Just in time for long sunny days, some of our favorite wineries, distilleries and restaurants are serving up new and creative pairings.
Medlock Ames in Healdsburg has teamed up with Sonoma County’s only three-star Michelin restaurant, Single Thread, while Three Sticks Wines in downtown Sonoma continues its collaboration with neighboring El Dorado Kitchen. Also in Sonoma, family-owned Hanson of Sonoma distillery has launched a new lunch pairing series.
Forget all the dos and don’ts you’ve been told to follow throughout the years, these unique combinations of food and drinks are deliciously rewriting all of the rules.
A Michelin-starred bento box with wine
In case you needed yet another reason to head to Healdsburg, Medlock Ames has joined forces with Michelin-starred Single Thread Farms and Restaurant for its newest tasting experience.
The Wine Pairing Lunch will include a chef-curated bento box from Single Thread; each item is paired with Medlock Ames’ organically farmed Bell Mountain Vineyard wines. The seated experience will take place in the olive grove next to the winery’s historic Alexander Valley tasting room.
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Medlock Ames also is offering a new kind of Wine Country outing at its Bell Mountain Ranch. As part of the winery’s Immersive Sound Experience, visitors can meander through the vineyards, olive grove and California oaks of the 338-acre estate with GPS-cued headphones that provide narration on the winery’s commitment to sustainability and land preservation. Think museum audio guide, but outdoors and with wine at the end of the tour.
The Wine Pairing Lunch with Single Thread at Medlock Ames’ Healdsburg tasting room will be offered once a month throughout 2022, starting in June. Reservations are required. $150 per person.
3487 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-8845, medlockames.com
Oysters and chardonnay at the Adobe
In partnership with El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma, Three Sticks Wines is pairing a flight of three single vineyard chardonnays with half-dozen oysters on the half shell. In addition to learning about terroir and its impact on wine, guests will discover the mostly unknown world of merroir — how the bivalves’ flavors are influenced by their marine surroundings.
The pairing features farmed oysters from both coasts. Oyster selections include the Pickering Passage from South Puget Sound, Washington; the Beausoleil from New Brunswick, Canada; and the Kusshi from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The oysters are served without lemon or sauce in order not to mask their natural flavor.
Three Sticks’ tasting room is located in the historic Vallejo-Casteñada Adobe, built in 1842 by Captain Salvador Vallejo, the infamous brother of General Mariano Vallejo. It was restored by winery owners Bill and Eva Price and has seating indoors and outdoors on a patio.
The Oysters and Chardonnay experience is offered Monday through Friday, through July. 48 hours notice is required. $95 per person.
143 West Spain St., Sonoma, 707-996-3328, threestickswines.com
A three-course lunch pairing in Sonoma
Hanson of Sonoma distillery is kicking off its new Lunch Pairing Series with a “Land & Sea” feast. The menu will change monthly; first up is a three-course meal that includes Snake River Farms Wagyu steak and Mount Lassen trout paired with three cocktails.
An industry standout for making vodka from grapes instead of grains or potatoes, Hanson of Sonoma launched in 2015 with an organic vodka. Owned and operated by four siblings and their parents, the distillery now produces a variety of vodkas that are all certified organic, from the Original to the flavored Habanero, Cucumber, Meyer Lemon, Mandarin and Ginger.
The distillery’s Lunch Pairing Series is available Friday through Sunday. The menu changes monthly. Reservations are required. $125 per person.
22985 Burndale Road, Sonoma, 707-343-1805, hansonofsonoma.com