The Sonoma Spiel

You get a medal! You get a medal! Everyone gets a medal at the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon!

There's a new tour in The Springs at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, the Agua Rica comedic history tour, and we had such a good time at it that we forgot to write an intro for our podcast with returning guest Gretchen Schoenstein from the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon and Rose 5K. Gretchen takes a pause from running (she's now doing 5Ks, having retired from running more than 130 half-marathons) to tell us about the big race, what to expect and how to sign up. PLUS, she listens to our very practical pitch that we can replace the cancelled horse racing at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds with amateur athletes dressed up in cow and grape mascot costumes. 
(Want to run the race? Sign up details here: https://runnapatosonoma.com)
Like all of our guests Gretchen takes a turn answering YOUR Sonoma questions, and this week she takes on:
We are looking for a recommendation for wine MAKING and/or vineyard tours. Two or three recommendations would be appreciated. - via text
HELP! I’m hosting a party for my neighbors Scott and Scott, who are moving to Mexico, and want to choose some Sonoma wines for an informal party in San Francisco in my very small, kind of foggy backyard. - Your Much, Much Older Sister Lisa
My grandparents used to live in Sonoma - and we have the street that they lived on- how could we find their address?
Where can you go bird watching in Sonoma Valley?
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
 Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 
It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b

Spritz-O'Clock! Celebrating Sonoma 200 Years of Winemaking with Robyn Sebastiani

Robyn Sebastiani is back on the Sonoma Spiel to talk about the Sonoma 200 anniversary celebration AND to help us make a Sonoma Spritz- the hot drink of the summer - live on the podcast. Robyn talks about the summer of celebrations of the 200 years of Sonoma winemaking, from the Sonoma Spritz month, to the scavenger hunt around Sonoma Valley and culminating in the community-wide celebration at the famous Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival.
 
And the Sonoma Spritz - made with Sonoma Valley wine and easy-to-find fresh ingredients - is a great way to taste the 200 years of history and have a great time.
Every week our podcast guests answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma.
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
 
This week Robyn takes on:
We are visiting and need to rent a wheelchair - where can we rent a wheelchair in Sonoma?
Where can I go swimming at the Russian River now?
We’re from New Orleans - we’re just sort of driving around - we just hopped in the car in Sacramento and looked up Sonoma - and we noticed there are three Sonomas. So we’re looking for the one with the hills and the wineries and pretty views. Which one is that?
Are there any tasting rooms that are coops where you can taste more than one winery in one place? - Visitor from Arizona
 
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 
More information about the Sonoma 200 and all the great events celebrating it are at sonomavalleywine.com.
 
Details about the Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival is at valleyofthemoonvintagefestival.org.
 
It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b

Vine Life: King of Wine Podcasts "Life Between The Vines" crashes the Sonoma Spiel

The l-o-n-g-e-s-t running wine podcaster in the country just so happened to be near Sonoma Valley, so we tricked him into coming onto our podcast. Ray Fister with Life Between The Vines has done more than a thousand interviews with winemakers from around the world with a simple premise: he sets up the microphone and the camera and hits record. Everything else just comes out of conversation as it flows. "Wine shouldn't be scary," says Ray, who's background as an audio engineer and musician is paired with his love for wine in this passion project. (His website: https://lifebetweenthevines.com.)During the Spiel, Fister relates how his childhood in Cleveland and working in hospitality brought him to learn about wine, and how he's met winemakers from New York to Florida to Michigan and all over California, Oregon and Washington. Like all our podcast guests he takes a turn answering YOUR Sonoma questions, and this time he takes on:-We had a great time wine tasting in Sonoma, and want to find some wines from where we are from in the Midwest. What’s a good way to find Midwestern Wines? And how are they different than those in California?
-I’ve really enjoyed listening to the Sonoma Spiel podcast, but I want to take a deeper dive into the world of wine podcasting. Can you recommend some good wine podcasts?
-I'm reaching out to request for a lodging recommendation in Sonoma & Napa . This is for a VIP group planning a trip in the area and the main purpose is to play golf as well as winery visit.  The organizer is looking for a lodging with a golf course in both Sonoma and Napa.  
-Where can I smoke on the Sonoma Plaza?
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
 

Free Summer Concerts in Sonoma: Rod Marymor Talks Sunday Performances on the Sonoma Plaza

Rod Marymor from Music In Place brings professional musicians to the Sonoma Plaza for free concerts for the community to enjoy. What started as a way to keep musicians working during the pandemic has grown to a movement bringing concerts to the people in the Grinstead Amphitheatre at the Sonoma Plaza. Rod goes over the schedule for the summer and highlights the diversity of the concerts, with performers coming from all over the Bay Area to entertain. Oh - and there will be wine, because this is Sonoma.
He also promos the first "Battle of the Bands" to be held outdoors in the Sonoma Plaza, an all-day extravaganza with local teens showcasing their talents the weekend before Bottlerock. Is this the beginning of "Baby Bottlerock?" Find out! 
Rod talks a bit more about his days as a journeyman drummer in bands and how hard it is to make a living as a musician. But, it is rewarding if you love the work.
Somewhere along the way we take a side trip to old radio and movie sounds with an impromptu foley (sound effects) demonstration. 
More info on Music in Place at: https://musicinplace.org
Every week our podcast guests answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma. This week Rod Marymor takes on:
Hi, What are the dimensions of the Sonoma Plaza? Inside/outside? Thanks! - via text
I’m visiting from Tucson and attending a conference in San Francisco. We’d like to come up and do some wine tasting - I like Pinot Noir, my friend likes Cabernet Sauvignon. Any suggestions?
Where can I find a good strawberry stand in Sonoma?
Can I order more than one visitor guide - like a box? Can I get a box of visitor guides?
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
 Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
 
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
 

Max Pond : Chocolate Maker and Football Coach Talks The Chocolate Cow and Friday Night Lights

Cows make chocolate, right? Otherwise why would one of the favorite chocolate stores in Sonoma be called "The Chocolate Cow?"
Known for shaved ice, ice cream, gelato, hot chocolate, truffles and an incredible candy selection, the Chocolate Cow is a must-stop for visitors to the Sonoma Plaza. In this episode we learn about the types of chocolate, how to hand-dip treats, what it takes to run a candy store in a wine country town and why it's always important to have plenty of fresh, cold water for visitors. 
In addition to learning about the importance of fresh chocolate (especially a 65% dark), the trends of Dubai Chocolate (and how the trends have come and gone - salted caramel? Spicy chocolate?) and why pistachios are having their moment, we talk Sonoma Valley football.
Go Dragons! Max is the coach of the Sonoma Valley High School football team and has led the team to a winning season recently. (Go Dragons!)
 
Every week our podcast guests answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma, this week Max Pond of Chocolate Cow takes on:
 
We would like to visit both Sonoma and Napa Valleys in one day. How can we do that?
 
Are there any wineries that have tours of how they make wine, but we don’t have to taste the wine. We aren’t really wine drinkers, but we are interested in learning about it.
We heard that you can do a walking tour of the Sonoma Plaza - can you tell me more about that?
I have a friend from Colorado visiting who likes to go hiking and I don’t have any weekend plans but I can’t have her sleeping on my couch for two days doing nothing what should we do?
 
We are visiting Sonoma soon and like to play bocce. Where can we find some bocce ball courts?
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
 Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
More info about The Chocolate Cow: https://thechocolatecow.com/ 
 
It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
 
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b

A Bohemian in Sonoma: Daedalus Howell on alt-weeklies, live music, indy films and the news biz

Daedalus Howell is the editor of the North Bay Bohemian, "an award-winning alternative newsweekly serving Sonoma & Napa counties." And he's a poet. And a self-taught filmmaker. And an author. And a musician, because that's a thing in Sonoma. Some quick notes we pick along the way: Philip Marlowe, the fictional, hard-boiled noir detective, was born in Santa Rosa. Daedalus left high school early and turned to a life of writing and performing, and then became a free lance writer for a local newspaper. He is a current independent filmmaker, with his latest release being "Werewolf Serenade," which may or may not have been filmed with permission at a Sonoma Valley winery (Kunde Family Winery.) We also note that the North Bay Bohemian forgot to include the Sonoma Spiel in "best podcast" section for the "Best of the North Bay" awards. Every week our podcast guests answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma. This week Daedalus Howell takes on these questions: I’d like to buy a state park “poppy pass” - the annual pass that gets us into most CA state parks. Where can I get one locally? Where can we see redwoods? I was near Sonoma City Hall at noon and everyone was honking at the crowd of people in front of the palm tree. What’s going on there? We want to get photos of trees and flowers in bloom in Sonoma - where should we go? We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPassMore information about Daedalus Howell is at https://dhowell.com.Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNFApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b

Sonoma in Style: Malia Anderson on fashion, style and the challenge of wine country casual

It's always fun when Malia Anderson of Style my Malia riffs on fashion, image and style.  Malia roundly rejects the "Costco Dad" look as as a "personal look," while extolling her youthful desire to be Dominique Devereaux from Dynasty. (And really, who wouldn't?)
In a free-wheeling conversation we talk about when to wear cut-off jeans ("jorts"), how to define your personal style and what, exactly, constitutes "Wine Country Casual" when one is invited to such an event.
Before we got to Sonoma questions we handled fashion questions from people in and around Sonoma, and got to these important issues:
"Should middle aged men dress their age...like jorts and white new balance sneakers or maybe dockers with a polo and boat shoes? Or is it ok to follow and follow the "younger" trends and wear baggy jeans, retro or vintage style clothes, bold prints etc?  This leads me to my next fashion question. Is it ok for older men to have long hair or should they be clean cut?"-R. Montes, the Cloverdale Lady Killer
"There are times when men have to be at least a little bit "dressed up" around here when the weather is HOT! Tips on how to do that successfully would be great.
Tell us about tailoring - what’s worth having altered...how can alterations make you look your best?
Where does vintage/second-hand fit into an overall "look" (if at all) for men, especially?"
-Jason G, the Sonoma OG
 
"What are some wine country style no-nos?"
Jose L, the Fashion Don of The Springs
 
"Where did you get your fashion sense?"
Marie G, The teaching cook and the cooking teacher
 
"What exactly is wine country casual?"
Tiffany P, the Credit Union queen
 
"I’m trying to transition from work from home wardrobe and just starting to get back to a more regular professional look. I’m at a loss on modern looks for the sharp dressed gal these days. Where does one even start!?"
Meredith R, Queen of the tax tables
And like all of our podcast guests, Malia Anderson takes time to answer YOUR Sonoma questions. This week she answers, 
I’m arriving at Sonoma County Airport (Charles M. Schulz- Santa Rosa - STS) and would like to get to the city of Sonoma. How can I do that?
I’m staying near the Sonoma Plaza and looking for wineries that are nearby. Especially red wines. Any ideas?
 
I hear that roundabouts are popular in Sonoma. Where is the next one going to be?
 
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
More information about Malia Anderson and her styling services is available at https://stylebymalia.com
 
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 
It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b

Swimming in Sonoma Valley: Sonoma Splash talks cooling off, exercise, community and fun

Splish splash in Sonoma- we're talking about the new Sonoma Splash Aquatic Center in Sonoma Valley with Jane Hansen and Allyson Etherington.
 
Tidbits include that Allyson's mom is a long-distance open water swimmer who took photos of other swimmers while swimming away from Alcatraz (and recently swam the Maui channel,) that Jane has been swimming for most of her life and still coaches, and that the proper term for the big puffy coat that the swim coach wears, even though she doesn't yell while doing it, is a parka.
 
Sonoma Splash has an Aqua Park in the summer, a zero-entry warm water pool for therapy and classes, and an entire wellness program held in their community room (which has other classes and is available for private rentals.) We also hear about how visitors who want a good lap swimming session are always welcome during lap swim times, and there are also aquatic exercise classes. And people looking to just cool off in the pool are invited as well. (Details on all the programs here: https://sonomasplash.org/)
 
Every week our podcast guests answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma. This week the Sonoma Splashers take on:
 
In Boyes Springs some years ago, there was a huge swimming pool. It was really big! Is it still there?
 
I want to hike the Overlook Trail - do I have to park in the cemetery?
 
I saw a VW bus that appeared to be a tour or something at a winery. What is that?
 
Where is my car parked?
 
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us at 707-996-1090 or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
 
We Get Questions is brought to you by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass: Save up to 25% off tasting fees and choose three great wineries around the historic Sonoma Plaza. Details at https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPass
 
It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b