News from Gourmet Au Bay in Bodega Bay

Gourmet Au Bay is a fabulous wine bar, bottle shop and gift store here in Bodega Bay. The wine bar features their World Famous Wine Surfing on the deck overlooking stunning views of Bodega Harbor, and the bottle shop has over 200 award-winning California wines for sale. I wrote about this local gem in further detail here.

Their gift boutique area includes wine barrel home decor, gourmet gadgets, fine glassware, candles, international music and wall art. They’re also now carrying BodegaBayLife.com photo greeting cards!

That’s right, we created greeting cards from some of my favorite local photos in our blog posts. My husband is a professional photographer and he shoots most of the photos for me. We’ve had a few inquiries about them, one thing led to another and you can now find an assortment for sale at Gourmet Au Bay! They carry several lines of beautiful cards from local artists, ours say BodegaBayLife.com on the back.

Gourmet Au Bay offers live acoustic guitar music on their deck Sunday afternoons 3:00-5:00 p.m. Music genres range from folk to standards to classical. Imagine relaxing on the deck overlooking the sparkling water of Bodega Harbor, sunshine, blue skies, fresh sea breeze, sipping a glass of wine and listening to soft music. It’s another magical day in Bodega Bay!


On Sat., June 27, owners Sissy and Bob will donate 10% of all sales to the Marine Mammal Center. The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit organization that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured, sick and orphaned marine mammals (seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, whales and sea otters) along a 600 mile stretch of California coastline, from Mendocino County through San Luis Obispo County. They're planning a special event in Bodega Bay which I'll be writing more about later!

Gourmet Au Bay has started hosting winemaker events once a month and will feature Moshin Vineyards on July 18 and Unti Vineyards on August 22.

Sissy told me they're also planning a special evening event for Fri., July 3. Their deck will have a magnificent view of the fireworks show over the water. Stay tuned!

Gourmet Au Bay
913 Highway One in Bodega Bay - Just North of the Tides
Ph: (707) 875-9875
New hours, they're now open 7 days a week!
You must be 21 years old to enjoy the wine bar and deck.

Bodega Bay News

Castles & Kites Festival
We have a fantastic family event coming up next weekend! The annual Castles & Kites Festival will be held Sat. April 25, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at Doran Beach Regional Park in Bodega Bay. Admission is free but there is a $6 day use permit to enter the park. They say park representatives will be on hand to provide tools and molds for the castles, and local kite shops will supply some incredible kites and offer kite-making workshops. You can fly your own kite, design a new one, or watch stunt kite demonstrations. I’m really excited. We’ve never been to this before, but we love the annual sand sculpture contest at Drake’s Beach. I hope this will draw similar entries. And of course, who doesn’t love colorful kites soaring in the air? I plan to take lots of photos to share.

Free Live Music in Bodega Bay
Each Thursday evening 5:00-8:00 p.m., Bluewater Bistro presents live music in their lounge with stunning views of Bodega Bay, Doran Beach, and sunsets behind Bodega Head. You can also hear the music in the dining room down below.

On most Sunday afternoons 3:00-5:00 p.m., Gourmet Au Bay offers live music on the deck of their wine bar overlooking the beautiful Bodega Harbor. Check their website for details.

Ren Brown Collection
On Saturday, we dropped by this local art gallery to check out an exhibit by Bruce Johnson--a fabulous sculptor who lives above Timber Cove. Ren Brown Collection is very well-known for their contemporary Japanese art, California artists & sculpture, and antique Japanese furniture, and clients travel from all over the country to visit. You can see continuing and upcoming exhibits at their website.

Earthquake Drill
Bodega Bay is located along the San Andreas fault so we know it’s not a matter of if, but when the next big quake is coming. Fortunately our community has a dedicated Emergency Preparedness Committee that meets year-round, planning and training for The Big One as well as other emergencies.

We’re planning a “mock disaster” drill for Wed., May 13, and encouraging the entire community to participate. The drill will help us become comfortable with what to do first, second, third, etc. and to effectively counter the emotional and situational turmoil of the moment.

Our family has also signed up for CERT training (Community Emergency Response Team). This is a free program through FEMA that trains you to help others in the event of a disaster. Not quite as much fun as castles & kites, but I'm looking forward to it too. :-)

Gourmet Au Bay, Wine Bar with a View

Gourmet Au Bay is a cool wine bar, bottle shop, and gift store combo right on the water in the heart of Bodega Bay. They feature a wide selection of wines and gifts for sale, a tasting area, and a beautiful deck that looks out over Bodega Harbor, with stunning views of the water, the marina, and Bodega Head. In addition to traditional tastings, they offer “World Famous Wine Surfing,” consisting of three wines of your choice served on a mini-surfboard.

We’d heard from locals that this was a happening place but hadn’t had a chance to stop by. Then, Bodega Bay Grange held a raffle to raise money for their scholarship fund and we won a prize—a gift certificate to Gourmet Au Bay!

No further prompting needed, we went down to check it out on a Friday evening. The place was packed yet the owners, Bob and Sissy Blanchard, immediately came over and greeted us. They welcomed us warmly and introduced us around to other local patrons. We were surprised and delighted to meet other working folks like ourselves. Bodega Bay has a large population of retired people and other than local merchants, we hadn’t met anyone who was still in the workforce. So this is where they hang out! Everyone was very friendly and made us feel right at home.

Sissy explained Wine Surfing to us (a clever Bodega Bay spin on the “flight”) and we made our selections. They offer six selections daily, three reds and three whites. Recent examples were:

WHITES
Chenin Blanc by Man Wunters, South Africa
Pinot Grigio by Tutu, California
Chardonnay by Heron, California

REDS
Pinot Noir by Balletto, Russian River Valley
Zinfandel by Sausal, Alexander Valley
Claret by Steltzner, Napa Valley


We’ve been back several times since then. It’s a fun place to bring guests from out of town, as well as run into locals. Last time, we ran into our auto mechanic and his wife. They’d come over the hill from Sebastopol for the afternoon, and were soaking up the sun on the deck and sipping chilled glasses of Pinot Grigio. (Didn’t I tell you this was paradise?)

Bob and Sissy are good people. And in a way, we can relate to them because they too are following their dream. Last year, they bought this establishment and moved here from Orlando, FL to run it. Since then, they’ve been working hard to provide outstanding customer service, maintain a collection of over 200 premium, boutique and everyday wines, and a gift shop that carries wine- and beach-themed gifts and décor. They also host special events. One Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed live music by guitarist Jason Herum on the deck. Another time, Bob gave out free bowls of his homemade chili, can you believe it? I highly recommend that you stop by and see them.

Gourmet Au Bay, 913 Highway One in Bodega Bay - Just North of the Tides, (707) 875-9875. Open Thursday thru Tuesday 11am to 7pm, Fridays and Saturdays 'til 8pm.