Cloverdale Farmhouse Brings Vision of Eco-Friendly Homestead to Life

By Abigail Peterson

Hanging up their suits for overalls was the perfect choice for Manny and Carol Diaz.

While many approaching retirement look to simplify, even (dare we say) downsize, Manny and Carol Diaz did just the opposite. In 2010, after raising their children in Windsor, the couple bought an 18-acre farm in rural Cloverdale adjacent to the Russian River. “When we drove down the driveway, we stopped about halfway,” recalls Manny. “And we didn’t say anything for about a minute — that’s an eternity — and I knew this was it.”

Overseeing 10 acres of vineyards and growing most of their own food turned out not to be a very big leap for Manny, who worked in the airline industry, and Carol, a former accountant. Their passion for cooking (both are heavily involved in the north county slow food movement) and love of the outdoors have shaped a new life — one that focuses on the seasons, long walks by the river and plenty of time in the garden.

Summer is prime time at the Diaz home, where the couple love to work in the garden late into the evening and enjoy leisurely meals at the 16-foot outdoor table that overlooks 5 acres planted to Sauvignon Blanc. “We have basil in the containers, and we go get our tomatoes, and we’ll have our caprese every day. That’s my favorite salad,” says Manny.

“We have to buy the cheese,” laughs Carol. “I don’t think it’s that hard, but we just haven’t done [cheese] yet.”

Their two grandchildren visit often and jump at the chance to make happy-hearted mischief on the farm, like tossing ropes to climb the fig tree and throwing rocks in the culvert to make the biggest splash possible. “When they first got old enough to be out by themselves, they kept looking back at us all the time like they were expecting us to say ‘Don’t do that!’ But then they realized they can do all those kid things here,” says Carol.

To bring their vision of a grandkid-friendly, ecologically minded homestead to life, the couple worked with architect Michael Cobb of Studio Ecesis and landscape architect Michael Lucas of Lucas + Lucas Landscape Architecture, both based in Healdsburg. Cobb oversaw renovations to the house and barn and the addition of a guesthouse in 2010. Lucas designed a serene, eco-friendly landscape with minimal details, incorporating massed specimen grasses as a replacement for a front lawn. He recycled chunks of concrete from the former front path to make a bench as well as surrounds for raised veggie beds that contain salad greens, herbs, garlic and onions, potatoes, peppers, eggplant and, of course, plenty of tomatoes.

Lucas was inspired by the remote setting and proximity to the river. “The landscape here has different moods every direction you look,” he explains. “East, it’s more intimate, with the mountains in close proximity. To the west is more expansive, more vast, with the river and the mountains farther away. And in the middle, that quiet spot, with the shade of mature trees. It’s a nice juxtaposition.”

While Carol loves to travel far afield, Manny often prefers to be at home with his many projects in the barn and garden. “I enjoy traveling too, but I enjoy this place,” says Manny. “The best part of traveling and leaving Sonoma County is coming back. I like it here; I connect.”

Around the World in 50 Sonoma County Restaurants

By biteclub
JAPAN, Ramen Gaijin in Sebastopol: Izakaya (grilled meats) and rice. Heather Irwin/PD
JAPAN, Ramen Gaijin in Sebastopol: Izakaya (grilled meats) and rice. Heather Irwin/PD

Sonoma County has come a long way when it comes to global cuisine. Though Italian, Mexican and Chinese food have long been favorites—following national trends for these familiar cuisines—our tastes are broadening as new immigrants bring the flavors of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia to Wine Country. 

Here are some of our favorite ethnic dishes–literally going around the world in 50 restaurants–and where to find them. Obviously, we haven’t included every restaurant, instead picking those with especially delish pictures.

Got a favorite to add? Let us know in the comments.

Delhi Belly: Best Sonoma Indian Cuisine

By biteclub
Tikka Masala at Delhi Belly Indian Restaurant in Sonoma. (Heather Irwin/Sonoma Magazine)

The masala chai tea steaming fragrantly between my palms tastes nothing like the chai tea that Oprah and about a million other Americans have come to know as a milky, sweet, spiced black tea more like a pumpkin latte than what southeast Asians know as “masala” chai, or spiced tea.

That’s the problem with so many ethnic foods we think we love (or hate). The true flavors and inspirations often get lost in translation.

On this uncharacteristically rainy day at Delhi Belly Indian Bistro in Sonoma, the hot, milky masala smells of cardamom, cinnamon and clove and wakes up the taste buds with a one-two punch of black pepper and ginger. It’s barely sweet and as comforting as a mother’s embrace.

Just off the Sonoma Square, Delhi Belly is one of only a handful of Indian restaurants in Sonoma County, and easily one of the best. Focused heavily on Northern Indian cuisine, the menu has a familiar lineup of dishes that range from palak paneer to daal and naan, along with tandoori and tikka masala for traditionalists.

But the real buzz is about the less-familiar dishes: Roti and paratha (wheat breads), Hariyali Mali Kofta (a cheese dumpling with spinach and veggies in tomato sauce), kale pokoda (chickpea fritters also known as pakora), and the elusive butter chicken. Often confused with tikka masala, butter chicken is an actual Indian dish (usually from Delhi) with a little more spice, a little less cream and a lot more butter. I like to think of it as tikka masala’s classier cousin.

The menu makes it immediately clear that Delhi Belly isn’t your usual hodgepodge of Nepalese, Northern and Southern Indian curries and overcooked momo. Instead it is a chef-driven menu that’s heavy on authentic spices the use of a hand-tiled tandoori clay oven that cooks at 800-plus degrees.

Chef Bhupender Singh looks far younger than a man with his experience at some of India’s top-rated restaurants and well-received eateries throughout California (Avatar, Ambrosia, Saffron). But it was his childhood friendship with co-owner Raj Singh in New Delhi that brought him to Sonoma County.

Missing the endless family feasts, street foods and flavors of home, the two decided that Delhi Belly would be about authentic dishes with modern twists that often nod to a sense of place in Northern California. That means dishes using local ingredients like kale, avocado, salmon and goat cheese in traditional dishes like kale pakora ($5), avocado chaat with layers of pomegranate, yogurt and tamarind chutney ($7) or lamb kebabs stuffed with goat cheese ($9). Cumin scallops with cilantro, lime and roasted peppers ($10) have just a hint of the musky spice, brightened with citrus and perfectly cooked.

Singh’s food isn’t about heat, but about flavor. One of the most impressive dishes is a slow-cooked lamb shank in hand-pounded spices ($18) that falls off the bone into an angry-looking red sauce, surprisingly delicate and deeply complex.

Tikka masala ($14) is a house specialty that’s hard to resist, but it gets the respect it deserves. The tender tandoori chicken and tomato sauce is miles beyond the usual tomato-soup style sauce we’ve had in other Indian restaurants.

More Don’t Miss Dishes

Vegetable Samosa ($6): Crispy pastry triangles hold a mix of potatoes, spices and peas atop a bed of tamarind and mint sauce.

Tandoori Mixed Grill ($27): We rarely recommend tandoori because too often the meat is drier than Death Valley. Delhi Belly gets it right with tender chicken, rosemary lamb, salmon with mint and basil seekh kabab (minced meat). Heaven on a plate.

Butter Cilantro Naan ($3): Natch. What else are you going to soak up all that goodness with?

Delhi Belly is far better than its name, which the owners meant to evoke the goodness of Delhi’s food but might evoke something else in world travelers. That’s too bad, because our bellies are now very much in love with the luxurious cuisine of this northern Indian metropolis.

Delhi Belly Indian Bistro is a well-deserved departure from ho-hum Indian food and a dive into the rich, fragrant, exotic flavors of a distant land. Without anything lost in translation.

520 Broadway, Sonoma, 343-1003, or online.

Get Pickled at the Fermentation Festival in Petaluma

By biteclub
Jennifer Harris, courtesy of spoiled to perfection

Jennifer Harris has the kind of enthusiasm about beet kvass and kimchi usually reserved for lottery winners and game show contestants. So it makes sense that she’s also the organizer of Sonoma’s largest celebration of fermentation — The Sonoma County Fermentation Festival, Sept. 2 at the Petaluma Fairgrounds.

Check out this short film on fermentation, featuring Jennifer Harris: 

Now in its seventh year, the event has grown from a small gathering of enthusiasts in Occidental to a true festival with 75 vendors, including beer, cider and wine tasting, cheesemakers, picklers, chocolatiers and kombuchists.

Riding a wave of probiotics and food preservation fascination, Harris’ ongoing event is an ode to the importance of microbiomes and healthy approaches to making fermented food at home. That, and a darn good spot to taste some of the most unique libations being made in Wine Country, from sake, mead and water kefir to shrubs and unfiltered ciders.

Classes and speakers at the Fermentation Festival include Jonas Ketterle of Firefly Chocolate, Wildbrine’s Rick Goldberg and Chris Glab, Karen Diggs of Krautsource, Veggie Queen Jill Nussinow and many others. The event is from

The Sonoma County Fermentation Festival is from 11a.m. to 5p.m., and pre-sale tickets are $20 for general admission and $40 for VIP admission includes access to the coveted Libation Lounge (21+ only). The event is family-friendly, and kids under 16 are free. Details online at fermentfestival.com.

Can’t make it? Jennifer hosts monthly classes at the Sebastopol Grange Hall.

Photo of Jennifer Harris, courtesy of spoiled to perfection

6 Signs Autumn Has Already Arrived in Sonoma County

By Shana Bull

The official start of autumn may be Friday, September 22nd, but fall seems to get here earlier and earlier each year. The internet’s love for #AutumnVibes can be polarizing, with many cheering on the start of Pumpkin Spice Latte season, while others want to enjoy every last ounce of sunshine before summer ends. Click through the gallery above for six signs that autumn has already arrived in Sonoma County.

Let’s hear from you. Are you ready for autumn to start? Or do you want summer to last forever?

9 Sonoma Brewers Who Swapped Wine for Beer

By Jess Poshepny Vallery

Harvest time in Wine Country has traditionally meant grape picking and winemaking but with the growing popularity of craft beers, hops are becoming our region’s “other” hot crop. As hop varieties and flavor profiles proliferate in beers, brewers have begun to follow the lead of grape vintners and wine bottlers before them by planting their own hop farms to gain more control of their ingredients and finished products. And it’s no surprise that some of the brewers who are taking hop harvesting the most seriously are those who started with grapes. Here are nine Sonoma brewers who swapped wine for beer.

Barrel Brothers Brewing Company, Windsor: Wesley Deal and Daniel Weber
Brothers-in-law Wesley Deal and Daniel Weber both previously worked in wine. Deal worked as assistant winemaker for two years at a winery in Healdsburg before becoming inspired by his father-in-law’s love for home-brewing. He then decided to study brewing science at U.C Davis. Weber worked in sales and marketing in the wine industry and took an equal liking to the beer world when likewise inspired by the same father-in-law, Tom Sather.

Deal’s and Weber’s love for the brewing craft led them to take their hobby to the next level when they opened Barrel Brothers Brewing Company in Windsor. Recently they have begun working with fellow brewer Steve Doty of Shady Oak Barrel House to bring the characteristics of the Sonoma terroir to beer. On their two acre hop farm north of Windsor, the partners plan to create a spontaneously fermented lambic series to share with local beer lovers and travelers alike.

Barrel Brother’s Brewing, 399 Business Park Ct, #506, Windsor 95492, 707-696-9487, barrelbrothersbrewing.com, @BarrelBrothersBrewing

Carneros Brewing Company, Sonoma: Armando, Jesus and Pedro Ceja
Brothers Armando, Pedro and Jesus Ceja grew up in Napa Valley working for their father in the vineyards and learning the wine trade. After paying homage to their father by building a successful winery, the brothers are now tapping into beer at their Sonoma Valley microbrewery Carneros Brewing Company, located near the Ceja Family Vineyards. Head-brewmaster Jesus Ceja graduated from the brewery science program at U.C Davis, and previously worked at Coors in Golden, Colorado, AB-inBev, and Red Star Yeast Company.

The brothers have planted their own hops on the brewery property so that they can obtain nothing but the best ingredients for their beers. Guests of the brewery can enjoy views of Carneros Valley, picnic in the beer garden by the pond and sip on handcrafted ice cold beers.

Carneros Brewing, 22985 Burndale Road, Sonoma, CA 95476, 707-938-1880, carnerosbrewing.com @CarnerosBrewing

Fogbelt Brewing Company, Santa Rosa: Paul Hawley and Remy Martin
Co-owners and co-brewers Remy Martin and Paul Hawley grew up working in the wine business – Martin worked grape harvests in California and abroad; Hawley worked at his family’s winery, Hawley Wines in Dry Creek Valley. The two began brewing together during a trip to New Zealand’s wine country, where they were working the harvest. Martin then studied brewing at U.C Davis while Hawley continued to work at his family’s winery.

Four years ago, just before opening Fogbelt Brewing, Hawley planted a quarter acre of hops on his family vineyard in Healdsburg. With farming in his blood, he knew this was the best way to both understand and control the quality and variety of hops for the brewery. Fogbelt Brewing now hosts the “Wet Hop Fest,” an event that features beers brewed with locally harvested hops.

Hawley continues to help out at the family winery. He is constantly reminded that the two industries, wine and beer, have different challenges, “With wine, the main production period is once a year during harvest. With beer, we are always in production-mode, allowing for more experimentation and perfecting of the process and beers, but a lot more scrubbing tanks. After a while, brewing twice a day, you wish you could just have a couple months of heavy production and make enough to last a year. Beer has a shelf life though and wine just gets better with age. I love making barrel-aged sour beers because it feels more like wine-making than brewing…”

Fogbelt Brewing, 1305 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa 95401, (707) 978-3400, fogbeltbrewing.com, @FogbeltBrewing

Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa: Vinnie Cilurzo
Russian River Brewing Company co-owner, brewmaster and Pliny creator Vinnie Cilurzo grew up in Temecula, CA, working in the barrel room at his family’s winery, Cilurzo Family Cellars. After realizing he had more passion for hops than grapes, Cilurzo made the leap to beer and, after acquiring investors, opened Blind Pig Brewing in Temecula, in 1994. It was at this time that he perfected the original recipe for what was to become the famous Blind Pig IPA.

Cilurzo then moved to Northern California where he became head brewer at Korbel Cellars’s Russian River Brewing Company. When Korbel bowed out of the brewing business, Cilurzo accepted rights to the Russian River Brewing Company (RRBC) name and all of the recipes in lieu of a severance package. In 2004, Vinnie and his wife Natalie opened the RRBC brewpub on 4th Street in downtown Santa Rosa. Natalie, who left a job in the wine industry after the pub’s opening, now oversees the business side of the brewery and brewpub while Vinnie oversees brewing and distribution. A new brewery in Windsor is slated to open in the fall of 2018.

Russian River Brewing Co., 725 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, (707) 545-2337, russianriverbrewing.com, @RussianRiverOfficial

Seismic Brewing Company, Santa Rosa: Christopher Jackson
Christopher Jackson, son of philanthropist Barbara Banke and the late Jess Jackson (founder of Kendall Jackson), has adopted his parents’s love for a grape-to-glass approach in wine and applied the concept to his grain-to-glass philosophy at Seismic Brewing.

In partnership with friends Patrick Delves and Andy Hooper, Jackson’s dream to build a sustainable brewery, operating on a clean and green scale to produce the highest quality beers, has come to fruition. Jackson’s custom-brew house is built with energy efficiency and a “clean to can” approach. The brewery emphasizes the three “P’s” of sustainability: “people” (by paying and treating employees fairly while providing a healthy work environment), “planet” (by maximizing energy and water efficiency), and “prosperity” (by adopting a policy to partner with the community and local businesses). While the brewery does not currently have a taproom, Seismic beers can be found on draft at Confluence Taproom in Santa Rosa, Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma, and other establishments throughout the Bay Area.

Seismic Brewing, 2870 Duke Court, Santa Rosa, California, CA 95407, 707-230-5014, seismicbrewingco.com, @SeismicBrewingCo

Business Insider Says Napa Offers Better Wine Country Experience Than Sonoma, Here’s Why They’re Wrong

By Peg Melnik
Napa Valley
(Asif Islam / Shutterstock.com)

A recent article by Melia Robinson of the Business Insider compares Sonoma and Napa counties and concludes that Napa, while more expensive, offers the better Wine Country experience. 

As part of her research, Robinson did a jaunt up to Northern California, spending one day in Napa Valley and the other in Sonoma County. She endeavored to find out why tourist dollars have risen more swiftly in Sonoma County than Napa Valley (according to a recent economic impact report, travelers spent $1.9 billion in Sonoma County, compared with $1.3 billion in Napa County in 2016) and compared the experiences by factoring in tastings and price to determine the winner of the tourist competition. In both areas, Robinson visited two to three wineries where she tried a chardonnay and a house specialty. In the end, she enjoyed Sonoma County’s relaxed vibe and flexibility (compared to the Disneyland-feel of Napa Valley), but maintained that “Napa remains king.”

While interesting, Robinson’s article fails to acknowledge an important compass in Wine Country travel – your palate.

I read a lot of stories comparing Sonoma County and Napa Valley, but frankly this type of rivalry completely misses the point. As more and more visitors to Wine Country come here with far more than a passing interest in wine, we are now seeing a paradigm shift in Wine Country vacations toward “Palate Travel.” The driving force behind this shift are sophisticated Millennials, who roughly range in age between 21 and 31. They know their likes and dislikes and are intent on pointing their palate in the right direction. (A 2015 national survey by Dr. Liz Thach of Sonoma State University found 30 percent of Millennials said they had traveled to wineries to taste wine, compared to 18 percent of Gen-Xers and 17 percent of Boomers).

As co-author of the Explorer’s Guide to Napa & Sonoma, I have witnessed the trend of this savvy new traveler who lets taste set the course.

Pinot noir fanatics want to explore the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast, both in Sonoma County, and the Carneros, a sprawling region at the base of both Sonoma County and Napa Valley.

Cabernet-lovers, meanwhile, want to venture into to Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, and Napa Valley’s Stag’s Leap District, Oakville and Rutherford.

Palate travelers do not let geography set their course – taste always trumps county lines.

But if you want to argue logistics, here’s a point you can’t ignore. It’s easy for travelers to roam through Napa Valley and Sonoma County within minutes or even nanoseconds. My best example of the later, of course, is Pride Mountain Vineyards. Perched 2,100 feet atop the Mayacamas Mountains, this winery’s crush pad runs along the county line so tourists can stand with one foot in Napa Valley and one foot in Sonoma County. Yet another example is the Carneros region, which has Napa Valley and Sonoma County portions side by side. A longer stretch, but certainly feasible, is the distance between Napa Valley’s Calistoga and Sonoma County’s Santa Rosa, a mere 29 miles.

With all this in mind, I challenge you, Ms. Robinson, to acknowledge the paradigm shift brought on by the Palate Traveler, the ultimate Millennial disruptor. Palate Travelers would never opt for Napa Valley over Sonoma County or vice versa. They roam throughout Wine Country, drinking it in region by region.

New Late Night Eats in Petaluma

By biteclub
Poutine at Brewster’s Beer Garden in Petaluma.Copyright 2017 anathea meade. All rights reserved.
Poutine at Brewster’s Beer Garden in Petaluma.Copyright 2017 anathea meade. All rights reserved.

Okay, so we all know the joke about sidewalks rolling up at 9p.m. in much of Sonoma County, but one more spot is now staying open until midnight for you night owls.

Brewsters Beer Garden has announced a weekend menu available from 10p.m. to midnight that includes a hearty burger, chicken sandwich, hot wings, grilled corn and a trio of cocktails including a strawberry margarita and “Balls of Fire” cinnamon whiskey. 

But here’s what really spoke to our inner inebriate in search of sustenance: Poutine. Fries, brown gravy, garlic thyme sausage, Wm. Cofield cheese curds and parmesan. If you’re not familiar with Cofield cheeses, they’re the British cheesemongers that recently moved into the Barlow. The Cofield gents are in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their Sonoma County cheese making, currently, so if you’re all about the cheddar, look them up

The Cofield gents are in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their Sonoma County cheese making, currently, so if you’re all about the cheddar, look them up at Kickstarter and donate.

Want more late night eats? Click here for another 24 spots open past 9p.m.

USA Today: Best Sonoma and Napa Restaurants, Tasting Rooms, Hotels

By Sarah Stierch

The 2017 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Wine Country awards have been announced, and we’ve got the scoop on which Sonoma and Napa wineries, restaurants and hotels made the cut. Click through the gallery above for all the details, and read about the awards below. 

Every year, USA TODAY asks top travel and industry experts to select 20 of their favorite Wine Country destinations, including wineries, restaurants, and hotels. After the experts nominate their favorites, the vote goes to the public, who cast thousands of votes over the course of four weeks, narrowing down the nominees to the 10 best winners in each category.