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Food & Wine
Sonoma County is blessed with
rich terrain, a perfect climate and innovative, industrious farmers
and ranchers who take advantage of nature's gifts. Strong evidence
abounds for the French concept of terroir -- the notion that the
unique and sensual tastes of food, and of life, have their origins
deep within the soil of a place.
Sonoma County has become known
as much for its cuisine as for its award winning wines.
Locally-produced fine wine, fresh produce, cheeses, olive oils and
breads -- whether enjoyed at an al fresco café or a candlelit
restaurant -- are delicious staples of the Sonoma County travel
experience.
Taking cues from French
nouvelle, Italian Mediterranean and American homestyle, Sonoma
County cuisine has locally-grown freshness and elegant simplicity at
its heart. Farms here have supplied gourmet ingredients to elite San
Francisco restaurants since Gold Rush days.
Sonoma County cuisine is a
serious subject here, passionately discussed and, of course, savored
by locals and visitors alike. Sonoma County's restaurants are
numerous and acclaimed. Brand-new, chef-proprietor locales brimming
with originality are springing up alongside established favorites
for Italian, French, American and wine country cuisine. With its
wines and homegrown ingredients harvested at the peak of freshness,
Sonoma County is a food enthusiast's mecca.
One look at the vocabulary on
a representative menu verifies Sonoma County's culinary credentials:
smooth artichoke soup with white truffle oil; savory vegetables with
asparagus flan; Pacific halibut steamed with laurel in artichoke and
new potato bourride; salmon and prosciutto roulade with semolina
fries; organic herb crusted rack of lamb; grilled pork chop with
soft polenta, tallegio and port-caper sauce; and for dessert, spiced
Fuji apple "fougasse" with orange crème fraiche; rhubarb sorbet with
vanilla-ginger sauce and five-spice meringues.
 Taste of the Vine
The first European wine grape
varietals planted in America took root here in 1857, and today
nearly 56,000 acres of premium grapes flourish in Sonoma County --
significantly more than in neighboring Napa Valley. Eighty percent
of these vines are owned by independent farmers (there are some
4,400 wine grape growers in the county), most of whom farm less than
15 acres. These small lots allow for caring attention to detail and
their quality is astounding; Sonoma County growers produce 21% of
the topselling premium wine grapes in California on less than 10% of
the state's wine grape acreage.
Sonoma County's more than 200
wineries produce Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurtstraminer,
Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Viognier, Zinfandel, Pinot
Noir and sparkling wines, to name a few. Its vineyards produce
approximately 135,000 tons of grapes each year in 12 geographically
distinct growing regions known as appellations or "Approved
Viticultural Areas." In 1999, Sonoma County wine grape sales totaled
$230.6 million.
One reason Sonoma County wines
are so highly acclaimed is the area's rich diversity of coast,
canyons, valleys and woodlands that create unique microclimates. For
example, the Alexander Valley's warmth is conducive to heat-loving
varieties like Zinfandel; a dozen miles to the southwest, morning
fog and the river's cooling influence make the Russian River Valley
just right for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.
Many Sonoma County wineries
offer tours and free tasting to visitors. The settings range from
vineyard barns to luxurious Italianate estates. Tours "by
appointment only" usually means a quick phone call ahead of time is
all you need.
Rohnert Park's California
Welcome Center is also the headquarters of the Sonoma County
Wineries Association. With a working winery on-site, this is a
perfect first-stop to plan an exploration of the local wine country.
Expert staff can answer any questions, offer wine tasting and
provide a variety of valuable interpretive guides free of charge.
Time to Dine
Dining out in Sonoma County
can pose an exquisite dilemma. With so many choices of atmosphere,
cuisine and location, the visitor has a veritable banquet of
choices.
Northern Italian, American
Bistro, Mediterranean French, rib joints, organic vegetarian cafés
and California Provencal are just the beginning of a very long list.
The common denominator is reliance on fresh local -- and often
organic -- fruits, vegetables and herbs, as well as meats, seafood,
poultry, breads and cheeses. From there, it is up to the
imaginations of Sonoma County's gifted order of chefs.
Just a few "can't miss" dining
experiences in Sonoma County include Sonoma's Deuce, Sonoma Meritage
(oyster bar, lobster tank and ostrich on the menu), Della Santina's,
the girl & the fig and Saddles; Glen Ellen's Glen Ellen Inn and the
girl & the gaucho; Feast, John Ash & Co., Syrah, Lisa Hemingway's
and Mixx in Santa Rosa; Healdsburg's Ravenous, Manzanita, and Dry
Creek Kitchen; Applewood Inn in Guerneville; Duck Club and Bay View
Restaurant in Bodega Bay; Graziano's Ristorante and Water Street
Bistro in Petaluma; Hana's in Rohnert Park; Cape Fear Café in
Duncans Mills; Santi in Geyserville; and the Dining Room at the Sea
Ranch Lodge.
Culinary Classes
Adding a cooking experience to
a Sonoma County vacation is highly recommended. The secrets of "wine
country cuisine" are subtle, yet easily shared. It is the essence of
Sonoma County's effortlessly elegant style, and of course it is a
cuisine that is designed to pair wonderfully well with wine.
The Depot Hotel, Vintage
Cuisine and Ramekins are three Sonoma County culinary schools that
offer two- to three-hour demonstration and "hands-on" classes that
share technique and tastes of the region.
The Art of Oil
The same natural elements,
skill and commitment that created Sonoma County's wine industry are
nurturing a new trend -- the production of extra-virgin olive oil by
wineries and other award-winning artisans including DaVero, Asti and
B.R. Cohn.
The rich soil and temperate
climate provide ideal growing conditions for a wide variety of
olives, resulting in a panoply of flavors. Growers large and small
press their own or bring bushels of ripe olives to The Olive Press
in Glen Ellen for community crushing. These local oils are then
available directly from wineries, the Olive Press, or in the
county's many specialty food stores.
Fine Brew
"It takes good beer to make
great wine," so the saying goes, and Sonoma County vintners and
visitors get "hoppy" at Bear Republic in Healdsburg (famous for its
Racer 5 India Pale Ale), Stumptown Brewery in Guerneville,
Powerhouse Brewing in Sebastopol, and Third Street Aleworks in Santa
Rosa. Sebastopol's Ace-in-the-Hole Pub pours the delectable apple,
berry and pear hard ciders of the California Cider Company.
Additional Sonoma County award-winning microbrews include those from
the Lagunitas Brewing Company and the Russian River Brewing Company.
The Culture of Cheese
Sonoma County's cheeses are
smooth and superb. Cow, sheep and goat milk create a range of
delicious products. When expensive San Francisco bistros want to
namedrop, they spell out Sonoma County's finest cheesemakers on
their menus: Vella, Sonoma Jack, Bear Flag, Spring Hill Jersey, et
al.
The region's world-famous
cheese industry was born in 1931 with the founding of the Sonoma
Cheese Company. The company later split in 1945 into the Sonoma
Cheese Factory, best known for its mellow Sonoma Jack, and Vella
Cheese Company, which still occupies the company's original building
on East Second Street in the town of Sonoma.
Vella's labor-intensive Dry
Jack is formed in muslin sacks, brined, coated, oiled and re-oiled,
then cured until it achieves a nutty-sweet, medium cure and
Parmesan-like taste. Vella also makes other fine cheeses, including
Bear Flag high-moisture Jack, sometimes shot through with savory
garlic or fiery peppers.
In the mid-70s, Sonoma County
native Laura Chene l made a trip to France that would change the way
America eats. After apprenticing herself to a French cheese maker,
she returned to share her new skill: goat cheese. Since then, her
fresh goat cheeses have been imitated by small farms across the
county and appear on the finest restaurant menus and cases of
specialty grocers like Traverso's Gourmet Foods in Santa Rosa.
Redwood Hill Farm in
Sebastopol is another renowned Sonoma County producer of goat
cheeses and yogurts. In Santa Rosa, local legend Joe Matos has
produced his nutty, raw milk St. George cheese since 1979 -- and for
five generations in the family's native Azores. Bellwether Farms in
Valley Ford features Tuscan-style pecorino cheese using sheep's
milk. It's authentic; cheese maker Liam Callahan studied the art of
cheese making in Tuscany and his Toscano -- aged more than 90 days
-- is comparable to some of the best Italian pecorino.
Farmer's Markets, Festivals
and Fairs
The farmer's markets of Sonoma
County offer open-air therapy, serving up the freshest produce,
condiments, flowers, entertainment, social contact -- food for the
palate and the soul. In summer, the profusion of colors and shapes
is eye-popping. Tree-ripe peaches, tender nectarines, and golden
apricots. Apples, plums, melons, strawberries, white corn, red
tomatoes. Purple, yellow, and Walla-Walla sweet onions. Bright
fieldgrown flowers, salad greens, dry flower wreaths, and fresh
herbs. Year 'round you'll find tempting pantry stocks like tapenades,
mustards, aiolis, nut butters, relishes, sweet and savory jams, all
made from the abundant Sonoma County harvest.
Name a vegetable, and
somewhere in Sonoma County there's a festival or fair dedicated to
it. In Healdsburg, the farmer's market holds annual zucchini races,
a giant zucchini weigh-in and zucchini bake-off. Hundreds of
varieties of heirloom tomatoes go up for grabs in Fulton at Kendall
Jackson's Tomato Festival. Every autumn, the Sonoma County Harvest
Fair draws fresh produce lovers aplenty to the county fairgrounds in
Santa Rosa.
While grapes are the key cash
crop in Sonoma County, the area is also famous for its wonderful
apples, notably the Gravenstein variety. Sebastopol's Apple Blossom
Festival and Parade takes place each year in mid-April to celebrate
blossom time for the "Grav." Then comes the Apple Fair, celebrated
since 1910 in mid-August, as the Grav is one of the earliest
ripening apples. A superior eating apple, Gravensteins also make
excellent applesauce, juice and hard cider.
A common sight on the
backroads of Sonoma County are hand-lettered signs in front of
produce stands. From early spring until fall, small farmers set up
shop, proffering delicacies including greens, juicy tomatoes, corn
picked that morning, bright crunchy peppers, avocados and
field-ripened berries, apples and stone fruits, all in their
respective harvest seasons. The Sonoma County "Farm Trails" brochure
can help the visitor plan and map a day of hands-on farm touring.
Come autumn and the holiday season, farms offer u-pick pumpkins and
Christmas trees.
Farms that welcome visitors
and offer market-sized gift shops include Kozlowski Farms in
Forestville and Timber Crest Farms in Healdsburg's Dry Creek Valley.
At Timber Crest, one can custom-build a gift basket from the farm's
shelves -- even including a bottle of zin or chardonnay purchased at
a winery earlier in the day!
Chickens and Eggs
Petaluma's Butter and Egg Days
Parade in late Spring honors the city's Holstein and hen heritage.
Today, locally-grown eggs from free range hens can be found year
round at farmer’s markets and local small farms throughout Sonoma
County.
Chicken eggs are not the limit
in Petaluma; there are emu and ostrich eggs, quail and duck eggs,
with specific gourmet uses for each. Yes, Sonoma County is a unique
egg!
Minutes outside of downtown
Petaluma, highways roll through green foothills dotted with
black-and-white dappled cattle, curious goats and fluffy sheep. Take
Highway 116 from downtown Petaluma out to Bodega Bay for a look at
Sonoma County's pastoral side.
Breaking Bread Sonoma County
Style
Bread-baking and wine making
go hand in hand as they both utilize the farmer's friend, yeast
cultures. From sourdough strains passed down since Gold Rush days to
newfangled loaves studded with artichoke hearts or cardamom pods and
seasonal berries, breads in Sonoma County have never been so varied
or delicious. Freshly-baked, local breads, rolls, croissants, bagels
and more are worth searching for at local grocers, farmer's markets
and tiny town bakeries up and down the county.
Wild Flour Bakery, located in
the west Sonoma County hamlet of Freestone, works alchemy with
organic flour and interesting baking ingredients to create loaves of
distinction. Wild Flour's house-special sticky buns, organic
sunflower seed batards, cranberry orange muffins and hallmark loaf
du jour are simply transcendent. Other notable local ovens include
Cavaliere's Bakery, Bennett Valley Bread and Pastry, and Brother
Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, Sonoma's Artisan Bakers, Costeaux
French Bakery, Mom's Apple Pie in Sebastopol and Healdsburg's
Downtown Bakery & Creamery -- where they not only make bread and
pastry but homemade ice cream too!
Time for Dessert?
Visitors to Sonoma County will
find that there's always time for dessert! J.M. Rosen's is a
wonderful spot for lunch and dinner, either inside or on the
restaurant's deck overlooking the Petaluma River. The wonderful
cuisine and ambiance are highlighted by owner Jan Rosen's cheesecake
-- many claim it's the best of its kind. Distributed countrywide,
J.M. Rosen cheesecakes were delivered to Frank Sinatra on a weekly
basis.
Curious about cocoa? Many
local artisan chocolatiers handcraft exquisite confections. Sonoma
County chocoholic outlets include Peter Rabbit's Chocolate Factory
in Santa Rosa (try the chocolate truffles made with vintage Port),
La Dolce V in Sebastopol, Sweet Memory Chocolates in Healdsburg, and
Santa Rosa's North Bay Fudge Company.
Ice cream is a Sonoma County
passion; a perennial winner of local "Best Ice Cream" polls is The
Chocolate Cow in Sonoma, with its 30-some flavors of ice cream as
well as handmade chocolates, coffee drinks and milking stool chairs.
Screamin' Mimi's in Sebastopol exemplifies the local artistry with
creatively luscious flavors like Crane Melon (made with local
fruit), Galaxy, Midnight Tiger, Mimi's Mud (espresso, chocolate chip
and homemade fudge), Mimi's Mistake, and Raspberry Plum Zinfandel.
Flavors in Guerneville, John's Ice Cream in Petaluma, and Silva's
Ice Cream in Healdsburg lead a long countywide list of destination
ice creameries.
More information is
also available at
www.sonomacounty.com |
