Celebrate Tradition
N O RT H BAY B O H E M I A N | D EC E M B E R 9 -1 5, 2 0 1 5 | B O H E M I A N.COM
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Only made 3 times a year! Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter
Papa Bastoni’s
PANETTONE Made from a secret family recipe 6285'28*+ Ă&#x160; 6(('(' %$6721, 6:((7 )5(1&+ Ă&#x160; 6/,&(' /2$9(6 5<( Ă&#x160; :+2/( *5$,1 Ă&#x160; :+($7 :+,7(
Award winning bread since 1900
Call to order, shop here or your local retailer
FRANCO AMERICAN BAKERY 202 W 7th Street, Santa Rosa 707.545.7528 Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 8:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4:00 Sat 8:00â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2:30, Closed Wed and Sun
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New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve Dinner Party THE BAY VIEW RESTAURANT AT THE INN AT THE TIDES
THURS , DEC .
31, 7 PM-1 AM
7PM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hors Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Oeuvres Reception / No-Host Bar 8PM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dinner
4 Course Dinner Including wine, Dancing, Party Favors, Midnight Toast 90 PLUS TAX AND GRATUITY
$
Chilled Seafood Antipasto
paired with Domaine Chandon ĂŠtoile RosĂŠ
Strawberry Risotto
paired with 2013 Petroni Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, Sonoma Valley
Surf and Turf
paired with Beaulieu Vineyards Reserve Tapestry, Napa Valley
Royal Strega Tower
paired with Ruggeri Prosecco RESERVATIONS:
800.541.7788 800 | Highway One, Bodega Bay | www.innatthetides.com
East of Amigos Come for the Merlot, stay for the lobster feed at Merriam Vineyards BY JAMES KNIGHT
M
idway into a tour of Merriam Vineyards, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m shown the spacious tasting room, which is appointed like an upscale country boutique.
I learn that the estate vineyard was bound for organic certification from the very start in 2003. And proprietor Peter Merriam tells me how he came to love the great wines of France, because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what they put on the shelves on the East Coast, where heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in business. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking around, wondering: whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the paint-by-numbers, Tuscan-style villa? This winery is actually â&#x20AC;&#x153;New Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; styled,â&#x20AC;? and it turns out that Merriam never actually moved to wine country, although heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been visiting Healdsburg since 1982, when his school buddy Tom Simoneau (for years, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Wine Guyâ&#x20AC;? on KSRO) trekked out here. After harvest, however, Merriam heads back to New England, like a snowbird in reverse. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an East Coast kind of guy,â&#x20AC;? Merriam says with a shrug. A self-described outdoors enthusiast, the native Mainer sticks to where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a reliable snowpack. That East Coast business? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually the winery itself, which Merriam runs from the Boston area, visiting Sonoma County nearly once a month. Formerly, he ran a â&#x20AC;&#x153;package store,â&#x20AC;? which is what they call off-sale wine and liquor shops back there, while his wife, Diana, was on the board of a large, family-run New England supermarket chain. Enough of the story, how is the wine? Well, a sign that boasts â&#x20AC;&#x153;94+ points Robert Parkerâ&#x20AC;? for the 2010 Rockpile Cabernet hangs on a wall in the cellar, so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll advocate at least as many points for the 2013 Bacigalupi Chardonnay ($50), an excellent rendition from this treasured vineyard that splits the cream from the apple, with not too much butter in between. While the 2013 Estate Pinot Noir ($40) is warm and jammy, look for the cool 2015 rosĂŠ next year, with chalky acidity and light, strawberry and rose aromas. Instead of straight-up, toasty oak, the 2014 FumĂŠ Blanc ($28) smells like toasted almonds and none of the grassiness of the fruity 2014 Sauvignon Blanc ($20). Slightly charred, but not too much, the 2011 Estate Merlot ($30) displays all the graphite and dark, red berry fruit that you might want in a Merlot. With less than I expect from a Cab Francâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in the sense of less is moreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the accessible 2010 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Franc ($45) wows with perfumed red berry fruit and notes of sweet blonde tobacco. Merriam Vineyards, 11654 Los Amigos Road, Healdsburg. Daily, 10amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;5pm. Tasting fee, $10. Dog-friendly. 707.433.4032.