The annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival kicks off March 20, with an ever-dizzying lineup of curd-wranglers, cooking demos and brunch, and the big Kahuna, the Sunday Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace from noon to 4p.m. Details and tickets online at artisancheesefestival.com.
In the early 1980s, as bass fishermen were screaming across lakes all over America in sleek, expensive boats, a band of Luddites in Santa Rosa donned flippers and inflated inner tubes to fish Northern California lakes at a much slower pace, without the aid of motors or gasoline.
They called their group the Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club. The year was 1983 and after lugging their float tubes (aka “belly boats”) on their heads or strapped to their backs along the steep hike to Lake Ilsanjo in Annadel State Park, nine fishermen pitched in $1 apiece, and a decent lure, for the first official tournament.
“Whoever caught the first fish yelled, ‘Fish on!’ and got the first dollar out of the pot,” said founder Rich Caro, 51, of Santa Rosa, who now sells his own line of CatchEmCaro Bait Co. lures.
First-, second- and third-place finishers (based on the weight of their catches) split up the rest of the pot, and Nos. 4 and 5 split up the lures.
More than 30 years later, the club now has several dozen members, some as young as 16 and others in their 50s. It’s a recognized B.A.S.S. Nation Club with tournament pots of around $500. Most members now fish with kick boats instead of belly boats, preferring larger, double-pontoon contraptions powered by oars, which allow fishermen to sit up out of the water. Yet the spirit of the belly boat remains: No motors and no gas.
Past members have gone on to win much larger Bassmaster purses, becoming heavily sponsored pro bass fishermen. Former Belly Boat president Jimmy Reese, 40, of Ukiah, recently passed the $1 million mark in career earnings. His brother, Skeet, 45, of Auburn, who was not an official club member but started out fishing float tubes, has 64 top-10 finishes on the Bassmaster tour with more than $2.8 million in earnings.
“Back then, all you had was 2 horsepower — your kick fins,” Jimmy Reese said. “Honestly, it slowed you down. Fishing in a boat, you can go through a lot of water and pass a lot of fish because you can. It’s easy to start that motor and run 5 miles, 10 miles. In a float tube, you’re fishing that quarter-mile section and you better learn to be versatile. It’s gonna teach you to adapt to the conditions and make you a more versatile fisherman.”
Most club members start with belly boats because they’re a lot cheaper than shelling out $60,000 for a new, motorized Ranger bass boat. Then they begin to realize it’s also great exercise. (GPS fish finders have logged more than 3 miles on a tournament day for a fisherman.) But most keep coming back for love of the stealth factor, the thrill of sneaking up on hungry largemouth bass as silently as possible.
“Out on Clear Lake, I’ve been catching fish after fish and a boat will come roaring up right next to me and they stop biting,” said Jon Graves, 33, of Lake County, last year’s points leader and Angler of the Year winner. He joined the club in 2006, investing about $800 in his initial rig. When he’s not fishing, he drives a UPS truck in Lakeport.
This time of year, as the new season gets underway, Graves said he hopes to defend his title through seven tournaments leading up to the Tournament of Champions on Clear Lake in October.
“You can’t win it in the first month of the year, but you can put yourself in a big hole,” he said. “In February and March, I’m just looking to catch my limit and set myself up for a good run.”
All but th
e largest “trophy” fish are released back into the water, to swim another day. The fishing got so competitive one year that a club member was busted for catching fish in a nearby lake and transporting them to the tournament lake.
“We never heard from him again,” Caro said.
But beyond the competition and the glory, the Belly Boat Bass Club is really a place to share information about what’s working out on the water and what’s not. At monthly meetings, held at the Round Table Pizza on Marlow Road in Santa Rosa, recent tournament winners share the secrets to their success. On the SCBBBC online forum, members with names such as “Bass_Stalker,” “fishon” and “BucketMouth” share tips on new regulations, gear, 49ers vs. Raiders and the latest hot spot.
“What has kept this club going all these years is the camaraderie,” Caro said.
He keeps his original 1970s belly boat in the garage, the one that caused a “massive argument” between his parents as his 13th birthday approached. Caro’s mother wanted to buy him a belly-boat setup at Lyle’s Tackle. Back then it was around $70 for float tube, $40 for waders and $20 for flippers.
“But my dad thought it was way too expensive,” Caro recalled. His mother won out and “Since that day, I’ve turned on hundreds and hundreds of people to float tubing.”
For years, Caro would take a photo as each new member embarked on his or her maiden voyage, teetering into the water, holding the tube around the waist with waders and scuba fins.
Along the way, he also caught a few thousand bass, including a record 11.82-pounder at Highland Springs Reservoir in Lake County.
“The guys in the big bass boats used to look at us kind of funny,” he said. “But I think we’ve earned their respect by now.”
Membership is open to Northern California residents ages 16 and up, and dues are $60 a year. Visit scbbbc.com for more information.
Sonoma orchards and farms have long drawn visitors eager to pick apples or collect a dozen farm-fresh eggs. But in recent years, the agritourism trend has exploded, as local farms draw folks from near and far with an ever-expanding list of activities, from guided tours and barn dances to plant sales and pig roasts. The goal is as much “agri-tainment” as it is education, giving city dwellers a peek at the sources of their food.
Tara Smith didn’t set out to be a farmer, much less a vocal proponent of sustainably raised foods. In 2008, Smith and her husband, Craig, were both working in the insurance industry when they happened to read the book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan.
“I didn’t know anything about food,” Smith said. “I would only shop for what was cheap.”
But after reading the book, “We went into fanatic mode,” she recalled. “All we talked about was how bad food is.”
Convinced that talking wasn’t enough, the Smiths decided to try to make a difference in the way food, particularly meat, is produced. Guided by the principles of Virginia farmer Joel Salatin, considered the guru of rotational grazing, they found a 290-acre former dairy ranch south of Petaluma and launched Tara Firma Farms in 2009.
From day one, Smith knew she wanted to use the farm as an educational tool, so free Saturday tours were introduced immediately. Booths at local farmers markets drew more visitors as Smith promoted the tours: “I didn’t care about selling food. I was handing out flyers.”
As more visitors arrived, however, her food did sell. Soon she had hundreds of families signed up to receive deliveries of sustainably pastured pork, beef, poultry and eggs. Currently, 1,200 members receive regular shipments, and additional customers stop by the farm store to buy meat and other locally produced foods.
Tourists from around the world have visited the farm, as well as school kids from down the road. Children, especially, love Tara Firma, Smith said. “The animals and the space are all the entertainment they need. Kids love nature because they don’t get enough of it.”
Such a hands-on introduction to life on the “beyond organic” farm where the Smiths live with their youngest son is critical, she said. “We need to open up our farms,” Smith said. “People don’t know enough about where their food comes from.”
On the opposite side of Petaluma, in the shadow of Sonoma Mountain, Bob Cannard carries out his own mission to educate and inform. In the late 1990s, Cannard, a former Santa Rosa Junior College instructor, collaborated with winemaker Fred Cline to switch Cline’s vineyards to natural-process farming, a practice that blends the best of organic and biodynamic agriculture. They soon established the Green String Institute, and Green String Farm, on 140 acres of former dairy land.
The goal is to inform the next generation of farmers through internship programs that attract students from across the globe. They live in Green String housing while they learn all aspects of farming, from fixing tools to metal working, and the intricacies of natural-process agriculture, which focuses on feeding the soil to nourish the plants.
Students also run the farm store, where just-picked produce is sold to regular customers, local chefs and motorists passing by on busy Adobe Road.
Cannard conducts regular workshops for students at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, but it’s the average folks that he is most keen to attract.
“This is about education,” he said. “The primary purpose of the farm is social contact through the food we produce.”
Free tours of Green String Farm take place every Saturday, so that people “have a better understanding of how and why we grow stuff,” Cannard said. “Natural-process agriculture is very simple.”
Student-planned events, including a spring plant sale, are held four times a year, yet impromptu visits are also encouraged. People are welcome to wander the farm at any time.
Reflecting on the growing popularity of farm visits in Sonoma, Cannard credited the advent of farmers markets, which first gave the public the opportunity to meet the people who grow their food. “That was really the beginning of agritourism,” he said.
Agritourism probably wasn’t on Nan McEvoy’s mind when she purchased the old Morelli dairy farm outside Petaluma in 1990. Rather, the San Francisco publishing heiress was seeking a rural retreat for her family.
The 550-acre property was zoned for agriculture, so McEvoy had to find an agricultural use for the land in order to make any improvements. A big fan of Tuscan olive oil, she decided to plant 80 acres of olive trees on her ranch, in spite of much nay-saying from local agricultural experts.
“Nan has such a pioneering spirit,” Jill Lee, manager of events and community relations at the ranch, said with a laugh. McEvoy brought in an Italian olive oil expert, and 18,000 Tuscan olive trees — Frantoio, Lecino, Pendolino and other varieties — were planted on the rolling hills.
“Nan and a handful of others are the founding fathers and mothers of this industry,” Lee said.
McEvoy Ranch olive oil is so popular that other products have been introduced: olive-oil-based body-care items and a line of wines made from grapes grown on and off the ranch.
As public curiosity about the Red Hill Road olive orchards grew, garden tours were introduced.
“We brought in a caterer for lunches prepared with a lot of things grown in the garden,” Lee said. “Five or six years ago, we started to showcase other components of the ranch.”
Visitors now enjoy seasonal pruning classes, yoga workshops, wreath-making classes and family-friendly fun such as bocce and tastings of fresh-pressed cider made from apples grown on the ranch.
“We get people from all over the place, not just local,” Lee said. “Education is a big component of what we do. Most people don’t know that much about olive oil. Knowing where your food comes from is the No. 1 benefit. Seeing the property is so important, I believe.”
While visitors are sometimes surprised that the remote location of McEvoy Ranch precludes cellphone service, “Somehow they survive,” Lee said with a smile.
CLOSED
The Gastronomist, Sebastopol, 6681 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707-837-8113 or greengrocerdirect.com.
Can’t we all just get along? Vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, locavores, lacto-ovovores, the gluten-intolerant and spice avoidant?
Food doesn’t have to be a battle ground. In fact, forward-thinking chefs know that co-mingling creative vegan, gf, allergy-sensitive and vegetarian fare on their omnivorous menus is more than just pandering — it’s smart business in an evolving food culture.
(Don’t believe it? Check out New York Times author Mark Bittman’s VB6, which encourages plant-based eating before 6 p.m. and, well, pretty much every restaurant offering something gluten-free).
Windsor farmer and chef Joe Rueter is putting that bold idea into practice with his new venture, The Gastronomist in Sebastopol.
Here, duck tacos, grass-fed beef, lamb and, yes, foie gras get cozy with vegan, squash fries, lentil salad, pumpkin gnocchi and a raw chocolate terrine Wednesday through Saturday evening from 5-11p.m. Housed in the Gravenstein Station railroad car that formerly housed Starlight Wine Bar, Rueter’s fiercely sustainable and local dishes have always been a BiteClub favorite (his heirloom tomato B.L.T. is a top 10).
But sprouted living salads, kefir, organic wine and sprouted grains from a guy who routinely grills up hundreds of pounds of bacon at his weekly farm market stands? Yup. Rueter keeps a separate griddle and cooking boards for vegan foods and cook the meat outside under a market tent (mmm, the smell of sizzling bacon). Anyone with allergies will be accommodated by using the phrase “No-Touchey…” followed by the allergy. Yup, seriously.
“I am not serving anything that has spent weeks in a walk-in, and has been on a truck all day coming from no produce company,” said the never-shy-to-speak-his-mind Rueter in a text message. “Darn nutrient-depleted tasteless vegetables not happening at this restaurant, period. No frozen meat or fish, nada. We’ve got an established local food system built from the markets we participate in weekly,” he added.
Rueter will offer breakfast and lunch from 9a.m. to 5p.m. daily at the train car with craft beer and organic wines, along with a simplified menu of salads, duck tacos, B.L.T. and burgers.
The Gastronomist, Sebastopol, 6681 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707-837-8113 or greengrocerdirect.com.
For Laura Hagar Rush, Qu’est-ce Que C’est is the name she gave her Sonoma Aperitif brand beverages in response to U.S. regulations that prevent her from calling them aperitifs.
One of the region’s newest delicacies, Hagar’s ethereal blends of wine and vodka infused with fruits, herbs and flowers are aromatic and refreshing, meant to be sipped before a meal to whet the appetite and awaken the senses. But the federal definition of an aperitif allows only the addition of herbs and spices to wine and spirits, not fruit. When Hager learned this, she came up with Qu’est-ce Que C’est (kes-kuh-say) as a fanciful name for her beverages.
Hagar produces her elixirs at her new winery, Sonoma Aperitif, in Penngrove, in the former tasting room of Eagle Ridge Winery on the old Denman Creamery property. Her inspiration came in a singular moment in Berkeley, where a friend was making aperitifs in a garage and offered her some.
“When I tasted one made with bergamot,” she said, “I thought, ‘Why have I never tasted this before? Why doesn’t this exist?’”
Hagar, a graphic artist and writer, set out to create it, first by immersing herself in the story of aperitifs and then experimenting with batch after batch in her own garage in Forestville.
Fruit aperitifs have a history that goes back centuries in Western Europe, where they have long been made throughout the French countryside and in Spain and Italy. Their ancestors include fruit ratafias, vins maison and vins de grand-mére, delicate drinks typically made at home with family recipes passed down through generations. In recent times, French feminists, eager to shine a light on the creativity of their female predecessors, have generated new interest.
With history and those few tastes in Berkeley to guide her, Hagar realized that it was essential for her to find the right wine to infuse. “A wine needs to be lively and have plenty of acid,” she explained, adding that Sauvignon Blanc, the classic choice, and Pinot Grigio both work. Chardonnay doesn’t, as infused flavors turn flat when mixed with Sonoma’s signature white wine.
While classic aperitifs such as Campari (very bitter and best with soda or in cocktails), Lillet (white and red blends of wine and fruit liqueurs) and licorice-flavored Pernod are produced to exacting (and secret) recipes to have consistent aromas and flavors, Hagar’s aperitifs are seasonal, relying on whatever is fresh at any given time of year.
The Grapefruit Qu’est-ce Que C’est, for example, is light on the palate, a little bit bitter, a little bit sweet and a whole lot refreshing. More substantial is the Vin de Noix, made from green walnuts, vanilla, nutmeg and other spices infused into Syrah wine.
For fruit, she gleans from farmers markets, friends’ trees and those of strangers. Unharvested fruit signaled to her that some rare varieties (she used yuzu, a hard-to-find citrus, from a tree in Sunnyvale for her first batch) might be hers for the picking.
Now Hagar’s citrus comes primarily from a test orchard established 20 years ago in Forestville by UC Davis. After more than a dozen varieties of citrus were planted to see what might grow this far north, the trees were given just minimal care, with no special protection during freezing temperatures. The only variety to truly thrive is the Japanese tangerine, but some of the other trees, though struggling, still produce delicious fruit and the farmer invites neighbors to pick whatever they can use.
Hagar keeps her eyes and ears open, watching for trees laden with fruit and listening to recommendations from friends. Last fall, she found black figs and an unidentified variety of pear in Penngrove, not far from her winery. Before long, it was one of her newest creations, a beguiling drink with the perfume of fig in the aroma, a hint of pear on the first sip, and a rich fig flavor throughout. Adding sparkling wine, a traditional way of enjoying these aperitifs, makes an irresistible cocktail.
The aging room at Sonoma Aperitif is filled with dozens of 5-gallon carboys, glass jugs filled with wine and sliced or crushed fruit. Some will sit for two or three weeks, others longer, before they are siphoned off, cold-stabilized overnight, and in some cases, strained through cheesecloth, bottled and labeled by hand with Hagar’s beautiful drawings.
Sonoma Aperitif was bonded in the spring of 2014 and made its first sale, of Grapefruit Qu’est-ce Que C’est, in mid-November, after the long approval process that led to the unusual moniker. The goal is to produce about 600 cases a year.
The Grapefruit aperitif is available year-round, with a second signature release each season. Small-batch bottlings are produced when Hagar is inspired by found fruit.
And she is at work on additional products. Aperitif jams, made from a blend of macerated fruit from the infusions and fresh fruit, await legal approval. Soon there will be shrubs (blends of macerated fruit and vinegar), and Hagar is experimenting with making her own vinegar to create these refreshing, nonalcoholic beverages.
The best chefs are often the ones you don’t hear much about. They’re the ones who spend more time practicing how to make the perfect 63-degree egg than fluffing their own feathers. Not that they don’t get accolades such as Michelin stars, sold-out dinners and kudos from foodies who adore them, because they do. They just don’t brag about it.
So it’s time to shine the spotlight on six of Sonoma’s most show-stopping toques who toil away behind the scenes rather than out in front.
RAISING THE BAR: Jesse Mallgren, Madrona Manor
It’s an odd matchup: a chef on the cutting edge of modern cuisine operating inside a quaint, Victorian country inn. “Stylish, high-end cuisine in a cozy, Old World setting,” is how he describes it. Since 1999, 44-year-old Jesse Mallgren has been quietly elevating Sonoma cuisine, one can of liquid nitrogen at a time.
But don’t expect a showman in the kitchen. Mallgren is quiet and disciplined, having served in the kitchens of esteemed chefs Jeremiah Tower and Gary Danko, and lets his Twitter account (@madronachef) do most of his talking. With an inspiring kitchen garden, relationships with some of the region’s best meat and cheese purveyors, and free rein to run Madrona Manor’s culinary program exactly as he wants, Mallgren has a dream job he takes very seriously. For years, he’s been chasing a second Michelin star, which seems nearly in his reach.
Ultra-seasonal tasting menus include tiny, tweezer-placed bits of protein, garden vegetables and herbs, and French-inspired sauces (scallop crudo with lovage and edible flowers; pork jowl confit with apples, lentils and chicory), and liquid-nitrogen ice cream made at the table.
Madrona Manor, 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg, 800-258-4003, madronamanor.com
MAKING A NAME OF HIS OWN: Shane McAnelly, Chalkboard
Many in Healdsburg cringed a bit when William Foley opened Chalkboard in the space that previously housed the beloved, two-Michelin-star restaurant Cyrus. Chef and owner Douglas Keane had vacated Cyrus on rather astringent terms with Foley, the building’s owner, so when chef Shane McAnelly took over the very same kitchen for the opening of Chalkboard in May 2013, it was, and to some degree still is, hard not to make comparisons.
But McAnelly rose immediately above the fracas, winning over locals and visitors with his approachable yet sophisticated menus. Dishes such as warm pretzels with Cheddar cheese sauce, pork-belly biscuits and precious shots of pea soup grace the menu, along with housemade pastas (squid ink, cocoa carbonara) and hearty meat dishes including fried chicken and lamb tacos (with pickled kohlrabi, just to keep it classy).
Using the epic gardens of Chalk Hill Estate (also owned by Foley) gives a just-picked quality to McAnelly’s dishes, and a stellar wine and beer list adds to the “everyone hangs out here” vibe. He briefly tried his hand at a higher-brow tasting menu in the hotel’s library. Though fleeting (running two entirely different menus proved a challenge), it polished McAnelly’s chef cred, with perfectly plated, of-the-moment bites paired with unusual wines and beers. He’s a chef of many colors, for sure.
Chalkboard, 29 North St., Healdsburg, 707-473-8030, chalkboardhealdsburg.com
FILLING BIG SHOES: Darren McRonald, The Pullman Kitchen
Like Chalkboard’s McAnelly, Darren McRonald took over a restaurant space with a storied history and a loyal following, Josh Silvers’ Syrah Bistro (and later Petite Syrah) in Santa Rosa. It’s not an easy act to follow, especially since Silvers’ legacy moved across the street to his Jackson’s Bar and Oven.
But McRonald quietly opened the revamped space in summer 2014 with a menu that speaks to both comfort and luxury. The roast chicken is a standout, with crispy skin and juicy, tender meat (both light and dark), serving the bird with a light pan sauce and two dreamy spinach Parmesan pancakes. He’s done stints at Le Cirque in New York City, Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena, as well as being a managing partner at the former West County Grill in Sebastopol. It’s easy to taste those echoes in his cooking: bavette steak; Jonathan Waxman’s brick chicken; seasonal California produce a la Chez Panisse; Cindy Pawlycn’s knack for comfort classics.
A quiet presence, McRonald doesn’t showboat, instead letting his cooking speak for him.
The Pullman Kitchen, 205 Fifth St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-4300, Santa Rosa, thepullmankitchensr.com
DEFINING SONOMA CUISINE: Ari Weiswasser, Glen Ellen Star
A few weeks before opening their jewel box of a restaurant, Ari Weiswasser and his wife, Erinn Benziger-Weiswasser, held a preview party featuring several of their wood-fire-oven dishes. Relatively unknown in Sonoma, despite his stints at the French Laundry in Yountville and Daniel in New York, Weiswasser’s wine-braised short ribs with mustard flowers, gnocchi with orange-blossom honey, and grilled escarole salad wowed the crowd.
Word got out fast. At opening, the wait for a table at Glen Ellen Star could be excruciating, and more than two years later, reservations are still necessary. Weiswasser’s secret? A cuisine that defines Sonoma with a menu focused on the wood-fire oven, backyard-picked produce from Benziger Family Winery’s biodynamic plots just up the hill, sustainably raised local meats, and a jeans and T-shirt vibe that makes the signature vanilla-maple-bourbon ice cream seem like the only rational dessert choice.
Glen Ellen Star, 13648 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, 707-343-1384, glenellenstar.com
POPPING UP: Matthew Williams and Moishe Hahn-Schuman, Ramen Gaijin
Who knew Sonoma was so starved for authentic Japanese ramen? The Ramen Boys.
What began as a weekly pop-up inside Woodfour Brewing Co. at The Barlow center in Sebastopol has turned into a semi-regular dining experience that continues to draw crowds in Ramen Gaijin’s new home down the street, in the former Forchetta space.
Dedicated to the principles of this ancient noodle dish, Matthew Williams and Moishe Hahn-Schuman make nearly everything by hand, from the pork-infused miso soup to toasted rye noodles, brined soft-boiled eggs, locally sourced pork belly and mushrooms. Serving up bowl after steaming bowl, they know that sometimes less is so much more.
Ramen Gaijin, 6948 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707-827-3609, facebook.com/RamenGaijin
* Photos by Erik Castro
With spring looming on the calendar, this is an ideal time to segue from bigger, denser red wines to whites, rosés and lighter reds, though depending on the weather, there are still plenty of excuses to indulge in the heavier stuff, too. The occasions vary in importance, from the frivolity of St. Patrick’s Day (a good time to also consider tippling a whiskey) to Earth Day, a fine kickoff to the planting season and stocking up on earthy Pinot Noir.
PINOT NOIR FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY
If you like:
Siduri 2012 Van der Kamp Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir ($48)
From the wilds of Sonoma Mountain, as green in springtime as an Irish meadow, the Van der Kamp Vineyard produces a compellingly intense wine. This Pinot is a mix of black tea and spicy pomegranate wrapped in smooth, velvety tannins, with excellent structure and length.
Then try:
Fritz 2012 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($30)
Oaky and full-bodied, this quick-footed welterweight Pinot Noir provides big-boned layers of spice and herb around a core of dense blackberry and black cherry. Like March, it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.
RED BLENDS FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
If you like:
Francis Ford Coppola 2012 Sonoma County Director’s Cut Cinema ($39)
As day blurs into night, enjoy this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel with touches of Petite Sirah and Syrah that’s aged in a combination of French and American oak. Soft in cola spice, with medium acidity and medium weight, it’ll help you through the transition from wintry foods to lighter fare.
Then try:
Gundlach-Bundschu 2012 Sonoma County Mountain Cuvée ($20)
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot find companionship in this approachably smoky, leathery mix of black and red fruit that’ll please many palates and pocketbooks. On the finish, expect bittersweet coffee and chocolate, accents worth pairing with a roast or grilled, red-sauced pizza.
VIOGNIER FOR EASTER BRUNCH
If you like:
Thumbprint Cellars 2013 J & B Schmidt Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Viognier ($36)
Enjoyed before or after the Ramos gin fizzes, this fragrant Viognier will complement the wide range of eggy foods on the table. It offers jasmine and beeswax aromas and a full-bodied frame of fleshy apricot, peach and honeydew melon — other pairing considerations.
Then try:
Anaba 2012 Landa Vineyard Sonoma Valley Viognier ($28)
A consistently solid and pretty wine from a single vineyard, this Viognier dances in highlights of wet stone and apricot, swirling fancifully on the tongue in acidity. Its lack of flash is more than made up for by its sophistication and subtlety, and it finishes forcefully in spice.
RHONE-STYLE REDS FOR EARTH DAY
If you like:
Palmeri 2011 Sonoma County Dark & Brooding Wine ($54)
Mountain-grown grapes from the Dry Creek and Alexander valleys contribute to this dark, dense wine that fits its name. It’s brooding, indeed, with blackberry, currant and gamy meat character and firm tannins that soften on the finish. Sublime seasonings of toasted oak, black pepper, dark chocolate and vanilla bean creep slowly onto the palate.
Then try:
Preston of Dry Creek 2012 Dry Creek Valley L. Preston Red ($36)
A complex blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignane and Cinsault, the wine has refreshing acidity and layers of wild raspberry and licorice flavors. Not overly oaked, it’s instead on the floral, velvety side. It has plenty of structure to match with food, or sip it on its own.
So many choices, so little time. To best select among Sonoma’s possibilities, we posed a question to those in the know:
If you had just one place to take a first-time visitor to Sonoma, where would you go?
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The manager of Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, Jon Stout, recommends the downtown Sonoma Plaza. “If you have limited time, you can really get a great feel for Sonoma County in four hours there,” he says. “You’ve got shopping, good restaurants, you’ve got an opportunity to do some wine tasting and you can walk to everything.” There’s also Mission San Francisco Solano, built in 1823. “I did a class trip there when I was in grade school and I must have had a good docent, because since then, it’s just been fascinating to me.”
Deborah Large, community events manager and naturalist at Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen, is a self-proclaimed wildflower fanatic. Her favorite place to send those of like mind is Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve in Santa Rosa. “The park has rugged terrain that makes for a great hike with fantastic views,” she says. “Plus, it has a long season of growing wildflowers,” early spring through fall. “Last November, the trails were lush with mushrooms and new growth, and I was very excited by the earthstar mushrooms, which I’d never seen before.”
For Colby Smith, founder of the hospitality-focused Concierge Alliance Napa Valley & Sonoma, Benziger Family Winery in Glen Ellen suits both the outdoor enthusiast and the wine lover. “Benziger shows the big picture,” she says. “The biodynamic winery has beautiful gardens that attract the good insects, and it also has sheep, cattle and birds, all of which support the ecosystem.” A ride on the winery tram offers beautiful views of the vineyards and gardens, and the tasting room awaits after the tour. “It’s a true agricultural experience, and a wonderful way to enjoy ‘going rural,’” Smith says.
Cathi and Steve Fowler, innkeepers at the Honor Mansion in Healdsburg, dine often at Baci Cafe & Wine Bar and recommend it to guests as a dinner destination that will please even the pickiest of eaters. The Healdsburg restaurant “embraces what Sonoma has to offer in terms of vegetables and it buys local,” Cathi says. House-made pasta and sauce choices include gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. Those with food intolerances (Steve has celiac disease and eats gluten-free) are happily accommodated. “I’m trying to keep my husband safe, so that made going out to restaurants next to impossible,” Cathi says. “Baci keeps him safe, and the food is fantastic.”
Stepping into Robindira Unsworth’s eponymous Petaluma boutique is like taking a journey to India and the Middle East. She offers an exotic collection of boho-chic jewelry that incorporates a mix of metals, textures and semiprecious gemstones, inspired by her mother’s East Indian background.
Unsworth, whose first name is pronounced roh-BIN-drah, gets inspiration from her travels to the Middle East and Morocco, and a childhood spent in her mother’s clothing design studio. Less exotic destinations also play a role.
“When my husband and I moved to Petaluma from San Francisco, I was amazed that within five minutes, we could be driving amongst cows and vineyards and olive groves,” she said. “If I take the time to get out into the world, new designs always come my way.”
Unsworth brings her visions to life in her Petaluma studio, a curtained-off area at the back of the store. Some pieces are cast in India and completed in Petaluma, while all of the beaded jewelry is made in her studio, from start to finish. A triple-strand necklace, for example, has labradorite, moss aquamarine and zircon stones in varying shades of blue, on a sterling-silver chain accented with 22-karat gold vermeil.
She describes her jewelry line as “relaxed and luxurious,” and conducive to layering. “I design three to four different collections every year and the pieces work really well together,” she said. “Pieces from five years ago are still totally relevant; it’s not like anything goes out of style.”
Foie gras is back on menus and California chefs celebrate. Animal rights groups howl.
In a Jan. 7 ruling that caught both sides by surprise, a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles lifted the statewide ban on the sale of artificially fattened duck or goose liver, aka foie gras. Chefs scurried to add the rich, buttery liver lobes to their menus, pan-searing them or turning them into torchons and terrines. Animal protection groups, including the Humane Society and Farm Sanctuary, immediately called on California Attorney General Kamala Harris to appeal the decision and she did, on Feb. 4.
Animal welfare advocates convinced California voters in 2004 that the force-feeding of ducks and geese for the purpose of engorging their livers for foie gras production was cruel. The law, which took effect in 2012, prohibited only the sale of foie gras and not the serving of it. So some local chefs “gifted” foie gras to diners, absorbing the typical cost of $65 to $100 a pound or passing it on to other dishes.
“(Foie gras) is a great product,” said Jesse Mallgren, chef at Healdsburg’s Madrona Manor. “I don’t think the ban was fully thought out.” Said chef Steve Litke of Forestville’s Farmhouse Inn: “A lot of our customers really miss it.” Ken Frank, chef at La Toque in Napa: “Choice has returned to California menus.”
However, Judge Stephen Wilson’s Jan. 7 reversal of state law had nothing to do with treatment of ducks: He ruled only that the ban interfered with the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1957.
During the appeal, foie gras can still be sold in California. But this food fight isn’t over yet.
