Picture a Sonoma tasting room and wine shop, but replace the wines with a variety of specialty coffee and tea, and you’ll have “Maid at Home”, a new retail shop by Taylor Maid Farms opening soon just off the Sonoma Plaza.

 

In addition to offering tastes of their fresh-roasted certified organic coffees and unique tea blends, which are sold in refillable cans, “Maid at Home” will offer a selection of gear such as grinders and brewers.

 

Taylor Maid’s location at 122 West Napa Street is currently undergoing extensive remodeling and rehabilitation, with assistance from the City’s redevelopment program.  The end result will be a “green” space that combines reclaimed materials and energy efficiency, in keeping with Taylor Maid’s philosophy of sustainability and “recycle, reuse, and repurpose.”

 

Taylor Maid Farms, based in Sebastopol, has been operating in Sonoma County since 1993.  Owner Mark Inman travels to many remote parts of the world to personally source fair-trade, shade-grown coffee produced by small farms.

 

Look for “Maid at Home” Coffee & Tea to open in early March.  Learn more at http://www.taylormaidfarms.com/.

 

Feel like you should make better use of the internet to market your business, but not sure how?  The Sonoma Valley Economic Development Partnership and the Small Business Development Center are offering two local workshops to help you develop and implement an on-line marketing strategy that's right for your business and your goals.

March 3:  "Making Your Website Work for You"                March 10:  "Social Media Marketing:  What, How, Why?"

For details, visit the Workshops page.

About the instructor:  Janet Wentworth, Small Business Development Center at Santa Rosa JC
Janet Wentworth is a small business consultant who works with business owners to help them achieve business success. As the owner of her own marketing company, Janet works with small businesses in a variety of industries, supporting their print and online marketing needs. More than 20 years experience with local technology companies, such as Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc. and Computer Associates, has given her a strong business, accounting and marketing background, with specific expertise in accounting, branding, product marketing, internet marketing, product introductions and partner relationships. She has a B.S. degree from the University of California, Davis; earned certificates in Integrated Online Strategies and Search Engine Marketing and Usability from the University of San Francisco; is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach; and is a consultant with the SBDC Technology Advisory Program.

 

 

HelloCello Limoncello di Sonoma is a new organic lemon liqueur hand-crafted in Sonoma Valley by husband and wife team, Fred and Amy Groth.  HelloCello uses organic ingredients grown at select vineyards, local farms and orchards in Northern California.   The smooth, refreshing limoncello is available in specialty food stores like Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca and Sonoma Market, and can be tried at fine restaurants including the Girl & the Fig, Carneros Bistro, and Sonoma Mission Inn.  HelloCello is an environmentally responsible business that is dedicated to supporting local farms and producers. “We are committed to bringing the best quality products to market that are great for people and the planet” says Fred Groth.

“We’ve always loved Limoncello in Italy,” says Amy Groth.  “We’ve also been inspired by the natural, organic, and Slow Food movement here in the states, particularly in Sonoma County.  We’ve had an obsession to create a Limoncello with the absolute freshest organic ingredients, so we moved our family from Colorado to Sonoma so we could have our pick of those ingredients and start this company.”  Learn more about their story in a recent article in the Press Democrat.

 

In 2009, the Sonoma Valley Economic Development Partnership and its collaborating organizations focused on a variety of projects, programs, and initiatives to postion the Valley for economic recovery and ongoing vitality.  To learn more, view the Annual Report.

The compelling story of Chuck Williams and the birthplace of Williams-Sonoma just off the Sonoma Plaza is told in a recent profile by CBS News.  Local entrepreneurs like the girl & the fig owner Sondra Bernstein consider Williams an "icon" for both home cooks and food businesses.

The original Williams-Sonoma location at 605 Broadway, which opened in 1956, is now home to the Frame Factory.

 

Among the valley's wineries taking a leadership role in 2009 in use of alternative energy is Anaba Wines, which is using wind power at its Carneros vineyard and tasting room.  At Kunde Family Estate Winery in Kenwood, a 50-panel solar water heating system is underway, with funding through the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program.  And Gundlach Bundschu Winery, which installed the first "Floatovoltaic" solar power array just one year ago, joined several other Sonoma Valley wineries in achieving Green Business Certification this year.

Other local wineries using solar power include Cline Cellars, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, St. Francis Winery, and Wellington Vineyards.