Local Business

A $44 million property in the Healdsburg countryside hit the real-estate market yesterday: The Medlock Ames winery and estate at 13414 Chalk Hill Rd. and tasting room at 3487 Alexander Valley Rd. I’ve reached out to the winery for more information about what this...

I recently got a very exciting email in my inbox from Healdsburg chef Jacob Harth, the man behind those Winnie’s pop-ups at the Maison Healdsburg wine bar. He wrote: “I previously announced the opening of my restaurant Winnie’s a few months ago and we...

As Q1 2025 data reveals, Healdsburg’s real estate market is defying conventional wisdom with a 150% surge in luxury home sales while Sonoma County’s high-end market continues to decline. These counterintuitive trends are reshaping our understanding of the local market in ways that might surprise even longtime residents.

Another one-of-a-kind Healdsburg resident passed away earlier this month from cancer at age 77, according to the Press Democrat: local textile artist and art teacher Sylvia Seventy. The fascinating, multimedia, Pomo-inspired “vessels” she made (pictured above and below) became quite well-known in certain circles of...

If you’ve ever been inside Levin & Company, Healdsburg’s wonderfully creaky bookstore next to the bakery on the Center Street side of the plaza — basically the opposite of formula retail! — you’ve likely run into Aaron Rosewater, who co-owns the store with his mom, Adele...

On the southwest corner of the plaza, at 102 Matheson St., the Thumbprint Cellars team just ran their final weekend of wine tastings at their 15-year home in downtown Healdsburg. Second-generation winery owner Carter Lindstrom-Dake, son of Thumbprint founders Scott and Erica, told me over...

Now when most winemakers talk about “clones,” they’re talking about varietals selected for specific qualities, such as flavor, color or intensity. The Dijon clones of pinot noir or chardonnay are well known; but the canine clone of a winery dog is a new thing entirely.

I don’t know a single person here in Sonoma County who doesn’t already have the Watch Duty app downloaded and poised to start spewing notifications, in case of wildfire. But most of my Los Angeles friends had never heard of it before Jan. 7,...

What makes Healdsburg’s market particularly unique is the continued dominance of non-primary residence purchases. In 2024, 61% of all purchases were for second homes or investment properties, with rural properties showing an even higher rate at 76%. This tracks with 2023 when 64% of properties were purchased as non-primary residences, writes a local realtor.

The new proposal was to expand the formula-free zone one block further into the Downtown Commercial district. McDowell showed a map where a red line marked the border of the proposed formula-free zone; it surrounds most of seven city blocks adjacent to the Plaza, marking a significant expansion of the prohibition zone.