Bring a food donation to the winery and you’ll get complementary tasting from Thursday Dec. 9, 2010 through Sunday Dec. 12, 2010, 10 am to 5 pm.

B.R. Cohn Winery
15000 Sonoma Highway 12, Glen Ellen.
(800) 330-4064.

For a complete list of Sonoma County Holiday Events, see here.

Come to B.R. Cohn Winery from 10 am to 5 pm on November 27 or 28 with a new toy to donate to Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots and receive a complementary tasting.

B.R. Cohn Winery
15000 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen
707-938-4064

Is your pup feeling left out this Halloween? In remembrance of Moose, B.R. Cohn Winery’s beloved tasting room mascot, B.R. Cohn Winery invites dog owners  to come with their best friends to a costume party, for both animal and owner. Bring pet food and pet items to receive a complimentary tasting while your four-legged-friend bobs for hot dogs. The donated items will be given to a  local animal shelter.

Oct 30 & 31, 2010 10 am to 5 pm
B.R. Cohn Winery
15000 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen
707-938-4064

Looking for more things to do for  Halloween in Sonoma Valley (or the rest of Sonoma County?) See this list of 2010 Sonoma County Halloween Events.

A lot of people have told me that when it’s rainy and the kids are bored (or sometimes when the sun is shining but the kids are bored) they go to SOTC’s Best Rainy Day Kids Activities in Sonoma County post. And I’ve had people tell me that when they’re bored, or have guests coming in from out of town,  they turn to one of the Ten Free Things to Do in…posts (Bodega Bay, Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park & Cotati,  Sebastopol, Sonoma Valley, Santa Rosa, and Windsor.)

So we’re proud to unveil the ultimate list: SOTC’s 102 Free and Cheap  Things to Do in Sonoma County List. I hope you like it. You’ll always be able to find it in the sidebar to your left, along with other always-useful pages like the Sonoma County Farmer’s Market list. If there are any ideas you think I’ve missed, please leave a comment below telling us about them.

Today’s groupon deal is a one hour wine and cheese tasting at B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen. The  deal is good today, Sunday Sept 19 ONLY  (though of course, you can redeem it through March 20, 2011).  That is a 51% savings (normally it’s $45). [Read more →]

HKG Russian River Valley Estate wines  is having a grand opening party to celebrate their new tasting room.  They’re serving Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Ros of Pinot Noir, and Pinot Noir with complimentary tastings. [Read more →]

See draft horses plow and get a wagon ride at Jack London’s Beauty Ranch.  There will also be sheepdogs, blacksmithing, a BBQ, antique engines, clydesdales, belgians, and percherons.   Admission is free, but parking costs $6.

Sunday May 16  10 am to 4 pm.
Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen

OK, I know this sounds like a misdemeanor, but anyone with kids in Sonoma County that has out of town friends or relatives has gone wine tasting with kids in tow. And it’s not bad. Many Sonoma wineries are great for picnicking, and many offer something kid friendly, even if it’s just a cork for a teething baby to chew on.

Here are a few tips for a kid and adult pleasing wine tasting tour:

• Bring food, a bottle of water or juice, a blanket or two, diapers and diaper wipes (enough diaper wipes that the kids can share with the adults), band-aids, a Shout stain stick (that’s for the adults), and everything that you could possibly need on an all day jaunt with kids. Don’t skimp: you have a car, and with kids even wine-tasting is an full-out expedition.
• Bring a designated driver. Really. Those sips add up. Pregnant women make great, if resentful, designated drivers.
• Unless you’re paying the designated driver, don’t make them watch the kids all the time. Take turns staying outside with the kids, initiating games, changing diapers, etc.
• Large, low tables full of olive oil and vinegar are dangerous. Avoid these at all costs. Those bottles can go down like dominoes. If you hear a glassy “clink” followed by a soft “uh-oh”, dive with your arms fully outspread for the nearest display table. If vinegar breaks, mop it up, volunteer to buy it, and be appropriately grateful if you are told that the sympathetic, kid-free wine tasters have already taken up a collection to pay for the broken (and pungent) vinegar disaster. Trust me on this.
• Chose wineries that offer something to occupy kids—even if it’s just a broad lawn to run on. To help with that, here are some  kid friendly Sonoma County wineries, organized by town to make planning your wine tasting tour a little easier:

[Read more →]

Call me a romantic, but there’s is something about a roaring fireplace on a rainy day…add in a splash of wine, and you’re not enduring a rainy day, you’re celebrating it.  Here are a few wineries with fireplaces:

[Read more →]

Don Landis,  a noted expert on olive curing, is presenting two free olive curing workshops. 

He’ll talk about the history of the olive, the history of the olive in California and a thorough description of the Greek Style of olive curing without the use of lye. A tasting of olives with cheese and crackers is included. There is no cost for these workshops, but space is limited so reserve your seat by calling (800) 330-4064 ex. 124.

January 17^th and February 7^th, 2010, 11 am – 1:30 pm.
B.R. Cohn Winery
15000 Sonoma Highway 12, Glen Ellen
1-800-330-4064