Upper Sonoma County Getaways

A surprising number of tasting rooms, shops and places to wander and dine have popped up in tiny Geyserville, which is only two or three blocks long and just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. Most recently, Pete Opatz (above), formerly of Chateau St. Jean, opened the rustic and charming Route 128 tasting room in a section of a former auto dealership (across the street from the old General Store). He makes Bordeaux varietals in the tradition of southeastern France. His flagship is the delicious Pelu Rouge, made with Zinfandel, Syrah and Viognier. One of the older tasting rooms is Meeker Vineyards in a 100-year-old bank (the wine is stored in the old vault). The winery, owned by former Hollywood studio chief Charlie Meeker, is known for its hearty reds and the fun-loving atmosphere of the tasting room.
Two of the newer Geyserville tasting rooms offer an assortment of local Alexander Valley and Dry Creek wines as well as selections from farther afield. The sleek and handsome Terriors Artisan Wines, by winemaker Kerry Damskey who specializes in "high-elevation wine" from northern California, was built in a renovated old red-brick building that once housed a print shop. It showcases four different labels produced by Damskey.
The more low-key Locals was started seven years ago to present the wines of boutique wineries in one location. Owner Carolyn Lewis (right) is usually on hand to guide a wide variety of flights for tastings.
In a light-filled modern building next door is Geyser Arts Gallery, a stylish shop selling handmade crafts and artwork from regional artists.
The big buzz in town is the departure of Santi, everyone's favorite Italian restaurant in these parts. The restaurant is moving to Santa Rosa in October, and the beautiful space is scheduled to be filled with another, as yet-unnamed, restaurant. But the culinary scene here has been kept fresh with the opening of Diavola, a pizzeria that is packing diners in with thin, crackly crusted pies (top photo) topped with delicious local and seasonal ingredients. It's the handiwork of Santi's Dino Bugica, who spent seven years in Italy where he apprenticed with cooks and butchers (Diavola also specializes in Bugica's salami and sausages).
Geyserville even has its own coffehouse. Mornings find locals heading to the tiny Geyserville Mud for a cup of joe from Thanksgiving Coffee Company, which is the favorite coffee of upper Sonoma and Mendocino County residents.
To see a bit of the farm town that Geyserville has been for more than 100 years step into the 19th century General Store, where you can usually find a few old-timers shooting the breeze. Browse through the huge collection of hats (left), buy a saddle and grab a small brown bag to stock up on nails, which are sold by the pound, just as they were in the old days. Nice way to wrap up a Sonoma County weekend getaway.

Geyserville Summer Nights

Just a few minutes north of Healdsburg on Highway 101 is the Sonoma wine country burg of Geyersville which has managed to keep its low-key farm town atmosphere as its better-known neighbor a few miles south gets tonier and tonier. I checked out a few places to stay on weekend getaways last week, each one different from the other so that you get a wide variety of options even in such a small place.
Those who are looking for some elegant comfort in a hotel environment should head to the Geyserville Inn, which, despite the name, is actually more of a resort-like hotel. There is a swimming pool and 38 rooms, many with fireplaces and balconies. Most have nice views of the vineyards. It's a modern place with a charming bit of Sonoma history attached -- the Hoffman House, an early 20th century farmhouse transformed into a restaurant with full bar.
Nearby is something completely different: the Hope-Merrill House (left), a lovely Victorian bed-and-breakfast inn whose rooms are lavishly romantic and accented by silk-screened wallpaper by Bruce Bradbury. An incredible five-course breakfast is served each morning. And, there's a beautiful swimming pool surrounded by lush landscaping and vineyards. Check out the first floor Sterling Suite with its own private entrance for the ultimate in extravagance (priced under $300, a good rate for such a luxury accommodation).
Finally, I visited Alexander Valley Lodge, a former B&B (photo above and below) on a hill overlooking the valley. It has been turned into a vacation rental by owners Danielle and Scott Alexander who live in their own house a few hundred yards uphill from the property. This is a six-bedroom, five-bathroom lodge-like home with a pool, Tiki bar and hot tub that is ideal for family reunions, girlfriend getaways and retreats. Danielle told me that, with the economic recession and the trend to "staycations," their business is good this year as families and friends look to save by going in on a house rental and cooking meals together.
The views from the house -- of Geyser Peak and the Alexander Valley -- are phenomenal, particularly at sunrise and sunset when the area takes on a warm glow (especially after a glass of the local zin). You're on your own for meals but the Alexanders can arrange for a local chef to cook dinners and for a masseuse who can provide poolside massages. The Alexanders also give guests tours of the 53 acres of vineyards and wooded terrain they own on this hilltop by a "mule," an ATV-type vehicle. And, of course, they offer plenty of suggestions for wine tasting. However, in a spot like this, guests may never want to leave.

The Ferry Building, Upstairs

I've been spending a lot of time at the Ferry Building (more on that in a couple of weeks) and, to get to know it better, I took one of City Guides' regularly-scheduled free walking tours. In 45 minutes, you get a good idea of the role this landmark played in the history of San Francisco from the day it opened in 1898 to today.
For one, the building and its 245-foot clock tower are two extremely resilient structures, especially when you consider that they rest on the same 5,000 pilings of Oregon pine trees that were placed into the ground as support in 1898. The building has survived two major earthquakes, years as one of the world's busiest transportation hubs and, after years of decline, it emerged from a massive renovation, revived as a major foodie mecca.
For the first time, I went upstairs to the Grand Nave, which is stunning. This 600-foot long hall is topped by a long continuous skylight that illuminates the marketplace below. At the height of ferryboat travel -- before the bridges went up -- thousands of passengers every day boarded and disembarked here from upper decks of boats, which docked right up against the Ferry Building. The first floor, where the marketplace stands today, was used to load and unload cargo.
During the 1990s renovation, the stone arches and beautiful mosaic floor (upper right photo) from 1898 were brought back to life. You can't miss the seal of California, with the state's black bear, the goddess Minerva and the depiction of the California coastline when the Spanish explorers arrived.

It's quiet up here and hard to imagine the hustle and bustle of this area when an estimated 50 million people a year crossed this floor. But if you stand at the railings and look at the often-packed marketplace below, you get a sense of it -- and a feeling that the Ferry Building has come full circle as one of the most vibrant places in San Francisco. The City Guides tour starts at the front of the building every Tuesday and Saturday at noon.

A Museum Named Railway

I stumbled onto the San Francisco Railway Museum the other day for the first time. It's only a half a block from the bustling Ferry Building but, possibly because it's tucked away in a little alley, it doesn't seem to get even a fraction of the visitors as that major city landmark.
The small museum, open just two years, is dedicated to San Francisco's surprising and fascinating long history with streetcars -- not to be confused with cable cars; that's another museum -- and occupies a space at the rear of the hip Hotel Vitale.
Its entrance is on block-long Don Chee Way, an alley off of Steuart near Mission Street. Appropriately, the historic streetcars of MUNI's F-Line rumble right outside its door.
This is the place to visit for background on all those charming old streetcars that make their way up and down Market Street and to Fisherman's Wharf.
It turns out that San Francisco has one of the most diverse collections of those vehicles in all the world -- some 90 in total, half in service at any given time. I've always been partial to the creaky orange ones from Milan (above).
The museum's exhibits include old photos of bygone places that San Franciscans love to reminisce about: Playland, Seals Stadium, Sutro Baths, Fleishhaker Pool, among them. And, if you've ever wanted to know the difference between a streetcar and a cable car, it's all described in delightful detail (hint: among the differences, cable cars do not have overhead wires and streetcars do).
I also enjoyed the one-of-a-kind merchandise, especially the postcards, notecards and posters of the streetcars that depict them in neighborhoods with landmarks such as the Castro Theatre, the Chinatown Gate and Grace Cathedral in the background. This is a terrific place to buy souvenirs -- and proceeds go to a good cause.
The museum, open Tuesdays through Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is run by a nonprofit organization called the Market Street Railway, which promotes education and expansion of historic streetcars in San Francisco.

Gorillas in the Mist

My hometown of Pacifica has gotten on foodie radar because of Gorilla Barbecue, a tiny joint on Highway 1 about a half hour drive south of San Francisco. People line up even before Gorilla opens Wednesdays through Mondays at noon for pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken and hot links cooked up in a wood-fired smoker in an old bright-orange rail car.
I'm not a huge barbecue fan but I love this version. Rich Bacchi (in photo) calls it Texa-lina, a mix of Texas and Carolina barbecue. The meat is smoked Texas style but the sauce is Carolina variety, meaning vinegary, not heavy and sweet.
Bacchi and his partner Jeff Greathouse, like me Pacifica natives and Terra Nova High grads (go Tigers!), pack 36 racks of ribs a day in the smoker, but it's not nearly enough.
The spot has attracted a lot of attention in barbecue circles since it opened two years ago. The Food Network's Guy Fieri of the show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives showcased the place and the big personalities of the two owners a couple of months ago. The episode is scheduled for rebroadcast this coming weekend (check listings). Bacchi said Fieri's followers have driven and even flown in from all parts of the country to check out the food here. Make sure you get to Gorilla early, though. On weekends, they typically sell out of ribs by 4:30 p.m. and on weekdays well before their 8 p.m. closing time. One way to tell is to check out the chimney. "If it's smokin', we're open" is Gorilla's slogan.

Bacchi is hoping to remedy the shortage by adding a second smoker sometime in the next few months. A warning: there's no place to eat at Gorilla, except for a couple of picnic tables set in the often chilly, fog-shrouded hillside above the rail car. You'll see lots of people sitting in the cabs of their trucks in the parking lot outside, or hurrying home with bags of mouth-watering barbecue.

Kudos for Great Escapes: Northern California

Sorry for the shameless plug but I'm proud to say that my book, Great Escapes: Northern California, was awarded the silver prize for guidebooks at the 2009 Society of American Travel Writers' Western Chapter Awards this week.
The judge called the book "a study in defining your audience and delivering exactly what you promise: ideas for people who have time only for a day trip or, at most, a weekend, often on the spur of the moment....With remarkable range for its slim 192 pages, it scores a direct hit, deftly covering the most important sights, injecting a bit of history and offering ideas for active pursuits as well as more languid exploration....The author rises to the challenge of paring down worthy sights and activities in this overendowed region and manages to take readers beyond the obvious."
I'm blushing.