Author Archives{TravelAndrew}

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Gay Wine Weekend Comes to Sonoma

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Set for the middle of Gay Pride Month, the region’s festive annual Gay Wine Weekend, produced by the local GLBT-owned travel and event company Out in the Vineyard, will feature three days of parties, wine tastings, dancing, delicious meals, and camaraderie at several venues in southern Sonoma County. This year Gay Wine Weekend takes place from Friday, June 15, through {…}

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A Novel Approach to Winemaking: SCRIBE Winery

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

At the southeastern edge of Sonoma County, just a few miles outside of downtown Sonoma on the main road toward Napa, SCRIBE Winery (2300 Napa Rd., Sonoma, 707-939-1858) makes for a refreshingly distinct, stunningly situated wine-tasting experience. I stopped in not long ago, motoring up the long drive to the winery’s tasting room, on a sunny hilltop overlooking acres of {…}

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A Sneak Preview of Sonoma Gay Pride 2012

1 year ago in GLBT, Insiders Guide.0 Comments

The fabulous, hard-working Russian River Sisters’ Pride Planning Committee has announced a few details about Sonoma Gay Pride this year, which takes place just two-and-a-half months from now, on Sunday, June 3, in the inviting village of Guerneville. The festival commences at noon and runs until 6 p.m., and it takes place on the grounds of Guerneville Lodge (15905 River {…}

Photo by Andrew Collins.

Guerneville’s Applewood Inn Offering Great Winter Deals

1 year ago in Deals, GLBT.0 Comments

Some of the region’s top inns have introduced enticing discounts and specials this winter. With its outstanding dining room, relaxing spa, and elegantly appointed rooms, the Applewood Inn and Restaurant (13555 Hwy. 116, Guerneville) is a perfect place to savor a long weekend – many rooms even have fireplaces. If you book a weekend stay (Friday and Saturday nights) in {…}

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Sonoma GayDar’s Next Party Set for HKG Glen Ellen

1 year ago in GLBT.1 Comment

The region’s always-festive Sonoma GayDar group, which regularly plans GLBT-oriented gatherings around the county, has scheduled their first event of 2012. The party will take place at the Glen Ellen tasting room of the excellent Hop Kiln Winery, which many visitors to the area know well from their distinctive, original winery and tasting room on Westside Road, just a 20-minute {…}

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Petaluma’s Viva Cocolat Hosts Decadent Drag Photo Show

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Lynn Wong, owner of downtown Petaluma’s Viva Cocolat (110 Petaluma Blvd. N, 707-778-9888), takes a creative approach to operating her sunny chocolate shop and cafe. Each month, she features the products of a different artisan chocolatier, and the walls of establishment are always hung with works for sale by talented artists. The shop’s current art exhibit is “When Life is {…}

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Support Sonoma County’s Many GLBT-Owned Businesses

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

There’s a nice article this month in Sonoma County online gay newspaper, We The People, encouraging shoppers to check out some of the area’s many shops and galleries owned by members of the GLBT community. You may have already done your holiday shopping, but it’s worth checking out this story for retail ideas throughout the coming months – here’s the {…}

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Drive-In Delights: Pick’s, Carr’s, and D’s

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

A few months ago I wrote about southern Sonoma County’s sterling Fremont Diner, which occupies a drive-in known previously as Babe’s Burgers. The owners of the Fremont have taken the humble diner/drive-in concept and raised it to new heights, serving inspired farm-to-table versions of comfort-food classics. I love what they’ve done here, but that’s not to say I don’t still {…}

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Sustainable dining at Kenwood’s Vineyards Inn

1 year ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Open for nearly 30 years, the unassuming but handsome Vineyards Inn (8445 Kenwood Hwy./Hwy. 12, 707-833-4500) is both a seasoned culinary institution and a cutting-edge experiment in sustainability. The rambling roadhouse-style restaurant set amid some of Kenwood’s most celebrated vineyards is along busy Highway 12, which cuts through Sonoma’s fabled Valley of the Moon. Steven and Colleen Rose are the {…}

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Sonoma County’s Dining Out For Life is back Dec. 1

1 year ago in GLBT.3 Comments

Sonoma County’s deliciously successful fundraiser Dining Out For Life, which raised more than $105,000 last year, will take place again exactly one week after Thanksgiving (perhaps by then we’ll all be hungry again?). On Thursday, Dec. 1, dozens of restaurants will donate 25 or 50 percent of the food portions of your meal tab, and a handful of eateries pledge {…}