Disco Ranch
This Welcoming Boonville Wine Bar is a Groovy Combination of Fun and Fancy
by Holly Madrigal
Wendy Lamer is the kind of person you meet and think, “We should be friends.” She has a warm, welcoming smile and a serious passion for wine. This passion has led her from Georgia to Phoenix, finally luring her to Anderson Valley, where she opened the Disco Ranch wine shop.
You can tell from the name that this place is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. “The name comes up a lot,” quips Wendy. When she lived in Georgia, she was part of a group of wine and food enthusiasts. She enjoyed many a dinner party and wine tasting at multiple stunning homes on Lake Lanier, down the road from her own modest place, a farm house straight out of the ’70s with llamas gracing the front pasture. The décor was so dated that “the house had a powder blue toilet, sink, and bathtub,” she groans, adding that she did not want any of her friends to see it.
But eventually, they insisted that she host the party, letting her know that she could no longer be part of the supper club if she didn’t step up. Dreading the inevitable embarrassment, Wendy finally agreed to host an evening, and a bit of magic happened. As the night went on and the guests ambled in, the music changed to disco. Folks pushed the couches to the walls and set up an impromptu dance party. A fabulous evening was had by all, and they danced well into the early morning hours. Wendy had to go to work the next morning, but when she returned home, her friends had installed a disco ball in the middle of her living room, renaming the space the Disco Ranch. The name stuck, and Wendy has brought this name—symbolizing a fun and delicious appreciation of food and wine—to Boonville.
And a visit to Disco Ranch is fun, with not a hint of pretension or snobbery. Wendy and her brother Gregg, currently hospitality director at Roederer, previously owned a bistro in Phoenix that had a wine bar component. “But the fine-dining part began to overshadow the wine,” laments Wendy. When the chef proved unreliable, disappearing for hours at a time, she found herself frantically running the kitchen while simultaneously being asked by a server to recite all the grape varieties that makeup Port. “It was just too much! That is why, when I decided to open this place, I just wanted to focus on wine. Anderson Valley has so many excellent wineries, so I’ve further focused my offerings. I sell imports from France and Spain as well as some smaller local wines that do not have tasting rooms.” The imported wine has been a huge draw. “Local winemakers hang out here,” Wendy continues, “and I would bring in these new wines and we would taste and enjoy. You can travel the world with wine and food.”
Wendy sees her spot as a complement—not a competition—to the larger wineries in the area. “I want to highlight the lesser-known boutique winemakers, some of whom are just really excellent.” When asked who she is excited about at the moment, she references Minus Tide and Waits Mast. “They are fantastic,” she muses. She also encourages guests to visit the local tasting rooms to experience those wines and hear their stories. The wineries, in turn, often refer their patrons to Disco Ranch for those hard-to-find wines like Black Kite and Maggie Hawk.
Despite not wanting to have food overshadow the wine, pairing great wines with excellent food is another of Wendy’s talents. The Disco Ranch offers a variety of Spanish tapas and specially chosen small plates. Wendy explains, “I have a background in specialty foods, so I choose to offer things with lots of flavor that go well with the wine, which was my biggest focus. It all came together. I think of this as a well-stocked pantry. After a hard day of work, when you don’t want to go to the drive-through, you can stop here for a simple dish, like shrimp and grits, that comes together quickly and tastes so good. That is how I do the tapas. I pull great ingredients off the shelf and whip up these small bites.”
The spicy pulled pork slider is a soft pillowy Hawaiian roll with richly spiced pork, topped with a creamy slaw flecked with red peppers. The effervescent glass of Raventos Spanish Cava (founded in 1497) is bone dry and stands up to smoky bites of chorizo topped with the contrasting creaminess of a marinated gigande bean. Each plate seems to hold the perfect amount to whet the appetite but not overfill, which is good because it would be easy to reach decadence by ordering one of everything. Piquillo peppers stuffed with fresh goat cheese? Yes, please. Shrimp that is bright and lemony with a delicious herbal mustard depth? I’ll take ‘em.
Along with your wine purchase, you can pick up treats like premium cheeses (including some vegan choices), spicy tomato vodka chutney, or tinned Ortiz Yellow Fin Tuna. “I stock some simple pastas and goodies that I enjoy, quality basics,” says Wendy, in addition to a cold case full of grab-and-go picnic items and well-curated shelves of local pantry staples and specialties.
The Disco Ranch has been required to “do the hustle” in its first year of business. Shortly after their grand opening, Mendocino County experienced multiple Public Safety Power Shut-off events due to area wildfires. Christina Jones, the prior chef at the Disco Ranch location, had helped bring the weekly Farmers Market to the parking lot. When Wendy purchased the business, she looked forward to catching up with friends on the sunny outdoor patio, listening to live music, hosting impromptu tastings, and providing recommendations for a bottle to enhance dinner. But then 2020 brought its next curveball with COVID 19. “It has oddly worked out,” Wendy explains. “It let me stay focused on what was important. If people were not going out, they were drinking twice as much at home. I brought in more specialty foods.”
Wendy continues, “I added to the ‘Cheap and Delicious’ section, which has become really popular. I like wine for everyday enjoyment. When I was first starting out at Happy Herman’s in Georgia, my pay was so low that I needed to find what was cheap and delicious. You don’t need to spend $100 for a good bottle of wine. I have 30-40 wines under $15, a large portion of which score between 90-92 points.” She keeps that section varied and lively. “The fact that I had charcuterie and products in tins with a long shelf life helped. We have some really fun offerings, like our selection of vermouths and bitters. The whole cocktail scene is hot right now,” she adds. “I have a beautiful Henren Miniz Spanish vermouth, infused with twenty-four botanicals, which is then stored for eight years under the floor in a sherry cask. What’s crazy is that we sell it at a great value.”
The depth of knowledge at Disco Ranch is revealed the more Wendy talks. When asked if she has a red or white preference, she clarifies that it depends on the region and what you are eating it with. “The Loire Valley and Rhone Regions are certainly the best value in the world. And I am a huge bubble fan.” She has curated collections of assorted champagnes, cavas, and prosecco in case you might be a kindred “bubble-head.”
Wendy eagerly awaits the time when she will be able to offer flights and wine education. “Part of the fun is getting to sample food and try out wines in a casual way. I miss having the smaller winemakers here doing pop-ups. I miss Pinot Fest. I would love to expand the patio.” But meanwhile, she is stocking up the take-away and preparing for the holidays. A stop at Disco Ranch could check everyone off your list. You can buy a home tasting, an aromatic whites 6-pack, six different Spanish wines, or a S.I.P. Survival Pack. Name your style or interest, and Wendy can find the perfect match. And if you want to be really socially distanced, you can order online for curbside pickup.
No matter what new adventures are over the horizon, Wendy and the Disco Ranch will adapt with good humor and good taste. “This community has been so welcoming,” adds Wendy. “We help each other out.” With any luck, she will be dancing into the future to the sound of that disco beat, the community by her side.
Disco Ranch Wine Bar + Specialty Food Market
Thu – Sun 11-6, Monday 11-3
14025 Hwy 128 Boonville | 707-901-5002 | discoranch.com
