Yountville
FOOD & DRINK
Chef Thomas Keller Dishes on Napa Valley’s Hidden Gems
The first and only US-chef to hold multiple Michelin three-star ratings, Thomas Keller has been at the forefront of farm-fresh Cali-French cuisine in the Napa Valley for the past three decades. His nine-course menus and almost-impossible-to-book tables have maintained their cherished status among gastronomes and lay tourists alike. Set in...
Sonoma's Carlisle Winery Calls it Quits
The owners of Carlisle, California’s leading producer of quality Zinfandels, will call it quits after the 2024 vintage, Wine Spectator has learned. Co-founders Mike and Kendall Officer informed their wine club members of their decision today. “It was a decision that was a long time in coming,” Mike Officer,...
Struggling restaurant flooded with support after daughter shares a video of dad waiting for customers
The power of social media has been beautifully put to good use recently when a daughter shared a video of her father waiting in their empty restaurant. The heart-warming video has gone viral and TikTok users have been flocking to support the family business. Lee's Noodle House on Hopper Avenue opened in 2003. It is owned and operated by Vuong, Lee's father and Ha Tran, Lee's mother. Vuong and Ha serve and cook Vietnamese dishes. While Lee's sister worked at the restaurant before becoming a nurse, Lee also worked at the restaurant throughout high school. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant had seen a decrease in customers. This is what Vuong was pensively reflecting on in the video shared by his daughter.
Review: Festival Napa Valley Opens With a Recital Among the Vineyards
On Friday night, in a mercifully shaded meadow at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, the South African soprano Pretty Yende was finishing the final notes of “É Strano,” from La traviata. If you know the aria, you know its demanding final runs and challenging final notes. If you were present on Friday, you also know that Yende nailed it, immediately winning over the crowd and sparking the first standing ovation of the night.
After being nursed back to health, baby giraffe reunited with her mother at Safari West
A giraffe calf at Safari West in Santa Rosa who had been cared for by park staff since a feared infection at birth two weeks ago was reintroduced to her mother over the weekend. After noticing her temperature was low, keepers decided to separate the calf from her mother, Malaika. They gave her an IV through her neck to administer antibiotics and fluids to help get her healthy. A few days later ...
After Burning Down in a Wildfire, This Napa Winery Was Rebuilt to Withstand Natural Disasters
This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files, our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here.Ryan Seacrest Spins His California Wine Country Estate on the Market for $22 Million Of all the obstacles the wine industry faces—decreased consumption, competition from other beverages, tariffs, and supply chain issues—wildfires offer the most emergent threat to life and property and is the only one that requires immediate attention. Less than a month ago, the Point Fire in northern Sonoma County prompted the evacuation of more than 400 people, with 10 times that number on alert to leave...
As Consumer Demands Change, Wineries Are Offering More From the Tasting Room Experience
There’s rapid evolution happening in the wine tourism industry, as the experience and expectations of wine drinkers have changed. Fifteen years ago, most winery visits would feature a quick flight of four to six wines, with maybe a few crackers on hand, ostensibly to cleanse the palate. Travelers would rove from winery to winery, often hitting five or more in a single day. For wineries, the revenue generated from tasting fees — if they were even charged — mattered less than bottle sales and wine club memberships.
Stay in your own Mason Lane
Santa Rosa’s Own Will Evankovich on joining Styx. Of the 99.99% of local bands that aspire to be touring national and international acts playing arenas and amphitheaters, only the remaining 0.01% make it through to the big leagues of rock and roll stardom. While many amazing bands from Sonoma...
VC LIVE | Festival Napa Valley Presents Time For Three
We're coming to you LIVE from the Festival Napa Valley’s closing concert featuring Festival Orchestra Napa and the genre-bending ensemble, Time for Three. Conductor Filippo Ciabatti leads Time for Three in composer Kevin Puts’ GRAMMY® winning concerto, "Contact," and Ming Luke conducts Festival Orchestra Napa in Stravinsky’s hugely popular Firebird, based on folktales and folk tunes from Russia.
The menu at this Petaluma lunch pop-up reads like a map of the world
A Petaluma business park is an unlikely spot for an international smorgasbord. The menu, featuring borani banjan, an Afghan eggplant stew, Jordanian lamb kofta with tahini sauce and Haitian pork griot with a side of fried plantains, would put food halls in much bigger cities to shame. The diversity of dishes is impressive and ambitious. Even more so when you consider that just four weeks ago, ...
Steve's News of the Weird
The 2024 World's Ugliest Dog winner is a familiar face. An 8-year-old Pekingese named Wild Thang took top honors at this year’s competition, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, on Friday, June 21. It was his fifth time as a contender in the annual contest. A press release for the event calls Wild Thang’s victory “a testament to his undeniable charm and resilience.”
Nick the Greek Introduces Authentic Greek Cuisine to Petaluma
Leading Greek Chain Broadens Bay Area Footprint with Sonoma County Opening. , a West Coast-based chain serving up authentic Greek street food, has proudly debuted in Petaluma, California. The fast-growing brand’s newest restaurant is owned and operated by experienced franchisees Ken Arslaner and Carolyn Bell, who have partnered with the brand since 2022 and operate Nick the Greek’s Santa Rosa location. With more than 75 restaurants in operation and dozens in the pipeline, Nick the Greek will approach 100 locations systemwide by the end of 2024.
Liven up Summer Lemonade With Sonoma’s Golden Raspberries
It’s the summer of berries: Black raspberries, purple raspberries and the dearest ones of all, golden raspberries, sunshine yellow with a just hint of blush. Golden raspberries are delicate with a bit more sweetness than their more familiar red cousins. They have the shortest season, too; when late summer and early fall temperatures soar, golden raspberries quickly fade away.
The Auditorium Tour by Common and Pete Rock: Get Your Tickets Now
On the heels of their album release, Common and Pete Rock have announced The Auditorium Tour, sponsored by T-Mobile. The 18-stop tour will begin on August 28 in Del Mar, California, and end with a three-night residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City from September 23-25.
A ‘force of nature’: Award-winning local winemaker’s resilience pays dividends
Patience and perseverance — those are the two virtues the wildfires have taught Bibiana Gonzalez Rave. While the recent Point Fire didn’t pose any problems for the vintner of Cattleya Wines, she said it brought back “challenging memories.” The Tubbs Fire in 2017 forced Gonzalez Rave to evacuate from her Santa Rosa home with her husband, Jeff Pisoni, and their year-and-a-half toddler and ...
View 'Play on Light' and 'Studio Obsessions' Art Exhibits at Finley Community Center
Explore local art at Santa Rosa's Finley Community Center! "Play on Light" features Naomi Murakami, Alexis Wilson, and Karen Bolan, showcasing diverse interpretations of light through painting, sculpture, collage, crochet, and quilting through Sept. 23. Additionally, the Person Senior Wing hosts "Studio Obsessions" through Sept. 8 by Barrie Sterling and Shoshana Bernie, highlighting Sterling's vibrant creativity and Bernie's personal expressions. Both exhibits are open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 2060 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa.
Po Shu Wang's "Intersecting Infinity" selected for Fire Station 5 Public Art Project
The City of Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa Fire Department are proud to announce the selection of Po Shu Wang, a distinguished artist from Berkeley, CA, for the creation of a permanent site-specific public art installation at Fire Station 5. Po Shu Wang's proposal, titled “Intersecting Infinity,” features a striking 8-foot stainless steel sculpture symbolizing the phoenix rising. This proposal was chosen following careful deliberation by a selection panel and consideration of community input gathered through a public survey.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.