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Looking for new and exciting ways to discover the best of Sonoma Valley’s drinking culture? There are so many options that it can be difficult to choose. Here’s a trio we’re loving right now, including a new pinot noir tasting room with its own aroma bar, a distillery specializing in organic vodka and cocktails, and a stylish downtown bubbly bar serving cheese plates, caviar and Champagne gummies.
Schermeister Winery
Robert Schermeister founded his eponymous winery in 2012 with one vintage — a big, hedonistic pinot noir from the Paladini Vineyard in Carneros — after spending years as an assistant winemaker to cult greats Mark Aubert and Jayson Pahlmeyer.
Today, Schermeister and his wife and winery co-owner Laura have grown their portfolio to 12 wines from Sonoma County and Napa Valley, though production remains at a modest 600 cases. Inside their new tasting room in Glen Ellen’s historic Jack London Village, you can taste the wines, meet Eli, their dalmatian-husky, and test your olfactory senses at the complimentary aroma bar. What does apricot in viognier smell like? Find out by sniffing your way through these vials.
The Schermeisters greet visitors with housemade bread sticks and walnuts from their home on Mount Veeder. The nuts make a fine pairing with Robert’s big, intense pinots. There are a few restrained wines in the mix, including a crisp 2017 Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon ($34) that’s sure to sell out, and a cool-climate 2013 Rodgers Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir ($57), from the Sonoma Coast, with notes of cherry and savory black tea.
Details: Tastings are $25-$40. Walk-ins welcome. Open at 11 a.m. Thursday through Sunday (and Wednesdays by appointment) at 14301 Arnold Drive, Studio 28, Glen Ellen; https://schermeister.com.
Hanson of Sonoma Distillery
Prepare to be impressed, vodka fans. The Hanson family has opened a tasting room for their 5-year-old distillery that’s every bit as elegant and approachable as their naturally-infused vodkas. Yes, the staff makes cocktails — and they’re fabulous.
Step up to the marble-topped bar or sink into a sofa for tastings of seven hand-crafted organic vodkas: original, cucumber, ginger, habanero, mandarin and seasonal boysenberry and espresso. Hanson uses whole ingredients — no powders or syrups here. That zippy (and award-winning) habanero is made with seven varieties of hand-chopped organic peppers; the cucumber, with hundreds of organic California cucumbers soaked in vodka for seven to 12 months.
The only difficult part is choosing which tasting to do. You can taste six Hanson expressions ($15), for example, or three expressions and a craft cocktail with your favorite vodka ($20), or do vodka martinis and caviar pairings ($90). All the spirits are impossibly clean and smooth. Happy sipping.
Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. at 22985 Burndale Road, Sonoma; https://hansonofsonoma.com
Sigh Champagne Bar
Last summer, Jayme Powers moved her tiny bubbly bar, which had been located off an alley in downtown Sonoma, to a sparkling new location triple the size. Now, be it day or night, you’ll find Sigh Champagne Bar packed to the hilt with sparkling-wine lovers nibbling on cheese plates and looking for anything to toast.
Sigh is modern and undeniably feminine; the oval-shaped bar is flanked by mirrored walls covered with famous Champagne quotes by everyone from Oscar Wilde to Brigitte Bardot, while the curved golden banquette is surrounded by drapes and pillows in every shade of beige and brut. Strategically-placed sacks of Champagne corks make perfect ottomans for putting your feet up.
Choose from 28 different Champagnes and sparkling wines by the glass from California, France and Italy, in addition to flights ($18-$85), more than 40 wines by the bottle and six magnums ($100-$695). Should you not care for the world’s most celebratory adult beverage, there’s a small curated selection of wine, beer and nibbles, including cheese plates and Tsar Nicoulai caviar.
Details: Open from noon daily at 120 W. Napa St., Sonoma; www.sighsonoma.com