Sonoma is B A C K | A Day of Tastings for Slow Wine Guide

On the road for Slow Wine Guide 2022, I ventured into the lush agricultural splendor that is Sonoma to visit wineries that, due to the pandemic, we were not able visit in person for tastings last year. 

While the pandemic has made us all shyer about traipsing about in wine country and socializing, it should also make us more appreciative of what we do have. And what we locals have is a gold mine. As I visited Sonoma wineries this year, I was struck by the throngs of people in downtown Sonoma. Summer was happening and summer seemed sort of like a trump card, capable of overriding (at least temporarily) the accretion of cares and woes. 

One winery that I had particularly missed last year was Amapola Creek, formerly owned by Richard Arrowood, which he sold to his Moon Mountain neighbor Brion Wise (of B. Wise Vineyards). It was a huge year of change at the winery.

Arrowood is continuing to make the wines during a transitional period, training the new team on his practices. Committed to organics, under his long time association with organic viticulturist Phil Coturri, I was curious about the vineyards' certification future, but was told that the organic practices and certification are continuing. 

The tasting setup at Amapola Creek

The wines here are always so exquisite. Though it is mostly famous for reds, I've been a huge fan of the Chardonnay as well which comes from one of the few Russian River growers who is organic. 

The former tasting room director retired, but his role has been ably filled by young talent, Daniel Caresio, who, charmingly, came to Sonoma State to play baseball and ended up getting a degree in wine. Daniel was well trained by his predecessor.

The Wise's, whose fortune comes from fossil fuels, are huge fans of African art and have changed up the tasting room to showcase some of their collection. From Moon Mountain

View of the terrain on the road to Amapola Creek

From Moon Mountain I traveled north to Suzanne Farver's new vineyard (and forthcoming wine label) in the Petaluma Gap–Panther Ridge Vineyards. While her wines have not yet released, I wanted to see the site and get a feeling for the place. 

A former director of the Aspen Art Museum, she was also deeply engaged in the policy side of sustainability–she is vice chair of the board of the change-making Presidio Graduate School–which grants green MBAs–before turning her attention to a hands on transformation of a giant field of thistle and milkweed which is now, after seven years, a respectable biodynamic vineyard (certified organic). Helping her are consultants Philippe Coderey and Nathalie Winkler.

Farver too, is an art collector and displays her collection in her surroundings. She currently sells grapes to a number of wineries. 

Suzanne Farver of Panther Ridge in Petaluma Gap

Driving south towards the town of Sonoma, I passed by Green String Farms, purveyors of amazing produce. They, of course, are Alice Waters' and Chez Panisse's secret weapon, supplying a lot of the beautiful veggies that go into Chez Panisse's meals. You have to love a place where cage free chickens means the chickens roam around the produce store. Quel charmant. 

Next stop: downtown Sonoma, which was teaming with tourists–HURRAY–where I visited Bedrock's Hooker House down an alley off the town square. Bedrock's move to have a tasting room here was inspired by the connection between the Hooker House and their Glen Ellen vineyard, which was also owned by this historic figure in the 1850s onward. 

Bedrock is one of Sonoma's true treasures. In a town where there are so many mediocre wineries that drown out the best (the same goes for Napa, too), I am always amazed by the incredible quality and beauty of certain wineries, including Bedrock, and the mysterious magic that helps people find the wineries like Bedrock. 

Tasting at Bedrock

While I usually stick to tasting their reds, which they are better known for, this year, I finally branched out into their incredible whites. Don't miss these. (Note: these are "sustainably" farmed, not organically. Wines for Slow Wine Guide do not have to be organically grown but may not be grown with herbicide). This wine was a great discovery. (And it's very affordable, to boot).

While Bedrock's well known for its own estate wine, a lot of the fun comes from the incredible variety offered by various vineyards it sources from. One that it now owns is Evangelho in Antioch, which was farmed for decades by Frank Evangelho. I got fired up about learning more about these vines and visited the historic Antioch vines–growing in pure sand–the following week just for fun.

The inscription says "Sand and Wind and Love" in Portuguese.

Next up was Winery Sixteen 600, which weathered the pandemic storm thanks to the hardworking Coturri family's stepped up efforts to keep the business on its feet. Their homey, downtown Sonoma Tasting House, just a few blocks off the Plaza, expanded to provide a new private tasting room–with a turntable no less. 

They launched a new canned rosé wine, which I quite liked, as it was just a tiny bit sweet which sort of goes with the canned experience somehow. This wine may also win in the underground Olympics in the category of "how low input/low intervention can you go" in the vineyard. This wine comes from the Canard Family Farm vineyard from a vineyard that is organically farmed (not certified) and is own rooted, no till, and dry farmed. 

Sam Coturri suggested I try their Syrah, which I have not written about in past years, and to my surprise and delight, this was a very big Wow. I'm also a huge fan of their collaboration with Rhone superstar winemaker Philippe Cambie, which is a label called A Deux Tetes. Their first Grenaches released this year. You will want to try these. And their rosé which I'd say is a Cru rosé. 

Beautiful new labels adorn the newly released
Grenache wines from A Deux Tetes

Then it was on to a meal. Without lunch, it was time for a real dinner, and who could resist open air, sidewalk dining at The Girl and the Fig where one can still get a steak and frites. 

Sonoma's downtown has so much to offer. I wandered across to the classic movie theater where the Anthony Bourdain movie was just opening and sat down to see the show: Roadrunner. 

After our pandemic year, it was good to get out. There is so much delight in life. Better grab it here and now.

Kamen's wine shrine