From free wine tasting to a trendy swim club, here's what's new in Wine Country

San Francisco Chronicle​

2 days ago

Wine Country's food scene has recently exploded with new options. Bay Area pizza legend A16 opened a Napa outpost and the city also got its first Filipino restaurant from a French Laundry alum. The team behind St. Helena's Michelin-starred Press launched Under-study, a whimsical, high-end cafe next door.
The sleepy Sonoma Valley has suddenly transformed into an exciting culinary hub. In the past few months, the tiny, unincorporated towns of Glen Ellen and Kenwood welcomed French bistro Poppy (from the owners of the Girl & the Fig) and Italian eatery Stella (from the owners of the Glen Ellen Star), respectively.
Another French restaurant, Bistro Lagniappe, looks for a fresh start following a contentious legal battle over its predecessor, Molti Amici, in Healdsburg. Like Sonoma Valley, Petaluma is also in the midst of a culinary renaissance, and the latest addition is Bijou — yes, another French restaurant — from the founders of popular fine dining spot Table Culture Provisions.
Read on for more recent restaurant openings, plus a trio of new tasting rooms, a food-centric museum and a swim club that just launched in Napa and Sonoma Wine Country.
Check out the last installment of what's new in Wine Country here.
Cabernet heavyweight offers free tastings in playful new home
Napa Valley Cabernet stalwart Mark Herold Wines has moved from its eclectic tasting room near the Oxbow Public Market to a larger, permanent home in Oakville, right off Highway 29. Owner Brion Wise — one of Wine Country's biggest power players in recent years — purchased the brand from founder Mark Herold in 2023 (Herold has stayed on as winemaker) and then acquired the ivy-covered Cosentino Winery in 2024 as part of the Vintage Wine Estates' bankruptcy fallout. The new spot is still quite whimsical inside, featuring a pink neon sign, green furs and blue suede couches, quirky paintings and a clear nautical theme; there's also a sunny terrace with ample seating. An array of tasting experiences are available for Mark Herold wines and Wise's Sonoma label, B. Wise Vineyards, including the chance to sample two featured wines each day for free. In the coming weeks, the tasting room plans to launch a savory cookie pairing.
A new kind of Russian River swimming hole
A playful resort and swim club has opened in redwooded Guerneville. A lovely escape from San Francisco 'summer,' the River Electric offers a family-friendly Russian River staycation in glamping tents, plus day passes to its two pools. One is a massive, 60-foot round pool and bar that serves up Straus soft serve, a high-low hot dog and fries loaded with pimento cheese and potato chip crumble.
16101 Neely Rd., Guerneville. theriverelectric.com
Classic Wine Country stopover is resurrected
A historic and popular roadside rest stop for cyclists has finally reopened after closing in 2019. The Jimtown Store, set on the scenic Highway 128 in Alexander Valley, was purchased by Michelle Wood, owner of the catering company Dim Sum and then Sum. The 1893 building, renamed Jimtown and then Sum, now serves dumplings, potstickers, spring rolls and baos alongside more traditional sandwiches at lunch. For breakfast, Jimtown offers coffee and pastries, plus heartier plates, like avocado toast and a breakfast burrito.
A fresh wine experience in a surprising place
A warehouse a mile outside of downtown Healdsburg is now home to an unlikely new tasting room. Inside and perched above a working winery, a small glass box hosts cozy and intimate tastings of elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the extreme Sonoma Coast. This is the first-ever tasting room for Wayfarer, founded by second-generation vintner Cleo Pahlmeyer of Napa's famed Pahlmeyer winery in 2012. After a tour of the winery, guests can watch the cellar work in real time as they taste ($75-$175), plus mesmerizing drone footage of the Wayfarer Vineyard — set at 1200 ft. and four miles from the ocean — projected over the barrels.
1441 Grove St., Healdsburg. wayfarervineyard.com
Five miles north of Napa Valley's iconic welcome sign, there's a popular new photo op: a giant stick of butter. It sits outside of the MAC (the Napa Valley Museum of Art & Culture), a new attraction that moved into the old Dean & DeLuca building and shares space with Under-study, a fancy new cafe from St. Helena's Michelin-starred Press Restaurant. The MAC's opening exhibition, which will run through March 2026, is a fun and interactive celebration of famed chef Julia Child. Swing by Under-study after your visit for a lobster corn dog topped with caviar. (San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan recommended the sweet and sour pig ears and the heirloom tomato dish.)
607 St. Helena Hwy, St. Helena. napavalleymuseum.org
A combination tasting room and record shop
Petaluma got its third record store, but there's a compelling difference with this one: It serves wine. Montagne Russe, a winery known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, has relocated its tasting room from Healdsburg to the burgeoning city of Petaluma, where most of its grapes are grown. The space, which stays open until 8 p.m., showcases more than 400 vinyl albums, with plans to grow the collection; tastings are $35 for a flight of five wines. Wines can be sipped by the glass and bottle as well, and visitors are allowed to bring in food from local restaurants (perhaps a sandwich from the Local?). As for design, Montagne Russe, a French term for roller coaster, features a rollercoaster mural and movie posters for the 1977 film 'Rollercoaster,' collected from 10 countries.
Hot dogs get the Napa treatment
Sumo Dog, a new vendor at Napa's Oxbow Public Market, merges the classic American staple with Japanese condiments. Founded by former Morimoto chef Jeffrey Lunak, the chain offers beef, pork and vegan hot dogs in nearly a dozen iterations, like the signature Sumo Dog ($9), slathered in wasabi relish, pickled peppers, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, furikake, onion and nori. If you're especially hungry (or willing to share), opt for the Godzilla ($12), a footlong with all the Sumo toppings, plus beef chili, togarashi cheese sauce and jalapenos. Sumo Dog's presence at the Oxbow is a temporary residency; they are scheduled to be there through the end of the year.
610 First St., Napa. eatsumodog.com
Wine Country pizza joint expands
The team behind Sebastopol's Acre Pizza, which the Chronicle rated among the Bay Area's best, has opened a sister restaurant focused on another beloved carb: pasta. Acre Pasta is also located in the city's industrial Barlow complex and serves classic pasta dishes like spaghetti with 'Sunday red' sauce ($12) and baked lasagna alla norma ($18). Gluten-free pasta is available and patrons can upgrade their plate with burrata, pancetta, mushrooms, chicken or shrimp. For a full meal, pair your pasta with burrata toast, a salad or meatballs.