Summer / Fall 2008

The Girl & the Fig

A Unique Rhone-Alone Experience with a Sonoma Favorite

For over ten years, the girl & the fig has concentrated solely on 'Rhone-Alone' wine varietals (Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignane, and Syrah—to name a few) in their restaurants. Though the wine lists are touted as "Rhone-Alone", the majority of the wines on their lists do actually come from California and many of these come from the local Wine Country playground. As the wine world continues to show off its ability to create amazing wines with the traditional "Rhone" varietals that originated from the Rhone Valley in France, the girl & the fig wants to share their passion with everyone they meet.

This spring, the girl & the fig introduced their wine club, "Rhone Around the World". The concept of the club is to create a wine journey that will educate the members about these grape varietals, the areas in which they grow and the vintners that create their magic potions. It is Sondra Bernstein's (proprietor of the girl & the fig) goal to present a selection of interesting wines that are produced in limited quantities, hard to find, exclusive, and unique. The quarterly shipment will vary in bottle quantity, theme and price, which will include tax and ground shipping. Each shipment will be accompanied by detailed tasting notes, grape varietal information, the inside story about the folks behind the wines, and recipes from the girl & the fig to create the perfect pairing. Their club is offered to California residents only with No Strings Attached. The first shipment was presented as 'A Trilogy of Grenache' and included local winemaker Peter Mathis' first release of his Sonoma Valley Grenache, a bottle of Spanish Old Vine Garnacha called 'Mas Donis Barrica' and 'Coume des Mas CM Schistes', a French Grenache from the tiny town of Collioure. Interested wine fans can find out more at www.rhonewineclub.com, which includes a link to Sondra's blog called 'Rhone Around the World: the girl's obsession with Rhone wine'.

An experience at the girl & the fig would not be complete without a cheese pairing to accompany the Rhone style wines. The philosophy of making great wine and cheese are not very far apart—they both require an interesting terroir to bring out the sense of place, an attentive eye and palate to monitor the production and aging, and most of all, a true passion for their craft. The Salon de Fromage at Sondra's Sonoma restaurant features anywhere from 8 to 12 cheeses from California and France. The cheeses include cow, goat and sheep's milk as well as raw and pasteurized varieties. Guests can taste some of the cheeses available at the Cheese Bar to help them decide what to order, or they can purchase cheese to take home with them. Though Sondra prefers to enjoy the cheese course at the end of her meal, many guests start their meal with an assortment of artisan cheese and charcuterie as an appetizer.

Events such as the Artisan Cheese Festival, The Rhone Rangers and The Hospice du Rhone are perfect venues to sample local artisan products as well as a chance to rub elbows with the cheese & wine creators.

The girl & the fig is located at 1190 East Napa Street in Sonoma, CA 95476 707.933.3000 www.thegirlandthefig.com.