April in Carneros & Tomatomania at CornerStone [Photo essay]

This past weekend, two events took place in Sonoma Valley: April in Carneros, the annual wine and food event that celebrates the Los Carneros AVA region of Sonoma and Napa, and Tomatomania, world’s largest heirloom tomato sale. Both events coincided at CornerStone, the mixed use garden, retail, dining and wine spot in southern Sonoma Valley.

Up until this point, as a local, I rarely go to CornerStone. The property has struggled to attract locals and tends to be a pit stop for tourists on their way into Sonoma Valley and/or folks looking for a place to have a wedding. However, I love art and wine – CornerStone has both – I want to love this place. This was also great opportunity to hangout with my friend, photographer and longtime Sonoman, Mario Mondragon. We were excited to scope out the CornerStone scene, try some new wines and buy tomatoes.

Upon arrival, CornerStone was packed – people were stalking for parking spots making it rather chaotic. We eventually settled into a spot and made our way to Meadowcroft, one of the three wineries at CornerStone, and a participant in April in Carneros. We turned in our tickets ($45 each) and received our free wine glasses and wristbands.

Meadowcroft has a colorful tasting room with a great outdoor patio. With our wristbands, we received four wine tastings and a food pairing. We enjoyed the wild shroom shooters (tasty mushroom soup) paired with their 2012 Speedy Creek Vineyard Sangiovese, which will be perfect for a fall day on the coast after a day of mushroom hunting (meadowcroftwines.com). (The shooters were so tasty we forgot to photograph it…hence the Facebook photo!)

Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge are two labels under the auspice of Tricycle Wine Partners. The weather was perfect and they took advantage of it, providing tastings under the shade of olive trees in front of their simply designed tasting room. Our tasting was delightful and the wines tasted special (good wine, we learned stuff and felt loved upon leaving, three key wine tasting components). I hadn’t been this excited about trying a Chardonnay since I had Auteur Wines Chardonnay at VinOlivo last month. The Poseidon Vineyards 2013 Estate Chardonnay is the perfect meeting point of oak and crispness. Even with 9 months in Hungarian oak, the balance is fabulous and just right (aka not too buttery).

The Obsidian Ridge wines are from Lake County and the name comes from the large deposit of obsidian next to the vineyards. We tried their 2012 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. With it’s leathery nose and mild yet spicy finish, it is a pleasant shift from the big boy Cabs of Napa that often plague Wine Country (tricyclewine.com).

Next stop was Keating. We had a little tour of their super modern, open air tasting room, and was poured wine by winemaker and owner Eric Keating, a laid back, super welcoming guy. They had lots to try and the highlights were the reds. I fell in love with the hard to pronounce 2013 Buchignani Zinfandel. Raised by a Pinot Noir guy and unimpressed by “high rolling Hoosiers,” who prided themselves on giant steaks and big Zins while growing up, I shied away from Zins as a emerging wine drinker. Recently, I decided to reclaim Zin. Keating’s was right up my alley: 14.3% (unlike the giant 16-17%s out there), dry farmed (ecofriendly!), and from Dry Creek (yum). Mellow, not too jammy, and just right – so right that I bought a bottle (yes locals, we can buy wine at tasting rooms, not just the grocery store).

We were also able to try a reserve wine – their 2011 Encomium Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a tribute to Keating’s winery dog, Leo. Made with 50% grapes from the world famous Beckstoffer George III vineyards and 50% from Sonoma’s Monticello Vineyard, it was divine in taste and super exclusive – 50 cases made and at $70 a pop we savored our taste for as long as two young and poor Sonomans possibly could (keatingwines.com)

While sipping on our Keating Cab, we were intrigued by the artwork at the tasting room. Artist Robert Minuzzo creates colorful landscapes of NorCal vineyards. A bit of drama, a bit of plein air, and a twist: Minuzzo takes real rootstock from vineyards and installs them onto the canvas, blending them into the painted vineyard and creating a sculptural creation out of a 2-D work. The works are really awesome and are on display at Keating’s tasting room. The Minuzzo’s were also very welcoming and friendly, something that makes his artwork even more accessible and thoughtful of Wine Country living (robertminuzzo.com). Live music filled the air as we admired his work and after we finished our wine..it was time to move from grapes to tomatoes.

We walked behind the tasting rooms to Tomatomania, the world’s largest collection of heirloom tomato plants for sale. It comes to CornerStone each year, as part of a statewide tour. After researching my recent Earth Day article, I decided to create my own container garden at home. There had to be over 100 types of tomato plants – and thousands of individual plants. At $5 a plant, one could create their own Tomatomania at home, if so desired. I was overwhelmed and called for help.

These two guys had to be two of the most helpful gardening folks I have ever met in my life. They answered all my stupid questions (and we journalists ask a lot of stupid questions) and took me around the tent until we found the perfect tomato for my sunny apartment patio container garden: the Sweet Carneros Pink (it has stripes!). The tomato was described as being “sweet and sexy,” – which anyone who knows me, is my preferred type of man, I mean, tomato. Wild Boar Farms, in Napa Valley, created the Sweet Carneros, which fit perfectly into the April in Carneros theme. I’m already excited for Tomatomania’s return next year (tomatomania.com).

Fine wine, art, and live music filled the air and created the great atmosphere for April in Carneros and Tomatomania at CornerStone. April in Carneros is a great way to try some new wineries in the area and expose friends and family visiting from out of town to the bounty of wine goodness produced in our backyard for an affordable price (the $45 ticket pays itself in wine and food). We only visited three tasting rooms, however Schug, Robledo, Enkidu, Larson Family Winery, and many others were on the list. The next event, coordinated by Hospitality de los Carneros, is November 21-22, for Holidays in Carneros (carneroswineries.org).

CornerStone provided a great backdrop. The vibe was chill, everyone was in good spirits, and you tend to forget you’re in the middle of Sonoma Valley for a minute (it feels more hipster than we’re used to around here). My only qualm – we need more food options. The onsite restaurant was packed and the staff seemed overwhelmed, so adding another option would make it an even more chill place to relax after work or on a weekend afternoon (and be a lure for hungry locals). Regardless, I’ll be heading back for wine on the patio with friends. Good times! (cornerstonesonoma.com)