New honey tasting room opens in downtown Healdsburg

A new tasting room in downtown Healdsburg is setting itself apart by serving honey instead of the more typical wine or spirits.

La Ruche, which means “the hive” in French, opened just before Christmas, offering dozens of honeys from around the globe, each with their own unique taste and terroir.

The honey tasting room is a passion project for owner Nicole White who started to get really into honey during the pandemic. Living in Florida at the time, she participated in a virtual honey tasting conducted by Candice Koseba of Sonoma County Bee Company.

“I thought ‘Why isn’t anyone doing this in person?’” she said.

White, who grew up in Marin County, returned to Northern California in 2022 and settled in Healdsburg. She set up a hive in a ravine on her property, joined the beekeeping association and began planning the Healdsburg Avenue tasting room.

World of flavors

For those whose experience with honey begins and ends with a plastic bear purchased at a grocery store, a visit to La Ruche is an eye opener.

Globally, it’s estimated that 33% of honey is adulterated with substances like corn or sugar syrup. That number is likely higher in the United States, but those figures are difficult to come by, and the USDA and FDA regulation process is not as robust as in other countries.

“I really love the honey abroad. The EU countries are very strict,” said White, noting that France subsidizes beekeepers and has 200 beekeeping schools, and that Italy also is very serious about its honey.

“It’s kind of this whole honeybee world that’s pretty amazing and I wanted to bring it here and expose people to that,” she said.

To that end, the shelves of her Healdsburg tasting room are filled with dozens of jars of honey from countries like Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus.

In addition to geographic differences, La Ruche features honeys made from about four dozen different plant species, from acacia to buckwheat to coriander. That is just a drop in the bucket when you consider there are at least 300 monofloral varieties.

For honeys closer to home, White carries wildflower honey from a boreal forest in Northern Canada, cream honey from Redwoods Monastery in Humboldt County, plus honeys from three local producers whose hives reside mainly in Healdsburg and Sebastopol: Marin Coastal Bee Co., Kiss the Flower, and Koseba’s Sonoma County Bee Company.

Koseba leads honey tastings for guests of Healdsburg’s Montage Resort, and she’s glad to see someone else offer some variety to the typical Healdsburg Plaza wine tasting itinerary.

“Honeybees are the ultimate terroir, so you’re going to get a lot of really unique flavors from nature,” said Koseba. “People walk away with the idea that ‘Honey is something really unique that I can collect at places I go.’”

White agrees.

“What I love about honey (is that) it’s so different everywhere. It doesn’t taste the same,” she said. “Even here in Sonoma County, when I have Hector’s Honey it tastes completely different from her (Koseba’s) honey. If you’re into food and taste and experimenting, that’s what I think is really fun about it.”

In her tasting room, one lavender honey from France is platinum in color and has hints of mint and herb. Another deeply colored pine honey from Greece tastes of blackstrap molasses.

Right now, customers can walk in and enjoy a casual tasting of a few honeys White has open. Once she gets a license from the state, she’ll start booking private seated tastings that include several types of honey paired with cheese and charcuterie. The experience will also include a taste of mead, an alcoholic beverage made from honey, from local producers like Heidrun Meadery in Pt. Reyes Station and Hiveworks in Rohnert Park.

A spoonful of honey

White begins each day with a spoonful of honey, which she says some research shows can help metabolism and gut bacteria. Regardless of its benefits, she says it’s an early morning energy boost.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy honey is drizzled on top of a biscuit or piece of toast. (Just steps from La Ruche is Costeaux Bakery, where you can get a package of freshly baked English muffins to take home and toast. Its nooks and crannies make it an ideal honey delivery vehicle.) White says a bowl of oatmeal is her favorite neutral background on which to enjoy honey’s nuances.

White uses honey in all kinds of recipes, from salad dressings to tossing it with roasted vegetables.

For an easy and impressive appetizer, she makes baked brie with apples caramelized in honey. For a healthy snack that feels decadent, she combines honey with seeds and nuts that she bakes and then dips in dark chocolate for an almost Florentine-style cookie that also happens to be keto.

“I used orange blossom honey with it because it’s sweet but not too sweet. Everything in that cookie recipe is on my favorite food list,” she said.

A sweet luxury

There’s no denying that honey harvested with care for both the bees and the final product costs more than the mass market product at the grocery store.

“It’s so precious when you have real honey. It takes so much work to take care of the bees in a way that’s good for the earth. You can’t really put price on it,” said Koseba.

White hopes that her La Ruche honey tasting room will help others appreciate what a delicacy honey is.

“When people buy honey, they don’t really think about where it’s coming from, the work that the bees do, the kind of flowers … (the) beekeepers trying to preserve traditions,” she said.

White says there’s so much to learn about honey and she plans to learn right along with her customers. Her next goal is to become a honey sommelier, which includes training and certification in Italy.

“If you want to geek out about honey,” she said, “there’s plenty to geek out about.”

La Ruche honey tasting room, 409a Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-909-0514, laruchehealdsburg.com. Instagram @laruchehealdsburg

Baked gigante beans with honey and dill

Makes 4-6 servings as a main course

This recipe from chef and cookbook author Diane Kochilas is a comforting savory-sweet dish that makes a hearty, meatless main course or an impressive side dish to grilled meats. It’s a great dish to showcase Greek pine honey, with its dark molasses-like notes.

1 pound large dried white beans such as Greek Gigantes or Rancho Gordo Royal Corona

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (Greek preferred), plus more as needed

3 medium red onions, chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

3 cups plum tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped (or 28 ounce can of good quality chopped tomatoes)

4 tablespoons Greek pine honey, divided

1 carrot peeled and cut into 3-4 large pieces

4 bay leaves

1 bunch fresh dill, chopped

2-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to taste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2-3 tablespoons crumbled feta for garnish (optional)

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water. Drain the next day. Place in a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, skimming the foam off the top. Simmer beans for 1-1 ½ hours, until tender but firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove beans from heat and drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.

Place beans in a large baking pan or Dutch oven with 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Mix in the onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Stir in about 1 ½ cups of the bean cooking liquid, just enough to barely cover the beans. Stir in half the honey. Mix thoroughly. Nestle in the pieces of carrot and bay leaves. Cover the pan with parchment then aluminum foil and bake for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thick and creamy. Add more water throughout baking, if necessary, to keep the beans from drying out.

Fifteen minutes before removing from oven, add vinegar, tomato paste, salt and pepper. As soon as the beans come out of the oven, stir in additional honey and vinegar to taste as well as the chopped dill.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, sprinkled if desired with crumbled feta and drizzled with additional olive oil.

Baked brie with honey caramelized apples

Makes 8 appetizer servings

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 apple, diced small

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon honey plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 round of brie

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of milk

⅓ cup chopped walnuts

Flaky sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add apple, sage, honey, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. When the mixture begins to bubble, turn heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the apples become soft and caramelize and turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

On a clean surface, unfold the thawed puff pastry and add the cooled apple mixture to the center of the puff pastry, spreading it into a circle about the same size as the round of brie. Place the brie on top of the apples. Fold the puff pastry around the brie to completely enclose it, cut off any excess puff pastry, then seal it by pressing the edges of the pastry together with your fingers. Brush the pastry with the egg wash, and place the brie seam side down on a parchment lined sheet pan, the brush the top with egg wash. Bake for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

While the brie is baking, add the chopped walnuts to small skillet set over medium-low heat and toast them for 3-5 minutes, shaking the pan every so often, being careful not to let them burn. Set aside.

Remove brie from the oven and allow it to stand for about 3-5 minutes before using a spatula to lift it from the sheet tray onto a serving platter. Drizzle a little honey over it, then sprinkle the toasted walnuts on top, followed by another drizzle of honey. Garnish with sage leaves and flaky salt. Serve with good, crusty bread or crackers.

Crunchy honey almond seed cookies

Makes 12 cookies

1/2 cup raw sliced almonds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup orange blossom honey

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

5 ounces dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, honey, egg, vanilla extract and sea salt. Stir until well combined.

Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop out small portions of the mixture and place on the lined baking sheet. Flatten the cookies using the back of a spoon or your fingers, pressing the almonds, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes tightly together.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Cool completely on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes until they are firm and hold together.

Once cool, use a knife or spatula to lift them from the baking sheet. If they resist, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes and try again.

While the cookies cool, chop dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring until melted. Alternatively, place in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds so that chocolate doesn’t scorch.

Dip the bottoms of the cooled cookies in melted dark chocolate and place on a piece of parchment paper, chocolate side up. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt like Maldon, if desired.

Chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 5 minutes or leave them out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Store leftovers in an airtight container over the counter for up to a week.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Graue at 707-521-5262 or jennifer.graue@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JenInOz.