601 Redwood Dr, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, (707) 585-3748, drivenraceway.com
The runways have spoken. Floral patterns are back (again) and bringing colorful life to summer wear this year. Florals have been hot or not in waves since…forever, and 2017 is experiencing another hot spot. Sonoma County stores have a crop of gorgeous modern updates to this classic, ever-renewing favorite. Click through the gallery above for all the details.
Stay cool on both a literal and metaphorical level this summer with these super (dare I say?) chill finds from Sonoma County. Click through the gallery above for all the details.
Wine writer Sarah Stierch shared this exciting tidbit with Biteclub: “Mexican food will finally be coming to the Barlow!”
Tis’ true! Marin farm market faves “Barrio Contemporary Mexica Cocina” will open their first brick and mortar this fall at the Sebastopol food, wine and art destination.
Though the food is simple, Chef Carlos Rosas is an accomplished chef with stints at Jardiniere, Kokkari, Slanted Door, Lark Creek Inn and Cavallo Point.
Described as a “mix of street food with a gourmet edge,” by Maya Rosas, Barrio makes their own tortillas with GMO-free corn and uses organic and sustainable products from nearby farms and ranches. “We do believe that Mexican food can also be healthy, fresh interesting and beautiful,” said Rosas. More at barriobayarea.com.
In 2015, Bay Area restaurateur Jorge Saldana, who owns Tlaloc in SF and Cancun Taqueria in Berkeley was slated to open a Mexican eatery called Cinco in the Barlow. Saldana runs a 130-acre farm and retreat near Guerneville that supplies much of the produce for his restaurants and line of salsas. The restaurant never materialized after months of negotiations.
As wildly popular Sonoma restaurant the girl & the fig turns 20 this year, restaurateur Sondra Bernstein celebrates a milestone and keeps her eye on new ventures. Click through the gallery above for highlights from the girl & the fig over the past twenty years. Read the full story below.
It’s been a long and somewhat crazy journey from elegant fig and goat cheese salads to hearty bowls of hot ramen. Parts of the adventure have been nail-biters, spanning some dozen restaurant openings and closings and an employee roster that has burgeoned from an original 18 to 200-plus.
But as Sondra Bernstein prepares to celebrate the girl & the fig’s 20th anniversary this summer, she quotes the mantra that propelled her into entrepreneurship back in 1997.
“Doing one thing in life is boring.”
That belief partly explains her extraordinary ambition, as owner today of so many downtown Sonoma businesses, including the girl & the fig, Suite D catering company and pop-up restaurant, the fig rig food truck and, debuting late this summer, the Rhône Room wine bar in front of her produce farm on the southern edge of town.
Bernstein also owns the tiny but mighty fig café in Glen Ellen and is in the planning stages for a new ramen restaurant, Noodle Spring, tentatively slated to open this year in the “container park” retail center being considered for the Lanning Building site along Highway 12 in Boyes Hot Springs.
At age 56, she jokes about slowing down. But as she discussed her plans over a recent lunch at her flagship restaurant, “slowing down” sure sounded a lot like ramping up.
She mused that she was going to start writing a third cookbook this year, but got too busy. So instead, she jumped into something nearly as time-consuming: publishing a new quarterly newspaper called fig chronicles that waxes poetic about seasonal topics from “latte art” to seed saving, local farmer profiles, recipes, cocktail tips and uses for her own line of shrubs, vinaigrettes, fig cakes, spiced nuts, salted fig caramels, jams, Tuscan fig body lotion and goat’s milk soap.
Bernstein’s got new girl & the fig wines underway, for her private label showcasing her favorite local Rhône grape varietals. And since that isn’t enough, she has just started making wines in France to export.
She has also pushed herself into philanthropy in her free time. In December, she founded Sonoma FIG Foundation, which assists in funding for start-up entrepreneurs in food, farming, food media, wine and spirits, restaurants and artisanal food production.
And all along the way, when she squeezes in business meetings at her restaurants, it’s common to see her pause mid-sentence and take a photo of her plate, so she can publish the shot on the multiple websites she personally creates and maintains.
These days, Bernstein is a true community celebrity, though she has eschewed the spotlight for her work desk, charity efforts and rare relaxation time with her two dogs.
Growing her businesses has just been a natural path, she explained, since she moved from Los Angeles and started working in the Italian deli at Viansa Winery in Sonoma-Carneros in 1993. In that role, she drew on her culinary and restaurant management degree from The Restaurant School in her hometown of Philadelphia, plus her previous restaurant management experience, and by 1997 she had moved up to become Viansa’s director of operations, growing customers from about 50 people a day to some 5,000.
“But if I was working so hard, I thought, why not for myself?” she said, noting that she has never really needed more than two to five hours’ sleep a night. She had met then-budding chef John Toulze, now her company’s managing partner and executive chef, at Viansa, so she grabbed him and went looking for a restaurant of her own. With a loan from her two brothers, she was able to open the first girl & the fig, in a 42-seat former pizza parlor in Glen Ellen.
“I had one Chardonnay, one Cabernet Sauvignon, and one Zinfandel to offer, since I had no money for a full wine list,” she recalled. “And I opened with a cheese bar at a time when only high-end places like Gary Danko were doing that. But how could we not show off Sonoma products? I fed people cheeses as they waited for tables, so they could taste how good they are.”
The bistro was a success from day one, and three years later, Bernstein was offered her dream spot, in the historic 1879 Sonoma Hotel on Spain Street where the girl & the fig packs in crowds today.
“The new hotel owners were my customers, with no experience in restaurants. I was in the cafe dining room when they told me they wanted me, and I literally screamed,” she said with a laugh.
Quite quickly, however, she learned that her entrepreneurship would have plenty of hurdles, as she gambled with culinary ideas, spread herself thin with retail marketing concepts and navigated both fickle customers and a fickle economy.
Her plan was to open a Latin American tapas place called The Girl & the Gaucho, but the hotel owners insisted she stick with her own already popular cuisine. So she revamped the Glen Ellen space, instead, for the Gaucho idea. It lasted two and a half years, before she switched back to her signature cuisine, and what is now fig café. “People really did want Wine Country food,” she said. “Even though I do French, it’s country French, and so local that it’s really Sonoma.”
By this time, Toulze had kicked her out of the kitchens. Looking for more to do, Bernstein opened a girl & the fig on the Petaluma waterfront. That lasted 15 months.
“We did all kinds of demographic studies beforehand, but it never really took off,” Bernstein recalled. “Petaluma then was a coupon-early bird market, and discounting would have hurt our brand.”
This, and the Gaucho experience, led to another Bernstein mantra.
“I never focus on bad news,” she said. “Creativity makes you vulnerable, because people let you know right away if they like it or don’t. So you’ve got to just keep trying.”
Other short-lived endeavors included Figment in Glen Ellen, a shop selling her branded gourmet food products. But the space cost too much, and walk-in traffic was too slow. She and Toulze took over The Cottages of Old Sonoma bed-and-breakfast and its on-site deli in 2006, but in 2008, a drunk driver crashed into her Fig Pantry deli, abandoning his car amid the shattered gourmet food cases. Rather than rebuild, Bernstein sold the entire property.
“I took it as a sign,” she said. “It was hard to make money with the deli, since the cases always had to be completely full and beautiful and with restaurant-quality food. It was a lot to sell every day, so the staff ate really well.”
That same year, Bernstein took over operations for the historic The General’s Daughter in Sonoma and, looking back to her Viansa roots, turned it into an Italian-accented estate restaurant featuring produce from the property’s large gardens.
“Three weeks later, the economy tanked,” she said. “I had to lay off people. I could have stayed, I think, but it made more sense to finally hand it off (when the property was sold) in 2012.”
Not one to languish, Bernstein immediately jumped into a Kickstarter campaign to open yet another enterprise, Suite D, a space next to her catering kitchen on Schellville Road off Eighth Street East in Sonoma. She built it out into a commissary for her retail products, plus space for catering events, wedding tastings and pop-up dinners to honor legends like Julia Child and Paul Prudhomme and various local winemakers.
Last year, she and Toulze rolled out the fig rig, a food truck offering global bites like kimchee hot dogs, pork-beef chile fries, a shrimp po’boy and a ramen burger. The idea came from a team retreat at a Sonoma winery, where staff dreamed up ideas for new ventures. The inventive menu comes from her team of chefs, who like to create casual favorites for staff meals. Naturally, it also features Bernstein’s signature fig and chèvre salad, plus her confit.
“It’s easy, like catering,” she said of the faux wood panel-trimmed truck that makes appearances at wineries, state park events and its home base, the Lanning Building.
“Yes, I’ve closed more than I’ve opened,” she said of her career so far. “But I’ve always tried to bring all my staff along for the next adventure. It’s not rocket science; we’re just feeding people, but we try to feed people’s souls and energy, and give them a place to turn off the world for a few hours. I really want us all to be kind, warm and genuine, and I never want to take success for granted.”
ANNIVERSARY PARTY
For the “Fig-iversary” gala on Sunday, August 20, Bernstein is thinking in her signature ambitious style. Some 600-plus guests are anticipated for the gathering on the Sonoma Plaza, which will be set with long, communal tables.
Celebrating some of the girl & the fig’s most popular dishes, the menu will feature long-standing classics that have been customer favorites since she first opened her original
restaurant in Glen Ellen.
The supper is also a fundraiser, with 50 percent of the $75 ticket purchases being donated to charities guests can select, including Pet’s Lifeline, La Luz Center, the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, and Bernstein’s own Sonoma FIG Foundation. Tickets are available to the public here. 453 First St. E., Sonoma, thegirlandthefig.com
The “Fig-iversary” menu:
Local Artisan Cheeses and House-Crafted Charcuterie with marinated olives, pickled vegetables, FIGfood condiments, Figcake, baguette.
Heirloom Radishes from Farmer Friends (including the Fig Farm) local butter and sea salt
Fig & Arugula Salad toasted pecans, Laura Chenel chèvre, roasted pancetta and fig-port vinaigrette
Crispy Duck Confit from girl & the fig’s 1997 menu with puy lentils, cabbage, mustard vinaigrette
Vegetarian Entrée Option on Request
Fig Crisps, Brownies, Blondies, Cookies baked in the fig kitchens
Rhône Wines from local winemakers
SFGate just released a list with the “coolest thing to do” in every major Bay Area city (with a population of 10,000 or more), and Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma made the cut.
On the lookout for “unique” and “best” things to do in each city, SFGate highlighted Lagunitas in Petaluma, The Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa and Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma (although the park is actually in Glen Ellen…).
Here’s what SFGate had to say about each locale:
Petaluma
Embrace your Bay Area beer drinker stereotype at Lagunitas
It’s one of your go-to grocery store beers, so why not pay a visit to where Lagunitas is made? There’s a taproom and free brewery tours given daily. Or just hit up the store to grab a few bottles of something you haven’t tried yet.
Rohnert Park
Pack a picnic for the lawn seats at Green Music Center
The unique indoor/outdoor space of the Sonoma State concert venue gives you plenty of fun options. Sit indoors for an up-close concert experience, or bring your own dinner for the lawn seats. If you’re not in the mood to cook, you can preorder a boxed meal from Boudin.
Santa Rosa
Battle the Red Baron with Snoopy at the Charles M. Schulz Museum
Peanuts fans can’t miss an opportunity to spend the day at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, founded in the town where Schulz lived from 1969 until his death. Don’t miss the replica of his studio, recreated just as he had it.
Sonoma
Step inside Jack London’s world at Jack London State Historic Park
While this park is technically in Glen Ellen, it’s too good to leave off the list. Hidden in the hills are the ruins of Wolf House, the famous writer’s dream home. Construction was nearly finished when the house went up in flames. The ruins are haunting. In contrast is the House of Happy Walls, a smaller home built for the Londons after the loss of Wolf House, that has been lovingly turned into a museum.
See the full list here. What do you think, did SFGate get it right? What is the “coolest thing to do” in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sonoma?
Imagine this: you return to your campsite after a long hike along oceanside trails ready for a nap. However, there is no sleeping bag in your tent. Instead, there is a bed with a memory foam mattress and down bedding. That’s what naptime is like at Terra Glamping on the Sonoma Coast.
Nestled just off of Highway 1, near Sea Ranch, the property has ten safari-style tents, all with ocean views and porches, allowing for whale watching, stargazing, bird watching, or just drinking a beer and watching the world go by.
Hiking, golf, and horseback riding are some of the many activities that the area offers, and nearby Gualala has a handful of art galleries showcasing Sonoma County artists. Or head on a scenic drive to Annapolis Winery (707-886-5460; 26055 Soda Springs Rd.) to grab a bottle of Zinfandel for sipping over campfire s’mores in the evening.
You can still enjoy the fun of “traditional” camping: bring a cooler full of your favorite drinks and use the on-site pop-up kitchen to prepare your campsite foods. Not a campfire cooking type? No problem. Head to Gualala to dine at the eccentric and romantic St. Orres (707-884-3303; 36601 CA-1) or to Sea Ranch for a bar bite and beer at the Black Point Grill (707-785-2371; Sea Ranch Lodge, 60 Sea Walk Dr.).
For the primadonna’s in the crowd, don’t worry – there are hot showers and flushing toilets. But, you won’t have wifi, only cell phone service, so use it as a good excuse to unplug and enjoy the scenery. If you need a little extra luxury, reserve an oceanside massage.
Terra Glamping is primed for romantic getaways and friend-focused fun, however, it is family friendly. No pets are allowed. Rates start at $250. terraglamping.com
For more glamping experiences in Sonoma County, click here.
