Secluded Wine Garden in Sonoma Is a Foodie Paradise

Secluded Wine Garden in Sonoma Is a Foodie Paradise

Wine tasting devoid of foodstuff is an work out in futility.

Sure that boozy, jammy zinfandel preferences great swirling all around in a glass, but it is likely to flavor like a damp wool blanket with your sheet-pan chicken. It’s not going to even be that fantastic with pizza.

Kivelstadt Cellars & Winegarten is the anti-tasting-room experience, offering not just food items-helpful wines, but mix-and-match tasting experiences that pair completely with the chef-pushed menu at the Sonoma winery’s informal cafe and wine backyard garden.

Believe of it more like a brewery, where by you can sit with little ones, buddies and pet dogs (there’s a menu just for Fido) and flavor the latest releases with comforting foods like an earthy mushroom Cubano, fish taco or light ahi tuna poke salad. No substantial-tension gross sales, just superior-affect wines, from experimental red wines created with carbonic fermentation (extra on that afterwards) and a really drinkable white Rhone mix to a juicy Charbono that works by using a person of the region’s most underappreciated (and nearly extinct) grapes.

Sushi Quality Ahi Tuna with avocado, kewpie and served with chips from served with Twice Eliminated Rosé from the taps at Kivelstadt Cellars and Winegarten in Sonoma. (John Burgess/The Push Democrat)

Hidden in basic sight just south of the town of Sonoma, the sprawling wine backyard is an all-year location with of-the-moment seasonal dishes that converse to the region’s bounty with out feeling important.

Chef Jennifer McMurry, formerly of Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen and Viola Restaurant, has taken above the kitchen area, pumping up the menu with her remarkable skills both in savory and sweet dishes.

She took in excess of the cafe in May adhering to a 3-month closure for renovations and the departure of Chef Oscar Bendeck who was opening chef at the tasting area and restaurant. Bendeck now operates a catering organization identified as Wine Nation Collective.

The sprawling wine backyard garden has umbrella-shaded outdoor seats as perfectly as a coated patio, generating it a perfect spot for brunch or an afternoon nibble. “Hidden gem” is surely apropos for this secret Sonoma County working experience where kids can roam, canine have their very own menu.

You may possibly come across fish tacos if there is very good nearby halibut, fried chicken bites with whipped ricotta or a S’more in a Jar ($12) with freshly baked graham crackers, chocolate cream and toasted meringue. Just about every product has a proposed wine pairing, if you are so inclined. A by-the-glass menu ranges from $9 to $14 (nearby beer and nonalcoholic beverages are also accessible).

It’s worth checking out these playful wines, like the Relatives Secret sauvignon blanc, crimson Rhone mix and carbonic wines supplied on tap. Proprietor Jordan Kivelstadt will work with winemaker Sam Baron to build wines that are severe sufficient to impress pinkies-up wine bullies but playful sufficient for a pool social gathering.

Mushroom Cubano with a pinot noir from Kivelstadt Cellars and Winegarten in Sonoma. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Carbonic wines, from the experimental division of Kivelstadt Wineries, are super-light, minimal-tannin, minimal-liquor wines manufactured utilizing carbonic fermentation, a winemaking method in which entire clusters of grapes are blanketed with carbon dioxide and held at amazing temperatures just before getting pressed and finished in barrels. All you genuinely will need to have an understanding of is that these vivid, fruity wines are the equivalent of a light saison vs . a stout.

So go for brunch, lunch or just an afternoon break from all that critical wine tasting to this area wherever no a single cares if you drink orange wine with a burger.

“We’re all about meeting you wherever you are in your wine journey,” according to the tasting menu. We could not concur much more.

Best Bets

McMurry’s menu is hyperseasonal, so components like corn and tomatoes may tumble off the listing before long. Don’t fear, there is often something new to try out.

Sushi Quality Ahi Tuna, $24: Each and every dish at Kivelstadt is a modest perform of art, but this mound of ruby tuna atop refreshing avocado puree is primarily so. Dots of kewpie mayo increase a creamy ingredient to the deep umami of shoyu sesame vinaigrette.

Elote, $14: Smoked corn is a revelation, but this aiding is punctuated by tart lime vinaigrette and mildly spicy jalapeño aioli. It is one of the greatest versions of this avenue food stuff we have at any time experienced.

Watermelon and Tomato Salad, $16: Refreshing bites of juicy watermelon would not seem to be to match with a honey-viognier vinaigrette, but the sweet-bitter pairing is a revelation.

Chef Jennifer McMurry plates Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna more than avocado from Kivelstadt Cellars and Winegarten in Sonoma. (John Burgess/The Push Democrat)

Mushroom Cubano, $18: This is the Cubano we have searched for, with a twist. Smoked cremini mushrooms acquire the area of meat and are accented by spicy pickles, cabbage, Jack cheese and mustard aioli. Sandwiched concerning two thick slices of ethereal, toasted focaccia, it is a hearty, messy handful, but flawlessly well balanced — not as well considerably bread, not much too much filling. Just correct.

Caramel, Corn and Blackberry, $15: Creamy corn panna cotta is the base for this refreshing dessert, topped by fresh new figs, blackberry curd and very small nibbles of almond nougat and caramel corn.

Tasting flights (we like the Off the Crushed Route Flight) $35: These flights consist of four pours. Side-by-aspect tastings of varietals are $20 and a vertical tasting of the Father’s Enjoy Rhone Blend is $30. For small bites, an abbreviated share-and-pair menu is obtainable for the tasting. You also can pair tastings with merchandise from the whole menu.

Kivelstadt Cellars & Winegarten is positioned at 22900 Broadway in Sonoma and is open up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Connect with 707-938-7001, or pay a visit to kivelstadtcellars.com.

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