1. The Olive Press
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 939-8900, (800) 965-4839
Address: 24724 Highway 121 (Arnold Drive)
Description: It’s a twofer when you visit the Highway 121 location. You get to taste olive oil at Olive Press, then skip across the entryway to try Jacuzzi Family wines (see the Wineries chapter). Watch olives being crushed into oil when you visit between October and January. Any time of the year you can sample at least six oils at the tasting bar and select from all sorts of olive-themed gifts, including long-lasting soap “rocks.” (The Oxbow location is merchandise only.)
2. Artefact Design & Salvage
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 933-0660
Address: 23562 Highway 121 (Arnold Drive)
Description: Any store with the word salvage in its name might make you think twice about stopping. If you have no other reason to pull into Cornerstone Place (see the Arts and Culture chapter), this is one store at the collective that’s definitely worth some browsing time. Take a stroll through the antique architectural pieces, odd bits culled from the owner’s world travels and other resources, many of them huge (such as an ornate copper cornice torn from a condemned Manhattan high-rise, and a 10-foot-diameter, 19th-century cast-iron clock face). Much of the inventory is on a grand scale, but there are also smaller gift items and scads of books on architecture. Don’t forget to walk through the treasures outside. Artefact is guaranteed to give you design inspiration for your own home and garden.
3. Spirits In Stone
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 938-2200, (800) 474-6624
Address: 452 First Street E.
Description: Laura and Tony Ponter are on a mission: to import the best in elegant, simple sculpture from the Shona (“people of the mist”) tribe in Zimbabwe and to demonstrate that “the spirit in stone” has much to teach us all about dignity, compassion, and peace. There is something almost magnetic about these profound sculptures—a feeling that you must reach out and touch them, and you are encouraged to do so. Large pieces are pricey, but the smaller sculptures are affordable and tempting for any lover of fine things. (See the gallery listings in the Arts and Culture chapter for more information.)
4. Tiddle E. Winks Vintage 5 & Dime
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Address: 115 East Napa Street
Description: Spanning approximately 50 decades of American pop nostalgia, Tiddle will have you pointing and laughing, then snatching up a few keepsakes—your favorite old candy, for instance, that you probably can’t find anywhere else. More good memories can be found in vintage metal lunch boxes, advertising signs and displays, board games, and other novelties. Don’t forget to buy a Moon Pie on your way out.
5. Church Mouse Thrift Shops
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 938-9797
Address: 15 East Napa Street
Description: As thrift stores go, these are exceptional. St. Francis Solano Parish operates four Church Mouse locations in the town of Sonoma, but the two listed are the handiest for visitors to seek out. One is on the south side of the plaza, while the Boyes Boulevard shop is just across from Big 3 Diner at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. There are basic thrift shop items, to be sure, but much of the merchandise is of an upscale nature at bargain prices. After brunch at the Big 3, I like to pick up an item or two from the huge kitchen accessories/glassware/housewares department and see what’s new in jewelry. The plaza location is just as intriguing.
6. Vella Cheese Company
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 938-3232, (800) 848-0505
Address: 315 Second Street E.
Description: Some of the best cheese in the world is made on East Second Street, around the corner from the main drag, by Thomas Vella and his son, Ignazio. The family has operated out of the same 1905 rough-cut stone building since 1931; it’s an architectural wonder in shaky, earthquakey California. The Vella Dry Jack has won international prizes, and the cheddar is so sharp it makes your mouth pucker.
7. Milagros Gallery
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 935-8566, (877) 939-0834
Address: 414 First Street E.
Description: Following the covered passageway called El Paseo, which winds between East Spain and East First Streets, you’ll suddenly believe you’ve wandered into another country and another time. Milagros is a fabulous store of affordable fine Mexican folk art, featuring whimsical Oaxacan wood carvings, Spanish colonial sconces, handcrafted jewelry from all over Latin America, Talavera bowls, and wonderful masks. This shop also displays a rare collection of religious Mexican folk art. Milagros, which means “miracles” in Spanish, is named after the figures sold in front of churches in Mexico.
8. Sonoma Rock & Mineral Gallery
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 996-7200
Address: 414 First Street E.
Description: El Paseo courtyard has another shop worthy of a visit, particularly if you’re interested in things lapidary. It’s hard to believe the earth holds such wondrous rocks and stones. The display is professionally arranged in a spacious setting, with beautiful polished stones to buy. There are also beads galore for jewelry making.
9. Baksheesh Handcrafted Gifts From The Developing World
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 939-2847
Address: 423 First Street W.
Description: Fair trade for artists in approximately 35 developing nations is the business of these stores. There’s a little bit of everything, and at reasonable prices—home decor, jewelry, toys and games, garden accessories and planters, musical instruments, and year-round holiday ornaments. The owners work with trade organizations that guarantee living wages to the artists for their crafts, which are magnificent. I drop in frequently for the affordable jewelry and garden pots.
10. Sign Of The Bear Kitchenware
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 996-3722
Address: 435 First Street W.
Description: Beautiful Italian ceramics mingle with kitchen doodads of all kinds in this popular store. It’s packed to the rafters with merchandise and shoppers, all searching for gourmet gadgets. I can lose myself here for an afternoon, gazing at the shelves of cookware and must-haves and wondering where in my own kitchen I might find room for it all.
11. Sonoma Country Antiques
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 938-8315
Address: 23999 Arnold Drive
Description: Looking for English and Victorian or Georgian pine designs and furnishings from the period 1820 to 1900? This dealer either has it or can obtain it for you. It’s a one-of-a-kind showplace of unique pine antiques that would fit perfectly in the modern home.
12. Sonoma Bookends Bookstore
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 938-5926
Address: 201 West Napa Street, No. 15
Description: It’s a general interest bookstore with an eye toward tourists in the wide selection of Wine Country books. The store’s travel section focuses on California, and there’s also a fine selection of U.S. Geological Survey maps.
13. Readers’ Books
City: Sonoma, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 939-1779
Address: 130 East Napa Street
Description: Described by Travel & Leisure as a “honey pot” (“You can’t help but get stuck there”), Readers’ is a bookstore with many rooms, one of which is strictly for children’s books and serves as a gathering room for youngsters. The store has gained some fame for its authors’ readings.