There is NO way I was going to miss my favorite wine and food event of the year just because I am seven months pregnant and the heat of the Labor Day weekend event got into the 90's.... 

NO WAY!

Thankfully, Taste of Sonoma is not just all about the wine (mostly, but there is so much more to it). Some of my favorite food producers and restaurants from Sonoma County also share their "end of Summer" best with the crowd of hundreds.

Pork Belly, tomatoes, and chilled soups were the trends this year (as they are every year). 

The food was colorful, fun, creative and everyone I saw had a smile on their face. 

First stop: The Bubble Lounge, of course! Gloria Ferrer and The Oyster Girls make a great pair (according to everyone... This vegetarian hasn't tried the two together).  

I love people who stick with what they know works. Every year the mac ’n cheese lollipops from Feast Catering is a hit in the bubble lounge. This year, the cheesey goodness was paired with a BLT salad. 

Chef Tim Vallery of Peloton Culinary & Catering always creates something refreshing. This year - a compressed watermelon (meaning he vacuum sealed the watermelon with fresh mint to seal in the flavor).  The perfect pair was Trione Rose (sorry Jess, I didn't take a pic! I fail). 

The team from Noble Folk (ice cream and pie's on the Healdsburg square) were in the Dry Creek Valley tent with their new ice cream cart. I didn't get a picture of the adorable cart because I was so excited about the ICE CREAM of course. 

I have had their Dry Creek Peach + Brown Butter ice cream before (only available when peach season is at it's best - RIGHT NOW!), so I had the Swiss Chocolate with local water buffalo milk from Valley Ford. Topped with butterscotch caramel and smoked sea salt... Because that is how we roll in Wine Country --  Farm to Spoon ice cream! 

One of my favorite vegetarian savory dishes was this beet ceviche from Sazon Peruvian Cuisine in Santa Rosa.