Wickson: Food from the Heart

The month of March started normally enough—there were commitments to fulfill, goals to pursue. Life rolled along merrily until … it didn’t. All our plans took a sharp turn off a high cliff, as the county ordered us to park at home and once-crowded calendars were wiped clean. Suddenly, for a lot of folks, there wasn’t much to do but sit around and fondly remember a time when venturing out into public didn’t feel like a Darwinistic game of Russian roulette.

For Rodney Workman and Alexa Newman, March was supposed to include the opening of their new restaurant, Wickson. Launching a nascent business is always a stressful enterprise, and the pandemic compounded the difficulties. County staff were largely unavailable to finalize permits in process, so they were unable to offer even the to-go meals that other restaurants were scraping by on. And as a new venture, they did not qualify for any of the grants or loan options available to other small businesses.

Yet even though it was frustrating to have their opening postponed, the extra time did offer some benefits. Alexa reflects, “We’ve saved on overhead, and we’ve had time to test and experiment.” Rodney agrees. “We’d been rushing to open the restaurant. Now we have had time to reflect. And we developed skills we wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Anderson Valley & The Mendocino Coast Are The New California Dream

The tiny town of Philo sets the stage for your pastoral tour of the dramatic landscape of the Anderson Valley and the Mendocino Coast. When you pull in at The Madrones, you’ll immediately get the sense that you don’t really need to leave, at least not anytime soon. Our two bedroom apartment had a kitchenette, a large living room with views onto the surrounding vineyards, and a big, generous bathroom.

Just a few steps away is Wickson Restaurant, where Alexa Newman and Rodney Workman (both with Chez Panisse and Camino on their resumes) think up creative ways to cook in their wood-burning oven and pair dishes with hyper-local wines.

Mendocino reopens for wine tasting, glamping, and all the outdoor exploration

While counties throughout California are again tightening restrictions following a surge in Covid-19 cases, the small and remote North Coast gem of Mendocino is beginning to welcome back visitors.

A three-hour, scenic drive from San Francisco that winds past vineyards and redwoods on your way out to the coast, quirky and ridiculously beautiful Mendo feels quiet even when there's not a pandemic on. These days, rustic-chic stays, fresh seafood restaurants, and the heralded wineries of Anderson Valley are reopening at limited capacity, promising even more personal space for enjoying that cool, salty air.

. . . Or, be one of the first to dine at Wickson Restaurant. Started by a pair of Chez Panisse alums and wood-fire cooking masters, this new restaurant is set to open this summer.

2 Fun Days Tasting Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

Fantastic wines, au courant cuisine, sticker-price delight in Mendocino County.

Northern California wine lovers nostalgic for the days before glitz and high prices overtook Napa and Sonoma often head to the Anderson Valley. The bucolic Mendocino County wine region’s three dozen or so tasting rooms pour Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and other wines reflecting the valley’s distinctive near-coastal microclimate. (The Pacific Ocean is as little as 10 miles west of parts of the 15-mile-long valley.) With restaurants serving au courant cuisine based on local produce and proteins, an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir tasting trip provides a low-pressure, high-quality wine and culinary experience.

. . . Stop by the Wickson Restaurant in the Madrones for a pizza or other wood-fired dish. If Wickson isn’t open, head to Lemons Philo Market for a deli sandwich before continuing to the Madrones for the next tasting.

Anderson Valley Is Just a Click Away

In a remote corner of Northern California, the wineries of Anderson Valley have long grappled with the difficulties of attracting visitors to their open cellar doors and tasting rooms. But with the onset of Shelter In Place orders and the current Covid-19 crisis, these predominantly family-owned wineries are having to turn exclusively elsewhere to sell their wine. Like many in the wine industry, they’ve turned their focus online, but have also turned to one another to bolster the community and education of Anderson Valley as a whole.

“We’ve been incredibly touched by the number of people who have reached out to us to see how they can help,” says Ali Smith-Story of Smith Story Wine Cellars. Ali and her husband Eric have seen a record number of online sales, a sentiment echoed throughout most of the Valley. They are also connecting with consumers via creative online tastings. A recent “Breakfast for Dinner” tasting on Instagram Live helped debut Wickson Restaurant, Anderson Valley’s newest restaurant which has yet to open due to the current circumstances. Pennyroyal Farm is also using its online platform to keep the community well supplied with produce with the recent launch of its “Farm Box,” filled with fresh veggies and farm goods. For those outside the pick-up area, you can order their fresh cheeses for shipping nationwide. Goldeneye Winery, Lula Cellars, Maggy Hawk, Bee Hunter and Baxter are just a few of the other Anderson Valley producers offering different types of online experiences.

Slow Down and Stay A While

The newest kid on the block, Wickson, named for the apple varietal that flourished in the Anderson Valley before vineyards reigned, is scheduled to open as this issue hits the stands. In the space formerly occupied by Stone and Embers in The Madrones, described on its website as a “Mediterranean compound boasting three tasting rooms, elegant guest accomodations and a world-class restaurant,” Wickson is a joint partnership between Rodney Workman and Alexa Newman, young chefs with experience in renowned Bay Area and Anderson Valley kitchens, and Jim Roberts and Brian Adkinson of The Madrones.