Taking it outside

Matthew "Molotov" Bouvier performs in front of a crowd in the new mini-amphitheater during the Beer Circus at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

When summertime comes to wine country, life moves outdoors, and that includes live entertainment.

In good weather, all the world’s a stage and naturally, a lot of the stages around here are at wineries. From the natural amphitheaters at Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma and the B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen to the portable patio stage at Santa Rosa’s D’Argenzio Winery, the bands will be playing.

And this year, there’s even a brewery getting in on the act. A 325-seat amphitheater installed last fall at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma will host live music most Mondays and Tuesdays, including a special July 3 appearance by Emmylou Harris.

The Lagunitas staff was moving its bottling line to a different building, which required some excavation. As the dirt piled up, brewery founder and owner Tony Magee was inspired to rent a backhoe and create an amphitheater.

“We dug down a little bit to put in the stage, and piled up the dirt into a hill that’s kind of like a mini-Shoreline Amphitheatre,” said Ron Lindenbusch, head of marketing. “We call it the ‘Lagu-mini Amphitheater-ette.’”

Among wineries, Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville and Rodney Strong Vineyards in Healdsburg both have a long history of presenting national acts at their summer concert series.

But one of the longest histories can be found at Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma.