fall 2020 | 19
ingredients and was dehydrating citrus and
garnishes (much of it from his own backyard)
long before that trended everywhere. He pub-
lished his book, Artisanal Cocktails, back in
2008, paving the way for all of Wine Country
and influencing many of SF's best bartenders.
ere are drinking options everywhere in
a region born of drink, including top-notch
wine bars like master sommelier-run Compline
(complinewine.com) and hip CADET (cadet-
beerandwinebar.com) in downtown Napa,
both with bottle shops. Wine Country bars
range from rooftop views and cocktails at Sky
& Vine atop the Archer hotel in downtown
Napa or balanced cocktails with top-notch
food on the porch at Chris Cosentino's Acacia
House in the Las Alcobas hotel in Napa's St.
Helena (don't miss their signature salty foam
Margarita). ere are quality cocktails at Perry
Lang's (perrylangs.com) retro-cool steak-
house in Yountville, carbonated and Japanese-
influenced cocktails at Sebastopol's Ramen
Gaijin restaurant (ramengaijin.com) and
basement and garden cocktails at St. Helena's
Goose & Gander (goosegander.com).
In these brutal times of pandemic, we know
a good majority of our beloved bars have had
to close nationally and many won't be able to
reopen. We are hoping in such a rich region —
one that thrives on tourism — all will survive,
especially those crafting quality spirits and
cocktails. In the spirit of hope, we tribute 10
Wine Country bar standouts. Along with all
the local distillers, we pray all will survive as we
push through pandemic. Please refer to indi-
vidual websites for ways to support, whether
via gift certificates, delivery/takeout, outdoor
dining/drinks or GoFundMe pages.
Sonoma County
Duke's Spirited Cocktails, Healdsburg
Run by Sonoma County bar greats Laura
Sanfilippo, Tara Heffernon, Steven Maduro
and Cappy Sorentino, Duke's Spirited
Cocktails is truly a top bar in all three counties
(and thus our bar manager interview this issue).
All four bartenders met and worked together
at nearby Spoonbar, which was first put on the
map by Scott Beattie when it opened. ey
went on to open Duke's, which walks that fine
line between laid-back yet celebratory; as wel-
coming to locals as visitors; with cocktails as
crushable as they are artisanal. Surviving pan-
Duke's Spirited Cocktails: Left — Rangpur More mixes local Sipsong Gin, Rangpur lime shrub, pink peppercorn, saffron, lime, house tonic;
Right — Cappy Sorentino's e Remedy cocktail with Scotch, honey, ginger, turmeric, chamomile, lemon
