By MICHELE ANNA JORDON
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A gift for your favorite crab fan: Tickets for the fourth annual Russian River Valley Winegrowers Crab & Fennel Fest, scheduled for March 3, are on sale at www.rrvw.org and by calling 521-2535.
This event, which takes place at the Hall of Flowers at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, always sells out well in advance, so it might just be a perfect holiday gift for your favorite crab lover.
Tickets are $45. For an additional $20, you can enjoy the Directors' Tasting, which includes an etched Riedel glass and wines selected by the organization's board of directors.
Madame de Fromage at Schug: On Sunday at 1 p.m., Colette Hatch - aka Madame de Fromage - will host a cheese seminar and discussion at Schug Carneros Estate Winery (602 Bonneau Road, Sonoma). The focus of the afternoon will be on creating compelling matches with wine.
This is an excellent opportunity to visit one of Sonoma Valley's finest family-owned wineries. We particularly love Schug Rouge de Noir, a dry sparkling pinot noir that is a lovely shade of scarlet and is absolutely delightful on the palate. Walter Schug has a great love for and a beautiful way with pinot noir in general.
The cost of the wine and cheese experience is $35 and reservations are required. Call (800) 966-9365 or send an e-mail to david@schugwinery.com.
Zen sale: On Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Stone Creek Zen Center hosts its annual holiday sale at Sebastopol's Masonic Hall (373 N. Main St.)
The homespun sale features handcrafted gifts and art, such as silk bags, felted bags, African bead jewelry, incense, sitting cushions for meditation, Buddha figurines, knit hats, scarves and, yes it's true, dog sweaters.
Buddha's Attic will offer used items.
This year the center has expanded the offerings in Buddha's Pantry with a selection of jams - pear ginger, apricot, peach, nectarine and Russian-style plum - Meyer lemon marmalade and plum barbecue sauce.
The lunch menu is bigger this year, too. There will be two sushi trays and two obento box lunches featuring musubi, gomoku(in this case, a rice and vegetable salad) and a variety of side dishes. There is also a special children's lunch with cold noodles with peanut sauce and a cookie.
Admission is free and proceeds from the sale benefit Stone Creek Zen Center.
Got olives? If you do, you might want to attend Don Landis' olive curing seminar at B.R. Cohn Winery (15000 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen) this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The presentation includes information about the history of the olive in California and a demonstration of the Greek method of preserving olives, which, unlike the California method, does not involve lye. If the weather allows, there will be a tour of B.R. Cohn's olive grove, too.
The seminar is free but reservations are required. Call Don Landis at 823-5097 or send an e-mail to olivedon@hotmail.com.
Tuesday nights at Infusions: Infusions Teahouse (6988 McKinley Ave., Sebastopol) is now open Tuesday evenings, with free entertainment. Tuesday events include music, poetry, storytelling and discussions on a variety of topics, such as sustainability issues, and everything you've ever wanted to learn about tea.
Next Tuesday, the focus will be on music with JD and Lisa of the Lemon Lime Lights, playing accordion and cello. The following Tuesday starting at 7 p.m., there will be a special Hanukkah celebration with candle lighting; this is a family event, so feel free to bring the kids.
For additional information about Tuesdays at Infusions, visit www.infusionteashop.com.
Infusions now stays open until 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Friday nights at Della Fattoria: We can't think of a more pleasing way to pass a Friday night than at Della Fattoria Downtown (141 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma).
The food is delicious, the decor is beautiful and engaging and the ambiance is so warm and generous that you feel as if you're in someone's home rather than a restaurant.
Friday nights, the only evening Della Fattoria is open, are themed. This week, it's a winemaker dinner with Ray D'Argenzio of D'Argenzio, a family-owned winery.
On Dec. 15, the theme is port and blue cheese.
Crab and California sparkling wine are the focus on Dec. 22 and on Dec. 29, it's French Champagne.
There's a set menu, prices vary depending on the theme and it is now possible to make reservations. For larger groups, the lovely VIP lounge, a balcony above the main room, is always an option.
For reservations, call 763-0161.
Carol Cole's 14th annual sale: One of our favorite sales of the season takes place this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bee Garden (5190 Hessel Road, Sebastopol).
The sale includes gorgeous beeswax candles in a variety of sizes, lavender and beeswax salve that soothes your skin in the dry winter cold, handmade note cards and delicious Bee Garden honey.
Bee Garden candles burn slowly and evenly and smell, if you are blessed with a good nose, a bit like honey.
Cole's candles are sold at such places as Putto & Gargoyle in Sebastopol and The Gardener in Healdsburg, but the sale is a chance to see her full selection, along with her other products.
Cole is a food stylist with a delicate, precise sensibility that we love. To see samples of her work, visit www.beegarden.com.
If you cannot make it to this weekend's sale, you can arrange an alternate time by calling 823-0914.
Death & Dessert: If you hurry, you might be able to snag a ticket for this evening's VIP dessert reception at Cobb's Comedy Club (915 Columbus Ave., San Francisco). You will be joined by Mike Farrell of "M*A*S*H," Shelley Fabares of "The Donna Reed Show" and James Cromwell, who played George, Ruth Fisher's mentally ill husband, on "Six Feet Under."
The reception is part of the second annual Comedy Benefit for Death Penalty Focus. Performers include Will Durst, Betsy Salkind, Johnny Steele and Aundre the Wonderwoman.
Admission is $100, which includes a seat in the front section and a ticket to the reception. If you want to skip the dessert, balcony tickets are $35 and main floor tickets are $50.
Proceeds from the event benefit Death Penalty Focus. For more information, visit www.deathpenalty.org.
