If you love good food and wine, why Sonoma county is the place for you
I was on the hunt for something else when I stumbled across this local video of some of my friends and neighbors talking about why they love Sonoma County, and it's not just all about the wine! I thought you might enjoy! Bon appetit! ...
Want to know where the best restaurants are in Sonoma County?
[caption id="attachment_644" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="The latest Bite Club post by Heather Irwin"][/caption] Then you should check out Heather Irwin's BiteClub which is a great source of the latest foodie restaurant news in Sonoma County. You will find the latest restaurant gossip, new openings, and guides to the best places to get a bowl of soup or a chile relleno. She is in the midst of running the second annual best cookie recipe contest. A community of commenters and Twitterers offers their own takes and tips. "Find it Fast" helps you quickly search by cuisine and location. I also use Yelp quite a bit, especially on my iPhone where I can find nearby restaurants based on my location. Posts are filed by nearby Yelpers in the community. Very handy. And then there is Open Table. I used to use this just to make reservations on my laptop, but it is far more powerful on the iPhone, since it takes advantage of the GPS to find me something near by that is open, and then automatically sends an email from the iPhone to confirm my reservation. It is a completely simple and fast. I use Open Table way more often now since I downloaded the iPhone app. There are only 98 "wine country" restaurants on Open Table, so it is a limited list of the better restaurants rather than the more comprehensive listing on Heather's site or on Yelp....
Cycling Paradise on Sonoma County Country Roads
I am offering a break from all the market stat and technology posts. This video has great views of some Sonoma county back roads. Did you know you could do 2 rides a week for a year and not do the same ride twice? Courtesy of the Press Democrat, the Santa Rosa Cycling Club and today's spring like weather! Posted via email from pambuda's posterous ...
Fast Food/Slow Food and the Pursuit of Happiness
I enjoyed this photo essay by Maira Kalman in the New York Times today. Sonoma County is home to many adherents of local, sustainably produced food. Worth a browse to see her photos of a journey to Northern California and back to New York-from fast to Slow Food, with tales of locally, sustainably produced food and the Edible Schoolyard movement. Worth a look--enjoy! and Happy Thanksgiving! ...
Thanks to 638 Photographers and Flickr: Take a Look at Sonoma County
View the diverse beauty of Sonoma County through the pooled efforts of over 600 photographers on Flickr...
Sonoma Saturday: Healdsburg to Forestville
A casual outing on a beautiful fall day in West Sonoma County leads from Riverfront Regional Park in Headsburg to some delicious spots in Forestville....
A Favorite Sebastopol Autumn Scene
Today is an absolutely glorious fall day in West Sonoma County! Crystal clear skies, about 65 degrees. As good a time as any for me to preview a country property for some clients. The vineyards are golden and red. The grass is lush and emerald green after the first rains last month. This is one of my favorite scenes along The Gravenstein Highway. A magnificent row of liquid ambers line the driveway overlooking an expanse of Russian River pinot noir. Sent from my iPhone Posted via email from pambuda's posterous ...
Horse Lovers! Don’t Miss the 2nd Annual Sonoma Change Fundraising BBQ
Last year's inauguaral Benefit BBQ for the Sonoma CHANGE Program (Coins to Help Neglected and Abandoned Equines) was a great success! A fun event in a beautiful venue that raised significant money to help coordinate efforts in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties to save neglected horses from abuse and neglect. In 2009, your help is needed more than ever. It seems that ticket sales are down this year due to the economy, and the need to help abandoned horses is greater than ever. This year's event is at the beautiful Shone Farm of the Santa Rosa Junior College, on the border of Healdsburg, Forestville and Santa Rosa. Please visit the Sonoma CHANGE website to buy your ticket for this fun event coming up soon on Sunday, September 20, 2009.  You'll enjoy a great day with wonderful food, friends and family and lots of equestrian entertainment from dressage and jumping demonstrations, the chance to see and learn about all kinds of horses from Mustangs to Percherons and Friesians. Enjoy drill teams, vaulting and carriage driving. There will even be a Unicorn! What a great way to spend a September Sunday and to benefit a great cause--the health and well-being of horses throughout the North Bay. See you there! If you can't make it on the 20th, the CHANGE website will still accept your donation. If you would like more information about CHANGE, the video below will fill you in....
How far do I have to walk home from wine-tasting? or Cyrus?
You can take advantage of Cyrus' two Michelin stars and have less than a 1/2 mile walk home. ...
Wine Country and Ducks Redux, or just how early is spring this year?
The mustard is about a foot high with brilliant yellow flowers, the daffodils have just begun to bloom after pushing up since early December, and it was 74 degrees the other day. We have had two weeks of unbroken glorious weather which is lovely but we are finally getting some severely need rain. Grapegrowers are worried about early bud break, because we still have frost at night and will for some time. Today my thoughts turned to the pair of mallard ducks who spend their spring break by my pool, bordering some old vine zinfandel that belongs to a neighbor. Generally the last few years, they seem to miraculously show up right around the same time they spring into my mind. Perhaps they are not the only ones tuned into the lengthening days and warming weather? One of the things I love about living in the country, and being out and about early every morning to feed the horses at more or less the same time each day, is that I feel tuned in to nature in a way that I didn't quite get living "in town". Maybe I should set up a duck cam so I can capture their arrival this year? Last year they showed up on February 25th. I'll keep you posted when they return, meanwhile, here they are in 2008.  I guess I have intermittent spring fever....