Pliny the Younger… and More

After twenty-plus years in northern California’s wine country, I recently returned to Oregon. I got out just in time. (In time for ice and snow in Portland.) Five years of drought has given way to rain, lots of rain, bringing landslides, flooding and washed-out roads. When I arrived in Sonoma County, its transformation from a richly diverse agricultural area – apples, cherries, pears, prunes, hops – to wine grapes was nearly complete. I watched as most any bare patch of ground was planted with vineyards.

The recession in 2008 brought new planting to a halt. Sonoma and Mendocino and Napa and Lake counties were awash with unsold premium wine. The recession’s upside was several years of cheap wine made with blends of exceptional-quality grapes. Which brings us to the current time and a different type of diversification.

Those aren’t homeless people camped on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa. They’re waiting to get into the Russian River Brewery for a ration of its super-hopped “Pliny the Younger” beer, available annually for only two weeks. Every February, beer fanatics from around the nation descend on wine country, thirsty for what has gained fame as one of the best brews anywhere. Sonoma County is becoming known for beer… and cider… and distilled spirits.

There are now about two-dozen breweries in the county, with new ones opening regularly. There is small Stumptown Brewery. (What’s with that? Maybe it’s okay, though, since Bay-Area Peet’s Coffee bought Portland’s Stumptown Roasters.) There is national powerhouse Lagunitas, recently selling fifty percent ownership to Heineken and now making acquisitions of its own.

Sebastopol, once famous for Gravenstein apples, is seeing a resurgence of demand as ciders become more popular. Sonoma County is home to nine cider makers and a dozen distilleries. There may be more by the time you read this. Don’t feel too sorry for the vineyard owners, though. Premium wine-grape prices reached a record high for the 2016 vintage.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.