Aventine Glen Ellen

Smells Like ’Tine Spirit

What Happens When Aventine Hits Sonoma

None 8 Photos Aventine Glen Ellen
Ah, the Aventine scene.

The beautiful crowd. The wine. The meatballs. The Glen Ellen scenery.

[Record scratch.]

Yes, just in time for your holiday-weekend wine-tasting plans, Aventine Glen Ellen is real—it’s in a 170-year-old building in the unlikeliest of sleepy Sonoma neighborhoods, and it’s now open.

Used to be that there were two places in all of Glen Ellen where you could get an evening martini. Now there are three. On that basis alone, this is an important place to keep in your post-winery back pocket. Still, they’ve gone ahead and thrown in some meatballs and a 40-foot waterwheel for bonus atmosphere.

So over the holiday, or any extended summer afternoon when you’re kicking around Sonoma swirling glasses in the sun, wait for the right moment to suggest dinner here. Then... suggest dinner here. If the weather holds, you want your share of the patio. If you’re inside, well, you’re surrounded by redwood... and you’re closer to the pizza oven cranking out pancetta-covered pies. Nothing wrong with that.

Then: drinks all around. Real drinks. And then: prosciutto-wrapped shrimp. Black-truffle popcorn. A giant meatball stuffed with mozzarella, basil pesto, raisins and polenta.

Weird when meatballs have secrets.

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