VinDivine - Living it Up John & Janine Style

Willi's Wine Bar - Sonoma

We love Willi's, it's a great small plate restaurant with a casual wine-country feel and good style. They have indoor and outdoor seating too. Willi's offers 30 or so small plates that run the gamut, including categories like Asian, Local, Mediterranean and French, and they rotate it seasonally. This is perfect for grazing, and is  a blast if you go with another couple or two - you could make your way through a good chunk of the menu and try tons of excellent plates.

It's tough to make specific recos since the menu prolly won't be the same when you go, but some of the recent standouts were: Five Spice Pork Belly Pot stickers (almost always offered), Crab Tacos, Pulled BBQ Duck on a corn and cheddar number, Skillet Roasted Shrimp with chiles and lime, Moroccan Lamb Chops, Stir-fired Green Beans with Almonds & Goat Cheese (see, we do eat our veggies!:)

So you get it, there is a ton of great food here and if you like to sample you will love it. Solid wine list too, representin' the local scene as well as France, Spain, Italy, Aussie, etc etc. Cool thing, just as with the small plates you can get small tastes of wine too - 2oz, 5oz, 1/2 and full bottles. Rock on!

Located in northern Santa Rosa on Old Redwood Highway. They are closed on Tuesday (Tuesday??)

Willi's Wine Bar
4404 Old Redwood Highway
Santa Rosa, CA
707.526.3096

El Dorado Kitchen - Sonoma

This is a pretty new place (in the El Dorado Hotel) located on the Sonoma Plaza. Mediterranean, laid-back but not too wine country-ish. Has a certain modern urban vibe.  We had lunch here this past summer with Janine's mom Flo, and had a pretty good time and meal.  We'd put a link to the website, but don't expect to find any info on it, wow.

After kind of a bitchy 'Sir, you must wait to be seated...' smack-down from the hostess, although she ignored us when we walked in and frankly the place was deserted, it improved quickly. We also got the "hurry up and order the kitchen is closing in 5 minutes" sort of thing. So ask before you get seated.

Excellent haricot vert salad, awesome fairly-thin crust pizzas, especially the funghi pizza that Flo ordered. I think she had pizza every meal while she was in town, come to think of it. We had the baked salmon filet, which was very tasty.  The exec chef is ex-French Laundry, so you know  this place will crank out consistently good grub. Decent, not great wine list, very Sonoma-centric.

El Dorado Kitchen
405 First St. West
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-3030

Gary Farrell Winery

A little ways (but not too far) off the beaten path of Sonoma is Gary Farrell Winery.  It’s in the Russian River area, and the winery and surroundings are beautiful. We love this area. Very bucolic. Anyway enough chit chat. The winery, nestled in a grove of ancient redwoods, is on a hilltop giving it excellent views of the vineyards and surroundings.

It’s a relatively modern place, built in the past 20 yeas or so, but with a timeless style. Not fancy, but comfortable California elegance. Super friendly people in the tasting room, and a nice tasting. They don’t try to rush you. I enjoy their Zinfandel, about $25, they also have a killer Sauvignon Blanc, about $25 a bottle. Their Chardonnays and Pinots have loads of awards too. $5 for a tasting, for $10 you can arrange a tour (call beforehand to schedule).

Gary Farrell Winery
10701 Westside Road
Healdsburg (Sonoma), CA
707-473-2900

Imagery Estate Winery

This winery is owned by Benziger and they produce a pretty interesting array of wines - Pinot Blanc, White Burgundy, Barbera, Petit Verdot, and more. It's worth it just to taste some varietals you might not otherwise, who knows you may find a new flavor to catch a buzz with.

Don't miss the Ash Creek Cabernet though, it's solid. Another cool part is the galleries, they have approximately 100+ pieces of art on display, and the setting is nice. It's located in the Glen Ellen area of Sonoma which is close to the Sonoma Square if you also want to shop, grab a lunch, whatever.

Imagery Estate Winery
14335 Hwy. 12
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
877.550.4278

Hotel Healdsburg

Hotel H  could be at home in the West Village. Tre' chic. Trendy, minimalist, ultra hip. But hey, you get all this plus access to boatloads of wineries, and it's situated right on H-burg square, a happenin' little quadrant of cool shops and cafes. We stayed there because two of our best friends Josh and Julia got married in Sonoma (THE place to get hitched) and spent their wedding night there, it's THAT good!

Hotel H has a zen-like quality without trying too hard. Great hang out in the lobby, piano is a playin and wine is a flowin. Bottom line, it is the place to stay in upper Sonoma. Very well appointed rooms, we like the ones with little (t-i-n-y) decks that face the square. More like the size of a fire escape, but still enough that you can throw the doors open, get a nice breeze and gaze out at the view. We want to uproot the bathrooms and move them to our place -  concrete, big tubs and separate showers, very nice. They have a great courtyard, pool and spa (we haven't spa'd there yet, but hear it's good).

Bonus - Dry Creek Kitchen, a Charlie Palmer restaurant, is part of Hotel H.  They also deliver room service, if you just want to hang out, enjoy the comfy bed and big soaking tub.

Hotel Healdsburg
25 Matheson Street
Healdsburg (Sonoma), CA 95448
707-431-2800

Stryker Sonoma Winery

What a great place. Architecturally modern and one of the best wineries along Hwy 128. Can't remember who designed this place, but they did it right.

Great old Vine Zin, called 'Oz' if you're into that stuff. We love it the more jam taste the better.  Tons of other wines as well - solid Cabs, and a nice range of whites.

Stryker Sonoma Winery
5110 Highway 128
Geyserville, CA

Matanzas Creek Winery

This is a gorgeous place, a bit off the beaten path in Sonoma's Bennett Valley. But it's worth the drive (only about 15 min off 101). There's usually room at the tasting bar, the people are nice, and there's a decent little tour. They are known for their lavender gardens (if you're here in Summer) and have TONS of great lavender products from their lavender harvest to peruse. And the wines, whose recent Parker ratings have been kinda low, are actually quite good.

Matanzas is known for their Merlot, but it is the Sauvignon Blanc which is the best bet. They have a new winemaker as of early 2005, so I'm sure the overall quality of their wines will improve.

Matanzas Creek Winery
6097 Bennett Valley Road
Santa Rosa, California 95404

800-590-6464

J Winery

This place is da bomb. They put it all together. Are there better wines? Sure. Are there better snacks? Doubtful. Better views? Yep. Is there a better munging of wine & munchies, in a kick-ass, sprawling, beautiful wine country tasting room setting? Hell no.

J is situated not far off of the 101 a bit south of Healdsburg and is a must if you're in the upper Sonoma area. All wines are paired with food to go with them, and you go from station to station through the tasting. You could easily spend a couple hours here. You can actually sit back on a comfy chair or couch and enjoy the full tasting they give you.

The bubbly and Pinots are very tasty, and the overall experience is c-l-a-s-s-y.

J Vineyards & Winery
11447 Old Redwood Highway
Healdsburg, CA 95448
888-JWINECO