The holiday season has arrived in Napa Valley. This year, you can rent your own igloo, ride the wine train with Santa, sip holiday tea in a charming Victorian estate, and visit Wine Girl Wonderland. Click through the gallery above for details on where to get festive in Napa Valley.
The Robb Report, an ultra-luxury lifestyle magazine, has listed Kyle and Katina Connaughton of Healdsburg’s Single Thread Restaurant & Farm to their “Most Powerful People in American Fine Dining” ranking.
In the list of “the restaurant industry’s most influential figures, as chosen by their peers,” the couple reached No. 12 in the ranking that includes Michael Mina (San Francisco chef and visionary behind Sonoma’s Wit and Wisdom, No. 34) and Matthew Kammerer (Harbor House Inn in Mendocino County, No. 31).
“The husband-and-wife duo behind Michelin three-starred Single Thread … have created an immersive dining experience that epitomizes the ethic of farm to table,” said the report. The magazine praised the Connaughtons’ work during the 2019 wildfires and COVID-19 to help feed Sonoma County residents in need.
“This way, a donation could support an ecosystem of kitchen staffers who would have otherwise been laid off and keep the farm going as well — all while providing free meals to the community,” the report said.
San Francisco’s Dominique Creen was given No. 3 status and Yountville’s Thomas Keller ranked No. 1.
After more than a yearlong hiatus, sushi was due to be back on the Matheson menu starting Dec. 1. But chef-owner Dustin Valette is outsourcing the project. He’s contracting with Sushi by Scratch, a Los Angeles-based group owned by husband-and-wife chef team Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee.
Begun as a pop-up, the concept now has locations in Beverly Hills, Montecito, Miami, Austin, Chicago, Montreal, Seattle and Los Angeles. Reportedly, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dine at the one-Michelin-starred Montecito spot often.
Details have been changing frequently since The Press Democrat visited for an exclusive preview in early September, but things are finally coming together. The Lees now plan a 17-course omakase feast, limited to 12 diners at a time and prepared by a Sushi by Scratch chef who is relocating from southern California to run the Healdsburg operation.
The menu is all-nigiri sushi from Lee’s proprietary recipes, based around fish and shellfish flown in from Tokyo’s world-famous Toyosu Fish Market.
Pricing will be $185 per person plus an automatic 20% service charge. Beverage pairings will range from $105 to $125, including sakes, two micro cocktails, beers and Japanese whiskies.
The new mini-restaurant marks a significant change for the hyperlocal Matheson operation, which opened in 2021 touting a dedication to Sonoma County culinary resources and talents. Valette, a Healdsburg native, deems the project “a celebration of Healdsburg heritage” and outfitted the building with locally crafted art, wines and, of course, food.
When it debuted three years ago, the Matheson offered sushi in a partnership with beloved chef Ken Tominaga of Hana Japanese Restaurant in Rohnert Park. But sushi service stopped when Tominaga died in May 2022 after a short battle with cancer.
Valette has not commented on the new L.A.-based sushi concept, except to playfully promise it will include “fire and dragons” in the dramatically redesigned space that used to be Matheson’s first-floor private dining room behind the kitchen.
He’s joking about the fire and dragons, of course, but the preview tasting of several dishes three months ago did offer plenty of flair.
The show started with the chef hand-grating fresh wasabi straight from the root. Next came Canadian albacore wrapped in smoky, sake-infused seaweed and topped in garlic confit, yuzu, ponzu and crispy onions.
Another nibble included silky hamachi brushed with sweet corn pudding and crunchy breadcrumbs made from the Lees’ trademark sourdough. Then it was the Lees’ signature nigiri crowned in roasted, torched Wagyu bone marrow that is so creamy and rich the chef calls it “meat butter.”
The new Sushi by Scratch comes at a time when the Healdsburg restaurant scene is under criticism from some that it’s losing local character and investment.
Matheson’s primary business partner, Craig Ramsey, is a longtime Healdsburg-based entrepreneur. But Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg, for example, has recently attracted negative attention for its East Coast-based funding and investors for new in-town acquisitions.
The Matheson is located at 106 Matheson St., Healdsburg; 707-723-1106, thematheson.com.
Back in October, news broke that Petaluma would be getting a Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken restaurant. If you’re a KFC (Korean fried chicken) fan, you know their super crispy double-fried chicken kicks the pants off the other KFC.
The restaurant chain also serves bulgogi fries (a Korean-style poutine), takoyaki (Japanese octopus dumpling), pork buns with katsu sauce and japchae (glass noodles with veggies and stir-fried beef) on the menu.
Franchise owner Loc Nguyen said he’s hoping to open the 447 N. McDowell Blvd. location in late December.
The South Korean brand was founded in 2002 and has more than 120 locations in the U.S. and more than 400 worldwide.
Hanukkah, The Jewish Festival of Lights, begins at sundown on Thursday, Dec. 7. This year, there are a variety of ways to take part in the celebration and observance of the holiday in Sonoma County. From events hosted by local Jewish congregations to special meals from popular restaurants and bakeries, the area is replete with traditional — and not so traditional — Hanukkah events and culinary treats.
On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, Jewish families gather around the menorah to recite a special blessing and light another candle on the nine branch candelabrum until all candles are aglow on the last night of the holiday (eight candles for each night, as well as a shamash candle, used to light the other candles).
Latkes (fried potato pancakes) with sour cream and applesauce are traditionally enjoyed during Hanukkah, as well as sufganiyot, a deep-fried jam or custard doughnut topped with powdered sugar. Family and friends exchange presents during this time and enjoy playing dreidel for gelt (usually chocolate coins covered in gold foil).
Here’s how to celebrate the holiday Sonoma-style.
Chanukah Party Limo: Celebrations will get off to a festive start for students on Thursday, Dec. 7 with a Chanukah Party Limo taking 6th to 12th graders to San Francisco in style. Rolling to the beat of Hanukkah music, the limo leaves Petaluma at 3:30 p.m. and arrives in Union Square at 4:45 p.m. for the 48th lighting and celebration at the Bill Graham Menorah, “the first giant public menorah outside of Israel.” $25 per student. Registration is required by Sunday, Dec. 3. jewishpetaluma.com/partylimo
Chanukah Celebration with Helicopter Gelt Drop: The Chabad Jewish Center says it plans to take its 9th annual Chanukah Celebration at the Petaluma Fairgrounds to “new heights” with this year’s Helicopter Gelt Drop. The event also includes a Grand Menorah Lighting with community leaders and guests, LED and fire performance, jelly doughnuts, hot latkes, live DJ Chanukah music, the “world’s biggest dreidel,” an interactive menorah game, a grand raffle and Chanukah crafts. 4:30-6 p.m. Sunday, Dec 10. Free with RSVP at jewishpetaluma.com/chanukahcelebration, 707-559-8585.
Chanukah Shoppe: Those interested in getting ready for the holiday can visit The Chanukah Shoppe pop-up store in downtown Petaluma where candles, menorahs, dreidels, chocolate gelt, gift items, decorations and toys will be available for purchase. 205 Keller St., Suite 101, Petaluma. For hours and questions, call 707-559-8585.
Among the other Hanukkah events sponsored by Chabad Jewish Center of Petaluma are a menorah workshop for kids (Dec. 3), a Resin + Rosé women’s social (Dec. 4), as well as a Chanukah Shabbat Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 ($25 for adults, $15 for children).
B’nai Israel Jewish Center in Petaluma is hosting its “Around the World in Eight Days” event from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15. It will include latkes from around the world, sufganiyot, cocktails, mocktails and “dreidels made of everything but clay.” 740 Western Ave., Petaluma. Entrance fees are $36 for adults, $72 for families and free for kids, but no one will be “turned away due to lack of funds.” Space is limited, RSVP at bnaiisrael.net.
Ner Shalom in Cotati will host a Chanukah Party from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9 that includes games and activities for families, singalong, stories, a dinner of salmon and latkes, and candle lighting. The congregation encourages guests to bring their own menorah to the party. 85 La Plaza Cotati. nershalom.org
This year’s Chanukah Festival begins 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa and will include a live band, Jeremy the Juggler, a Grand Menorah lighting, doughnuts, latkes, crafts, prizes and more. The Healdsburg Chanukah Celebration begins 5 p.m. on Dec 14 at at Oakville Grocery (7856 St. Helena Highway). 707-577-0277, jewishsonoma.com.
The Joseph Weingarten Chabad Jewish Center will also host a Cantorial Shabbat with cantor Chaim Freund followed by a “deluxe dinner” at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. ($25 for adults, $10 for children). At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, Cantorial Shabbos and Chanukah Services will be followed by lunch (RSVP at JewishSonoma.com/Cantor). At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, there will be a Kids Chanukah Lego Land event that promises on its poster that participants can “go home with your very own light up Menorah set.”
Shomrei Torah is hosting a tisch-style Shabbat Hanukkah Party 6:15 – 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 that will include candle lighting, latkes, doughnuts, dreidels and music. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own menorah with candles and wear their “Hanukkah gear.” Make reservations at cstsr.org ($18 for members, $22 for non-members, kids 13 and under free). 2600 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa.
Beth Ami will be putting on two events during the holiday: a takeout latke fundraiser and a Chanukah Latke Dinner. As part of the fundraiser, latkes will be sold in packages of 10 for $15 with a portion of the money raised going to Magen David Adom (first responders of Israel). Orders must be received by Monday, Dec. 4 and the latkes can be picked up Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Friday, Dec. 8.
The Chanukah Latke Dinner will begin 4 p.m. on Dec. 10 and includes card and board games, a short service and candle lighting, a latke and salad dinner, as well as music and singing. The event is free, but donations are accepted. RSVP for the dinner is required by Dec 6. 4676 Mayette Ave., Santa Rosa. bethamisr.org
Featuring a Chinese buffet dinner and a showing of the movie Yentl (starring Barbra Streisand), Shir Shalom’s Hanukkah Party also includes the lighting of menorahs in Burlingame Hall. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the event begins at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10 ($25 for adults, free for children 12 and under). RSVP online or by making a payment by check. The Congregation will also hold a Last Night Community Menorah Lighting with latkes, hot chocolate and lively songs in front of Burlingame Hall 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma. shir-shalom.org
This Jewish-style restaurant and deli in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square will offer a takeout brisket dinner for two ($99) that includes sweet and sour braised brisket with horseradish cream; four potato leek latkes; spinach salad with dates, feta and pistachios; pomegranate molasses roasted carrots; braided challah loaf and two sufganiyot. Orders must be received by Dec. 3; pickup Dec. 7-14.
Grossman’s will also have a variety of a la carte items for the holiday, such as Loaded Knish ($17) with caramelized onions, farmers cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut and gruyere cheese; Smoked and Pickled Fish Board ($26) with lox, kippered salmon, smoked salmon rillette, pickled herring, mackerel and matzoh crackers; as well as baked goods, such as a half loaf of chocolate or cinnamon babka ($10) and chocolate-orange or brown sugar-almond Rugelach ($2.50).
308 1/2 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com
Zoftig Eatery in Santa Rosa is making latkes and cinnamon-walnut rugelach for Hanukkah that will be available for pickup Thursday, Dec. 7 and Friday, Dec. 8. The latkes with applesauce and sour cream are $24 for half a dozen and $45 for a dozen. The cinnamon-walnut rugelach are $10 for half a dozen and $18 for a dozen. 57 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. 707-521-9554. Online orders can be placed at zoftigeatery.com.
Marla Bakery, which recently opened a new location in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square, will be offering a blue and gold Sufganiyot Box ($15) with four of the Hanukkah treats.
The sufganiyot come in two flavors — Meyer lemon cream and dulce de leche cream — and will only be available for pickup Dec. 7 through Dec. 10 at the cafe at 208 Davis St. in Santa Rosa, as well as at the Saturday Healdsburg Farmers Market and the Sunday Sebastopol Farmers Market.
Marla will also be selling its sufganiyot at the 22nd Annual Town of Windsor Holiday Celebration on the Windsor Town Green 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7. The event includes a menorah lighting, youth performances and fun activities for kids.
208 Davis St., Santa Rosa. 707-852-4098, marlabakery.com
Johnny Doughnuts is selling a Hanukkah Gift Box ($50) that includes 12 Mini Wildberry Bismarks dusted in sugar and wrapped in fall twine. The box is available from Dec. 7 to Dec. 15 and orders must be placed at least two days in advance. 1200 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-308-4836, johnnydoughnuts.com
Penngrove Market is offering a Hanukkah Dinner for four ($95) that will be hot, ready to eat and available for pickup 4-6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. It will include beef brisket, potato vegetable latkes, matzoh ball soup and a green salad with honey-lemon dressing. Make advance reservations at the market or by calling 707-753-4974. 10070 Main St., Penngrove. 707-753-4974, penngrovemarket.com
In Petaluma, Ethel’s Delicatessen is offering latkes, golden raisin challah and handmade milk chocolate gelt.
Four hot organic latkes ($10) served with organic sour cream (organic local applesauce is also available as an add-on) will be available for dining in, pickup and delivery through Dec. 17. (Larger orders for catering can also be preordered by emailing catering@ethelsbagels.com.)
Preorders can be placed for Ethel’s organic, round, braided golden raisin challah ($16), available from Friday, Dec. 8 to Sunday, Dec. 10.
The handmade milk chocolate gelt, made by Zingermans in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is available throughout Hanukkah for $8.99.
1000 Clegg Court, Petaluma. 707-231-1155. ethelsbagels.com
Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts in Sonoma will be selling powdered sugar and raspberry jam mini doughnuts for Hanukkah (gluten-free versions available). They also will have “Hanukkah sprinkles” for the doughnuts. Customers can purchase a dozen mini doughnuts or Harvey’s famous “single” — a homemade doughnut that comes in a box and can be given as a gift. For more information, visit harveysdonuts.com or call 707-246-5928. Harvey’s Donut Bar, 414 First St. East, Sonoma; Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts & Catering, 19030 Railroad Ave., Sonoma.
A La Heart Kitchen in Forestville will have potato latkes with sour cream and applesauce ($12 for three latkes) and matzoh ball soup with roast chicken ($19 per quart) Thursday Dec. 7 through Saturday Dec. 9, and Wednesday Dec. 13 through Saturday Dec. 16. Order ahead via email alaheart@sonic.net. These food items will also be available in A La Heart’s grab-and-go case on a first-come, first-served basis on the same dates. All items are cold and to be heated a home. Opening hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. 6490 Mirabel Road, Forestville. 707-527-7555, alaheart.com
Birria has become the latest food phenomenon. The long-simmered chile-infused stew from Mexico is in no way new, but it’s suddenly capturing the attention of taqueria regulars.
Traditionally it’s made with goat meat and strong herbs and spices to mellow the meat. As birria moved northward from Mexico, beef was substituted. Stuffed into tacos with the addition of cheese, the quesabirria was born.
Moving to the next logical level, the consommé and beef of birria met cheap ramen noodles, and some multicultural magic happened.
Though Tacos Los Iniguez (460 Mission Blvd., Santa Rosa) isn’t the first to come up with the idea, theirs is the best I’ve had so far. Chewy noodles hide chunks of beef that melt faster than an ice cube in a hot tub. Dots of spicy oil congregate at the top of the red broth. It’s a perfect winter soup. And it’s also available at Jalapeño Mexican Grill (1630 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa).
Sonoma’s Animo restaurant and Rutherford’s Auberge du Soleil are among the best in the country, according to OpenTable’s recently released “Top 100 restaurants in America for 2023” ranking. The online restaurant reservation and review site scoured more than 12 million reviews and ratings to make this year’s selection.
OpenTable described Animo as “American Korean cuisine with focus on open hearth cooking” in an “intimate and cozy setting in Sonoma.”
“The setting and first impression is modest, but Animo over-achieves big-time … Perfect execution; not one off note or misstep. Already looking forward to our next visit,” wrote Tim E. in an OpenTable review of the restaurant.
Animo will temporarily close in mid-December, as owners Josh Smookler and Heidy He turn their attention to the late-December opening of their new restaurant, Golden Bear Station, in Kenwood. The forthcoming restaurant will focus on Italian-American-style cuisine and is located in the former Tips Roadside. The menu will include pizza, pasta, burgers and steak.
The couple plans to reopen Animo next summer in a new Sonoma Valley location with a four-course tasting menu. Smookler described the new Animo concept as “fire omakase.”
Smookler and He opened Animo in 2022 after moving to Kenwood from New York City, where they operated Mu Ramen, named the best ramen shop in the city by The New York Times.
Leaving ramen behind, the couple opted for a more eclectic menu at their Sonoma restaurant, with dishes like lobster with XO sauce, lamb roasted over a live fire with shiso, nori and housemade ssamjang, and pastrami kimchi fried rice. Less than a year after opening, Animo was named one of the best new restaurants in America by Esquire magazine.
The Michelin-starred Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil was featured on the OpenTable list of top 100 restaurants in 2022, reprising the honor this year. The restaurant at the luxury hotel in Rutherford has been awarded a Michelin star for the last 16 years, a rare feat.
In San Francisco, The House of Prime Rib and Kokkari Estiatorio were included on the list. California topped the list with 14 restaurants.
The annual OpenTable list also includes a number of dining insights for the year, based on what diners mentioned in their reviews. For 2023, OpenTable found that:
— Dining out held steady, but going out on special occasions grew by 15% in 2023.
— Solo dining is on the rise, with Thursday and Friday being the most popular nights to eat out alone.
— Top-trending cuisines were West African, African and Lebanese cuisines.
— Dishes with East Asian ingredients were a hot topic. Mentions of crispy rice, omakase, yuzu, lychee, miso, ramen and kimchi were popular.
— Mentions of mocktails increased by a whopping 48%, while cocktails including espresso martini, Aperol spritz and negroni were highly popular.
— If you’re planning to go out with a group during the holidays, make a reservation early. The most popular dates for groups are Dec. 10, 16 and 17.
A hacienda-style home in Sonoma with extraordinary design details has hit the market. The 3,925-square-foot home sits on 2 acres and has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and two half-bathrooms. It is listed for $5,000,000.
Built in 2000, the home at 19407 Wyatt Road features hacienda-style design elements, including a clay tiled roof, wood beams and doors, arched hallways, wrought-iron lamps and a courtyard. But the traditional architecture is styled with a modern and minimalist sensibility, striking a balance between understated white walls and modern furniture, on the one hand, and wood columns, exquisite tilework and spots of bright color on the other.
The home’s kitchen and bathroom tile features colorful, if not whimsical, patterns. The tranquility of the interior is interrupted by other bold design surprises, like a green door in the office, red curtains in the bedroom and red tiles in a bathroom. The overall scheme is a winning combination of understated and opulent.
An open floor plan allows for casual living and lets the kitchen function as an entertainment hub. The loggia shelters al-fresco lounging and dining. Cool evenings on the patio are warmed by an outdoor fireplace. A pool house provides 570 square feet of additional living space for guests.
A surround of olive trees, wisteria over the awning, and views of vineyards offer this estate some of the best in Wine Country living. Click through the above gallery for a peek at the property.
For more information on the home at 19407 Wyatt Road, contact listing agents Daniel Casabonne and Marie Bradley of Sotheby’s International Realty – Wine Country Brokerage, 28 First St. E., Sonoma, 707-494-3130, 707-939-2222, sothebysrealty.com
Sonoma County is on a roll as a travel destination and its popularity will only continue to grow next year, according to a venerated New York-based travel magazine.
Travel + Leisure magazine has included Sonoma County on its coveted international list of “The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2024.” The publication’s enthusiastic travel recommendation is the latest in what has been a string of praise for the area from a variety of sources this year. In 2023, Sonoma County played host to a live episode of the Today Show, the region was featured in a New York Times wine column and separate travel story on Geyserville, and “Sonoma” was even unveiled as the name of Apple’s new desktop operating system.
Travel + Leisure just published a story on Guerneville’s Dawn Ranch in August and called Healdsburg “the jewel of California Wine Country” in September, so it perhaps comes as no surprise that the magazine has now included Sonoma County in what the publication describes as its hand-picked list of “destinations that have captured our imaginations.”
Not only is Sonoma County included on the Travel + Leisure list, the region also is one of just over a handful of locations that the magazine highlights in the list’s brief introduction. (Paris—host of next year’s Olympics, Istanbul, Canada’s Métis Crossing, a “remote corner” of Australia and a “Himalayan Hideaway” are the other noteworthy 2024 travel destinations also mentioned in the list’s introduction).
The Travel + Leisure top 50 list is divided into seven categories. Sonoma County is featured in the “For Food and Drinks” section alongside two other 2024 epicurean travel destinations: The Austrian countryside and Merida, Mexico. (The list’s six other travel categories are: For Cultural Immersion, For Big-City Thrills, For Moments on the Water, For Nature Lovers, For Beach Vibes, and For Adventurous Travelers).
Travel + Leisure’s glowing review of Sonoma County begins: “More than double the size of Napa, Sonoma might offer twice as much to do.”
Describing small towns in Sonoma County as places where “new businesses are doing big things,” the magazine says this Northern Californian area is among the world’s travel destinations that are “on the rise.”
Following last year’s addition of the new West Sonoma Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA), Sonoma County now has 19 AVAs producing vintages that include chardonnay, pinot noir and zinfandel by vintners such as Flowers, Scribe and Vérité Wines, writes Travel + Leisure magazine.
But Sonoma County’s allure is “not just about the wine,” according to the magazine, which also spotlights the long, enticing coastline from Bodega Bay to Sea Ranch, the many diversions of the Russian River town of Guerneville, as well as the burgeoning culinary reputation of Healdsburg.
Among its recommended places to stay, the magazine highlights the “dreamy” newly renovated cliff-top Sea Ranch Lodge as well as the recently reopened Dawn Ranch in Guerneville with what Travel + Leisure describes as a 22-acre haven of “tree house-like cabins, creekside glamping tents, and alfresco redwood tubs at the idyllic spa.” In describing Guerneville, the magazine also mentions the town’s thriving LGBTQ+ scene, proximity to the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, and Piknik Market (formerly Big Bottom Market), which continues to serve Oprah’s favorite biscuits under its new ownership.
In Healdsburg, Travel + Leisure details the debut of chef Stu Stalker’s plant-based restaurant Second Story (above Little Saint), Michelin three-starred SingleThread, chef Dustin Valette’s The Matheson, and Charlie Palmer’s forthcoming hotel property, Appellation.
Beyond Sonoma County, other international locations on Travel + Leisure’s list of “places that thoughtful, curious travelers should consider in 2024″ include Cartagena, Colombia; Ålborg, Denmark; Rajasthan, India; Douro River, Portugal; Amboseli National Park, Kenya; Hokkaido, Japan; Coastal Campania, Italy; AlUla, Saudi Arabia; Bahia, Brazil; and Sri Lanka.
Click through the above gallery for a peek at the Sonoma County businesses highlighted in the Travel + Leisure piece.
Geyserville was recently featured in The New York Times as a trending yet down to earth travel destination where “farmers and food lovers mingle.”
Author and journalist Amy Tara Koch writes about the noteworthy restaurants, distinctive wineries, vibrant locales and rich history of Geyserville in her Nov. 14 travel article “A Salt-of-the-Earth Town that Sparkles.”
The article profiles chef Douglas Keane’s restaurant Cyrus, which opened last year in a new location 10 years after Keane closed a previous iteration of the restaurant in Healdsburg, which had been awarded two Michelin stars.
The new version of Cyrus is helping to increase interest in Geyserville as travelers discover the “town’s buzzy bar and stylish eateries, the home goods shop that feels like a beefed-up flea market, and intimate, tucked-into-the-landscape wineries,” according to The Times.
Chef Keane has created a “15-course feast” that highlights local agriculture and is inspired by the Japanese culinary experience kaiseki, “the formal multicourse meal that showcases seasonality with dishes served elegantly, but without pretense,” wrote Koch.
Cyrus diners get to move through a variety of locations throughout the 8,000-square-foot space during their meal: from champagne and snacks served in the “leather-accented lounge or outside among the olive trees,” to courses served in a “moodily lit area adjacent to the open kitchen” where diners are invited to interact with the chefs, to a dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows that beautifully frame the landscape, to a “cocoon-like room” where the meal concludes with a “parting gift” of boxed chocolates.
Contrasting Geyserville’s rustic charm with the “supremely 21st-century” design and flavor of its restaurants, The Times also visited the Corner Project, with its craft beers and tacos and sandwiches made from locally sourced meat and produce, the trattoria-style pizzeria Diavola and the third generation Italian restaurant Catelli’s. The bar and live music space The Geyserville Gun Club and coffee house Fermata were also mentioned in the article.
The colorful history of Geyserville’s vineyards (personified by the Pedroncelli and Mazzoni families), the wineries’ intimate tasting ambience and the appellation’s diverse varietals all contribute to the town’s allure. The Times article highlights Pedroncelli Winery, which began selling grapes to households in 1927 and blossomed into a “premium brand with 14 varietals” after Prohibition; Zialena Winery, run by siblings Lisa and Mark Mazzoni; and Locals Tasting Room, the first independent collective tasting room in California, owned by father and daughter Dick Handal and Doralice Handal.
Other facets that imbue Geyserville with its distinctive character, according to The Times, are its downtown “straight out of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’” with shopping at cowboy hat and Western wear store and museum Bosworth & Sons, the 45-vendor flea market emporium Gin’gilli’s Vintage Home inside what was once a 1930s Ford dealership, and the town’s sculpture garden located in a formerly derelict lot.
The New York Times previously featured Santa Rosa in its list of “52 Places to Love in 2021.” Last year, it named Healdsburg’s Single Thread restaurant among the top 50 in the US and, in April of this year, the newspaper’s wine critic Eric Asimov revealed six of his favorite places to find an excellent glass of wine with your meal in Sonoma and Napa counties, including Glen Ellen Star, The Matheson in Healdsburg and Valley Bar and Bottle in Sonoma.
Click through the above gallery to see the Geyserville businesses featured in The New York Times article.
