Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How are Healdsburg winemakers rescuing this year’s smoky Pinot Noir?

Spotted on the Healdsburg calendar: 2026 Community Parkwide Sale

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Good morning to you Healdsburg! Catch up on our news and events right here. Keep reading to stay in the know. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • How are Healdsburg winemakers rescuing this year's smoky Pinot Noir?
  • What past Healdsburg debates and dramas still echo today?
  • What does Foppoli's massive verdict mean for his Healdsburg winery?

Also on today's calendar: 2026 Community Parkwide Sale and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: When geese fly, one side is longer than the other. do you know why that is ? 🤔 (Answer below!)

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Weather forecast:

  • Thursday: Low clouds, then sun, with a high of 78 and low of 49 degrees.
  • Friday: Mostly sunny and warmer, temps: high: 88, low: 53. 🌶 Hot!
  • Saturday: Areas of low clouds, then sun, with a high of 90 and low of 52 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Sonoma County winegrowers grapple with smoke taint after Woodside Fire (pressdemocrat.com) — Healdsburg winemakers are scrambling to assess how smoke from the recent Woodside Fire may affect this year's Pinot Noir, using new rapid "nano-fermentation" tests to detect taint. Local vintners like Dot Wine's Lise Asimont and MacPhail Family Wines' James MacPhail are weighing costly decisions on whether to accept or reject potentially affected Russian River Valley fruit.
   

• Flashbacks for September 17, 2026 (healdsburgtribune.com) — Healdsburg readers can look back at a visiting actress in 1901, a 1951 Civil Defense move, and a 1976 council decision rejecting Peninsula housing development that would have replaced farmland. The column also reminds you the Healdsburg Museum is open five days a week on Matheson Street if you'd like to explore more of the town's past in person.
   

• Sonoma County jurors levy additional $2 million verdict against former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli (sfchronicle.com) — Sonoma County jurors have ordered former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli to pay more than $15 million in damages to seven women, with part of his wealth tied to his Healdsburg winery, Christopher Creek. The punitive award follows a two‑month civil trial and raises questions about how his local business holdings might factor into collecting the judgment.
   

📸 Around Healdsburg

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Healdsburg

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • ⚠️ Magnitude 2.67 earthquake reported
    Sep 15 at 6:40 PM PDT: 2.67 magnitude earthquake occurred near Santa Rosa, CA. More than 170 neighbors felt it. (Nextdoor )
  • Looking for a house cleaning team who is available for a deep clean on an empty house on Sunday, 9/20.
    It has to be this day, so would need to be available that specific date. Posting here to see if any business owners might be reached AND to see if… (Nextdoor Healdsburg)
  • Government Jobs posted a job opening for Seasonal Maintenance Aide in Healdsburg. Apply here.
  • General Dynamics Ordnance & Tactical Systems posted a job opening for Assembler - Manufacturing in Healdsburg. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Healdsburg here.

🗞 Nearby News

Windsor

  • Single-family home sells for $930,000 in Windsor (pressdemocrat.com)
  • Demands for Jeff Okrepkie's censure, Reprimand for Supervisors' new office space: Sept. 16 PD Letters (pressdemocrat.com)
  • Prep football analysis: Cardinal Newman's statement over Riordan; plus Windsor and Vintage's emergence (pressdemocrat.com)

Geyserville

  • Sonoma County Goes Cowboy Core: Where Western Heritage Meets Wine Country (blogspot.com)

Guerneville

Ok Healdsburg! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: because there are more geese on that side (Thank you jo L. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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