Southern Sonoma Country Life

Wine of the Month - May 2013

Sonoma County-based organic winemakers Chris Condos and Suzanne Haggins make a great North Coast dry Rosé that is a blend of Carignane, Grenache, and Syrah.

Their delightful Horse and Plow 2012 Rosé is hand crafted from the fruit of some of the oldest organic vines on the North Coast. Fruit grown in the Testa Vineyards of Calpella in Mendocino County is hand picked and crushed and fermented across the county border in Santa Rosa in stainless steel and French Oak.

I like to keep a couple of bottles of Rosé in the fridge in the warmer months and this lively vintage, with its notes of orange peel and summer fruits pairs with just about any sort of salad or light meal.  

I picked up a couple of bottles at Whole Foods, Petaluma for around $15 each, which is a couple of dollars less than the online sales price. 

On the pricier side, but closer to home - while out and about this week with friends, a bottle of winemaker Paul Clary's Clary Ranch Two Rock Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir was a big hit over dinner at Petaluma's Central Market.

Clary Ranch Petaluma Gap made Pinots range from $39.50 to $47.50 and are available for purchase on the shelves of most upscale wine purveyors here in Petaluma, as well as online. For the Southern Sonoma County wine aficianado, Clary's award winning Pinots are well worth the money. 

Lactose Friendly Ice Cream - Laloos Saves Summer

Petaluma-area-produced Laloos goat milk ice cream is Lactose friendly and with two family members who shy away from dairy treats, warm weather days remind me to stock up on a few cartons of this wonderfully creamy and tasteful, locally made ice cream.

If you're elsewhere in the U.S. reading this post, Laloos is stocked in Whole Foods and other upscale grocery stores around the country. And if you are really out in the wilds, you can now have it delivered to your door. The concept of a cross-country ice cream delivery is a bit mind-boggling and maybe not the greatest carbon footprint, but hey, if you're lactose intolerant, needs must! 

Small Steps, Big Impact - 2013 350 Home and Garden Challenge

 

Sonoma County Daily Acts group is gearing up for celebrating community May 18th and 19th, aiming for a whopping 3,500 actions over the two-day, annual 350 home garden challenge.

Here's how you can boost numbers and green our county:

• Grow Food - Plant a few backyard veggies or start a community garden

• Save Water - Transform your lawn with native plants or install a greywater system

• Conserve Energy - Hang a clothes line, reduce your use of gas and electricity

• Green Your Ride - Go car free, organize a car pool

• Live Local - Move your money, eat, drink and shop local 

What will you do? Click here to register your green actions. 

Set in a Sprawling English Country House Tom Stoppard's Masterpiece 'Arcadia' - A.C.T' 's New SF Production

According to to a reviewer from The Daily Telegraph, Czech-born British playwright, Sir Tom Stoppard's masterpiece Arcadia is nothing short of 'a masterpiece'. 

The Independent considered it might be "the greatest play of its time."

Right up my gravel driveway, so to speak, the play is set in a sprawling English country house. Arcadia moves between the 19th century and the present through a series of love stories, while characters from both eras apparently discover connections, unearth mysteries and unravel hidden truths.

Artistic Director Carey Perloff helms the American Conservatory Theater's reportedly dazzling new production.

If you're a Stoppard fan and enjoyed his most recent silver screen take on Anna Karenina, the British television series Parade's End, that recently aired on PBS, movies The Golden Compass and Shakespeare in Love (to name a mere few of his masterly works), then I suggest you score some tickets now for this San Francisco performance, May 16th through June 9th.   

Fast (Then Feast) for Rivertown Revival

Being a Rivertown Revival Fan and a frequent Wholefoods Shopper, I've marked my calendar for Wednesday May 15th for a grocery-shop-athon to boost the coffers of one of my favorite Sonoma County annual events. Now, in which aisle will we bump carts?

Bring Home the Bounty - Homemade Jams, Jellies & Brandied Cherries Now Available at Nick's Cove

The seasonal, homemade jams, jellies, brandied cherries and spicy pickled beans that have become a popular amenity with guests at Nick’s Cove Restaurant, Oyster Bar and Cottages are now available as a new series of artisan food products available for purchase at this coastal destination,which was just selected as one of the “40 Best Food Lovers’ Hotels in America” by Bon Appétit magazine.

A collaboration by Executive Chef Austin Perkins and Pastry Chef Gillian Helquist, the jarred goods include the fruit jams served with room service breakfast pastries with flavors including Pomegranate, Guava, Triple Berry and Apricot Chardonnay ($8 for an 8 oz. jar); the Spicy Pickled Beans used in the Bloody Mary ($15 for a 16 oz. jar); and the brandied cherries and stout beer jam ($8 for an 8 oz. jar) used in the signature Marshall Manhattan. Made from the finest local and seasonal ingredients, these artisanal foodstuffs are the perfect gift to give mom, perhaps after treating her to a special Nick’s Cove brunch overlooking the pristine waters of Tomales Bay.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, Nick’s Cove will showcase the bounty of neighboring farms and fisherman on Sunday, May 12th, with a Mother’s Day Brunch. Chef Perkins’ menu combines classic dishes with a playful creativity inspired by the seasons, local coastline and the abundance of small farms and neighboring creameries.

Dishes include Butter Roasted Halibut with fingerling potatoes, lacinato kale, leek butter, parsley oil ($24); Dungeness Crab Benedict with arugula, avocado and hollandaise ($19); Quiche Lorraine with Pt. Reyes Toma, shallots, Nueske’s bacon and roasted potatoes ($14); Nick’s Dungeness Crab Louie ($24); and White Prawn Enchiladas with salsa roja, tomatillo sauce, cilantro crema and the option to add a sunny side up egg ($16). A fully stocked oyster bar showcases local Tomales Bay oysters and includes such classics as “Grilled Oyster ‘Nick’-erfeller” and “The Original Tomales Bay BBQ Oyster” (both $17 for six).

This special Mother’s Day menu is only offered for brunch on Sunday, May 12, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended. To reserve a table,  call 415-663-1033 or visit www.nickscove.com. In addition to the restaurant’s extensive indoor seating, there is also a brand new dog-friendly waterfront patio and outdoor oyster bar which adds seating for 30 people to enjoy cocktails and oysters.  The adjoining, dog-friendly Nick’s Cove beach is steps from the waterfront patio, and, weather-permitting, there will be bonfires lit every night for guests to enjoy while the sun sets.

Grape to Glass - Russian River Valley Winegrowers Invite You to Join Them in a "Back to Our Roots" Celebration, August 17th, 2013

In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley appellation, the 18th annual Grape to Glass: Back to Our Roots celebration on August 17th honors the founding members of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers association.

Bringing together wine enthusiasts, winemakers, grape growers, chefs, hoteliers and artists for a summertime celebration of all things wine, guests will taste boutique wines grown in the Russian River Valley appellation as well as some of the latest releases before they are made available to the public.

This is one of my favorite wine country annual events and, when compared to the cost of many events of its kind in the region, its individual ticket cost of $85 for wine tasting, bbq and entertainment is nowhere near as steep as some such seasonal shindigs.

Consisting of a walk-around wine tasting, a silent and live auction benefiting Russian River Valley Winegrowers, a BBQ feast featuring Willie Bird Turkey and dinner by Casual Catering, live music by Urban Oasis and a Farmer’s Market, Grape to Glass features more than 75 wineries, restaurants, artists and vendors. 

New this year, the Vineyard Academy Culinary Arts Department at Windsor High School will be baking one Gravenstein Apple Pie large enough to feed everyone in attendance with assistance from Costeaux French Bakery in Healdsburg and delivered to Grape to Glass by local fire departments. Participants this year include Balletto Vineyards & Winery, Benovia Winery, Davis Family, Dutton Estate Winery, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Hook & Ladder Winery, Interiors By Lynn, John Ash & Co., Kozlowski Farms, La Crema Winery, La Tortilla Factory, Martinelli Farms, Napkins by Sue, Russian Hill Winery, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, Wine Barrel Creations and many more to be announced.

When:

Saturday, August 17, 2013

4 - 9 p.m.

Where:

Richard’s Grove & Saralee’s Vineyard

3575 Slusser Rd.

Windsor, CA 94592

Cost:

Tickets are on sale now and range from $85 for an individual ticket to $1,000 for a party of 10, the latter including two bottles of Russian River Valley wine and two VIP parking passes.

For More Information:

To reserve a table, seat, or for more information, visit http://rrvw.org/event-grape-to-glass/ or call 707-521-2534.

 

It's Teacher Appreciation Week - Through May 10th

• “The great teachers fill you up with hope and shower you with a thousand reasons to embrace all aspects of life. I wanted to follow Mr. Monte around for the rest of my life, learning everything he wished to share of impart, but I didn't know how to ask.” Pat Conroy

• "In a completely rational society the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else."Lee Iacocca

• "[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” Jim Henson

• “True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.” Nikos Kazantzakis

• “I'm not a teacher: only a fellow traveler of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead - ahead of myself as well as you.” George Bernard Shaw

 

 

Michael Pollan's New "Cooked" Book Tour Pit-Stop in Sonoma County, June 17

Watch How Michael Pollan Learned to Make Traditional Korean Kimchi on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Order your tickets now if you'd like to hear esteemed author Michael Pollan read from his brand new book "Cooked" at the Seed Bank, Petaluma, Monday, June 17th.
I'd just like to add to this post that I cook for my family from scratch at least five days a week. So do a lot of my readers. Given that Mr. Pollan is considered a rock star writer amongst the foodie movement in America, I applaud him from having to take so much time away from the kitchen table to tour the country with his new book!

Flowers of the Month - May (Just in Time for Mother's Day!)

Floral Designer Fallon Shea is collaborating with Southern Sonoma Country Life to bring you a fab new Flowers of the Month regukar photo feature, starting with this beautiful arrangement of garden Roses, Queen Anne's Lace and Heuchera blossoms, all straight from the garden and organically grown.

From left to right, the names of the roses are, Abraham Darby, Christopher Marlowe, and Sophy's Rose  - all aromatic varieties of David Austin's English Roses. "As you know, we have heaps of roses here at Garden Vally Ranch and I enjoy the challenge of arranging them in different ways and combining unusual color palettes-in this case, I was experimenting with the ombré affect of fading from dark to light," says Fallon.

Also, with this month being the time of year to celebrate Mom, this first Flowers of the Month feature times perfectly with a plug for a Fleur de Fallon Pop-Up Flower Shop, Saturday May 11th from 11 to 3pm, at the new B Street Mercantile store on the corner of B Street and Fourth Street in Downtown Petaluma.Pre-order at Fluersdefallon.com