A midcentury lodge-style home on 9 forested acres in the lower Russian River is currently listed for $1,250,000. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home maintains the charm of its 1949 vintage, but also benefits from renovations that opened up the floorplan and modernized the electrical components.
Formerly a restaurant, the exquisitely designed home was once owned by the late writer Randy Shilts, the first openly gay San Francisco Chronicle journalist who reported on the early years of the AIDS crisis and wrote the groundbreaking 1987 book, And The Band Played On.
A cool green tile backsplash contrasts with the warmth of the pine cabinets and countertops. (Open Homes Photography)
The dwelling’s unique design elements include an all-pine kitchen, a stone fireplace, a windowed cupola and a slab stone shower.
A spacious deck lined in bench seating gives ample space for redwood gazing, even though the home’s windows allow for plenty of that from the inside.
A separate garage can function as an office or studio.
For more information on 14631 Armstrong Woods Road in Guerneville, contact Doug Bohling, 707-953-6106, doug.bohling@sothebysrealty.com, Artisan Sotheby’s International Realty, armstrong-woods.com
Kitchen area in the great room. (Jim Nevill Productions)
A two-bedroom, two-bathroom Sea Ranch home with generously sized glass walls recently hit the market. The home, located on two parcels making up nearly an acre, is listed for $1,850,000.
Designed by architect Obie Bowman and built in 1993 by local contractor Brian Dixon, the dwelling on Windsong Lane is set among a grove of trees overlooking the ocean past Black Point Beach.
The home’s great room features opposing walls of windows that allow ocean views on one side and hill views on the other. This also allows for a stunning exterior view that passes through the entire home. Anchoring the look are the walled-in areas with wood siding.
Seating area with ocean views. (Jim Nevill Productions)
An extension of the great room, the eating area, juts out from the hillside, giving a true “up-in-the-trees” feeling. Other design elements like skylights, built-ins and a cantilevered loft add more design intrigue.
And when the views from the windows aren’t immersive enough, more gazing can take place from the property’s hot tub, accessible via a wood-planked walkway.
For more information about 35226 Windsong Lane,The Sea Ranch, contact listing agent Cindy Kennedy, 707-326-0600, buymendocoast.com, Kennedy & Associates, kennedyrealestate.com
Farmer-florist Kari Copple’s backyard growing fields are awash in summer color. (Conor Hagen/for Sonoma Magazine)
Lifelong gardener Kari Copple doesn’t do anything halfway. She first got into growing cut flowers because of her three children.
“I would pick flowers from my garden for events at my kids’ school, and then I came up with the idea for a little cutting garden out in the field,” she says.
And it grew from there, along pathways and rows, in tendrils and vines and lots and lots of compost. Copple is now the owner of a 2-acre flower farm as well as downtown Sonoma’s 7th St. Flowers, a cheery blue and white roadside stand launched in 2021.
Nearly every Saturday from March to October, Copple parks a cart filled with two dozen colorful bouquets for sale at the end of her driveway. The flowers go out at 8 a.m. — and by 11 a.m., she’s often completely sold out.
Kari Copple sells her cut flowers to customers at her flower stand in Sonoma. (Conor Hagen/for Sonoma Magazine)
“When they were little, my kids would sell lemonade and hot chocolate out here, so we get good traffic, and people just love the bouquets,” she says.
Plus, it’s a way to stay on top of the goings-on in the neighborhood. “I sit out with the cart, and I get to meet all the dogs. It’s a doggy world out there,” she jokes.
Copple grew up in a family of vegetable farmers who ran an open-air produce market in downtown Portland, Oregon. “Farming is in my blood, but not flowers,” she explains.
She’s says she’s always been outdoorsy and has gardened for decades despite losing an arm and a leg in an electrical accident when she was 19 years old. She uses a motorized cart to move throughout her growing fields.
She and her husband, Scott, moved to Sonoma over 30 years ago and raised their children here, moving into their current home in 1998. At the time, Copple was in full-time parenting mode. She grew roses and peonies as a hobby and planted a gorgeous formal garden in the front of her home, but she never imagined flowers as a full-time job.
“It was my love of gardening that morphed into all this — I am still very enmeshed in that gardening world.”
Farmer-florist Kari Copple harvests flowers from her Sonoma garden. (Conor Hagen/for Sonoma Magazine)
In 2019, Copple took an intensive flower business course with Erin Benzakein of Floret Farms, one of the icons of the farmer-florist movement, and decided to launch into farming full-time. Soon, her back field was filled with carefully laid-out beds of cutting flowers in a riot of colors and forms, all timed to the climate and season.
It wasn’t necessarily the path she had in mind at the time.
“What person approaching 60 years old takes on a full-time farm? This is a labor-intensive job,” she says. “You have to have a passion for the flowers — the work will be daunting if you don’t love it.”
Copple’s growing fields have been laid out for accessibility, with wider-than-normal 4-foot pathways to accommodate her motorized cart.
“I think I love to do things that seem to other people like I couldn’t do them. I do think the disability does play a bit of a factor in a lot of things,” she reflects. “People thought I couldn’t have kids, and I have three. People thought I couldn’t do a big garden, and here I’m running a farm. I think there’s always that part of me that is like, there isn’t anything I can’t do if I really want to do it. I do like to be that person.”
Copple starts her day at 7 a.m., snipping blooms while the weather is cool and piling them into 5-gallon plastic buckets she carries back to the garage on her cart. She arranges bouquets in the garage, which can take several hours, and stores bouquets and extra blooms in a large floral cooler her husband built this spring in a small outbuilding. The cooler makes it much easier to keep cut blooms fresh and conditioned.
Farmer-florist Kari Copple arranges bouquets for her roadside flower stand at a table in her garage in Sonoma. (Conor Hagen/for Sonoma Magazine)
Except for two helpers who come in one day a week to do some of the heavier work, Copple does all the farming herself — planting, weeding, running irrigation and harvesting.
She finds meaning in the long list of daily chores, as the garden has always been where she finds her peace.
“It’s very zen-like. I’m just in the moment when I’m out there,” she says. “Whatever it is — whether I’m planting, whether I’m weeding, my focus is so specific. I just really like that. I’m also a worker bee. I’m always doing, doing, doing. My husband is, like, ‘Are you ever going to rest?’ But I’m a doer.”
It’s taken a few years to figure out exactly how to dial in her production. “I’ve just ramped things up so much — it’s all business out here now,” she says.
During the pandemic, as she was starting out, she often gave away flowers in front of the house to help bring cheer to the neighborhood. As the business grew, she considered having a wholesale stand at the big flower market in San Francisco, but she didn’t want to be getting up at 2 a.m. to haul buckets into the city. And she’s not interested in becoming an event florist taking on large weddings — but she will create casual arrangements for small parties and take custom orders in addition to arranging bouquets for the Saturday cart.
Selling to the community has proven both rewarding and sustainable at this point in her life, when she wants to be busy but also have time outside of the farm. She became a grandmother recently, and last summer, Copple took a couple weeks off to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting iconic British gardens like Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Castle.
“I could do more, but there’s a work-life balance here for me. I want to enjoy life — my kids and my grandson. I want to have time to bike and walk with friends in the morning.”
Farmer-florist Kari Copple’s backyard growing fields are awash in summer color. (Conor Hagen/for Sonoma Magazine)
Though she’s lived in downtown Sonoma for decades, flowers have brought Copple a deeper sense of community and family. Copple has been a mentor to a local ninth grader for the past five years, and her mentee loves being in the garden. Copple’s son and two daughters sometimes mind the stand and built the website.
A fellow florist often comes by on Wednesdays so they can harvest blooms together, and high-end designers like Sonoma’s Anne Appleman often pop by. They know they can hit Copple up for beautiful, locally grown material.
In July and August, she’ll have tons of vivid summery offerings — sunflowers, zinnias, amaranth, lisianthus, dahlias and late roses, all in colorful mixed garden bouquets and posies.
Lots of folks have a garden in this area, so she tries to grow varieties that are a little unusual, a little bit more difficult to source. A good bouquet means she needs variety in what she grows — taller spiky flowers, focal points, supporting characters and plenty of pretty foliage.
Arranging and stocking the cart is still the part of the business Copple loves the best. “This is all by word of mouth,” she says. “It was all like, ‘Hey, there’s a flower cart popping up on Seventh Street East.’”
“I get a lot of joy out of people getting joy out of the flowers.”
Kari Copple, 7th Street Flowers, 19885 Seventh St. East, Sonoma. 707-287-0589, 7thstflowers.com. Email or call ahead for custom bouquets. Flower cart with bouquets for sale on Saturday mornings through October.
A selection of dishes from Everest Restaurant Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Cotati. (Photo by John Burgess / The Press Democrat)
Pemba Sherpa has never summited Mount Everest, but two of his restaurants have.
In May, legendary Everest climber Kami Rita carried a small flag bearing the logo for Everest restaurants in Petaluma and Cotati on his record-breaking 30th ascent up the 29,032-foot peak. With eyebrows and lashes encrusted with ice, Rita snapped a quick picture at the snowy summit, planting the small banner and smiling like a man ready for a warm cup of daal.
“He visits our restaurants whenever he comes to California and enjoys traditional Nepalese food, which he yearns for,” said Sherpa, the owner of several restaurants in Sonoma County and a relative of Kami Rita.
Legendary Mt. Everest climber and guide Kami Rita Sherpa, right, talks with his cousin and restaurant owner Pemba Sherpa, center, and guests during the grand opening of the Everest Restaurant in Cotati , Sunday, June 23, 2024. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
“He was so impressed with our food, so he decided to take our logo to the summit to support us,” Sherpa said. When the Cotati outpost of Everest restaurant opened in July, Rita was an honored guest and climbing community celebrity.
Flag-planting on Mount Everest has become a thing for the Sonoma County Sherpas, with Pasang T. Sherpa (Pemba Sherpa’s brother and co-owner of Everest) planting a flag for Sonoma Grille in 2022 and Mingma Dorchi Sherpa (the fastest person to summit the highest mountain on Earth) toting a flag for La Casa restaurant in 2023.
The climb to restaurant ownership
Arriving in their 20s from Nepal, Pemba and Pasang Sherpa worked their way up through the restaurant industry like many of their friends and family. Growing up near the Himalayas, the brothers decided not to become porters or guides, instead seeking a life in the U.S. as restaurateurs.
Pasang has cooked and trekked for Everest expeditions and co-owns Sonoma’s La Casa with Pemba, along with Gyalzen and Mingma Sherpa. Pemba also is involved with Yak and Yeti restaurant in Napa and Himalayan Kitchen in San Rafael. Like many other Nepalese in the burgeoning Sonoma County immigrant community, they share a common surname that means “east people” in Tibetan, though not all are related.
“We are all proud we can bring our hospitality and flavors to our guests. We are also very fortunate this country gives opportunities to everyone who wants to work hard,” said Pemba Sherpa.
Traditional India Thali is a complete meal on one dish with main vegetable dishes, rice, sides and chutneys from Everest Restaurant Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Cotati. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
A taste of home
Nepalese cuisine was a rarity 20 years ago, even in large cities. I tried yak butter tea and momos for the first time in the late 1990s, shocked by the unfamiliar flavors and textures. Though I’ve never seen yak milk on a menu again (and its gamy flavor wasn’t for me), momos are now commonplace.
Sharing common influences with Indian cuisine, dishes from Nepal often use fresh spices (rather than dried) and signature dishes like momo (stuffed, steamed dumplings) and chow mein are more Chinese than Indian. Daal bhat, a combination of lentils and rice, and Thakali Thali are uniquely Nepalese.
Everest restaurants in both Cotati and Petaluma bring together the three cuisines seamlessly, with a lengthy list of Indian curries, chicken soup with Nepalese spices (thukpa), chow mein, masala, butter chicken, biryani, tandoor and naan. Children and newcomers to the cuisine will find plenty of choices, including pizza, fried rice and kebabs. Dietary restrictions are also easy to work around here, with plenty of plant-based and gluten-free dishes.
The new Everest Veggie Pizza homemade sauce from Everest Restaurant Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Cotati. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Best bets
Thakali Thali ($18-$20): Think of this as a combo platter, with small copper bowls of rice, daal, pickles, papadum, veggies and a choice of protein plus dessert. Vegetarian versions are also available. It’s an efficient menu sampler with smaller portions neatly served on a round metal tray that looks cool.
Chicken Tikka Pizza ($22): Italy meets India in this mashup of creamy tikka masala or red curry sauce paired with marinated chicken, mozzarella cheese, onion, tomatoes and green onions — a great introduction to Indian food.
Lamb Chili Momo ($18.99): Ten lamb-filled momo dumplings covered in a sweet-spicy chili sauce with fresh bell peppers and green onions. The Cadillac of momos.
Paneer Tikka Masala ($17): If you’re going for this classic creamy tomato sauce dish, try it with cubes of Indian cheese rather than the usual chicken or lamb. I like the chew and squeakiness of paneer that straddles the line between cheese curds and cottage cheese. You can also try it with tofu and coconut cream for a vegan version.
Daal Rassam, ($6.50-$7.75): Loaded with garlic, this hearty lentil soup is a flavor bomb rather than the watery, flavorless broth I’ve endured at other restaurants (and put me off the stuff for years).
Chicken 65 with ginger, garlic, egg, lemon juice sautéed with fresh curry leaves, mustard seeds and yogurt with a Mango Lassi from Everest Restaurant Wednesday, July 24, 2024 in Cotati. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Chicken 65, ($20): Strips of boneless chicken are bathed in ginger, garlic, egg, lemon juice and spices (cumin, chiles, coriander, pepper, turmeric), then sautéed with fresh curry leaves and mustard seeds. Light and crisp without heavy batter and oiliness.
Apricot Prawn ($18.50): I’m not going to lie; there was a lot more of the creamy apricot sauce than prawns, but the sweet-savory dish is reminiscent of the coconut milk apricot chicken served long ago at the now-shuttered Pamposh restaurant in Santa Rosa. If you’re a walnut prawn fan, you’ll like this.
Naan, Kulcha, Roti, Chapati ($3 to $4.50): Indian-style breads are for sopping up every last bit of sauce. Fluffy naan with butter is my favorite, but kulcha (a cousin to naan, often stuffed with cheese or onion) is a runner-up. Roti is an unleavened bread cooked in a tandoor, while chapati (also unleavened) is cooked on a griddle with ghee or butter.
Everest Restaurant in Cotati is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. daily. 572 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati, 707-795-7680, everestcotati.com. The sister Petaluma restaurant is at 56 E. Washington St. and has the same hours and a similar menu.
Amid reports of struggling sales, growing competition and an ever-evolving wine consumption landscape, the family behind Dry Creek Valley’s Comstock Wines is thinking outside the box and doing what some might consider unthinkable — opening a second tasting room.
“We’ve always been a little crazy,” joked general manager Kelly Comstock.
In a matter of weeks, Comstock Wines will unveil its new tasting room at Bacchus Landing, a collective of boutique wineries in Healdsburg. Settling into the space once occupied by the market, there’s been a flurry of activity as the family preps to open its second location less than three miles from the winery that launched the brand into the spotlight nearly a decade ago.
“This property affords us the opportunity to do so much more and connect with guests in a different way, that it doesn’t feel like we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, because they are completely different experiences,” said Comstock.
Viewing the new location as an investment in the brand, Comstock hopes to attract a different group of guests that may not typically venture further out into Dry Creek Valley, or those who simply like the convenience of tasting various labels in one location.
The Comstock Wines location on Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of Comstock Wines)
Unlike Comstock’s winery location, the Bacchus Landing tasting room will offer bottle service, a nod to those seeking a more casual experience, or perhaps a group envisioning an afternoon spent sipping alongside one of the property’s bocce ball courts.
Guests familiar with the original Dry Creek Road winery location might experience a sense of familiarity when stepping into the space at Bacchus Landing. There’s a fresh take on the label’s eye-catching red wall, a tasting bar that’s arguably a bit more polished, as well as plenty of indoor and outdoor space.
Comstock’s goal is to get folks talking — to winery staff and each other. Expect a collection of classic board games, including Monopoly, Scrabble and Battleship. If Comstock has her way, the striking long table most would assume is for wine tasting, will do double duty as a group gaming space.
“Wine tasting and play some Battleship or Scrabble. Lo-fi it back down,” said Comstock. “Get people off their phones and back communicating again.”
The tasting room is expected to open any day, depending on permit approval. Aug. 22 marks the ninth anniversary of the opening of the family’s original winery, founded by Kelly’s parents, Bob and Sandy Comstock.
The piazza at Bacchus Landing in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of Bacchus Landing)
“I’m just really excited about all of it. I’m really excited about connecting with in guests in a different way than we can on the estate,” said Comstock. “And I’m excited actually for all of my neighbors. It’s going to be really nice to have some neighbors where we get to say, ‘Hey, go right over there and see them.’ They’re phenomenal and know that [guests are] going to be incredibly taken care of.”
Open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bonus perks include a large parking lot and several electric vehicle charging stations.
A barbecue platter from Stateline Road Smokehouse. (Courtesy Stateline Road Smokehouse)
Stateline Road Smokehouse has been one of Napa’s most anticipated restaurant openings for nearly two years. That’s how long it’s taken chef-owner Darryl Bell to build out and permit a former auto body shop at 872 Vallejo St. in Napa — far longer than Bell and business partner Jeremy Threat ever imagined.
But the wait had an unexpected silver lining, giving the duo time to gain fans for Bell’s Kansas City-style barbecue during an extended pop-up at the Oxbow Market, local farmers markets and high-profile events like BottleRock.
On Aug. 8, the wait for Stateline is officially over. The opening menu includes a brisket sandwich ($16), barbecued half-chicken ($17), baby back ribs ($12) with Bell’s signature 816 barbecue sauce and the sweet, caramelized brisket bits known to ‘cue lovers as burnt ends ($18).
A platter of barbecued meats and sides from Stateline Road Smokehouse. (Courtesy Stateline Road Smokehouse)
Chef Bell’s sides aren’t the usual cornbread and mac salad. Instead, he has opted for a healthy smoked maitake mushroom, purple rice, greens and chickpea salad ($18), along with Yukon Gold potato salad with garlic dressing and minced pork belly.
The Kansas City native first gained attention for the barbecue sauces he created for staff meals while he worked at Bouchon restaurant in Yountville. Chef Thomas Keller was such a fan he asked Bell to scale up the recipe so he could serve it on his Seabourn luxury cruise ship menus. Bell has also worked at the Michelin-starred Alinea in Chicago, Etoile in Yountville and most recently as chef de cuisine of Press restaurant in St. Helena.
Leah Scurto, co-owner and executive pizza maker, at PizzaLeah in Windsor, on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Beth Schlanker)
In Naples, they call it pizza portafoglio, but you can think of it as pizza origami. The portable pocket pizza loved by snacky Neapolitans is coming to Santa Rosa as chef Leah Scurto of PizzaLeah joins Marla Bakery for a one-night dough-down.
Scurto will set up her portable pizza ovens in the Marla courtyard on Davis Street from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, serving up thin pizzas folded into quarters and wrapped in paper for easy street eating.
Marla owners Amy Brown and Joe Wolf will offer up arancini, cucumber melon salad, spumoni and ricotta ice cream to pair with Scurto’s Margherita; marinara and Sungold tomato; or pepperoni with maitake mushroom portafoglio pizzas.
Marla Bakery also offers fried chicken pickups from 5 to 8 p.m. every Friday and winemaker dinners throughout the summer.
Marla Bakery, 208 Davis St., Santa Rosa, 707-852-4091, marlabakery.com
Anamaria Morales, the College Confectionista, opens her pop-up mobile cheesecake truck in downtown Guerneville, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2024
Neither heat nor mechanical issues nor Lazy Bears can keep the College Confectionista’s new cheesecake-mobile from its appointed rounds.
After nearly a year of rehabbing a 1984 postal truck (and covering it with countless cans of cherry red paint), baker and dessert entrepreneur Anamaría Morales has rolled out her first mobile cheesecake dispensary. You’ll recognize it by the giant slice of cheesecake bolted to the top.
On its first day of service last Saturday, Morales sold out her entire inventory of slices in just hours to hungry he-bears attending the annual Lazy Bear Weekend in Guerneville.
“I didn’t even have anything left to sell,” said Morales, who quickly returned to her kitchen for a long day of baking as she geared up for several more days of cheesecake truck adventures parked at Guerneville’s Sonoma Nesting Company (16151 Main St.)
Anamaría Morales, the College Confectionista, opens her pop-up mobile cheesecake truck in downtown Guerneville, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)Anamaría Morales, the College Confectionista, greets Forestville resident Heather Weisheitinger and Walnut the cat at Morales’ pop-up mobile cheesecake truck in downtown Guerneville, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat) 2024
“I knew I wanted to do this, but finding the right truck took a long time,” she said. Then came the restoration, which she mostly did herself.
“Every day, I was at my uncle’s shop for eight hours after baking to work on the truck,” she said. Teacher and cheesecake client Cristy Miranda created the giant slice of cheesecake on top of the truck.
“I had always pictured the truck with a slice of cheesecake on top, and I can’t even tell you how divine the intervention was. I just put it out in the universe,” Morales said.
The cheesecake truck will be slinging slices in Guerneville until Aug. 5, then (hopefully) be at events and festivals throughout Sonoma County.
There’s just one hitch: the truck still needs a bit of mechanical work to get it reliably from one spot to another, and Morales is hoping for a little more divine intervention to get over that hurdle — though she isn’t one to let a little hiccup sideline her for long.
Morales, known as the College Confectionista, received national attention for starting a cheesecake business when she was 18 to fund her education at the University of California Berkeley debt-free. The young Latina comes from a low-income family and was determined to be the first in her family to graduate from college. She has created a foundation to help other low-income Latinas in Sonoma County get college degrees.
Cruess wines co-owners Anthony Beckman, left, and Alissa Lind in Healdsburg on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Erik Castro / For The Press Democrat)
When Anthony Beckman and Alissa Lind decided to launch their own small wine label, inspiration wasn’t hard to find.
Lind’s great-great uncle, William Cruess, is a giant of early California winemaking, a mentor to giants like Robert Mondavi and Charles Krug, and the author of a seminal 1934 textbook on winemaking practices that is still used by present-day UC Davis enology students.
“Everyone had lost so much winemaking knowledge during the 18 years of Prohibition, so his expertise was really valued,” explains Beckman.
Beckman and Lind both grew up in small towns and moved to Sonoma decades ago to get into the wine industry. Beckman worked a number of local harvest jobs before going back to school and finally landing a coveted winemaker position at Santa Rosa’s Balletto Vineyards in 2007.
Cruess winery co-owners Anthony Beckman, left, and Alissa Lind in Healdsburg on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Erik Castro / for The Press Democrat)
In 2014, Beckman began touring a few vineyards to see if they felt like a good fit for a small winemaking project on the side. That’s when he discovered some Fiano grapes at Bowland Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.
“Alissa and I used to drink a lot of Fiano in the early 2000s, so I was excited to find some planted in the Russian River Valley,” says Beckman. “It’s an Italian grape that has some weight and a savoriness, and it paired with every food we ate. When I came across that Fiano vineyard, I knew it would make Cruess’s wine number one.”
Beckman says Balletto Vineyards owner John Balletto has been “super supportive” of the Cruess Wine brand, allowing Beckman the use of Balletto’s facilities. “I never have to hop in my car and check on a barrel somewhere,” says Beckman. “Everything is right here.”
Today, Cruess produces about 1,100 cases of wine per year. “We are 100% Sonoma County, so for us it all comes down to buying local, eating local and drinking local,” says Beckman. “There are so many top-level growers here. We don’t want to go anywhere else.”
Cruess wines co-owners Alissa Lind, left, and Anthony Beckman in Healdsburg on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Erik Castro / for The Press Democrat)
With Pinot Noir fruit out of his price range, Beckman focuses on “statement wines” that stand out from the crowd. That means skin-fermented Gewürztraminer, Provençal-style Grenache rosé and old vine Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast.
“Our focus isn’t on certain varietals, but rather on producing wines that show purity, authenticity and thoughtfulness,” explains Beckman. “I want our wines to make people say, ‘Wow, someone worked really hard to make this wine.’ That’s what we’re after.”
“It’s so important that we find the right vineyards and the right people to work with, so we can make the wines we want to. That is going to take some time,” Beckman says. “At the end of the day, I want our wines to be a statement about Sonoma County and what we think is beautiful and delicious.”
Curious juvenile river otter pups splash around in the aquatic rehabilitation pond at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Cotati. (photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Baby river otters can’t swim.
It’s true: even though they need fresh water to survive, pups are not born with the instinct or ability to navigate their namesake environment. They must be taught to move, dive and hunt in water. Much like human babies, they may even require some encouragement.
“The mothers bring them down to the water and swim around with them. They force them into the water. They grab them by their leg, or their ear, or whatever. They put them into the water and teach them to swim,” explains Megan Isadore, executive director of the Marin-based River Otter Ecology Project.
Lessons begin when the pups are a few months old — which is right about now. Born mid-February through mid-April, young river otters begin dipping their webbed toes in the waters of adulthood, as it were, at the same time locals begin taking to our waterways en masse.
Meet-cutes are inevitable. But it’s important to remember that these playful river-dwellers are also learning valuable life skills.
Juvenile river otter pups snuggle up in the aquatic rehabilitation pond at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Cotati. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
“People need to be really aware when they’re around baby otters not to get close to them and not to get between them and their mothers,” Isadore says. “River otters are extremely adorable, and they’re clickbait for photographers. But the rule of thumb is that if the otters are looking at you, you’re too close. Use a big lens and back off.”
River otters live all over Sonoma County, a testament to the value of our open spaces and clear waters — from the coast, where they usually hang around the mouths of creeks and rivers; to the interior hills and valleys, where they may be spotted frolicking in vineyard ponds; to the top of the Mayacamas, in parks like Hood Mountain and Sugarloaf Ridge. Another favorite habitat is the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and particularly Santa Rosa Creek, where paths on both sides offer ample viewing opportunities.
River otters were once thought to be lost from much of the rest of the region as a result of trapping, pollution and habitat loss. But today, the outlook is strong.
“They’re very adaptable and very opportunistic,” Isadore says. “They’re becoming an increasingly urban animal all over the Bay Area. River otters here are doing great.”
Even if the babies still need a little help learning to swim.
