Did someone say ‘weekend shopping expedition’?  Because if so, there is a new mecca in Sonoma County that is just screaming for your credit cards to make a holy pilgrimage.

Sonoma County has never been a stranger to reinvention and there is perhaps no better recent example of that fact than last month’s reopening of the former Barlow Apple Cannery on November 2. Though it languished empty and unused for more years than residents of Sebastopol would like to recount, the former fruit factory has been sleekly reborn as The Barlow, a modern retail gateway celebrating the very best of Sonoma.

The massive 222,000 square-foot artisan marketplace and production facility sprawled over 12.5 acres houses local wines, foods, arts, crafts and other locally made products presented in an environment imbued with the distinctively rustic elegance that is Sonoma’s stock-in-trade.

Perched in the heart of downtown Sebastopol The Barlow’s tenants include: Kosta Browne Winery, Guayaki Yerba Mate, Wind Gap Wines, Community Market, Taylor Maid Farms, Spirit Works Distillery, Wolfard Glassblowing, Bronze Plus Art Foundry, Move 2 Change Studio, Woodfour Brewing Company, Village Bakery, Zazu, Hanses Fine Art, Soap Caldron, Circle of Hands, Warped Brewing Company, Gypsy Bay Laurel, Reframe Hair Gallery, MacPhail Family Wines, Tibetan Gallery & Studio, Farmer’s Exchange of Earthly Delights, Ben Kinmont Bookseller, La Follette Wines, Tamarind, Marimar Estate Vineyards & Winery, SubZero Ice Cream and Yogurt, and the Juicery.

The Barlow also features a bocce court, restaurants, and fire pits, all of which fulfills the promise of a new destination in which the community and visitors can conduct business, share food and enjoy art, wine and time together.

Sounds pretty idyllic does it not? And just think…it’s the best of Sonoma all under one roof.  How’s that for a new must-visit destination? Is your credit card finger itching yet?

Find out more about The Barlow at www.thebarlow.net.