The Sonoma Spiel Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau

Mustafa Tolosa always "goes to eleven" - the local restaurant reviewer started off taking photos of his steak while on a date with his wife, and from there it has grown into a Wine Country go-to spot for locals looking for the low-down on food trucks, restaurants and more. "I'm not a food critic - I'm a highlighter. I like to highlight things," says Tolosa, who gets ideas for his reviews from his audience. His likes? Good experiences, polite service, fresh food. His dislikes? Vinegar. Not a fan. Allergies? Peaches, sadly. Mustafa's passion for the local food scene - as well as outdoor adventures - shines through in a passionate and wide-ranging interview, covering marketing, waiting in lines to get into a restaurant, the benefits of attending a community college, how to teach yourself a new subject and applying for a job by wearing an all-white suit you get at Marshall's (like a "tropical Colonel Sanders") and oozing confidence. "Shout out to everyone who owns a restaurant - it's super hard. I could never own a restaurant. My hats off to everyone who does it." And just like all our VERY SPECIAL GUESTS, Mustafa answer YOUR questions about wine country and visiting Sonoma during "We Get Questions."This week he answers: We heard that there used to be a ferry from San Francisco to Sonoma? Is this true? And is it still possible to take a ferry to Sonoma? What strawberry stands are open? Can I use my charcoal grill in the Plaza? Is it possible to see whales at Bodega Bay? When do they go by? Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.Looking for the Sonoma Plaza tasting pass, where you get your choice of three wineries for $69? Go here: https://bit.ly/SonomaTastingPassWant to see more of Mustafa, find him on: Instagram - www.instagram.com/nochillmustafaYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@UCk0Hgty51unKxArW7kwFrowWebsite: https://thedailygrape.comIt's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9bYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF

The Sonoma Valley Author's Festival is in it's seventh year in Sonoma, and founders Ginny and David Freeman come to the Sonoma Spiel and share their passion for books and the ideas expressed within. As Ginny notes, "It's an ideas festival - it's small and curated and intimate." This year we find out that among the many author's attending includes historian Doris Kearns Goodwinn, novelist David Grann ("Killers of the Flower Moon"), Amy Tan ("Joy Luck Club"), Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School, and rising star Anita Gail Jones ("The Peach Seed"). The Freemans detail how they came to the world of author festivals, and how neither of them had experience as conference or event planners. They also put on a free event, called "Authors on the Plaza" as well as bring the festival to local schools. (They've given away 15,000 books to students since the festival began!)Like all of our Sonoma podcast guests they also answer YOUR Sonoma questions during "We Get Questions" and this week they attempt to answer:
I’ve noticed that the cover crops are mowed in every other row in the grapevines. Why is that? Why did they leave one row and then mow one row?
I was asleep last night and heard a low buzzing sound in the early morning hours. Was that a helicopter, or an airplane or just the persistent intrusive thoughts reminding me of my mortality?
Speaking of mortality, do any wineries offer the chance to dedicate a vine in memory of someone?
Where's a good place to buy a book in Sonoma?
Find more details about the Sonoma Valley Author's Festival at https://svauthorsfest.org. Don't forget to get your Sonoma Plaza Wine Tasting Pass at www.sonomavalley.com/food-wine/sonoma-wine-tasting-pass
 
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us 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
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF

Caitlin Cornwall of the Sonoma Ecology Center returns to the Spiel to give her review of the eclipse (thumbs up), talk redwoods as yard trees in dry valley floors (thumbs down, usually) and encourage us to create diverse ecosystems with native plants in your front yard to get the best birds. She also details the upcoming events at Sugarloaf State Park, the Sonoma Garden Park and other places where the Sonoma Ecology Center is doing their work and public demonstrations.As usual our guests answer YOUR Sonoma questions during We Get Questions, sponsored by the Sonoma Plaza Tasting Pass (three wineries for $69!), and this week Caitlin answers:
We would like to sleep at a winery – is that possible?
Where can I get some Sonoma Stompers baseball hats? – Visitor from Seattle
We just flew in from Australia and we are staying here a few days. We’d like to go on a bike tour or rent some bikes – is that possible?Are there any parks nearby with outdoor exercise equipment?
When should I plant my tomatoes?
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us or contact us through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or just walk into one of our two visitor centers.
More information about the Ecology Center: https://sonomaecologycenter.org/It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF

Bettina Sichel got her start with Blue Nun, one of the most famous wines of the past 100 years and the one that put German wine on the map (and which her great grandfather started) and is now with Laurel Glen Vineyards in Glen Ellen. Specializing in (and famous for) cabernet sauvignon, the winery is now branching out to rose and sauvignon blanc.Wait - did we mention Blue Nun? The special Liebfraumilch that was brought to the United States by Sichel's father, and advertised by Jerry Stiller & Ann Meara ("the delicious, imported, premium white wine that goes with everything") in a series of catchy and funny commercials. Did we mention Sichel's father, who fled Nazi Germany, then enlisted in the US Army and joined the Office of Strategic Services during World War II? Sichel recounts her start at college at Vassar (Go Brewers!), where she majored in English and her journey from selling Blue Nun to working for some of Napa's top wineries (Quintessa, Mt. Veeder), to choosing her present in Sonoma Valley at Laurel Glen Vineyards. Not content with just being a winemaker, Bettina is also a proud member of the elite Jack London Yacht Club, and owner of a sloop that sails down Sonoma Creek. (Granted, the yachts are 18-inches long and the Sonoma Creek is, well, a creek.) In addition to tasting some Laurel Glen Vineyards wines (a cabernet and their new rose) Bettina takes on the great challenge of answering YOUR Sonoma questions during "We Get Questions." This week she answers:
Where can I bring my well-behaved dog to eat in Sonoma Valley?Are there any dog-friendly hotels or lodging options in Sonoma Valley?
Hello – I have a small travel agency in Virginia and would like to order a box of visitor guides. Is it possible to order more than just one at a time?Ah! My back hurts and I need a massage – got any recommendations?
Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us 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
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF

Maeve Smith is the director of Sonoma Arts Live's latest musical, "The Hello Girls," which details the story of American women who answered the call to be switchboard operators for the US Army Signal Corps during World War I. They had to speak French, know how to operate specialized communications equipment and serve near the front lines - and yet when they returned, their time in the service was not recognized for six more decades."It has everything - it's funny, it's silly, it's sad. they play their own instruments," says Smith. Maeve and her husband Andrew met while studying theater and traveled with a cruise line as on-board entertainment. As part of their time at sea they were in charge of the emergency drills for the passengers, no doubt because what better way to head to the lifeboats than with a kick line?When she's not directing plays (or acting in them), Smith is the general manager at Coursey Graves winery, located high above Bennet Valley between Sonoma and Santa Rosa. And, like all the guests on the Sonoma podcast, she answers YOUR Sonoma questions. This week she takes on:
Heading out in October. Prefer cabs… any suggestions on where to go? – via Facebook 
What are those green structures that look like pawns that line the sidewalks on the Plaza? - at the Visitor CenterHi! We are looking into your Sonoma Wine Tasting Pass and I wanted to ask how it works:
Do we make online reservations with individual wineries after purchasing the pass, or do we walk in this Saturday when we plan to visit?
We will have a 9 year old girl with us, do we only purchase passes for the adults 21+? Will she be able to sit with us at the tastings or are there age restrictions? – via textWhere’s a good place in Sonoma to take your dog on nature walk? - via email 
We are looking for smaller boutique wineries in the Sonoma, Glen Ellen, Kenwood area. Prefer Pinot Noir and Rhone varietals. Thanks! - via Facebook

Got questions about Sonoma Valley? You can email us at info@sonomavalley.com, text us 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
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF

They grew up on a dairy farm in West Marin, where the fog rolls in and grassy hills meet the rugged beaches of the Pacific Ocean, and now they are the force behind the California Cheese Trail. Vivian and Michael Straus left Marin for Portland (Vivian) and an ashram in India (Michael) but then came back to help save the family ranch and raise the profile of the cheese trail.Now the California Cheese Trail is a map and website of the 70-plus cheesemakers in California and how to visit them, take tours, buy their cheeses and learn about the culture of California cheese.This rollicking interview includes discussions on how to milk a water buffalo (carefully, and you can send them into ecstasy by brushing them), how to turn milk into cheese and includes a tasting of various local cheeses and how to put together a good cheese board.After we talk about how to cheddar a cheese, they take a turn answering YOUR Sonoma questions during "We Get Questions," and this week they answer:
We have nine couples coming to Sonoma later and wanted to get together a little welcome packet for them. What do you think we should include?
Are there any pretty mustard fields around?
While Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewery is famous as a local beer, I heard the first modern microbrewery was actually in Sonoma. Is this true?
We are visiting from Northern Wisconsin and would like to find some California cheeses. Where would you recommend?
Start your journey on the cheese trail here: https://www.cheesetrail.org/Get the Sonoma Plaza Wine Tasting pass here: https://www.sonomavalley.com/food-wine/sonoma-wine-tasting-pass/It's Sonoma Valley's top podcast and you find it wherever you find fine podcasts, including
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sonoma-spiel/id1634467429
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UuskGhmJ3EkWQk8DObR9b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSa7rAVobsI8O_3xp7hIDPKRO9nBuvNF