#Zina Lounge Tasting Room
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Zina Lounge at Ledson Hotel in Sonoma “zings for the holidays.”
With the chilly weather and some December frost, a crackling hearth is an ideal place to be and few places on the plaza have such an inviting and classy atmosphere as the Zina Lounge & Wine Tasting at the Ledson Hotel.
More than just a stunning interior with that welcoming fireplace, Ledson provides first class hospitality. And, that includes delicious wine featuring among others, Zina Hyde Cunningham Wines with a nice charcuterie board of cheeses and cold-cuts.
Each time I’ve been to Ledson the service has been outstanding. This is definitely a place to bring friends and out-of-town guests for a top-notch wine country experience.
Warm, inviting with a simple elegance that makes a person feel at ease and at the same time as if they’re traveling in style to a posh destination, rather than to just another winery/tasting room.
Rob our host for that day, Friday Dec. 8 recommended the Cabernet Sauvignon and he was spot on with the best choice. The wine was delicious and paired well with what he had placed on our charcuterie board.
As the winter approaches, and you happen to be going through the town of Sonoma, take some time to visit the Ledson Hotel just a few steps down the block from the iconic Sebastiani Theater at the heart of town at the plaza.
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The Spot where Sausage is Supreme and Charcuterie is above all the rest. Among the best places to eat at the historic plaza in the town of Sonoma is The Sausage Emporium. Few people know the real details about sausage and “cold cuts” as owner Miranda Ives does.
She also knows how to pair beverages with the right combination of sausage and meat. This reporter had the opportunity to chat briefly with Ives while enjoying a favorite of mine from the regular menu.
The Vietnamese Banh Mi, made with The Sausage Emporium’s own pork sausage, paté, house pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro, fresh mint, jalapeño and sriracha creme is yummy. What surprised me was the fresh baked bread-roll (actually it’s a short baguette) it was served in. The aroma alone made for an exceptional culinary experience as that baguette was soft yet slightly crisp and warm. The reviews and ratings for the Sausage Emporium are high and raves.
The harmony of hot, spicy and subtle tangy flavors was very satisfying. The other aspect to The Sausage Emporium I noticed is that there’s a variety of sausages and meats that can gratify just about any palate.
Being in Wine Country, Ives knows her stuff and can prepare a dish that will do more than impress; it takes the taste buds to new levels of experience. Being able to pair a particular wine with a food is a talent and I think it’s crucial.
For example, there are many wonderful wineries and wine-makers in the Sonoma Valley that are eager to have their wine served at a restaurant. Yet in efforts to sell wine and promote it, few tasting rooms take the time to really pair food with what they want to sell.
A really fine Cabernet Savignon like the one I had at the Zina Lounge at the Ledson Hotel, a glass of something sparkling at SIGH, or a Petite Syrah such as the one offered at St. Francis upvalley in Kenwood needs to have something exceptional to go along with it.
Ordinary grocery store cold-cuts truly don’t do a fine wine justice. I’m sorry to say that some of the tasting rooms at the plaza and elsewhere don’t understand this fact. A Sonoma or Napa Valley wine that can truly rival that of any in Europe must have a good food pairing to highlight its own flavor and regional characteristics.
Certainly Sonoma and Napa area can make fine cheeses but quality meat, specifically a sausage or local bologna? Hmm! Here’s where Ives and her staff can help. Charcuterie board servings are popular and The Sausage Emporium makes them.
Not many people know this but to make real bologna or mortadella, prosciutto, etc. is a “slow-food” art. Oscar Meyer or Hormel and others does only the mass produced type; of which Americans are used to.
Pepperoni for instance is essentially an American version of salami, something close to what Italians might call ‘salame piccante.’
As Ives knows, it’s a generic term that means “spicy salami.” It’s made from beef and cured pork mixed together and then seasoned with a blend that usually includes paprika, garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard seed, and fennel seed.
Ives of course has her own recipe. Still, just about every pepperoni producer uses a different mix and ratio of ingredients, but paprika is always present. The paprika is the ingredient that give pepperoni its color. And most likely according to food historians, perhaps paprika had something to do with the name “pepperoni.”
Only someone like Ives would know that and provide a customer a more discerning understanding of what really good pepperoni is.
For foodies it’s also important to know that The Emporium’s ability to pair food with beverages doesn’t stop at wine and beer. Sausage Emporium serves delicious coffee and is even promoting its own holiday blend just for the winter season called “BeanWrks.”
The Sausage Emporium is Women-owned and operated, with an unpretentious, casual dining area in a memorable and friendly atmosphere, serving breakfast and lunch, along with as mentioned charcuteries, retail sausages, salumi, local wine, champagne, craft beer, and cider.
Open Wednesday through Sunday The Sausage Emporium begins serving breakfast at 8:30 AM and closes after lunch at 3:00 PM. Weekends- Saturday & Sunday doors open at 8:00 AM and close at 4:00 PM. See The Sausage Emporium for website details.
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Join Zenless Zone Zero with Tsukishiro Yanagi, the deputy leader of Hollow Special Operations Section 6! Beneath her ordinary office lady exterior lies a meticulous, emotionally intelligent big sister to the team.
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