Merry Edwards Maefield Vineyard House overlooking their sauvignon blanc vines. Photo by Virginia Miller. In the small downtown of Healdsburg, Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience (HWFE) just hosted its second year, May 18–21, 2023, featuring a range of events highlighting some of Sonoma County’s best food and wines. From a region that grows some of the best produce in the nation,… Read more →
Table Culture Provisions‘ bucatini (Photo: Courtesy of Virginia Miller) COME SEE OUR NEW HOME — The Bold Italic has a new home online, and this story has moved! Read it here: https://www.thebolditalic.com/on-the-novel-tasting-menu-delights-at-table-culture-provisions When was the last time you dined in Petaluma? This bustling Sonoma town with rich farming history on the border between Marin and Sonoma Counties is only roughly 32… Read more →
Over the past 20 years, I’ve spent countless hours in the popular Sonoma town of Healdsburg, whether overnights or stops when passing through (past recommends here and here). I have dear friends based in the town and numerous favorite spots in what is one of the best towns to eat and drink in expansive Sonoma County. I’m here to tell you about some notable newcomers, old faves and a lovely hotel — and with three Michelin-starred /The World’s 50 Best SingleThread’s new plant-based restaurant, cafe and wine shop, Little Saint, coming this Spring, there will be even more reasons to return. Here’s your latest Healdsburg checklist.
In the Winter 2020-2021 print issue of Distiller Magazine, my article and interview of two women in distilling and winemaking —from Kentucky and Napa Valley—who are collaborating on turning around tragedy (the recent years of unprecedented NorCal fires and their damage of smoke-tainted grapes) into spirits innovation… smoked brandies in a range of styles and experimentation.
My article on 10 of Sonoma/Napa and Mendocino Wine Country’s best bars (Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, Fern Bar, Barber Lee Spirits, Mario & John’s, Bird & the Bottle, Fog Eater Cafe, The Charter Oak, Miminashi, La Taberna, Solbar)…
Visionary businesswomen can be found all over Wine Country. But one place has a high concentration. Healdsburg’s peaceful town square is home to shops, boutique hotels, wine tasting rooms and restaurants. Though miles of vineyards, rolling hills, farms and redwood groves surround Healdsburg, it’s easily Sonoma’s most chichi, high-end town. But that belies this small town’s vibrant spirit, especially when… Read more →
Published by Where Traveler Magazine in their annual Where Guestbook for 2018, my article on Japanese influence — from winemakers to ramen, a ryokan-like inn to a Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant — across Sonoma and Napa counties. www.wheretraveler.com/san-francisco/eat/california-wine-country-obsessed-japan Read more →
In my latest Time Out column, two new rooftop bars that just hit Napa and SF this week (article here). La Taberna, Miminashi, Clemente’s at Val’s, Oxbow Public Market, Compline, Charlie Palmer Steak, Kenzo, La Toque, Torc, Angèle Read more →
Published on February 9, 2018, at WineAccess, my guide to visiting Napa Valley in off-season — restaurants, hotels, wine bars and wineries to visit now: Read more →
In my latest Time Out column, I dig through highlights new and old in the laid back West Sonoma town of Sebastopol, a town famed for its wineries and Gravenstein apples, as it is for its antique and vintage shopping (article here): — Killer seafood, tacos & burgers: Handline — Yes, ramen, but even better: modern Japanese izakaya fare & whisky… Read more →