The Bonus at Bodega or Gourmet au Bay

The WinoTripping Review

Posted by Rich

We were on our way up the California coast for a hike in Bodega Bay with no intention of doing anything wine-related,(yeah, right!), when we stumbled upon a great wine shop and wine bar called Gourmet au Bay.

On Highway 1, (one of the greatest driving highways in the world), nested on the bay with great views, this friendly joint has got a lot going on. A great selection of small-producing, mostly Californian wines, an awesome deck with great views overlooking the bay, and great owners, Bob and Sissy, to assist you with your every wine whim.

We may be late in finding this place, it opened in 1995, but Bob and Sissy only took it over in 2008, and we can't imagine it was ever any cooler than it is now. The room is split in two, one side the gift boutique, the other side the wine shop and tasting bar. The gift shop is nice, with some local art, a small selection of books, home and garden stuff, and your regular wine schwag. On the wine side they carry about 200 small production, hand-selected, wines from California, including a bunch from the nearby Russian River and the Sonoma Coast. You can find something for under $10, or find a big Napa Cab for close to $200, and just about everything in between.

At the bar, Bob will usually have from four to eight bottles from different producers open to taste, or to purchase by the glass. They offer a tasting flight, (that's a taste of multiple wines - in this case three), that they call Wine Surfing, because they serve the three wine glasses on a mini wooden surf board. The pricing is easy. A glass of wine, a six ounce pour, is $8. Wine Surfing, a two ounce pour of three wines, is also $8. If you can't decide, Bob is happy to help pick out a flight and put them in the correct tasting order for you. [photo credit: I jacked the wine surfing photo from the Gourmet au Bay website because I forgot to take a photo while I was there. The rest of the photos in this review are exclusive to WinoTripping].