Bottoms up
SARAH CITRON • Bricoleur Vineyards
WORK • Wednesday Routine
SARAH CITRON • co-founder & CEO • Bricoleur Vineyards
Neighborhood you live in: Santa Rosa
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Wednesdays are my reset and re-focus days, where I can step back from the day-to-day and make sure all the bigger pieces of the business are moving in the right direction. I start by reviewing our reservations, and mapping out what support our back-of-house teams need to set the tasting room and culinary teams up for success for the rest of the week.
Then I meet with our marketing team to go over the calendar, and have a standing strategy and financial check-in with our other founders and CFO. Some Wednesdays also include meetings with partners: hotels, brands, agencies, or collaborators, and I always carve out time to meet with our Wine Club team. By the end of the morning, I usually have a clear plan for the week.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today is a mix of big-picture planning and hands-on holiday hustle. I’m in the final stretch of building out our 2026 strategy and budget, and I’m also working on expanding our brand partnerships. I’ve also got a meeting with our winemaking team to finalize our new refillable keg flask program (launching in February).
We give our entire company a full week off at the end of the year so everyone can spend time with family and recharge before we jump into the new year, so part of my agenda is making sure we’ll be fully buttoned up before that pause.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’m taking my daughter to see A Christmas Story, and we’re grabbing dinner beforehand at local Italian spot LoCoco’s Cucina Rustica. The rest of the weekend, I’ll be working our Holiday Market, which keeps me pretty busy, but Saturday night I’m doing a girls’ night out with my mom, grandma, aunt, and my daughter at The Madrona in Healdsburg for a pre-holiday celebration.
How about a little leisure or culture?
December is my favorite time of year in Sonoma County. We’ve had family and friends visiting since Thanksgiving, and have already packed in a lot of my favorite seasonal activities: a trip to Safari West, the Montage Healdsburg tree lighting, and The Nutcracker in San Francisco. I also got to enjoy our own Après Bricoleur x Pendleton experience (which runs through the end of January) with girlfriends, which has been such a fun, cozy way to celebrate the season.
Any weekend getaways?
Right now it’s all about staying local and enjoying what we have here in Sonoma County. The past two years were pretty consumed by my treatment for Stage 3 breast cancer, so we didn’t get to enjoy much locally. Now that I’m cancer-free and my daughter is four years old, we’re soaking it all in. We have a lot of friends and family visiting from the East Coast, so we’re excited to show them all the amazing things we get to experience every day in Wine Country and a little farther afield in San Francisco.
What was your last great vacation?
A couple’s trip to Jackson Hole, WY for a friend’s wedding. It was the perfect mix of celebration and downtime with beautiful scenery, time with friends in nature, and a chance to explore somewhere new. Cabo is on the list for 2026. We’re hoping to stay at Esperanza, part of the Auberge Collection, and we’re also planning a Hawaii trip to the Grand Wailea Resort on Maui. Next year is my husband’s 40th birthday, so we’re also brainstorming a big milestone trip to celebrate him.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I always recommend a trip to Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall. It’s one of my absolute favorite places to unwind – amazing food, beautiful views, and no phone service, which is honestly the best part.