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SONOMA VALLEY | WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEK56CornerStone SonomaWhat do you get when you mix 22 architectural gardens with artgalleries, cutting edge design shops, a cafe and then throw in twofirst-class wine tasting rooms? The answer is an incredible SonomaCounty destination called CornerStone Sonoma. Situated in theCarneros region of the county, CornerStone is one of the first stops forvisitors coming into Wine Country.The gardens were created by Teresa and Chris Hougie six years agoafter their many trips to France and viewing the Festival of Gardensat Chaumont sur Loire. Wanting to create something similar in theStates, the two created CornerStone which is still the only destinationof its kind in this country. The individual gardens on the nine acreproperty are designed by landscape architects and garden designers,many of whom are the most acclaimed in the world. Add the shops,a gourmet café and the two tasting rooms to the mix and you have themost unique destination in the Wine Country.And speaking of wine, the two tasting rooms, Keating Wines andMeadowcroft Wines, offer a variety of hand-crafted varietals createdby using the finest grapes grown in both the Sonoma and Napavalleys. Keating Wines, which opened at CornerStone just twomonths ago, is owned and operated by Eric Keating, who gave up aWall Street career to return to his roots in Sonoma to pursue a careerin the wine business.Upon his return to Sonoma, Keating spent three years learningevery aspect of the wine business at the well-renowned, family ownedwinery VJB Vineyards & Cellars in Kenwood, California. Inspired tostrike out on his own, Keating made the decision to pursue thepassion which was slowly consuming his life, wine! A small productionwinery, Keating made a conscious effort to source only premiumfruit available from superior vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Counties.After operating out of his home in Kenwood, Keating was looking forjust the right place to showcase his wines to the public, and when hediscovered CornerStone Sonoma, his search was over!Like Eric Keating, wine grower and winemaker Tom Meadowcroftwas also looking for just the right location. He discovered Corner-Stone late last year, and in February brought his family of wines to hisCornerStone location and has enjoyed immediate success. Meadowcrofthas worked in the wine industry for many years, starting outwith Buckland Vineyard Management running the crews and on todesigning, planting and managing fields for wineries such as Cakebread,Duckhorn, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Stags Leap and others.In 1999 he bought a vineyard on Mt. Veeder in Napa County inanticipation of establishing his own winery. It took four years to bringthe vineyard up to Meadowcroft’s exacting standards. Finally, afterseven years with Buckland, it was time for him to step out on his ownand put his knowledge and experience to use for himself.With three labels of his own: Meadowcroft, Magito and ThomasHenry, Tom Meadowcroft also makes the wines for the Foyt FamilyWines (yes the famous A.J. Foyt racing family), and all of the winesare available in his CornerStone Sonoma tasting room.One could literally spend the day at CornerStone Sonoma enjoyingthe gardens, shops, lunch in the café, and of course sampling the finewines provided by Keating Wines and Meadowcroft Wines. Come toCornerStone and discover everything you never expected – and more!www.WineCountryThisWeek.com