BITE CLUB

At Flatbed Farm, late-summer bounty is captured in jams, shrubs, and pickles. The farm’s owners also offer classes in food preservation.

Locally, Oliver’s Market carries Waterhorse Ridge products, including the Triple Noir preserves, a “crazy blend” of blackberry, mulberry, estate grapes, and chocolate. Emily O’Conor, who oversees Oliver’s gourmet cheese selections, recommends their apricot preserves with a rich triple-cream brie, or the plum chutney with blue cheese. Waterhorse Ridge batches are tiny: just seven cases at a time, 12 jars to a case. And as with the best of all farm-grown products, availability is seasonal, says Greer, “and subject to the whims of nature.”

IN SONOMA COUNTY

Harvest bounty at this landmark Santa Rosa farmstand comes pickled, frozen, dehydrated, smoked, canned, bottled, and milled. DON’T MISS: Colorful popping corn such as Dakota Black, Ruby Red, and Shaman Blue. Also excellent hot sauces and stoneground polenta. 651 Airport Blvd., Santa Rosa. 707-544-6141, tierravegetables.com

Tanya Seibold makes delicious micro-batches of Bartlett pearginger jam, Gravenstein apple jelly, quince paste and more. DON’T MISS: Comparing versions of her wild plum jam from orchards just a few feet apart— one rosier in color and tasting of spiced apricot; the other a deep, inky purple. Order at fourteenmagpies.com

Jam-making classes are a highlight at this popular shop, held Sunday mornings. Sign up for Sunday Jammin’ ($55 per person); or Family Jam ($99 per family). DON’T MISS: The Petaluma Fog, with figs, orange juice, and ginger, and wonderful mild and hot versions of Lala’s organic pepper jelly. Open Thurs-Mon, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. 720 E. Washington Street, Petaluma. 707-773-1083, lalasjams.com

At Veva Edelson and Karel Sidorjak’s organic farm in Bloomfield, everything is made by hand including apple cider vinegar produced with an apple press they received as a wedding present. DON’T MISS: Tomato-plum-rosemary jam, zingy Fire Cider, and stoneground Floriani polenta. Order at pianofarm.org

Oliver’s Markets carry the creative combinations put forth by Jesus Velasquez and Patricia Greer from their small farm in Cazadero. DON’T MISS: Triple Noir preserves, with grapes, berries, and chocolate, or the Creative Buzz tea, a flurry of peppermint, rhodiola, yerba mate, berries, and more. Order at waterhorseridge.com

Pickles, flavored sugars, preserves, and all kinds of other harvest goodness come from the kitchen at this bucolic Sonoma Valley farmstand. Register in advance for “Preserving the Season: Shrubs and Jams” class on October 17, $125 per person. DON’T MISS: Delicious apricot jam and pomegranate shrubs. Open Saturdays 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. 13450 Highway 12, Glen Ellen. flatbedfarm.com

To learn more: The Sonoma County chapter of the UC Master Food Preserver Program debuted last year. The group plans to offer virtual online canning, pickling, and fermenting workshops, and volunteers can answer food preservation questions. mfpsc@ucanr.edu, 707-565-3026

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST AT sonomamag.com/ biteclub

New restaurants, new dishes, and favorite spots at harvest time.

BY HEATHER IRWIN

Windblown cypress jut into the horizon line just above Dillon Beach. Standing on a bluff above one of of the state’s only private coastal beaches, you can see children playing below, birds flying above and silver ripples reflecting the evening sun. And at the Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen, new chef Jennifer McMurry, formerly of Viola Café and The Pharmacy, makes food as satisfying as the view. The food’s beautiful not just visually — most dishes are dressed with pretty edible flowers and greens — but also in the flavors each one incorporates. McMurry always has known how to balance her creations delicately, adding a pop of citrus, a hint of salt, a little crunch, or a surprising sweetness.

If you’ve never been out to Dillon Beach, this is an ideal opportunity to get to know the resort, which owns the kitchen, along with cottages and a general store/surf shop. Though the beach is private, visitors can get a day pass for $10, and the resort is very dog-friendly. Looking out the picture windows onto the vast blue ocean and even bluer skies, it’s hard not to sing an off-key rendition of “Perfect Day” (you know, the early 2000s song by Hoku on the “Legally Blonde” soundtrack). Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen is, no doubt, the place to finish off your perfect day. Open Fri. through Sun., 12 p.m. – 7 p.m., 1 Beach Ave., Dillon Beach. 707878-3030, dillonbeachresort.com

BEST BETS

$18: This is my new favorite, with a thick and juicy slab of white meat, spicy pickles, a mound of shredded cabbage, aioli and greens.

Fish & Chips, $21: The rock cod is super fresh, with a lovely flake and mellow taste. After sampling so many dishes, I was dreading a big bite of fried fish, but was pleasantly surprised at how light and yielding the breading was, after a squeeze of lemon.

$13: People who dismiss avocado toast as millennial frippery do themselves no favors. A thick (but not too thick) slice of airy pain de ville from Santa Rosa’s Goguette Bread is topped by a generous schmear of fresh avocado, thinsliced pickled yellow beets, greens, and edible flowers. It’s a work of art with enough nourishment to get you through an afternoon of surfing or sandcastle-building.

$12: “This is the best chowder I’ve ever had,” my dad said. “And you can quote me on that!” We’re not throwing any shade by saying that Bob Irwin likes his food simple, flavorful, and mostly uncomplicated. He knows what he likes, and the chowder was a hit. What impressed him, as well as the rest of us at the table, were the briny clams and applewoodsmoked bacon, with lots of chunks of potato and leeks mixed in. Even though the bacon does overpower the chowder a bit, we’ll still go with Bob’s take on this seaside staple.

Above: A seasonal salad with strawberries and goat cheese. Left, the million-dollar view at Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen.

Within the overall food landscape of our county, it’s a mistake to overlook the restaurants that succeed year after year, the dining rooms that become part of our lives day after day. Such it is at the iconic, beloved Central Market, where chef/owner Tony Najiola has spent 18 years of his life.

The signature entrée is Najiola’s slowcooked Angus Short Ribs ($32), with meat that falls to pieces at a mere touch of the horseradish gremolata and leek potato gratin. Fresh burrata ($16) is so simple it’s ridiculous, with buttery cream-stuffed mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, capers and crostini. Batter-fried Alaskan Halibut ($18.50) features pieces of delicately fried whitefish nestled into butter lettuce cups with fresh herbs and gribiche (a vinegary sauce with hard-boiled eggs), eaten in a couple of dainty bites. The menu changes frequently, so you’ll likely see some alterations as the seasons pass. Just don’t wait 18 years to get there. Open Wed.- Sun. 5 p.m. – 9 p.m., 42 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. 707-7789900, centralmarketpetaluma.com

There’s an extra set of hands, er, a chargeable wait-tron, helping out at the new Sushi Rosa restaurant on Fourth Street. Excuse us for the childish glee in getting a plate of nigiri deftly rolled to us from the sushi bar by a friendly roving robot that guides itself right to our table. The sushi here is solid, if not Hana Japanese level, with page after page of rolls and nigiri, including a vegetarian “nigiri” plate as well as more traditional dishes like dried squid with vegetables (ika sansai), Japanese pickles (tsukemono), a whole mackerel with fried bone and pickled vegetable maki. Open 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tues. through Sun. and 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Tues. through Sat. 515 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-843-5132, sushirosa.com

Above: Petaluma's Central Market. Below: A nigiri platter at Sushi Rosa. Top right: White asparagus with cured egg yolk and chiles at 4th Street Social Club.

Heather Irwin

Earlier this year, chef Jeremy Cabrera decided to reinvent his entire plant-based menu, bringing a fine-dining feel to this pint-size downtown dining room. You pretty much can’t look away from his Instagram feed @4thstreetsocialclub, featuring tweezer-rific plating in eye-popping rainbow hues. Cabrera is clearly a tinkerer, for example, using blue pea flower to color strawberries sourced from owner Melissa Matteson’s gardens and his own foraging. The food is astounding, including the “Zuke” ($14) with roasted and torched asparagus, fermented chiles, cherry relish, mint aioli and a shoyu-cured egg yolk. Cracking the purple yam lace and releasing the salty umami yolk onto perfectly cooked asparagus is so enjoyable. It’s this kind of precision and attention that recently won the restaurant the Slow Food Snail of Approval in recognition of sustainable, slow food practices. Open 6 p.m.– 10 p.m. Thurs. – Sun., and 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sat. and Sun., reservations recommended. 643 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 707-9783882, 4thstreetsocialclub.com

Tony Ounpamornchai, executive chef and co-owner of SEA Thai Bistro and three other local restaurants, has been thinking about opening a seafoodcentric spot for years. Now, the chef has fulfilled his briny ambitions with Tony’s Galley Seafood & Bar. The menu is a mix of Ounpamornchai’s familiar Southeast Asian flavors and chef de cuisine Hunter Bryson’s American take on classic dishes like lobster rolls, steamed mussels, fish and chips, clam chowder and, of course, surf and turf.

Highlights include the LGBLT lobster roll ($26), with Village Bakery rolls, garlic butter, bacon, tomatoes, and a pop of tobiko. Bryson’s favorite dish is the crab poutine ($16), with hand-cut fries as a carrier for creamy lobster gravy and fresh crabmeat. And the steamed mussels ($16) feature the gentle heat of a light, flavorful Panang curry with onion, fennel, and garlic. Overall, it’s another win for Ounpamornchai and a chance to see longtime local Bryson show off his culinary chops. Open 3 p.m. – 9 p.m. daily. 722 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 707-3037007, tonysgalley.com

Tony's Galley Seafood & Bar in Santa Rosa

Deep in the Dry Creek Valley is a place to reclaim inner quiet at a series of special Sunday fall brunches, running through the end of October. Enjoy a meal and wine tasting on the patio at the Italian-inspired winery estate, Villa Fiore, surrounded by meditative gardens, fountains, and meandering paths. Dishes include a prosciutto Benedict made with eggs from the estate’s own chickens, a brunch pizza with Journeyman bacon, or a delicious herbed porchetta sandwich on ciabatta bread with truffle aioli and pecorino cheese. Seatings on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., reservations required. $85 per person. 8761 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg. 707-433-6700, ferrari-carano.com

The harvest season outdoor brunch options at Ferrari-Carano include an excellent herbed porchetta sandwich.

Burdock, the newly opened sister eatery to Duke’s Spirited Cocktails, is Healdsburg’s version of Harry Potter’s Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, existing only to a self-selecting crowd. Once inside, you see there’s a bit of magic about it. Wedged between Duke’s and the former Brass Rabbit, the restaurant is in an impossibly long and narrow passage, a secret alleyway edged in brick where wanderers discover a secluded market for top-shelf bourbon, tiki drinks, and caviar puffs.

Last April, Duke’s was left rudderless when its founders left the business over a dispute with their investor. The founders had been slated to open Burdock soon after, but the debut was pushed back to late June, when it opened with chef Michael Pihl and beverage director Michael Richardson. Both are ridiculously overqualified for the gig: Pihl with stints at the former Michelinstarred Cyrus and Napa’s Mustards Grill, and Richardson of Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas.

We went wild for Richardson’s custom tiki drinks. These aren’t the farm-to-glass cocktails you’ll get next door at Duke’s, but more serious mixed drinks that show off Richardson’s hefty experience. And each bite from the menu was truly, truly stunning. It’s rare to be moved by such minuscule portions, but sometimes less is absolutely more. 109A Plaza St., Healdsburg. 707-431-1105, burdockbar.com

BEST BETS

Crispy Pork Belly, $14: Fatty, meaty, crispy squares of pork belly with soft pineapple and the lasting flavor embrace of a sweet-savory mole. A steal of a deal.

Akaushi Beef Carpaccio, $26: It’s perhaps a splurge, but so memorable: Whisper-thin slices of premium raw beef, gooey egg yolk, and the earthy note of mushroom and tangy pecorino cheese. If swagger had a flavor, this would be it. Ahi Tuna Tartare, $17: Three little spoons with barely a bite of raw tuna had us snorting in disbelief. Really? Then we ate them. Oh. A flavor bomb of clean and briny tuna with a zing of sweet-tart Meyer lemon and a crunch of popped farro. The richness would have been overpowering in a larger portion.

Baked Oysters Cubano, $4.50: Plain and simple little oysters get a mink stole of mustard butter, Gruyere, and Serrano ham. Lucky little oysters.

Above: The clubby interior at Burdock in Healdsburg. Left: Ahi Tuna Tartare.

At Home Caregivers serves those who are recovering, convalescing or aging wherever they call home.

We are proud to be the leading provider of in-home non-medical care services for seniors throughout Sonoma and Marin counties for more than 16 years. As the employer of record, we pay ALL wages, taxes and workers compensation insurance. All caregivers are bonded, screened and insured. We encourage the development of the client-caregiver relationship through consistent caregiver scheduling. Licensed by the state of California, At Home Caregivers is locally owned and operated – not a franchise. Caregivers are at the heart of our service. We hire only compassionate, experienced caregivers and train them to meet our standard of care. Our “Legendary Caregiver Service” includes in-home care, dementia care, personal care, hospice care and companion care services. Caregivers are trained to meet care needs associated with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, heart failure, Parkinson’s, diabetes and many other conditions. We match the needs of our clients with the expertise and personalities of our caregivers.

Live longer, healthier, and more independently — our integrated care and services are customized to meet your needs and priorities, at any stage of life.

Even though your body changes as you age, those changes don’t have to limit your independence, energy, or enthusiasm for the activities you enjoy. The key to healthy aging is a healthy lifestyle. Our online resources and programs, in-person classes, and multidisciplinary care teams help you manage chronic conditions, reduce pain, sleep better, stay active, maintain a healthy weight, and more.

Many older adults prefer to stay at home as they age. The best way to stay independent is to know when, where, and who to ask for help. Become familiar with your community’s support services for seniors, such as transportation, financial counseling, and home-delivered meals. You can find out more about the services available in your area by calling your local senior center, Area Agency on Aging (AAA), or by visiting an Eldercare Locator.

Whether you’re healthy or have an ongoing or serious illness, it’s important to document your values, care preferences, and other end of life decisions in the event you can’t speak for yourself. Complete an advanced directive and share it with your doctor, attorney, caregiver, and family/friends. Keep it in a safe, and easy to find, place and review it from time to time to reflect changes in your medical conditions, living situation, and preferences.

Many people care for a spouse, parent, or other family member or friend. Caregiving can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be stressful. It’s important to understand you’re not alone. There is help, including family and friends, health care professionals, and persons working with community services. Here are three steps to being a good caregiver: take care of yourself, don’t help too much, and ask for help.

Spring Lake Village offers an engaged community with a spacious open campus, delicious dining and a full calendar of wellness activities, classes, and more.

At Spring Lake Village you can learn a new skill or pursue an existing interest in our woodshop and art studios or take a comforting walk around our miles of walking trails and wooded areas. From our fitness center and pool to our onsite library and activity rooms, there are numerous amenities to help you live your best life, enjoy friends, and stay active.

Whether you choose a Lifetime or Classic contract, your monthly fee includes comprehensive services to make your life easy and enjoyable. We provide weekly housekeeping and linen service, regular maintenance, and utilities, including Wi-Fi, plus 24/7 security with an emergency response system in each apartment or cottage. Certain services are available for an additional fee, including cable TV, meal delivery, private transportation and parking.

There’s a new way to join Spring Lake Village. Choose from a select group of one-bedroom apartment homes offered without an entrance fee. Now, you can call Spring Lake Village home and experience the renowned spirit of community and wellbeing along with the flexibility of a monthly agreement. Come see the campus and available apartments and learn how this option can work for you. Think of your future on your terms with engaging opportunities, interesting neighbors and dedicated staff providing the services you want.

We offer multiple levels of care to support you as your healthcare needs change. The healthcare continuum available at Spring Lake Village includes independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing care, outpatient rehab services, exceptional memory care, and a preferred partner for home care.

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Virtual tours are also always available. Specializing in assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. www.pacificaseniorliving/healdsburg

Healdsburg is a full-service senior living community. This beautiful nine-acre campus – with spacious studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments – is minutes from the picturesque town square. On the community campus there are 25,000 square feet of flowers, gardens, and beautiful walking paths. All are an outdoor feast for the senses. In addition, residents enjoy keeping company with settled chickens, collecting eggs and feeding friendly goats. The community provides assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation

In addition to customized care plans and compassionate staff, residents enjoy professional dining services in a restaurant-style setting. Beauty, barber and manicure services are available as well. Healdsburg offers a schedule of engaging activities. These include arts and crafts, cook-outs and barbeques, picnics, fitness and dancing, board and video games, movies and local entertainment. A day out in the area might include charming local wineries or appreciating the culture that Healdsburg has to offer.

The skilled nursing staff supports seniors with memory impairment by implementing targeted therapies and continuing with activities – to engage the cognitive functions. The dementia care staff is trained to provide needed services in a supportive environment. We provide a comprehensive approach to caring for each resident by integrating behavioral management and nursing assistance. Our goal is to optimize function, promote social interaction, and enhance self-esteem through assessment and development of care plans that are individualized for each resident.

Nurses provide your loved ones with the highest level of care found outside the hospital. Our goal is to assist residents through every step of the recovery process, making sure they heal not only physically, but also emotionally. We evaluate and design each therapy plan to fit individual needs while offering the respect and dignity residents deserve. Areas of specialty include orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation, wound care, and intravenous medication administration. We also provide long term custodial care.

A major component of happy, healthy aging is stress management, yet some of life’s most stressful events happen as we age. Exchange Bank’s Trust and Investment Management team aims to alleviate stress by helping our clients achieve their goals and plan for their financial futures.

Estate settlement is a complex process—many people either don’t have someone they trust, or they want to spare their loved ones the time-intensive task. We take care of everything, including: managing financial assets; protecting and distributing personal belongings; tax reporting; bill payments; accounting to beneficiaries; and ultimately distributing the assets in accordance with our clients’ wishes. We worry about these things so that you (and your loved ones) don’t have to. Our objective is to manage your investments to meet your goals, not to take unwarranted risks in an attempt to beat the market. We work to understand your goals, timeline and risk tolerance to build a portfolio that works for you. As a fee-only fiduciary investment manager, we do not accept commissions of any kind. Our fee is based on the market value of your account, which means our financial interests are in alignment with yours. Exchange Bank provides a wide range of retirement planning services. Our Rollover IRA program provides a rational and cost-effective alternative to traditional investment advisory services. Our certified retirement and investment specialists have a strong understanding of the unique rules that govern retirement accounts and will ensure your tax, distribution and beneficiary elections are handled with care. Our goal is to take some of the guesswork out of retirement, so you can focus on celebrating.

Exchange Bank has one of the largest community bank trust departments in California with offices in Santa Rosa, Roseville and Los Altos, and over $1.4 billion in assets under administration. Since 1963, we’ve been committed to the financial success and well-being of our clients and are proud to be a trusted resource for our community.

We offer a continuing care model with three levels of accommodations on one campus: Assisted Living, Memory Care and Post-Acute Care (Skilled Nursing). At Arbol Residences we are hospitality driven, embracing a true service culture where we value residents and staff alike. We strive to not only meet, but exceed expectations daily.

Arbol Residences is proud to announce plans for a $9 million renovation project to be completed in the fall of 2021. The project includes a bistro, upgraded dining room, exercise room and six new one-bedroom apartments. The exercise room will include ergonomic equipment, free weights, and a full schedule of classes designed to enhance the community’s existing holistic approach to healthy aging and adoption of the eight Dimensions of Wellness.

Senior living with a core mission of care and compassion

300 FOUNTAINGROVE PKWY, SANTA ROSA • 707-359-5005 ARBOLSANTAROSA.COM

We’ve been helping people in Sonoma County improve their lives through better hearing for more than 60 years. We have five conveniently located offices with professionally trained Audiologists and Hearing Specialists to provide you with the very best care. We are family owned and operated and treat each patient as if they were family too.

We offer a complete suite of hearing care services, including hearing testing, hearing aids, repair, custom earplugs and more. If you need a hearing aid, how can you know which one is right for you? With our Hearing Aid Test Drive™, you are able to try out different hearing aids at home, work, or wherever you go to make sure it’s the right fit before you commit.

Kenwood Hearing Centers provides hearing tests, hearing aids, and other hearing care services.

Solstice offers the only full-service, stand alone independent living community in Santa Rosa. Our monthly rents include three meals daily, most utilities, cable tv, weekly housekeeping, scheduled transportation and full-time activities program starting at $3,495 per month. Why pay more when you can receive the same services for thousands less? Solstice partners with Alegre Home Care to provide scheduled care for our residents. Quick Care is a program that offers care in 15 minute increments allowing you the flexibility to schedule care as needed, thereby saving you time and money.

We are the only full-service independent living community in Santa Rosa.

3585 ROUND BARN BLVD, SANTA ROSA, CA 95403 • 707.578.8400 SOLSTICESENIORLIVINGSANTAROSA.COM

The Medicare Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) is a free, unbiased and trusted source for individual help and education about Medicare so you can make more informed decisions. HICAP does not sell anything. We are a program through the California Department of Aging in partnership with local Area Agencies on Aging and Senior Advocacy Services. Join others who trust HICAP as their unbiased source so they can make more informed Medicare decisions.

Each year, everything changes. Part D prescription plans change and Medicare Advantage plans change. October 15 through December 7 is your chance to understand the changes so when you step out there to deal with agents and plans you’re more informed about the advantages and disadvantages. Call 1-800-434-0222 to schedule an appointment or see us online at www.SASNB.org.

BOON EAT + DRINK, EL BARRIO, BROT GUERNEVILLE

Call her the chef who transformed an entire town. In 2008, tired of corporate life, Crista Luedtke moved to Guerneville, taking over a boutique hotel and opening a restaurant named for her sweet, white-muzzled rescue pup, Boon. And then she just kept going, with another local restaurant, and another—and just this summer, a second resort, The Highlands. Along the way, she became a star on “Guy’s Grocery Games” and a leader with a heart of gold in her local community.

Today, though she travels in the heady world of celebrity chefs, she stays true to her adopted west county roots, hiking with friends at the Jenner Headlands Preserve or dropping in a couple of kayaks at the mouth of the Russian River. “Early fall is quite literally one of my most favorite times of year here, as the vineyards go from green to orange to red,” Luedtke says. “It’s a moment to relax and reflect on a crazy-busy summer season. It means fewer crowds, but more quality time with people, and really getting to enjoy the bounty of the food.”

Luedtke says this easy fall recipe came together on the fly, with nutty cauliflower, creamy chickpeas, and sweet figs balanced by salty olives and crunchy pine nuts. “Eating veggie doesn’t have to mean just salads—it can mean super-hearty and seasonal. This is like a fun mash-up of my favorite things.” eatatboon.com

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER OVER WHIPPED CHICKPEAS WITH FIG AND OLIVE RELISH

Cut the cauliflower into florets. Toss the florets in a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt, then roast on a baking sheet in the oven at 450°F until goldenbrown, about 10-15 minutes. The finished cauliflower should have color and tenderness but retain a bit of crunch.

While the cauliflower roasts, prepare the chickpea puree. Strain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid in a bowl. In a blender or food processor, combine the chickpeas, the juice of one lemon, garlic, olive oil, tahini, a teaspoon of salt, and ¼ cup of the reserved chickpea liquid (aquafaba). Blend on high for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. If the machine slows down, add 2 more tablespoons of aquafaba. To finish, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the puree is smooth and light, and season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

To make the relish, cut the figs in half, and caramelize them on the stove in a medium-hot saute pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, then set aside to cool. In the same pan, sauté the diced shallot in oil on medium heat until soft, and add the chopped olives to warm them through, then remove from heat. Once the figs are cool, chop them roughly and add them back to pan with the oliveshallot mixture and the juice of one lemon. Roughly chop the pine nuts and fold into relish. Set aside at room temperature until serving.

To serve, spread the whipped chickpeas on individual plates or a platter, top with the roasted cauliflower, and spoon the relish over the cauliflower. Squeeze the juice of one lemon on top, and garnish with chopped parsley, lemon zest, and more pine nuts. Serves 4-6. 1 medium head of cauliflower 1 15-oz. can of organic chickpeas (reserve the liquid) 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled ⅓ cup olive oil, plus additional for tossing and browning ⅓ cup tahini (optional) 1 lemon Salt and pepper

For relish 1 pound fresh figs 1 shallot, diced 1 small jar Castelvetrano olives, pitted, strained, and roughly chopped 1 lemon 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

For garnish 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts ½ bunch Italian parsley, stems removed, leaves roughly chopped 1 lemon and its zest

KIVELSTADT CELLARS SONOMA

youngest of four, with parents originally from El Salvador and an uncle from Korea. “So growing up, it was a lot of Latino foods—elote, street food—but then I was also eating rice and nori and kim chi,” he says. He attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, then built a career as a corporate chef, feeding crowds while keeping quality high (“my specialty is taking someone’s grandmother’s recipe and scaling it up”). Bendeck moved to Sonoma with his wife and dog three years ago to take over the culinary program at Sonoma Raceway. Recently, he’s been making a splash at Kivelstadt Cellars with elevated Wine Country dishes like vegan tacos with blue corn tortillas and tri-tip smoked with grapevines. “I love fall,” the chef says. “We do a big harvest party at the winery, and all of the pumpkins and gourds in my garden at home are ready. And we go out in a big group to Hog Island, rent picnic tables, tailgate and grill oysters.”

Bendeck says his gazpacho is full of protein and refreshing on a warm day. Traditionally, white gazpacho is thickened with almonds and bread, but Bendeck’s extra-velvety version is gluten-free and vegan, made with local walnuts and often garnished with grapes straight from the vineyards. At Kivelstadt, Bendeck serves the soup with a Parmesan tuile, but he also loves it with a hunk of crusty ciabatta bread. kivelstadtcellars.com

WHITE WALNUT GAZPACHO

First, make a base of macerated vegetables and grapes: Sprinkle white pepper and kosher salt over the onion, Persian cucumbers, garlic, and green grapes and let sit for 30 minutes while the flavors combine. While the base macerates, make the walnut milk by blending walnuts and water in a blender until velvety smooth.

To make the finished soup, combine the macerated vegetables and grapes, walnut milk, sherry and champagne vinegars, olive oil, and broth or coconut milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Chill the soup and serving bowls for 30 minutes before serving. To serve, combine the cucumber, walnuts, grapes, and shallots together and toss. Spoon the soup into chilled bowls, divide the garnish among the servings, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar. Serves 6-8. For walnut milk 2 cups walnuts, raw or roasted 2 cups water

For soup 1 sweet onion, chopped 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped 8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 2 cups green grapes, sliced in half 2 tsp white pepper 3 tbsp kosher salt 4 cups walnut milk (see above) ¼ cup sherry vinegar ¼ cup champagne vinegar 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups vegetable broth or coconut milk

For garnish ¾ cup cucumber, diced ½ cup walnuts, chopped ¾ cup green grapes, sliced Sliced shallots to taste Extra-virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar, for drizzling

SANGSAN, QUAIL & CONDOR HEALDSBURG

fairytale. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, she studied finance and worked in banking before realizing cooking was what she was meant to do. She opened a small sushi kiosk across the street from the bank where she used to work, then headed to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY—where she zoomed to the top of her class and scored a coveted internship at Healdsburg’s SingleThread.

Sakornsin recently struck out on her own, building a following as a private chef, baking with fellow SingleThread alums at Quail & Condor, and creating small pop-ups of Thai street food favorites under the name Sangsan. “I’m super homesick sometimes, so this kind of food takes me back. I want to make food that Thai people will say tastes like home.” The star of this fall dish is a Thai chile and coconut milk dressing, which tastes refreshing alongside crisp greens and eggplant but also would go beautifully with grilled fish or shrimp.

Fall here in wine country still feels new, says Sakornsin. “We don’t have seasons back home; it’s summer, summer, summer—and then typhoon. So it’s really nice to feel the cool nights and hot days and eat all the good produce.” @fermentedperson on Instagram

BAKED EGGPLANT SALAD WITH CHILE-COCONUT DRESSING (YUM MAKEAU MUANG)

Slice the shallot into quarters, then place the shallot, garlic cloves, and dried chiles in a small frying pan, and cook on low heat on the stovetop. Remove the chiles from heat when they’ve turned dark and crispy. Remove the shallots and garlic when they are blistered all over. Then, blend the roasted shallots, garlic, and chiles in a blender with the oil, adding the sugar and a pinch of salt as it blends. Continue blending until the mixture becomes a fine paste.

Return the paste to a cooking pan on the stove, and over low heat, stir until the oil separates and the mixture is cooked to a clear, deep red. Refrigerate the paste and oil in a tightly-lidded jar for up to a month, and use together in any recipe that calls for chile jam.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Cut eggplant into thin sticks, then toss with canola oil and a generous pinch of salt. Lay the eggplant sticks on a baking tray lined with parchment or a Silpat sheet. Bake the eggplant at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then flip and bake another 5 minutes or until crispy.

Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Adjust the flavor to your liking by adding extra fish sauce, sugar, or lime, then set aside.

Mix the lettuces together and arrange on a serving platter with the baked eggplant, shallots, eggs, radishes, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over the top and serve. Makes two dinner-size salads. For the chile jam 1 medium shallot 2 cloves garlic 1-2 mild dried chiles such as guajillo ¼ cup canola or sunflower oil 1 tsp sugar Pinch of salt

For the chile-coconut dressing ¾ cup coconut milk 2 tbsp chile jam (see above) 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp lime juice

For the salad 1 medium eggplant Pinch of salt 4-5 tbsp canola or sunflower oil, enough to coat the eggplant 6 cups packed mixed greens (here, a combination of frisée, green and red lettuces) 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced 2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and quartered 3-4 radishes, thinly sliced ½ cup packed cilantro, roughly chopped

STOCKHOME PETALUMA

restaurant, Stockhome. The couple, who have four children, including 11-year-old twins, wanted to open a comfortable, simple neighborhood spot where even young guests would feel welcome. The menus reflects a range of street-food influences in Sweden’s cosmopolitan capital, where Roberth grew up: meatballs and gravlax make their appearance, but so do kebabs and falafel. At the restaurant, Roberth garnishes this easy fall flatbread with lovage, which Swedes call libbsticka. The fresh greens, which Roberth says taste like a cross between parsley and celery, balance the richness of the cheese, the earthiness of the mushrooms, and the sweetness of the pear. The flatbread dough comes together quickly, but if you’d rather, a prepared dough or crust is an easy substitute. stockhomerestaurant.com

MUSHROOM & PEAR FLATBREADS

First, make the flatbreads. In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast and warm water and allow to rest for 10 minutes while the yeast activates.

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, stir together the whole wheat flour, 00 pizza flour, and salt. Add the yeast/water mixture and olive oil to the flour and salt. Mix for 1 minute, then pause and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then mix again on medium speed for another 5-7 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a table sprinkled with a small amount of 00 flour and knead for two minutes with your hands. Using a pastry cutter, cut the dough into 8-10 equal pieces and place on an oiled baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Set a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 400 ºF. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out individual flatbreads with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Bake flatbreads on a pizza stone at 400 ºF for 10 minutes until crispy. While they’re baking, sauté the shaved mushrooms in a hot pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper until softened, about four minutes. Remove the flatbreads from the oven.

When the flatbreads have cooled a bit, spread with crème fraiche and cover with shredded cheese. Mix the sautéed mushrooms with the shaved pear, and cover the top of the flatbreads. Bake the flatbreads a second time in a 400 ºF oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. To serve, top with zested lemon, lightly-fried garlic, toasted pine nuts, salt, and pepper, and garnish with fresh lovage. For the flatbreads: ¾ tsp dry active yeast 1 cup warm water (98 ºF) 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 2/3 cup “00” pizza flour 1 ½ tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil

For toppings (per flatbread): 1 tbsp crème fraiche ¼ cup Präst Ost cheese or shredded gouda ¼ cup King Trumpet mushrooms, thinly shaved ½ ripe Asian pear, thinly shaved 1 tsp garlic, shaved and lightly fried 1 tsp pine nuts, toasted ½ tsp lemon zest ½ cup lovage or flatleaf parsley Maldon salt Fresh-cracked pepper

MIRACLE PLUM SANTA ROSA

“I feel more grateful for the produce we get, knowing what it takes to grow and harvest it. It feels important to me to treasure that,” she says. One of a team of women who run Miracle Plum’s culinary marketplace and kitchen, Davis says she’s inspired by the store’s collaborative spirit: “It makes everything better that we all have a voice,” she says. Davis also draws strength from the students in her tart- and pie-baking classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, who persevered through distance learning last year, picking up kits of ingredients and posting pictures of at-home baking assignments. “I wasn’t expecting it, that joy they found in the kitchen—it was the best thing.”

Davis loves working with pumpkins and squash, especially delicata squash, which she calls the queen of the fall veggies. “I love the sweetness of it. I love its color, its seeds, the texture it brings to soups and stews. And I love the shape—when you cut it into rounds and you get that beautiful scalloped edge.” She says this dish makes the most of the play between sweet squash, nutty farro, tart pickled currants, and sweet-hot apricot-chile dressing, which takes on a gorgeous rosy hue from apricot jam. miracleplum.com

FARRO SALAD WITH ROASTED DELICATA SQUASH AND FETA

Cook farro according to package directions to yield 3 cups cooked.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Slice off the stem and the blossom end of the squash (no need to peel the skin). Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Next, cut the squash crosswise into half-moon-shaped slices ¼-inch thick. Toss the slices with olive oil, chile flakes, and ½ teaspoon of salt, then roast in the lower half of the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Flip the slices over, and roast for another 10-15 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.

Put the currants in a heatproof bowl. Gently heat the red wine vinegar on the stove until hot, but do not boil. Pour the vinegar over the currants and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Strain the currants and set aside. Reserve the vinegar soaking liquid for the vinaigrette.

Combine all apricot jam vinaigrette ingredients using a blender or whisk until emulsified.

In a large bowl, combine cooked farro, roasted squash, cabbage, scallions, pepitas, 3 tablespoons of herbs, and pickled currants. Toss together gently, then pour over the vinaigrette, add black pepper to taste, and toss again.

Put the feta, yogurt, olive oil, and garlic into a food processor and process until and creamy. If you don’t have a food processor, use a whisk to combine. Fold in the zest, herbs, and cracked black pepper and refrigerate until serving.

To serve, spread the feta mixture on individual plates or on a serving platter, then spoon the farro salad over the feta and sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Serves 4-5. For the whipped feta 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled ½ cup Greek yogurt 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small clove garlic, minced

zest of 1/2 orange 3 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the pickled currants ¼ cup currants ⅓ cup red wine vinegar

For the apricot jam vinaigrette Leftover vinegar from the pickled currants, about ⅓ cup 2 tbsp apricot jam About ¼ tsp Urfa chile flakes or other chile flakes (adjust to taste) ¾ tsp kosher salt ½ cup olive oil 1½ tbsp shallot, finely diced

For the salad 2 medium delicata squash 3 tbsp olive oil About ½ tsp Urfa chile or other chile flakes (adjust to taste) 3 cups cooked farro 1 ½ cups red cabbage, thinly sliced 4 scallions, thinly sliced ⅓ cup pepitas, toasted ¼ cup fresh herbs, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste

By John Beck Photography By Kent Porter

IN 2013, WHEN PAUL HAWLEY transplanted a few wild hop plants he found growing along a fence in a vineyard near the Russian River, he had no idea it would spark the revival of a crop that once made Sonoma County famous with brewers around the world. “In the beginning, I just wanted to see what would grow,” says the co-owner of Fogbelt Brewing Company, who grew up the son of a winemaker, farming grapes outside

Healdsburg.

Hawley had already planted a few rows of the industry-standard hop varieties Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial. But the row of wild California Cluster hops he discovered along the river outproduced them all, he says. “They just blew away everything else.”

At the time, Hawley’s quarter-acre was the largest hopyard he knew of in Sonoma County, while in Santa

Rosa, Moonlight Brewing Co. also had a quarter-acre hopyard that had been rescued from Korbel.

A beer-drinking buddy of Hawley’s who shares his love of hops, Mike Stevenson planted his half-acre

Warm Spring Wind Hop Farm in Sebastopol a year later. When Stevenson joined with Hawley to form the NorCal Hop Growers Alliance in 2016, they were hoping to dig up anything they could fi nd out about the heyday of hops in Sonoma County. They knew hops had fi rst been planted near the Laguna de Santa Rosa in 1858, and the county’s hopyards reached more than 2,000 planted acres by 1899. By the 1930s, around 3 million pounds were harvested annually. But for a number of reasons, the crop had largely faded away by the 1960s.

“I kept thinking if only I could fi nd an old-timer who used to grow hops, they could answer all my questions,” Hawley remembers. “But I couldn’t fi nd anyone.”

As more farmers joined the hop collective, they shared hard-won tips learned from trial and error along with information gleaned from research. The group saved on bulk orders and pooled money together to buy new equipment. Guest speakers from UC Davis and the hop mecca of Yakima, Washington, dropped by to share the latest in industry news.

Now, about a month into this year’s abundant hop harvest, as fresh wet-hopped brews are getting chalked up on local beer boards, a half-dozen tightknit commercial growers are mounting a hop revival, marking a tradition that dates back 160 years.

Above: These freshly harvested Sonoma hops are headed straight to the brewery. So called “wethopped” beers made with fresh hops like these are available only in early fall. Right: A busy pace during the early-morning harvest in Alexander Valley.

Above: Erin Shea and Mike Sullivan of Santa Rosa’s Blossom & Bine with their two children. The couple grow in a little known but highly prized variety called Teamaker. Left: Scott Bice in his Sebastopol hopyard. Bice, a key member of the hop growers collective, imported a harvester from Germany.

In Rohnert Park, Ron and Erica Crane are embarking on their second harvest at Crane Ranch Hops, where sheep help with pruning and fertilizing on a family farm first settled in 1852. The couple is building a kiln to dry some of their hops this year. In west Santa Rosa, Erin Shea and Mike Sullivan at Blossom & Bine are growing a little-known variety with hardly any bitterness called Teamaker, along with the usual suspects like Cascade, Chinook, and Cashmere. Last year, the couple picked their first crop entirely by hand — something they’ll never do again. North of Healdsburg, in Alexander Valley, Melissa Luci feeds her Alexander Valley Hops a healthy mushroom compost, so tasty it attracts raccoons. To keep critters out of her 1.5-acre hopyard, which is surrounded by a sea of Cabernet vines, she often blasts live Giants baseball radio broadcasts into the night. In Sebastopol, at Capracopia and Redwood Hill Farm, Scott Bice fertilizes his hops with goat manure from his dairy. Every hop grower in the area will drop by his farm at some point during harvest to feed their bines through “The Wolf,” a reconstituted 1973 German hop harvester that Bice and the Cranes imported for $50,000 for the hop growers collective.

Keeping it local this fall, these growers’ hops will flavor beers at Russian River, Fogbelt, Crooked Goat, Barrel Brothers, Steele and Hops, Old Possum, Pond Farm, and Mad Fritz breweries, among others.

the first thing to know is a hop vine is called a “bine.” A close cousin of cannabis, the hop flower, or “cone,” is what gives beers like IPAs and pale ales their beautifully bitter aromas and delicate floral notes. More jargon: A beer’s bitterness is measured in IBUs or International Bitterness Units. And when hops have gone “O.G.” they have not turned “Original Gangster” but “Onion-Garlic” — a dreaded off-flavor that can plague certain varieties.

Fresh, wet-hopped beers are what get many beer lovers going this time of year. A wet-hopped beer is one made with fresh whole cones harvested only hours before they're dropped into the brew kettle. It’s a seasonal tradition, available in only in August, September, and October, making it the Beaujolais Nouveau of beers. Most beers are dry-hopped, with cones that are heated and dried in a hop kiln and often pelletized and refrigerated before being added to the beer. The difference between a fresh, wet-hopped beer and a dry-hopped one, people like to say, is the difference between cooking with fresh basil from the garden and dried basil from the spice rack.

To see and smell a young hop flower coming to maturity on the bine, you begin to understand the allure for any brewer looking to make the freshest, locally sourced beer available. Standing in the middle of her hopyard on a baking-hot afternoon, Melissa Luci of Alexander Valley Hops plucks a flower and pulls it apart to expose tiny, yellow lupulin glands inside. “That’s what flavors the beer,” she says, pointing to the bright resinous beads before letting the flower fall to the ground, which is composted with bark from trees burned by the 2019 Kincade fire.

Luci, who has a degree in art history, came to hopgrowing on a whim. One day, as she was looking at the long, narrow fairway where her father would drive golf balls every evening before dinner, “it occurred to me to go up,” she says — literally 18 feet in the air. She began researching and poring over archival photos and erected a hopyard on wooden poles she sourced from Washington. “You want them to reach the top by the summer solstice,” she explains, looking up at the climbing tendrils, which always wrap clockwise around the coconut-husk twines. On this day, most of

her 1,500 bines of Cascade, Triumph, Chinook, and Cashmere have met the challenge and are touching the top wire as they dance in the breeze, undulating in waves down each row.

Luci’s family has grown Cabernet grapes since the ’70s in the surrounding Peline Vineyards. She’s a farmer, but very much a Cali farmer. When you ask what it was like to taste the first beer flavored with her own hops, she says, “It was bitchin.’” One of the most memorable was a Barrel Brothers concoction called “Hop Cones of Dunshire,” inspired by the TV show “Parks and Rec.”

Early or late, the annual hop harvest was always big news around the turn of the 20th century. “During the period of about four weeks from September to the early part of October all the way from 15,000 to 30,000 men, women, and children were busily engaged from sunrise till sunset picking the blossoms from the great hop fields of California,” reads a 1900 story from the San Francisco Chronicle. It estimated at least 7,500 acres of hops were planted in Sonoma, and neighboring counties, totaling 9 million bines.

Every fall, migavrant workers would camp along the banks of the Russian River, as entire families pitched in for the harvest. Paul Hawley’s 97-year-old grandmother tells stories of picking hops as a little girl for a few seasons, always adding how “it wasn’t much fun at all.” Back then, hop harvesters walked on stilts to pick the upper reaches of towering bines. They wore thick wool suits to protect themselves from scratchy bines and what newspaper stories called “hop poisoning” — a severe rash on the face and arms from the “nettle-like fuzz on the stalks of the hop vine.” And their hands would end up stained dark from hop resin — something that could be “removed by rubbing with the crushed green leaves of the hop.”

By the early 1900s, when Grace Brothers Brewery in Santa Rosa was selling its “Special Brew” (and later “Happy Hops” lager), the local crop flavored much lighter, less hoppy beers than the double and triple IPAs that score raves on Beer Advocate today. Back then, a variety called California Cluster was king — the same one Paul Hawley later found growing wild in a vineyard off Eastside Road. A London hops broker who visited both Yakima and Sonoma County hopyards in 1892 told the Sonoma Democrat that Yakima hops were very rich in lupulin and “altogether of the finest quality for the European market.” But “they are excelled by the Sonoma hops in only one essential. The Yakima hops lack softness to the touch, silkiness, which the Sonoma product possesses in a high degree.”

By the ‘60s, the crop had all but died out when one of the last big harvests took place at Bussman Ranch near Windsor. Post-World War II fertilizers had introduced “downy mildew” into the soil, decimating hopyards, which were then replanted with prunes and grapes. New trends and drinking preferences favored lighter, less hoppy beers. With more daylight hours (hops need 16 hours a day) and soil conditions more resistant to mildew, Yakima, Washington offered better growing conditions for hops. The area now grows around 75% of the hops in the U.S., which produces nearly half of the hops in the world, about the same amount as Germany.

But local hops have a huge advantage when it comes to seasonal wet-hopped beers: They can be picked in a hopyard a few miles from the brewery and dropped in the kettle within hours. Wet-hopped brews also require about five times the amount of hops when wet, which at $8 to $9 a pound (compared to the 81 cents per pound that pioneer farmers Otis Allen and Amasa Bushnell got for their 1,100 pounds of inaugural Sonoma County hops in 1858) makes for a decent payday for local growers. To make a wet-hopped beer with Northwest hops — and some Bay Area brewers actually do it — you need to overnight the hops by mail, paying a premium for what is mostly water weight.

Above left: A hundred years ago, hops were huge business in Sonoma County. Growers like Erin Shea of Blossom & Bine, right, are betting they will be again.

FOR NOW, THE NEXT STEP IN THE REBIRTH of Sonoma County hops will be reaching and maintaining a consistent level of quality that brewers can count on every harvest, says Vinnie Cilurzo, owner-brewer at Russian River Brewing Company. Cilurzo grew hops at Korbel in 1997, where his brewery was fi rst started, and now buys 50,000-60,000 pounds of whole cone hops a year from growers in the Northwest.

“Just because it’s local doesn’t mean that the quality is there,” says Cilurzo, who pitched in $5,000 so the NorCal Hop Growers Alliance could purchase its fi rst harvester — a modern update of the fi rst hoppicking machine invented in 1940 by Santa Rosa farmer Florian Dauenhauer. “So we need to make sure these growers are doing the best they can and have the best practices they can to have the highest quality hops that are at least coming close to what we can get up in the Northwest.”

A lot of it comes down to timing, Cilurzo says — knowing when to prune, when to add nutrients, when to train the bines up the line, how much to water, and ultimately, when to pick so the hops don't come in underripe or overripe.

“If people aren’t harvesting at the right time and they’re just doing it for convenience — like, say the brewer says, ‘We have to do this the second week of August or we can’t do it.’ And the grower needs the money — then the hops aren’t going to be as good and then the beer won’t be as good,” says Scott Bice, who started farming a quarter-acre in 2015 on a neglected apple orchard at his Redwood Hill goat dairy and now grows about 1.5 acres.

beer, there’s one fi nal ingredient that’s been missing all these years: Barley. On a hot, dusty June afternoon, Ron Crane of Crane Ranch Hops, who comes from a longtime local farming and ranching family, pulls up to a farm on Lakeville Highway, southeast of Petaluma, where he grows hay and runs sheep on 1,000 acres along the Petaluma River. His pickup truck is loaded down with spent grain from Russian River Brewing Company, a trail of juice dripping out the back of his tailgate onto the dirt road. While some ranchers are spending a fortune on feed during the drought, Crane keeps his sheep alive on the mealy brewing byproduct that he gets for free.

It was his wife Erica’s idea to plant hops. “I wanted to fi nd something that could be our legacy,” she explained a few days before, wearing a “Don’t Worry Be Hoppy” T-shirt while touring their 2.5-acre hopyard. Last year, the couple got to belly up to the bar at the Russian River outpost in Windsor to toast their very own R&D Crane Ranch Pale Ale. For Ron, who fl ew Apache helicopters in the second Iraq War and CALSTAR rescue helicopters, it marks a new adventure, inspiring him to build a hop kiln this year to extend the life of his hops.

But today, he’s eager to check on his barley crop. If a lab test confi rms the protein levels are suitable for malting, it will be one more step toward his dream of making a beer from entirely local ingredients — the holy grail for farm-to-bottle affi cionados — all sourced and made within a 30-mile radius.

Back in 2017, Nile Zacherle at Mad Fritz in St. Helena, who specializes in origin beers, made an all-Sonoma County beer with hops from Bice’s Capracopia hopyard and barley from Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg.

But in a county that prides itself on homegrown ingredients, this new all-local brew will be special, with barley grown by the same farmer who grew the hops. Crane’s plan is to malt the barley at Grizzly Malt in Rohnert Park, and brew the beer in batches at Russian River Brewing Company and Old Caz Beer.

Taking a four-wheeler out to his fi eld of Genie barley, Crane picks a few spikes and pulls off the golden barley berries, turning them over in his hand. They’re still at least a few days away from harvesting. “I’m hoping in a few months, this will go into a freshhopped batch of beer,” he says, smiling. “How cool would that be?”

Above: Fresh hops from Melisssa Luci's Alexander Valley hopyard, all packaged up for the trip to the brewery.

Just in time for harvest, see author John Beck's short fi lm, "Dance of the Bines," fi lmed at Melissa Luci's Alexander Valley Hops. When Beck fi rst visited the hopyard to research this story, Luci promised that if he returned at dusk, he'd see something extraordinary: The delicate movement of the 20-foot tall hop bines as they sway in the evening breezes.

See the fi lm at sonomamag.com/hops.

SONOMA’S VERSION OF OKTOBERFEST arrives in September, as local farmers wake before dawn to harvest ripe hops, delivering them to breweries hours after they’re picked. “You really get the essence in the beer of what the hops smell and taste like hanging on the bine,” says Russian River Brewing Company owner-brewer Vinnie Cilurzo. “Our goal is to have the hops picked from the bine and into the kettle in 5 to 6 hours.”

Drinking a wet-hopped beer is the best way to sample Sonoma’s terroir. Instead of being dried in a kiln and pelletized, home-grown hops are dumped whole-cone into wet-hopped beers. This month, wet-hopped IPAs, pale ales, and pilsners start showing up in pastel chalk on beer boards all over the Bay Area. It’s a wild time of year for beer lovers: The seasonal brews are often available for just a day or two, or a week at most.

1305 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa. fogbeltbrewing.com

700 Mitchell Lane, Windsor, and 725 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. russianriverbrewing.com

1848 Fourth St., San Rafael. pondfarmbrewing.com

other local breweries that love to make wet-hopped beers are crooked goat, barrel brothers, steele and hops, and old possum. check their beer boards and social media for the latest, and hurry — these special brews don’t last long.

LATE INTO AN UNSEASONABLY WARM NIGHT IN AUGUST 2020,

Raymundo was harvesting Pinot Noir grapes with a 10-person crew at a vineyard in Healdsburg. A little over three miles away, the lightningsparked Walbridge fire had begun to spread quickly, shrouding the hills of northwestern Sonoma County in thick smoke.

To protect himself, Raymundo put on an N95 mask, but his eyes began to itch and his head ached. Still, he and the crew kept working by the light of their headlamps, moving fast, breathing heavily.

Raymundo, 48, is a veteran farmworker who has labored in California vineyards since arriving from Mexico 22 years ago. At the time, he was living with his wife and three children in a small house on the same vineyard property where he worked. He asked that his full name not be used, for fear of retaliation from his employers.

That night, as he and his crew were busy harvesting, the smoke grew thick in the summer darkness. He looked up and saw a light coming toward them. It was the vineyard owner, who told them to stop work and go home. Although the fire was still a distance away, the smoke was too thick.

The next day, sheriff’s officials knocked on Raymundo’s door and told him and his family to evacuate. By that time, hotels in the region were full of fire refugees — a wide swath of west county was threatened by the Walbridge fire, and residents stretching from Guerneville to the western outskirts of Healdsburg had been ordered to flee their homes.

With nowhere to go, Raymundo and his family drove nearly four hours to a relative’s house in the Central Valley. Several days later, Raymundo got a call from his boss. Although evacuation warnings were still in place, it was time to go back to work.

Every year, for a frenzied period beginning in early August, Sonoma County’s vineyards reap the harvest they’ve spent all year cultivating. The roughly 11,000 grape workers who call the county home harvest a crop that covers more than 62,000 acres and in 2019 was valued at $654 million. Combine that with harvests from Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties, and the total haul topped $1.8 billion.

But those make-or-break weeks stretching through October now coincide with a fire season that’s grown longer and more catastrophic.

Farming goes on amid these disasters. Vineyard workers are deemed “essential” by the state, meaning their jobs continue even in times of crisis. They harvest regularly in the cool hours of night during the North Bay’s hottest and driest months. That collision — of fire season and grape harvest — now increasingly forces workers to risk their health, and sometimes their safety, to bring in the crop.

These competing environmental and economic forces have thrust Sonoma County to the front line of a human health dilemma with implications for fire-prone communities across the West. Amid a historic drought that’s fueling another severe fire season, local and state officials are proposing a raft of new regulations on this multibilliondollar industry, while leaders in the farm labor movement are calling for more to be done to protect their members.

Wine industry representatives and leaders say they recognize the health and safety risks as an emerging existential threat to their business — one on par with the threats posed by climate change.

“Worker safety is the number one priority for our local farmers,” says Karissa Kruse, president of Sonoma County Winegrowers, a group that represents the interests of 1,800 growers. “They provide workforce housing, education, and they have been innovative in how to safely keep vineyard workers employed during the Covid-19 crisis. Our local grape growers are not activists, but local families in our Sonoma County community who have been caring for the land, spending time and money investing in our community and ensuring that the health and well-being of their workforce is always at the forefront.” Vineyard managers who oversee much of the harvest say they are taking steps beyond standard protective equipment such as face masks and safety checks to minimize the peril for laborers. Tony Bugica, director of farming and business development at Napa’s Atlas Vineyard Management and one of 11 commissioners of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, describes his harvest procedures with military precision.

In case cell networks go down, he carries a satellite phone. In case of stray sparks, every truck has a fire extinguisher and water tank. Everyone uses a buddy system so no one’s caught alone. “I never send anyone into a place where I wouldn’t go myself,” he says. “No job is worth a human life.”

But in an industry that has prided itself on environmental sustainability, the question hangs over Wine Country: Can it be as proactive about safeguarding its workers?

“Climate change is here,” says state Assemblyman Robert Rivas, a Democrat from Hollister who has introduced new legislation aimed at protecting farmworkers during wildfires. “And it has forced a lot of people, all across the county, to consider what kinds of conditions our farmworkers face not just during wildfires, but every single day.”

Agricultural work can be perilous even in ordinary times. Until recently, wildfire smoke was not among the top concerns for labor advocates. But the infernos that have burned across Wine Country over the past four years — as well as a growing body of scientific evidence about the health risks of wildfire smoke — have changed that.

Smoke particles from wildfires are infinitesimally small, about one twentieth the size of a human hair. They can penetrate the body’s normal defenses, lodging deep inside the lungs. A toxic mix of heavy metals and chemicals released by burning buildings, automobiles, propane tanks, and other structures can also make wildfire smoke as much as 10 times more dangerous than other types of air pollution, according to a study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Jennifer Fish, a family physician with Santa Rosa Community Health and cofounder of Health Professionals for Equality and Community Empowerment (H-PEACE), says she routinely sees farmworkers and their families suffering from the impacts of smoke inhalation. “This community is one of our most marginalized,” she says. “We see workers having no choice but to work under dangerous circumstances in order to survive.”

-VINEYARD MANAGER TONY BUGICA

Tony Bugica, who oversees farming and business development for Atlas Vineyard Management, emphasizes the use of protective equipment and a system of safety measures in order to minimize risk for vineyard workers.

A variety of other risk factors, including poor access to healthy foods, unstable housing, and financial insecurity, can make farm laborers vulnerable to asthma, heart disease, and lung disease, says Fish. In pregnant women, smoke exposure is linked to low birth weight and preterm birth. There are also the invisible effects of living year after year with the stress of wildfire disasters: depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

The health risks don’t dissipate after the flames are extinguished. A recent UC Davis study found that residual ash continues to emit dangerous particulates that pose an additional threat to outdoor workers — even after the skies have cleared. And while it’s not known exactly how many of Sonoma County’s vineyard workers are undocumented — the share is said to be significant — that status can exacerbate a lack of access to health care and other aid.

In July, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson cosponsored a bill that authorized $20 million to study the effects of smoke on human health and provides funding for ways to mitigate its effects. A lthough rampant wildfire is not new in California, regulations protecting outdoor workers from the effects of smoke exposure are still in their infancy. The state agency tasked with ensuring worker safety, Cal/OSHA, only enacted its main standard in 2019.

The rule mandates that employers make N95 masks available to outdoor workers when the Air Quality Index (AQI) is higher than 151, or “unhealthy.” Workers are only required to wear masks when the AQI reaches 500, past “hazardous” — a designation so high that it is not separated out on the now-familiar color-coded index scale.

While many labor groups welcomed the new regulations, Jennifer Fish says that this baseline isn’t a sound basis for health policy. “If an AQI is over 150, I don’t go outside without an N95. It is not acceptable for people to work under those conditions,” she says. “This is negligent.”

But N95 masks aren’t effective when worn improperly. And they can make it difficult for wearers to breathe, especially during strenuous work, such as agricultural labor.

-PHYSICIAN JENNIFER FISH

Omar Paz, a lead organizer with the grassroots labor coalition North Bay Jobs with Justice, says he worries whether employers are following Cal/OSHA’s mask guidelines.

Karissa Kruse with Sonoma County Winegrowers says, “All our growers follow strict Cal/OSHA worker safety regulations and provide workers with personal protective equipment which is required by law.”

Last year, however, the United Farm Workers conducted a statewide poll of 350 farmworkers and found 84% reported that even in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, these workers weren’t receiving masks from their employers.

“Vineyards and wineries are extremely disconnected from the realities of the management companies they contract with,” says Paz. “I don’t think owners or even managers have a pulse on the reality of the conditions [workers are] facing.”

Cameron Mauritson, partner at Healdsburg-based Thomas Mauritson Vineyards, which grows roughly 1,000 acres of wine grapes in Sonoma and Lake counties, acknowledges wine industry businesses could do more to improve their responsiveness to worker needs. Although some of his employees have been working for the family for two generations, he worries about his blind spots.

“One of my biggest fears is, ‘What if we were making people feel unsafe and didn’t know about it?’ ” he says. One thing is clear: “We need better guidance from enforcement agencies—from OSHA.”

Cal/OSHA representative Frank Polizzi says the agency enforces the new smoke standard with targeted inspections of worksites, and points to new wildfire-safety training materials made available online. He also notes a recent effort, a “labor rights caravan,” organized by the state’s Department of Industrial Relations and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency, that has been making stops at farms statewide to educate workers on their right to protection from heat illness, wildfire smoke, and retaliation.

Still, labor advocates say that those wanting to file a complaint face daunting barriers: language, lack of knowledge of the system, and fear of reprisal.

Of the 144 Sonoma County complaints filed in 2020 with Cal/OSHA, four stemmed from problems with wildfire smoke and only one led to a citation.

Labor advocates say the small numbers point to a larger issue: Cal/ OSHA is severely understaffed, with only 10 inspectors for the fivecounty district to which Sonoma belongs. Only one of those inspectors speaks Spanish, and none currently speak any of the various Indigenous languages represented in the workforce.

“If you’re not able to enforce a law, then for workers at least, it doesn’t exist,” says physician Jennifer Fish.

In October 2019, the largest wildfire on record in Sonoma County thundered down from the Mayacamas Mountains into vineyard-rich Alexander Valley. As the flames pushed west to threaten Healdsburg and Windsor, Sheriff Mark Essick ordered the evacuation of nearly 40% of the county — more than 190,000 people, many of whom fled their homes in the middle of the night. The sheriff’s warnings over Twitter were increasingly urgent: “If you have NOT evacuated, DO SO NOW!”

On the north side of town, Corazón Healdsburg, a community center serving predominantly Latino families, was swiftly being converted into a Red Cross evacuation shelter for the refugees, many of them vineyard workers and their families, pouring in from the rural outskirts.

The community center’s emptied rooms were soon filled with rows of cots. Children carrying stuffed animals clung to their parents. Some families brought their dogs and cats, even their horses. One group of workers arrived after spending the previous night on the floor of a barn. The smoke was getting worse, and the sounds of helicopters and sirens could be heard outside.

Ariel Kelley, Corazón’s cofounder and then-CEO, sat at a table in the courtyard in her N95 mask, writing down names and addresses of the families anxiously seeking shelter. They asked her: How close was the fire? What was going to happen?

Kelley was surprised to find, even with the fire at close range, evacuated vineyard workers continued to go to work. They would drop off their belongings on a cot and leave in buses that pulled up outside Corazón’s doors.

Seeing that few of the workers had masks, Kelley and her staff grew concerned. They didn’t know where the workers were being taken, what the conditions were like when they got there, or who was looking out for their safety.

“We were telling them, ‘You have the right to stay here and protect your health. You don’t have to go to work,” recalls Marcy Flores, a programs manager at Corazón. “And they were just in this mindset of, ‘No, I do. I have to get paid, I need to go.’ ”

A vineyard worker watches a fire’s progress near Clearlake in 2018. Some workers feel they must continue to work during wildfires.

One of many points of contention in addressing issues of worker safety is that while federal and state regulations are on the books (and continue to evolve), too often the concerns of farmworkers go unaddressed. Cal/ OSHA is the state agency charged with enforcing safe workplace practices—but the agency has long been overextended and understaffed. Various state and county agencies each take on a different aspect of safety oversight, but labor groups say they could be doing more. After an area is evacuated, the ones ultimately making the calls at key evacuation checkpoints are public safety officials—firefighters, police officers, even members of the National Guard—who monitor changing fire conditions, verify Ag Pass permits, and allow farmers and workers into evacuation zones. While the county’s Agriculture Commission oversees the requirements for entry of farmworkers into evacuation zones, it denies having the legal authority or the funding to oversee worker safety behind evacuation lines. The newly created Sonoma County Office of Equity has been working closely with the Agriculture Commissioner to revise the system in a way that ensures racial equity, but its mandate doesn’t include oversight of worker safety. Meanwhile, labor advocacy groups like North Bay Jobs with Justice and the Graton Day Labor Center argue that because the county is making the decision to allow entry into these zones, it is also responsible for protecting the workers it allows inside.

Wildfires can make harvest work more frenetic and worrisome for farming managers like Tony Bugica, center, and his team.

Tony Bugica, the Atlas farming and business development director, starts every morning with transcendental meditation for exactly 23 minutes. He’s only missed one day: in early October 2017, when he and his crew were fleeing the Tubbs fire. That year, and every year since, Bugica has had to make tough decisions balancing business interests with the safety of the workers under his watch.

Smoke is hazardous for humans, but it’s also bad for grapes. If it hits the wrong varietal at the wrong time, it can cause smoke taint, a set of off-flavors that can render the fruit unusable.

During a fire, the harvest becomes a frantic salvage job. Vineyard managers like Bugica are tasked with bringing in as much of the crop as they can, as safely they can. In 2019, with the Kincade fire burning nearby, Bugica pulled his truck up to a checkpoint at the edge of the evacuation zone near Healdsburg, hoping to get inside. Grapes needed harvesting in a vineyard off Westside Road, where residents had already been cleared out. Earlier that day, he and his 5-year-old daughter had watched planes dropping fire retardant onto the hills. The smoke had created a “blackout” in Healdsburg, but where he sat, for the moment, at least, the air quality was good.

In his hand he carried a piece of paper signed by the county’s Agricultural Commissioner stating that he and the handful of crew members accompanying him had essential agricultural duties to perform inside the evacuation zone. The officer at the checkpoint decided conditions inside were safe enough and waved Bugica through.

Once on the property, Bugica says he evaluated the situation. He looked at wind speed and direction and tested the air quality with his portable sensor. All seemed OK.

Satisfied with the conditions there off of Westside Road, Bugica called in his crew.

The ad-hoc “Ag Pass” system that allowed Bugica and his crew to pass through evacuation checkpoints was designed to accommodate the needs of the county’s farmers. The program, which began in 2017, was a singular effort among different Sonoma County jurisdictions to verify whether a farmer or landowner has a legitimate business reason to enter evacuation zones.

During the Glass and Walbridge fires of 2020, Agricultural Commissioner Andrew Smith’s office issued passes to 613 agricultural producers and their employees. “People make calculated risks to support their business and their livelihood,” says Smith. “If you’re an employee, you always have the opportunity to decide whether you want to go. No one’s forcing anyone to do this work, and it’s not appropriate for them to do so.”

But those close to the farmworker community worry low-income workers who don’t speak English and aren’t trained to evaluate the risks are being asked to work in areas deemed unsafe for the general population. Aside from their employers, advocates say, no one is responsible for their well-being.

“The default should be protecting health and human safety — and to not let that be outweighed by the economic pressure of picking grapes. And that’s a really challenging conversation to have,” says Kelley, the Corazón Healdsburg cofounder.

Whoever is staffing the checkpoint—whether it’s the sheriff, highway patrol, or even the National Guard— has final discretion over whether to let crews into evacuation zones. But the perimeter of these areas can be vast, the boundary not necessarily reflective of shifting smoke conditions. What’s safe one minute, in one place, may not be safe the next.

Aside from vineyard managers like Bugica, who else decides what’s safe and when? And to whom are they accountable?

“That’s a very, very, very good question,” says Alegría De La Cruz, an attorney and director of Sonoma County’s newly created Office of Equity.

With OSHA limited in its capacity to respond to workplace safety violations, some labor activists are questioning whether local government should be playing a bigger role. Elected officials and health and business leaders “have the direct responsibility to protect and advocate for our most marginalized workers,” says Fish, the Santa Rosa physician. “They’re the ones with the power.”

While various county agencies own a piece of the disaster response during a wildfire, none are specifically tasked with monitoring worker safety, either inside or outside evacuation zones. “That’s OSHA’s responsibility,” Smith says. “Why would we want to adopt responsibility for something that we don’t have the legal authority to do?”

There’s new recognition within the wine industry, as well as the government, that broader support is necessary.

At the county level, Smith is working with De La Cruz’s office and a host of other agencies, as well as community stakeholders and farmworker groups, to revise the current Ag Pass system, an effort that is also occurring at the state level. Sonoma County Winegrowers and the Sonoma County Farm Bureau have started offering wildfire safety training sessions that will become a requirement for anyone applying for such passes in the future. Tony Bugica and the rest of Atlas’ crew leaders are already certified.

The momentum aligns with a growing recognition, De La Cruz says, “that Sonoma’s not alone in these challenges. Our state is dealing with this too. This gives us a real opportunity for leadership.”

Rivas, the state Assemblyman, has introduced new legislation aimed at protecting farmworkers during fire season. The bill would give OSHA authority to deploy “wildfire smoke strike teams” to check on worker safety in real time; would create a state stockpile of protective equipment for workers; and would require regular wildfire safety trainings for employees in English and Spanish.

“Agricultural work has always been essential,” says Rivas. “We have to do better. We have to do more.”

Sonoma's Ag Pass system has allowed some crews into evacuated zones. But advocates worry these workers have too few protections.

As the threat of wildfires intensifies across Northern California, Sonoma County’s wine industry has begun to adapt to this existential challenge by changing the way it trains, deploys, and supports its workers. The Sonoma County Farm Bureau and the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation have begun offering trainings on wildfire safety in English and Spanish, and are also working with the county's Agricultural Commission to refine the system of allowing work inside evacuation zones. In addition: During active fires, vineyard managers and crew leaders have adopted a range of safety measures in the field, including buddy systems, monitoring of wind speed and direction, and outfitting vehicles with extra water and fire extinguishers. When smoke is present, some employers are making changes to the ways they deploy their crews: paying by the hour rather than by weight, using their own air quality sensors for more accurate on-the-ground readings, or determining their own, often more conservative standards, for what is considered “safe.” Some employers are choosing not to harvest inside evacuation zones. And others will stop outdoor work altogether when conditions are poor. In certain cases, the industry has also provided direct financial assistance: Since 2017, the SCGGF has aided at least 1,500 farmworkers with gift cards, help purchasing RVs, and grants to pay rent.

Vineyard workers who fear that policy change is not keeping pace with the urgency of the moment are stepping up to make sure their voices are heard.

Maria Salinas, a mother of four, is a veteran former field hand whose relatives still work in Sonoma County’s vineyards. She’s seen them come home after working during a wildfire, “covered in ash and soot, spitting up gobs of black saliva.”

Salinas speaks Chatino, an Indigenous language from southern Mexico. She came to the U.S. in 2003 and is now a full-time activist with the region’s Indigenous immigrants, many of whom are vineyard workers.

Last year, during the twin emergencies of the pandemic and the worst wildfire season on record in California, farmworkers began to share their accounts with Salinas and others of the fear and danger they were experiencing. The stories gave momentum to a budding movement ,but also exposed, according to Salinas and Paz, a dearth of data on the experiences and concerns local farmworkers have with wildfire and smoke.

Working with Michael Méndez, an assistant professor of environmental planning and policy at UC Irvine, labor organizers developed a survey about farmworker health and safety concerns that has since garnered over 100 responses.

The tally was encouraging, and this summer the project team turned to identifying farmworkers who might serve as leaders for their ranks on the issues of worker safety and a range of other priorities. Three dozen of them—including female, LGBTQ, and Indigenous vineyard workers— stepped forward to begin that process.

“People who have been doing this work for much longer than me said they’d never seen anything like it,” Paz says. The coalition they’re building as a result of their work on fire safety, he says, is an important new step—though he feels strongly that their work is built on that of previous movements for worker justice in California.

“We started this movement with a small team, and I was anxious,” says Salinas. “But joining with other organizations, we’ve started growing.” A mid the range of existential issues posed by climate change and wildfires, wineries and vineyards are also making changes to the ways they harvest their crops during emergencies.

Cameron Mauritson of Thomas Mauritson Vineyards touts his farm’s ability to employ a full-time vineyard crew, which allows more control over the way workers are deployed. In Healdsburg, Preston Farm & Winery and Quivira Vineyards operate under a similar in-house model.

But that setup is less common, as outsourced vineyard management companies provide economy of scale and savings in much of the county.

Mauritson has experimented with paying his harvest crew by the hour, rather than by the ton, when there’s smoke. This way, they’re able to not work at their normal breakneck speed. He also provides free housing to nearly 60 people—employees and their families— and extra sick and vacation days. The winery guarantees a minimum wage even when employees are prevented from working due to circumstances like wildfires.

These are the kinds of changes that some individual employers are able to make. But when it comes to policy, Mauritson says, “we need to have more seats at the table for the people who are doing the actual work.”

“If anything, there’s proof out there that you can effectively pick your crop as needed, as long as you’re being thoughtful about it,” says Kelley, who was elected last year to the Healdsburg City Council.

For Paz, the positive steps by some show that more needs to be done across a wider swath of the industry to support workers — so they don’t feel they have to choose between their safety and paying next month’s rent. “We want to be partners with government and industry,” he says. “We’d love to support vineyards that make the changes for a better workplace.”

In July, back at Atlas headquarters, Tony Bugica sat in his office and listened as representatives from North Bay Jobs with Justice presented five key priorities the group has proposed to protect local vineyard workers: disaster insurance; hazard pay; safety trainings in Spanish and Indigenous languages; clean bathrooms; and community safety observers trained to accompany workers into the fields during fire emergencies, ready to report safety violations to Cal/OSHA.

Bugica didn’t balk at any of the Jobs with Justice proposals. He said he would certainly allow community safety observers into his fields — a significant concession. “We have an open-door policy,” he says, spreading his hands wide.

Whether the industry at large is as flexible and ready for those changes remains an open question.

Another peak fire season is fastening its grip on the region, and no one knows what that will bring this year. If the last four years are any indication, it may well resemble a now-familiar harvest scene, mirrored by thousands of workers in vineyards spread across the county, their heads bent low, clouds rising behind them. The figures are small, the sky smoky and vast.

But that outside perspective overlooks an element that is central to the story of farmworkers and fire, says De La Cruz of the county's Office of Equity. “These workers are highly skilled,” she says. “There is a lot of pride and care that goes into the work they do with these vines.” Maria Salinas makes a similar point. “Farmworkers deserve something better. Dignidad.” She repeats the last word several times, nodding.

“I feel very excited and hopeful for the work we’re doing,” says Salinas, “knowing that it may be a long journey ahead.”

Omar Paz with the labor coalition North Bay Jobs with Justice says farmworkers are too often forced to risk their health and safety to ensure their livelihood.

-INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ACTIVIST MARIA SALINAS

Featuring

Your Wine Cruise Hosts:

Steve Falk

CEO, Sonoma Media Investments Don Hartford

CEO & Co-Owner, Hartford Family Wines June 25 - July 7, 2022 | 12-days Barcelona to Venice Oceania Cruises' Riviera

Sonoma Magazine teamed with Hartford Family & La Crema wineries in 2017 for an epic Mediterranean wine cruise that sold out in a matter of days. Food & Wine Trails is thrilled to announce these industry powerhouses have once again collaborated for 2022 and you're invited!

Join Steve Falk, Don Hartford and Hailey Jackson Hartford-Murray for 12 days of fun and of course, lots of tasty wines while cruising to seven di erent countries, including the wine regions of Provence and Tuscany plus the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia and an overnight in Venice, the city of canals.

Hailey Jackson Hartford-Murray

President & Co-Owner, Hartford Family Wines

2022 CRUISE ITINERARY: June 25 Barcelona, Spain June 26 Provence (Marseille), France June 27 Antibes, France June 28 Monte Carlo, Monaco June 29 Florence/Pisa/Tuscany (Livorno), Italy June 30 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy July 1 Naples/Pompeii. Italy July 2 Cruising the Ionian & Adriatic Sea July 3 Dubrovnik, Croatia July 4 Kotor, Montenegro July 5 Koper, Slovenia July 6 Venice, Italy (overnight) July 7 Venice, Italy

Prices starting at $4,949 per person Airfare Included!

Florence/Pisa/Tuscany

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Antibes

Barcelona Venice Koper

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Kotor

Naples/Pompeii

PROGRAM HIGLIGHTS: • 12-day Mediterranean wine cruise personally hosted by

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County's Hartford Family & La Crema wineries • Exclusive and private onboard events including receptions, seminar & wine tasting and winemaker's dinner with your hosts

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• Optional pre-cruise wine-themed land program

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Since 1945, Kaiser Permanente has been providing high-quality, affordable health care services and improving the health of our members and the communities we serve. Get the information you need to feel confident about getting vaccinated. Find out how the COVID-19 vaccines work, what to do after you get your vaccine, and more.

The COVID-19 vaccines were able to be developed quickly and safely because of decades of accumulated scientific research on vaccines, coupled with unprecedented funding for COVID-19 vaccine development, as well as worldwide collaboration. Even though the COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly, no required study or regulatory steps were skipped. So far, hundreds of millions of people in the world have received the COVID vaccines. The benefit from the vaccine significantly outweighs the potential risk during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Although vaccinated people can get infection, the severity of disease is greatly reduced after vaccination. The vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing serious illness caused by the circulating variants, including the Delta variant. Studies have shown that the COVID-19 vaccines are 85%-94% effective in preventing severe disease/ hospitalization/death. To put this in perspective, flu vaccines are usually 40%-60% effective, and flu vaccinations prevented an estimated 7.52 million illnesses, 105,000 hospitalizations, and 6,300 deaths during the 2019–2020 flu season alone.

Like most vaccines, the ones for COVID-19 can have side effects. Some people who’ve received the vaccine have reported fevers, fatigue, muscle aches, and soreness around injection sites. These side effects are normal and a good sign that the body is building immunity.

It depends on your child’s age. Until more studies are completed, there is no vaccine available for children 11 years old and younger. Children between 12 and 17 are approved to receive the Pfizer vaccine. All of the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and approved for adults 18 and older.

No. The COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t contain the virus, so it can’t give you COVID-19.

Summit Pain Alliance is a medical practice specializing in pain management. We treat a wide variety of painful conditions. Our double-board certified physicians strive to offer highly effective and advanced treatment options with the utmost compassion. We have offices located in Santa Rosa and Petaluma.

What is pain management? Pain management is a specialized field of medicine focused on the treatment and management of painful conditions through a combination of therapeutic options. What conditions do you treat? We treat ALL musculoskeletal and nerve pains. These include common pain conditions such as sciatica, arthritis, cancer, joint and spine. We can also help with neuropathy, fibromyalgia, headaches and complex regional pain syndrome.

What treatment options do you provide? We believe in a comprehensive approach to pain management, including referrals to physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic therapies. We can provide trigger point injections, epidural injections, nerve blocks and ablations and various surgical implants. We specialize in pain management intervention and believe in reducing and managing pain without reliance on prescription medication whenever possible. Our goal is always to improve the patient’s quality of life and get them back to doing what they enjoy.

What are the benefits of having an interventional pain procedure versus taking pain meds? Taking pain medication is simply “putting a band-aid” on the problem without treating the underlying cause. If you stop taking the medication, the pain returns after a few hours. Interventional procedures treat the root cause of the pain.

Do you participate in reseach studies? Yes, our clinical research department allows us to offer new pain management therapies. We partner with industry leaders to provide cutting-edge technologies and advancdements in pain relief. We use innovative technologies along with new treatments and practices to better serve our patients.

When is a good time to see a pain management specialist? Whenever someone has pain that will not go away with over-the-counter medications or continues longer than expected.

Dr. Kathy O’Connor is a graduate of the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa and has been in practice for 27 years. Dr. O’Connor uses a combination of time tested techniques and cutting edge technology that focuses on structural correction of the spine and soft tissue repair. This results in longer lasting stabilization of the spine which contributes to overall healthier living.

Chiropractic champions a natural method of healing advocating a non-surgical, noninvasive and drugless approach to the treatment of patients. Grounded in a view of the individual as an integrated being, the Doctor of Chiropractic focuses on spinal health and wellness as the keys to overall health and well-being. The human body is controlled by nerves. Everything (circulation, breathing, elimination, etc.) is under the direction of this unbelievably complicated system. If the impulses of this network are transmitted normally to and from the brain, the body will be healthy and able to ward off disease. Chiropractic adjustments relieve interference of these nerve impulses.

Dr. O’Connor utilizes a combination of hands on adjusting, as well as a computerized adjusting instrument that senses motion and the frequency (vibrations) of the vertebra. The instrument matches the frequency, essentially employing a biofeedback mechanism. This moves the vertebra much easier. The pressure can be adjusted to the patients tolerance. There is never any twisting of the spine. She also employs a Genesis One LED, a Class IV K-Laser and Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy when needed. The Genesis One and the K-Laser are the latest and most effective modality for speeding healing of tissues biochemically. Pain and inflammation are quickly reduced. It is FDA cleared to be 90% effective for treating Neuropathy resulting from Chemotherapy and Diabetes. The PEMF charges the cells, increasing oxygenation for optimum tissue repair and healing.

Genesis One and K-Laser Therapy are painless and proven to bio-stimulate tissue repair and growth. Pain management results are dramatic and it is non-addictive and virtually free of side effects. These are just some of the painful conditions that have responded to laser treatments.

• Sciatica • Fibromyalgia

• Post Traumatic Injury • Trigeminal Neuralgia • Radiculitis • Shingles • Herniated Disc • Brachial Neuralgia

• Rheumatoid Arthritis • Osteoarthritis

There are so many! The most obvious is pain relief. When your spine is properly aligned, there will be less degeneration. Better sleep! We heal at night when we sleep and good sleep benefits all functions of the body. Reduce Stress! When you don’t have pain in your body, your mood is better. Gain Confidence! The better your posture, the taller you stand and the more confidence you feel. Others will see you that way too!

After being completely unable to walk due to pain and no better after a two day stay in the hospital, I went to Dr. Kathy O’Connor, on pain medication and a walker. She adjusted my back and my pain went from a 10+ to a 5. The following day I no longer needed my walker and a total of five days later I went back to work! Hope is within Dr. Kathy O’Connor’s chiropractic office. Her healing hands, heart and equipment really work. – Mark, Petaluma It was hard to believe that I could no longer walk. When two years earlier I had been exploring 10,000-foot high Sierra passes and pushing 20 miles down trail (with pack), I had become barely able to walk my dog two blocks at sea level. It was painful to stoop to garden. I hobbled up stairs. Simple exertions made me grunt like an old man. What was happening to me?!? The personable Dr. O’Connor (“Kathy”) got me up and - literally - running again. Fabulous. Even my untrained eye can see the changes on the radiographs. Soft Tissue Injuries And the dog clearly thinks eight blocks is better than two. • Tendinitis They say she’s the best in town; I agree. • Sprains, Strains – Jeff, Petaluma Dr. Kathy O’Connor | 5 Keller St Suit C, Petaluma, CA 94952 | (707) 778-1145 | www.dockathy.com

• Back and Neck Pain • Repetitive Strain Injury • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome • Knee pain (multiple types) • Trigger Points • Plantar Fasciitis • Tennis Elbow • Muscle Spasms • Shoulder Pain • Knee pain

Primrose focuses exclusively on adults with Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia, offering residential care, respite care, hospice care and adult day care with unique operational protocols to enhance quality of life for residents, and offer a range of life-affirming and encouraging activities.

Opening in 1997, Primrose was the first memory care specific facility in Sonoma County. Over the years we’ve been fortunate enough to retain our core staff for ten years or more. The continuity of staff and the quality of care we provide is an indispensable component of a safe and secure home for our residents.

Our memory loss programs incorporate the latest research findings, including aromatherapy, touch therapy, music and pets. We have 3½ acres, so our residents can experience the feeling of freedom in a safe, secure setting.

Remember those affected with dementia, no matter how impaired they are, are still wonderful people and have something to contribute. We’ve learned enormously from our clients.

Being successful when other facilities have failed with difficult and challenging dementia patients. We strive for fewer medications and offer a facility that’s life affirming and outdoor-oriented in as homelike a situation as possible.

Adult children should talk with their parents, no matter how hard the conversation, about how they want to live if they develop dementia. Preparing for the journey is the single best thing I can tell people. The legal process, the emotional process: these need to be talked about. Although I don’t sell insurance, buying long-term care insurance is good advice.

gynecologist with The Modern Woman in Santa Rosa. Dr. Khawaja SHAZAH KHAWAJA - MD, FACOG is board-certified and specializes in obstetrics, gynecology, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery and uro-gynecological procedures. She is also certified in non-surgical, elective gynecological procedures, including MonaLisa Touch and Votiva.

It is okay to have some cramping or stretching of the ligaments around the uterus. This stretching can cause cramping that in some patients can be more severe than others. It is always best to see your provider to make sure no other problems are occurring. However, if you are dealing with ligament pain, Tylenol is often sufficient to relieve that discomfort.

Bleeding, on the other hand, can be normal but an assessment by your obstetrician is important. Sometimes bleeding can be due to placement of the placenta. At other times it can be completely normal after doing something strenuous or intercourse.

Urinary incontinence is often categorized into two types: stress incontinence and urge incontinence. Remedies for stress incontinence can include pelvic floor therapy (Kegel exercises), vaginal pessaries, Votiva radiofrequency treatment, and some minimally invasive surgeries. Urge incontinence treatment can be improved with bladder retraining, dietary modifications, medications and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), a lowrisk, non-surgical treatment. PTNS works by indirectly providing electrical stimulation to the nerves responsible for bladder and pelvic floor function.

No, actually. In our practice in Santa Rosa, each of our midwives holds master’s degrees in nursing. They are highly skilled at providing a range of thorough, individualized care to women and their families throughout their pregnancy, birth and postpartum periods. Not all of our midwifery patients are pregnant or postpartum. In fact, approximately 60 percent of our patients are pregnant. The other 40 percent of a typical midwife’s patients receive care for a variety of needs, including: annual exams, contraceptive consults, gynecological concerns, breast exams, cancer screening and menopause management.

Depending on the cause of your pain, there are a number of ways to treat this common condition among perimenopausal and menopausal women. Simple remedies include trying sensual activities like massage. Take pain-relieving steps before sex: empty your bladder, have a warm bath, or take an over-the-counter pain reliever.

After consulting with your gynecologist, you may learn that the reason you experience pain during sex is due to vaginal dryness. For some women, estrogen creams can be beneficial. Newer non-invasive, nonsurgical technologies, like MonaLisa Touch and Votiva, help restore your body’s organic response to sexual stimulation so that you can self-lubricate during sexual activity. MonaLisa Touch uses laser energy to help restore vaginal elasticity and lubrication to improve vaginal health. Votiva is an advanced form of treatment that utilizes heat and RF technology to provide relief from painful sex, especially for women following a recent vaginal delivery. We perform both procedures in-office and neither require anesthesia.

Here at North Bay Eye Associates we are dedicated to delivering the highest quality care for you and your family. Our practice includes several optical offices, an ambulatory surgery center, and a research facility. We believe that supporting our patients through every step of their eye health journey sets us apart. We have locations across the North Bay; visit our website today to find out which location is closest to you.

Dr. Jason Bacharach, MD, Co-Founder

Unlike the traditional optometrist you see for your vision checkup, ophthalmologists are trained physicians and surgeons who diagnose and treat eye disorders. If you have or think you may have glaucoma, cataracts, an eye muscle disorder like strabismus, or are interested in laser eye surgery, it’s important to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist. If the above scenarios do not apply, you may not need to see an ophthalmologist until you are 40+ or your optometrist refers you. Here at NBEA we have both optometrists and ophthalmologists to help you with all eye care needs.

We use our eyes for almost everything we do, from watching a favorite show or driving to connecting with those around us. Our eyes can also be good indicators of possible health issues. Conditions that might be detected in an eye exam include high blood pressure, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and even potential strokes. When we practice healthy habits, we give our body the best chance to flourish. An easy first step is to eat foods that are filled with Omega3’s and Vitamin A, C, D, and E; these not only support the health of your eyes, but your entire body.

Chronic headaches may be an indicator that your prescription is changing and it’s time to schedule an eye exam. You may be experiencing headaches from spending extended time on the computer. With much of our days spent in front of a screen, it’s essential to give your eyes time to rest and reset. Tricks like the 20-20-20 rule can help prevent eye strain and improve focus. Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This helps the surrounding muscles distribute the workload and gives your eyes the quick break they need to help you continue your work. Adopting this habit can prevent tension headaches as well as neck and shoulder pain caused by computer overuse. It still may be important to see your PCP to rule out any underlying issues.

LASIK is effective in treating astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia, and more. After a consultation and eye exam, your ophthalmologist will tell you if you are a candidate for LASIK. Many factors determine this, including eye health, the severity of vision loss or astigmatism, and the presence of other illnesses or diseases. If you’re interested in LASIK and want to see if you are a candidate, call our office for an evaluation appointment.

Ever wanted to be a part of a research study? At North Bay Eye Associates, we strive to stay ahead of the eye care game. Our goal is to help you obtain the clearest vision possible using advanced technologies. This means we work toward new and improved methods. We are currently conducting clinical trials on glaucoma implants, dry eye disease, cataracts and blepharitis. We’re interested in finding individuals who want to participate in our research: if you qualify you’ll be reimbursed for your time. If you’re interested, we can put you in touch with our research facility to see if any of our current studies are right for you.

Dr. Gail Dubinsky has practiced in Sebastopol for 30 years, providing consultations, second opinions and non-surgical treatment of back, neck, shoulder, hip, other joint and soft tissue pain, injuries and conditions, including motor vehicle accidents. She specializes in osteopathic manual therapy techniques, and making the benefits of yoga, including simple breath and meditation practices, accessible to virtually everyone. She is the creator of the DVD programs “RSI?”, “Rx: Yoga!” and “Yoga for Gardeners”. Plus, she has her YouTube channel, Gail Dubinsky MD Yoga.

What is different about how you approach a patient? I take the time to listen, do a thorough structural physical examination and practice laying on of hands. Considering the whole person with an orthopedic problem, not just the painful area, allows me to arrive at the most accurate diagnosis and formulate the most effective treatment. I address lifestyle, stress and nervous system imbalance as primary contributors to ongoing pain and disability. My goal is to help patients live a more sustainable life. This is the true foundation for healing.

How do you use osteopathic manual therapy in your practice? I offer a hands-on technique called Zero Balancing and aim to balance the structure and energy of the body, whether it be spine, joints, soft tissue, or even the abdominal organs. I also utilize a technique called CounterStrain which emphasizes the fascia or connective tissue through the entire body. Again, my focus is integration of the whole system, not just where the pain manifests.

What unique qualifications do you bring to the table? My 40-plus years of continuing education in orthopedic and repetitive strain injuries, osteopathic manual therapies, and therapeutic yoga informs my ongoing practice. I’ve been involved in holistic healing since medical school, plus experience with injured workers and pain clinics later in my career, providing a broad knowledge of both conventional and alternative realms to guide individualized treatment plans, often collaborating with other health practitioners. After personally experiencing and rehabilitating from several injuries, including dealing with insurance and legal aspects; I’m able to truly understand, support and empathize with patients going through a stressful process. How do you integrate yoga into your work? After teaching classes in a variety of settings for more than 25 years, I now work one on one with my patients to provide them with tools to help stretch, strengthen, balance, relax and integrate. Almost everyone can derive benefits from basic yoga postures or exercises, which are infinitely modifiable for specific needs and limitations. Equally important are simple breath and meditation practices to reduce stress and anxiety, or vitalize one’s energy. All can be done in just a few minutes a day, with no need for special clothing or equipment.

Why do you do what you do? People are seeking alternatives before, instead of, or in combination with drugs, injections or surgery. Those modalities have their place, but not enough other options are offered. Too many people tell me I’m the first doctor who has physically touched them in the months or years they’ve sought help to alleviate their pain.

Here is a case example: A.S., age 74, came to me with severe right hip and leg pain, searching for alternatives to lumbar spine fusion surgery recommended after an MRI showed severe spinal stenosis. I examined her and found a severely restricted right hip, and ordered X-rays that showed extremely advanced arthritic degeneration. No previous doctor had done a physical exam. She underwent the appropriate hip replacement, instead of invasive spinal surgery that likely would have not relieved her pain.

I think this note from a local patient expresses it well: “Thank you for the work that you do and for the person that you are.”