Beer, Wine & Spirits in Santa Rosa

Though one could also call it a store, The Wine Club’s name speaks to its staff members’ passion for fine wines. Their passion and commitment to quality spirits at fair prices fostered the growth of the first singular club in 1985 into a trio of neighborhood wine and spirits stores by 1996. Shelves and display cases at each store are crowded by varietals from all over the world. During Friday happy hours and informal Saturday afternoon tastings, guests gather to discuss flavor profiles with fellow tasters, certified sommeliers, or vacationing extraterrestrials. The store also curates a variety of wine clubs for customers hoping to expand their palates.

Stationed along the Sonoma Coast, Gourmet au Bay pairs small-batch, award-winning wines with breezy waterfront views from its bayside deck. The business keeps its wine collection stocked with premium products thanks to a set of strict criteria—every bottle boasts a gold medal, fewer than 1,000 cases of its kind in production, a flawless criminal record, or a score of 90 points or better. Every day, visitors may stop in for glasses of wine, as well as bottled beer and cheese-and-crackers platters. Gourmet au Bay also specializes in what it calls wine surfing, which presents three wines selected from the daily menu atop a specially designed surfboard.

In renovating the new location of California Wine Merchant, owner Greg O’Flynn and wife Deborah worked hard to draw inspiration from the original location, with its floor-to-ceiling redwood wine racks built by Greg and its focus on California wine. Every wine goes through blind tasting by Greg and his knowledgeable staff, who employ sharp palates to evaluate the wine's aroma, acidity, and stock options. The store's vast inventory highlights Cali labels and incorporates a handful of imports and cult favorites such as Screaming Eagle and Opus One. Open seven nights a week, a full wine bar offers a menu of 35–50 wine varieties by the glass with cheese plates to pair, plus a few craft beers. Above the cozy bar, artful hanging lights of twisted metal resemble grapevines, and large portraits of grapes pay homage to the many fruits martyred in the grape stomp.

Kaz Winery has reflected the independent spirit of Richard Kasmier since 1994, when the advertising photographer gave up his career for the love of the organically grown grapes. Kasmier had dabbled in winemaking for eight years at that point, winning awards for the fruits of his labor on the 2-acre former walnut grove. According to treehugger.com, he cultivated his first batch with organic practices in 1986 and has only improved on his method.

Twenty-eight solar panels harvest enough rays from atop the tasting room to completely power the winery's day-to-day operations, as well as the adjacent Kasmier family home and large hadron collider. In the fields, clusters grow heavy through two trellising methods, and stay pesticide-free with the help of strawberries and zucchini planted among the vines to attract helpful bugs. When it's time for fermentation, the winemakers use wild yeast when possible and add little to no sulfates. Current production sits at about 1,000 barrels a year and includes complex reds, ports, and rare varietals such as lenoir and aglianico.

The Kasmiers refer to the tasting room as the Barn, though in 2005 a Wall Street Journal reporter categorized it as "more party than tasting room." The place reveals Richard's sense of humor through wry, pun-filled posters. Richard is never far away, pouring vintages at the Barn several times a week, broadcasting thoughts on viticulture via his radio show, and appearing vicariously in old photos, which guests can use to label wines they have blended themselves.

R2 Wine Company takes its name from its founders, Roger and Richard Roessler, two brothers who combine their years of business and restaurant-industry experience to bottle up the rare and delicious tastes of Sonoma's sunny vineyards. With the aid of expert viticulturist and winemaker Byron Kosuge, the two brothers show their love for the noble grape with a wealth of original vintages, such as the complex Rhapsody rhone that epitomizes the cool, bright terroir of the Santa Ynez Valley, or the Red Birds pinot noir, which celebrates the secret wine press in the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout. Curious guests congregate for vino-sipping soirees at the earthy-hued tasting room off the Sonoma Plaza, or join the wine club for regular deliveries of mouthwatering vintages and invitations to members-only events and tastings.

Loris Scagliarini’s interests lie at an unusual intersection between artistry and technicality. An early job at a Modenese winery eschewed the artisanal aspects of wine making, leaving Loris with the task of running their electronic grape-management system. Although moves and later a career as a photographer took him away from Italy, his heart stayed with the world of wine. Eventually, this gentle tug became an undeniable pull, leading Loris to found Italian Wine Hub, an online presence for his photography, writing, and—above all—love for Italian wines. His inventory, imported directly from small Italian wineries, includes 54 prize-winning varieties that can be shipped nearly anywhere in the United States, or gazed at longingly from the other side of a computer screen anywhere in the world.