Sonoma County......much more than wine!

Winter in the Sonoma Wine Country offers a unique perspective from which to enjoy the bounty of the county. Trees and vines are bare and there is a nip in the air…perfect for cozying up to a fire, pampering yourself with spa treatments and savoring the delicacies that abound here.

NOTEWORTHY EVENTS

Even though it is the “off season”, there is still plenty to do in Sonoma County. Here are some of our favorites, please visit www.winecountryinns.com for more:

Winter Wineland - January 19 & 20 2008.
100+ Russian River wineries open their doors offering special treats throughout this popular weekend, now in it’s 16th year. wineroad.com

Cloverdale Old Time Fiddle Contest - January 26-27, 2008. Who would think you would find something like this in Sonoma Wine Country. But, here it is and it is fun!
cloverdalehistoricalsociety.org/fiddle

Sonoma Valley Olive Festival – December 2007 – February 18, 2008. Enjoy special events at many wineries, olive presses, spas and restaurants, culminating in the Olive Festival Finale over the President’s Day weekend.
sonomavalley.com/OliveFestival/events.html

Amgen Tour of California – February 17-24, 2008. Once again, Stage 2 of this world-reknowned bike race comes through Sonoma County. amgentourofcalifornia.com

Cloverdale Citrus Festival – February 17-20 2008. This is a true small-town festival that is lot’s of fun even if you are not a local. There is even a not well known about opportunity for tasting of special, award winning wines that you normally would not experience. cloverdalecitrusfair.org

Sonoma County Barrel Tasting Month is in March starting with the Russian River Wine Road’s 30th annual weekends on March 1st and 8th and the Heart of Sonoma Valley’s Savor Sonoma Valley’s event on March 15th and 16th. These are popular events, so order your tickets NOW and book your Wine Country Inns accommodations (remember our special!) wineroad.com; heartofsonomavalley.com

Meet our Innkeepers

Hillary and Gary McCalla
Avalon Luxury Inn

Like many innkeepers, Hillary and Gary thought about opening a b & b for many years before they actually did it. Moving from the Bay Area to Sonoma County when they purchased their home, they waited two years before actually “taking the plunge” and remodeling and converting it to the inn….then had a baby at the same time! The McCallas are a true innkeeping family, including their son, AJ, who enjoys meeting and greeting their guests, and offering them their “outrageous hospitality” in a fantastic setting.

Jackie and Tim Thresh
Melitta Station Inn

Hailing from “across the pond”, Jackie and Tim bring their English flair to Sonoma Wine Country for an experience you won’t find elsewhere. They are a fascinating couple with many interesting facets to their lives, including (but not limited to) Jackie’s training as a chef and her teaching background and Tim’s musical talents and high-powered engineering, technical, marketing and business development careers with HP and Agilent. They have just completed a remodel of their charming inn, adding another dimension that includes on-site massage therapy. Jackie’s long ago dream of owning an inn has come true, albeit far from their original home and families – lucky for us!

Healdsburg Area Winery Tours: P.O. Box 742, Healdsburg, CA 95448-0742
Tel: (707) 433-6090 or (888) 633-6090 Fax: (707) 433-8982 *51
Email us: info@healdsburgareawinerytours.com

Vintage Wine Tours of Sonoma: 707.225.4943; vintagewinetours@comcast.net

Scones
Avalon Luxury Inn

3 C. flour
1/3 C. sugar
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
¾ C. firm butter, cut into pieces
¾ C. dried cranberries
1 tsp. grated orange peel
Just less than 1 C. buttermilk
1 Tblsp. cream

Heat oven to 425. Stir together dry ingredients. Add firm butter pieces and blend together with a pastry blender (or in your handy dandy kitchenaid mixer) until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Add orange peel and cranberries and mix together. Add buttermilk and mix until a ball forms. Turn out onto floured board. Press or roll into a round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into wedges. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with cream. Bake 11 to 14 minutes. EAT!

BAKEWELL TART
Melitta Station Inn

Geographical note: Bakewell is a small market town in northern England, where this tasty tea-time treat evolved. At Melitta Station Inn we offer this delight in the evenings.

1. Set the oven at 375F to start

2. For short-crust pastry - I make my own but you can buy frozen. …….
¾ cup Flour (best if it has been in the fridge for 2 hours)
¾ of a 4 ounce block margarine/butter

Rub ingredients together with a pastry blender until they resemble bread-crumbs.

3. Add three tablespoons of water. Bind together with a knife. Knead very lightlyand roll out.

4. Line a 7 inch cake pan with a thin crust. Prick the base with a fork. Cut a round of silicone paper larger than the pan and place inside weighting it with dry peas/beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set firm but NOT browned.

5. Take out of the oven and allow the case to cool slightly. Adjust oven temp down to 350F.

6. Place 3 large tablespoons of raspberry jam (pref. not "jelly"!!) on the cooked pastry and spread over the base.

7. Prepare the topping:
I make a sponge cake mix using 1/3 of a 3 egg "Classic Yellow Sponge Cake Mix". So use 1 egg, 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoon oil, and add 1/3 cup ground almonds, 2-3 drops almond essence with the 1/3 proportion of the packet.

8. Put the sponge mixture in the pastry base (on top of the jam) and spread out into an level layer. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.

9. Bake 20-25 minutes until the sponge is firm to the touch. Allow to cool.

10. Eat and enjoy