What’s New in Sonoma County October 2020
Fall has arrived in Sonoma County, and the leaves throughout our vineyards, regional and state parks, and town greens are vibrant with beautiful autumn colors. New outdoor sipping, tasting, and dining experiences are popping up around Sonoma County Wine Country, with creative safe distancing protocols in place. Visit with friends and family and connect with each other to the backdrop of stunning autumn weather and spacious outdoor settings.
Note: Visitors and residents are asked to continue to wear face coverings in public and practice physical distancing. Please be sure to make reservations and review The Safe Travels Promise before visiting.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Touchdown Thursdays with Outdoor Football at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn
With a steely determination to keep game days going strong, the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is bringing football to the resort lawns every Thursday throughout the season. 60” high-definition TVs are arranged on the front lawn “gridiron”, inviting guests to enjoy game day in a unique al fresco setting.
Score a drink from the “sports” bar, grab a bite from CaliForno Street Eats Food Truck and enjoy a winning evening with friends and family. Chef Jared will be adding a few inspired menu specials to the seasonal menu.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
100 Boyes Blvd.
Sonoma, California 95476
(707) 938-4250
https://www.fairmont.com/sonoma/
Media Contact
Michelle Heston
[email protected]
(707) 843-6995
Día de los Muertos at The Museum of Sonoma County
This year, The Museum of Sonoma County’s annual Día de los Muertos exhibition is presented in the Museum's Sculpture Garden for the first time. The outdoor exhibition echoes the setting of many Day of the Dead observances in Mexico, often taking place in cemeteries, and providing a place to remember the people we’ve lost—whether in 2020 or in years past. The exhibition features altars and artwork designed and created by Peter Perez, Mario Uribe, Liz Camino-Byers, Scott Daniel Braun, and Martín Zúñiga, along with contributions from community participants.
The Museum is also offering At-Home Activities in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, featuring hanging paper candles and paper monarch butterflies for families at home. The crafts can also be brought to the Museum of Sonoma County to be displayed in the Sculpture Garden.
The Museum of Sonoma County
425 Seventh Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
https://museumsc.org/
WINES & SPIRITS
BloodRoot Wines Tasting Room Opens in Healdsburg
Set in bustling downtown Healdsburg, the new BloodRoot Wines offers timeless expressions of Sonoma County through their coastal Pinot Noirs and Reserve Chardonnays, sourced from benchmark vineyards throughout the most respected wine growing regions.
Spearheaded by Noah and Kelly Dorrance of Reeve Wines, BloodRoot is a collaboration between esteemed winemakers, featuring wines made from incredible fruit that reflect the soul of place. With high-quality grapes grown right here in Sonoma County, and with prices starting at $25, their wines are no-brainers. Reservations are recommended for a tasting flight of unique wines, that starts with some refreshing whites and finishes with an uncommon medium-bodied Carignan on the relaxing patio space. Open Wednesday through Monday.
BloodRoot Wines
118 North Street
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707-387-7058
https://www.bloodrootwines.com/
Media Contact
Kelly Dorrance
[email protected]
Contactless Wine Tasting & Picnic at Lynmar Estate
Enjoy two new contactless experiences at Lynmar Estate with the “Lynmar On Your Own” Lunch Pairing and Wine Flight programs. The new picnic offering includes a gourmet meal for two in a private area, showcasing seasonal produce from Lynmar’s organic gardens and other family-owned local purveyors. Guests receive a half bottle each of Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to enjoy with lunch. The Wine Flight includes five estate-grown wines from the expansive portfolio of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. To promote safety, less than 20 guests are allowed on the expansive property at each seating, with ample time for thorough cleaning in between.
“Our family’s approach has always been to herald the beauty of the landscape and the story of the land by combining world-class wine and food grown and prepared right here, on our Estate,” reflected proprietor Anisya Fritz. “Lynmar on Your Own is the extension of that feeling to our community, with all of the appropriate safety measures in place to meet this moment.”
Lynmar Estate
3909 Frei Road
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707.829.3374
https://lynmarestate.com/
Media Contact
Andrea Alcaro
[email protected]
New Spirits Garden opens at Hanson of Sonoma Distillery
Enjoy a sampling of Hanson’s unique organic grape-based vodkas in their brand new Spirits Garden overlooking their pond, with safe and comfortably spaced outdoor seating. The garden opening comes with a new showstopping wood-fired grill, serving up wood-fired pizzas and organic chicken to pair with the tasting experiences. With must-try flavor infusions like Habañero, cucumber, and ginger, Hanson offers a variety of tasting experiences that include chocolate truffles, caviar, and craft cocktails.
Located in the heart of the Los Carneros appellation, the family-owned Hanson of Sonoma Distillery is open for tastings 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily.
Hanson of Sonoma Distillery
22985 Burndale Road
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707)343-1805
https://hansonofsonoma.com/
RESTAURANTS & EATERIES
Chef Michael Mina opens Wit & Wisdom Tavern in Sonoma
Wit & Wisdom Tavern is Chef Michael Mina’s first venture into wine country dining, delivering Mina’s signature flair with a highly curated culinary experience perfect for any time of day. Located at the Lodge at Sonoma, the restaurant is inspired by author Jack London’s collection of writings by the same name.
This charming wine country tavern offers American comfort food, highlighting locally sourced ingredients, open-fire cooking, a wood-burning stove, and a robust wine list. Savor the black truffle dusted chicharrons with balsamic reduction, the stunning crispy skin salmon over farro, or duck fat fries, and finish with the outstanding dessert menu including the Golden State Sundae with Straus honey-lavender ice cream & crème caramel. Wit & Wisdom features regional California cuisine cooked on a hearth oven, buoyed by a magnificent wine program as only Mina delivers. Whether enjoying the bocce ball court, the happy hour experience, or a celebratory dinner with friends, Wit & Wisdom is the ideal dining experience for visitors and locals who are looking for a different type of tasting experience in Sonoma County Wine Country.
Wit and Wisdom Tavern
The Lodge at Sonoma
1325 Broadway
Sonoma, CA 95276
https://www.michaelmina.net/restaurants/wit-wisdom/
Media Contact
Seth Johnson
General Manager
707-931-3405
[email protected]
Top Chef Contestant Previews Folktable in Sonoma
Savor Top Chef contestant Casey Thompson’s seasonally-inspired menu at her new Folktable Restaurant, currently a pop-up at the Cornerstone Sonoma Sunset Test Kitchen. The rotating menu features pure ingredients sourced from their private farm and local foodshed. Past pop-up dishes have included fried pizzas, lobsters with fresh garden tomatoes, Panzanella salads with peaches, hand-pulled mozzarella, Wagyu hotdogs, and funnel cakes.
Every weekend from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., guests can enjoy craft cocktails and an abbreviated menu overlooking the gardens until the new restaurant opens at the former Palooza space in Cornerstone.
Folktable Pop-Up
23570 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476
https://folktable.com/
GRATA’s Modern Italian Eatery in Windsor Town Green
A delightful new modern Italian eatery will soon open with a menu that features house-made focaccia, spicy clams with white wine pasta, wine braised beef short rib with creamy polenta, and so much more. Headed by former Starks chef Eric Foster, Grata is the Italian word for grateful. A quick peek at the menu and there’s a lot to be grateful for.
From handmade house pastas like the unique ricotta gnudi, to showstopping mains like the grilled cornish hen cacciatore with hen of the woods mushrooms braised with root vegetables and creamy polenta, the kitchen dishes out classic Italian favorites with a Sonoma County twist. Drop by the Windsor Town Green and dig into the fried calamari fritto misto while enjoying refreshing low-ABV “Adult” Italian Sodas, and share laughter with families and friends at GRATA’s outdoor dining space.
GRATA Italian Eatery
194 Windsor River Road
Windsor, CA 95492
https://gratawindsor.com/
Contact
[email protected]
Los Molcajetes Bar & Grill
From the restauranteurs of one of Guy Fieri’s favorites, Taqueria Molcajetes, comes a new restaurant with a full bar taking over La Cantina in Rincon Valley. Los Molcajetes Bar & Grill serves six different kinds of Jalisco-style molcajetes on a wood trellis-lined and umbrella-shaded patio. This hearty feast is served in an authentic molcajete volcanic rock bowl, bubbling and steaming with stews of meat, seafood, and vegetables in bold, zesty salsas with a slab of sumptuous cactus draped over. For some extra flavor, enjoy a flight of colorful house-made margaritas with a side of chips and guacamole. Open every day for patio seating, delivery and take out.
Los Molcajetes Bar & Grill
6599 Montecito Blvd. Ste 130
Santa Rosa, CA 95409
(707) 791-7571
Mitote Food Park Ignites Food Truck Culture in Roseland
The newly opened Mitote Food Park is a place devoted to celebrating Latin heritage and culture through street food, music and arts in Roseland Village, Santa Rosa.
From former Willi’s Seafood chef, Rodrigo Mendoza, the El Charro Negro food truck is serving up brilliantly colored ocean-to-table tacos, tostadas, and aguachiles. With a menu filled with impeccably fresh shrimp, fish, calamari, oysters, and octopus, the Instagrammable plates are beautiful and delicious.
Sink your teeth into some serious tamales, made with ancient Mayan techniques passed down family lines at Neil Pacheco’s Tamales Oaxaquenos taco truck. This unique taco truck brings salsas paired with slow-cooked homemade moles of Pacheco’s Oaxacan ancestors, but with a California-inspired twist, garnished with extra virgin olive oil, finishing salt, edible flowers, and microgreens. Making the mole is a multi-day task, crafted from a very closely guarded secret recipe of seven kinds of peppers, chocolate, cinnamon, and more than a dozen other ingredients that form this magical sauce. Open 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday.
The bright orange Lucha Sabina truck dishes out authentic Oaxacan street food with a focus on mushrooms and seriously impressive Tlayuda (Mexican pizza), including selections such as barbacoa, lengua, chorizo, tripa, carnitas, asada, al pastor, and more.
Mitote Food Park
665 Sebastopol Road
Santa Rosa, CA
http://www.mitotefoodpark.com/
Media Contact
Ricardo Ibarra
[email protected]
# # #
Experience Sonoma County, where Life Opens Up. Just as wine “opens up” when it’s allowed to breathe, Sonoma County inspires visitors to open up to new experiences.
Just 30 miles north of San Francisco, Sonoma County is one of California’s top food and wine destinations, home to more than 425 wineries ranging from rustic to regal. Hike among towering redwoods, cruise along rugged Pacific coastline, and get to know inviting small towns. Or, just sit back and take it all in. Because here, you’re free to go your own way.
Sonoma County was named Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Wine Region of the Year. Discover why by visiting it yourself. Start planning today at www.sonomacounty.com or call 707-522-5800.
Media Contact
Anna Yan
Public Relations Manager
Sonoma County Tourism
[email protected]