An Introduction to the History of Wine in Sonoma County

[Originally published by the Sonoma County Wine Library in 2002. Contributed by Bo Simons, Wine Librarian]

Not Without A Sense of Humor

Sonoma County grows serious grapes and makes serious world class wine, but it does not take itself too seriously. The county has over 56,000 acres of vineyards and crushes nearly 200,000 tons of grapes. Sonoma County wines stand proudly among the best in the world, yet a spirit of playfulness exists. Pat Paulsen and the Smothers Brothers were not the only comedians among Sonoma County vintners. Joel Peterson at Ravenswood poses himself and his wine crew naked inside wine barrels to advertise his wine and his message: “No Wimpy Wines.”

Sonoma County Wine Weekend produced some outrageous auctions, including the 2008 60s takeoff and the “Take Me to Your Liter” UFO craziness of years past. Sonoma vintners boarded the Napa Valley Wine Train dressed as Wild West train robbers to pour Sonoma wines to surprised passengers. After being turned down by the BATF for a label featuring a tasteful nude reclining in a vineyard, Kenwood Vineyards submitted a label featuring the same vineyard scene with a skeleton instead. Sonoma’s rich wine heritage has seasoned it, made it comfortable enough with itself to laugh at the some of the pretensions associated with wine.

From Russia with Grapes

Sonoma stands as the one county in California where the Spanish were not the first to plant the vine and make wine. They were beaten by the Russians who started their outpost at Fort Ross in 1812 to supply food for their fur trading operations in Alaska. The Russians planted orchards and vines near Fort Ross and further south in the Coleman Valley area.

“A historical question arises here as to the first European vines planted in what we today call the North Coast winegrowing region of California. Should the Spanish at San Rafael or the Russians near Fort Ross receive the credit? It is a very close call, but it is likely that both plantations went in during the dormant season of 1817-1818.” - Historian Charles Sullivan (Napa Wine. San Francisco: Wine Appreciation Guild, 1994. Page 5.)

While it may be a dispute for the North Coast, it is clear that the Russians beat the Spanish in Sonoma County, where the mission was not built until 1823. The Russian presence in Northern California may have spurred the Spanish into action, but it was the missionary zeal of Father Jose Altimira that got the Sonoma Mission established.

This last of the Spanish Franciscan missions, Mission San Francisco de Solano, was founded in 1823, in Sonoma Valley. Father Altimira, a dedicated Franciscan, dismayed by the apathy and lack of progress at the San Francisco mission, and anxious to bring more Indians into the church, exceeded the orders of his superiors to build this last mission on the El Camino Real and the only one founded by the Mexican government rather than the Spanish.

Mexico had just shaken off Spanish rule in 1821. Altimira scouted sites from Petaluma to Napa, and picked an area near the base of the Sonoma Valley. One of the points in the Sonoma site’s favor was that it looked like a good place to grow vines. “We see good land for planting vines,” Padre Altimira noted in his journal. By 1824 the Sonoma mission was a burgeoning operation, with over 600 neophytes, several buildings and 1,000 vines in place, propagated from cuttings from Mission San Jose. But the thriving Mission was doomed. The new government in Mexico was strongly anti-clerical, and in August 1833, it ordered the Missions secularized. In 1834, Mexican California Governor Jose Figueroa started the process of parceling out the mission lands.

The Sonoma mission had legal rights to over 700 square miles of land. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo got control of much of that land. Vallejo was born and raised in Mexican California, and he considered himself a Californio, rather than a Spaniard or Mexican. This outlook helps explain why he so readily adapted and flourished as California changed from a Mexican province to an American state. Vallejo took over the Mission vineyard, and replanted the vines. He laid out the town of Sonoma, and planted his own vineyard. He had been ordered to protect the northern frontier of California from the Russians, and he parceled out land to relatives.

Maria Carrillo, his mother-in-law, started a rancho in Santa Rosa. She planted the first grapes in the Santa Rosa area, becoming, perhaps, the first woman vintner in California. Henry Fitch got the huge Sotoyome Rancho, and he in turn gave part of that to his rancho manager, Cyrus Alexander, in the valley that would bear his name. Vallejo remained a power in Sonoma even after the Bear Flag revolt, and became a further link in the area’s viticultural history by selling some property to Agoston Haraszthy, the man who would transform California wine.

Agoston Haraszthy: Larger than Life

Agoston Haraszthy, made of the stuff of legends, had gained and lost several fortunes by 1856 when he bought several hundred acres from Vallejo in Sonoma and turned his considerable attention and energies to making and promoting wine. At this time the California wine industry was centered in Southern California, and while grapes were planted and wine was made in Northern California, the major production remained in the South.

Colonel or Count Haraszthy (take your pick, both titles are self-bestowed) began tireless promoting of wine, wrote a treatise for the State Agricultural Society, sold thousands of cuttings and rooted vines, started Buena Vista (a winery which still exists today), which included a grandiose Pompeiian villa, a stone winery and extensive caves, entered his wine in competitions, lobbied the California legislature, traveled to Europe to survey winemaking practices and brought back 100,000 cuttings of over 300 varieties, called for the establishment of a state agricultural school, and experimented with Redwood cooperage.

He overextended himself, was forced out of Buena Vista by investors in 1866, and went off to Nicaragua, where, legend has it, he was devoured by alligators. He is not, as some have claimed, the “Father of California Wine,” but he is a major factor in its history. Due to his efforts the California wine became nationally known and the focus shifted from the area around Los Angeles to Northern California.

The Contributions of Immigrants

As immigrants continued to settle in Sonoma County throughout the Nineteenth Century. They brought with them their grape growing and winemaking skills and traditions. Although mainly in the Sonoma Valley, grape growing flourished throughout the county as French, Germans and Italians (lots of Italians) came to Sonoma County and set out their vineyards on the hillsides and in the valleys. Their traditions and some of their wineries remain. Gundlach-Bundschu, Korbel, Simi, Foppiano, Seghesio are all Sonoma County wineries that date back to the Nineteenth Century and this time of expansion.

A lot of Zinfandel, the mystery grape with no pinpointed European ancestor, did wonderfully well here and became the basis of much of the red wine. Just as the Sonoma wine industry was getting going, the scourge of Phylloxera dealt it a major blow. In the 1870s for the first time more grapes and wine were produced in Northern California than in the southern part of the state. In 1873 Phylloxera, a small yellow root-feeding aphid, was first discovered on Sonoma County vines.

It has probably done more damage to wine production than any other vine pest. The Phylloxera feeds on the roots of vines, and opens the root systems to attack by bacteria and fungi. The French first detected the effects of this bug native to American wild vines in 1863. Phylloxera had caused widespread devastation in Europe, but had been largely ignored in this country.

By 1880 California was feeling the effects to the extent that the California legislature established a State Board of Viticultural Commissioners to try to find a way to stop the dreaded pest. It took cooperation between France and America to come to a solution. The pest is native to East Coast American wild vines. These vines have developed a resistence to it. So using rootstock from these resistant vines with a vine top of vitis vinifera, the European grape species that makes decent wine grapes, grafted on, became the basis of the solution.

The wine industry conquered phylloxera in the late 1880s using various species of grafted rootstock, although one type, AXR1, promoted by the University of California proved to be to be not so resistant to a new form of Phylloxera which emerged in the 1980s. The county’s vineyards shrank from 23,000 acres in 1892 to a low of 6,000 acres a few years later, but then rebounded to 15,000 by 1901.

Three other 19th Century wineries deserve mention: DeTurk, Fountaingrove, and Italian Swiss Colony. Isaac DeTurk’s Santa Rosa winery was the largest of its time with a capacity of a million gallons by 1888, and DeTurk was a leader in the industry, serving on the Viticultural Commission. At Fountaingrove near Santa Rosa in the 1870s Thomas Lake Harris founded a utopian cult, the Brotherhood of the New Life, that made wine with supposed mystical properties.

When Harris was run out of town for supposed sexual improprieties in 1892, Kanaye Nagasawa, Harris’ manager, an intelligent noble Japanese who spoke with a Scottish accent, took over and became “the Japanese Baron of Santa Rosa,” managing and then owning the property until his death in 1934. Italian Swiss Colony started in 1881 as an experiment to give poor Italian immigrants a chance to own property by working the land.

The experiment failed, but Italian Swiss Colony became a leading producer of wine both before and after Prohibition. As Sonoma County wine boomed and busted in the 1880’s and 1890’s, a major power emerged: The California Wine Association. This great conglomerate was the dominant force in California wine from its start until Prohibition. Formed initially by seven wineries banding together to save themselves from a national depression in 1894, CWA became the force in California wine until Prohibition, eventually owning Italian Swiss Colony and many other wineries, and using cutthroat business practices to insure its dominance.

Prohibition to Present

Prohibition changed the face of Sonoma’s wine industry. Acreage increased from 17,000 in 1920 to 21,000 in 1930 as demand for grapes for home wine grew. A “head of household” could legally make up to 200 gallons of wine, and market for grapes boomed. The quality grapevines, the cabernets and chardonnays, were ripped out and tough red grapes like Alicante Brouchet, which could survive a rail tank car journey across the country and still be crushed and make wine, were planted.

Some wineries survived making either legal wine for medicinal or sacramental purposes or by making and selling unreported wine during this period. The quality part of Sonoma wine was wiped out by Prohibition. After repeal many Sonoma wineries were small affairs, many operated by Italian American families, making bulk wine. The years from repeal through the 1960s were lean tough years, acreage declining from 21,000 to 11,000 between 1930 and 1961.

The wine revolution that began in the mid-1960s turned that around, as renewed interest in better wines infused new energy into the wine industry, and quantity and quality returned to Sonoma County. Several older wineries, including Sebastiani, Seghesio, Foppiano and Pedroncelli, established brands that gained a national reputation.

Optimistic, energetic, newcomers took over Buena Vista and Simi, started up Hanzell, Dry Creek, Clos Du Bois, Kenwood, Windsor, Haywood, Landmark, Davis Bynum, Hop Kiln, Preston, Alexander Valley Vineyards, and a score of others. Vine acreage doubled, from 12,000 to 24,000 between 1968 and 1975. The wine-consuming public learned to like and demand better wine, and Sonoma County grape growers and wineries both cultivated and supplied that demand.

Grapes replaced prunes and apples, and in 1987 grapes became the leading agricultural crop in the county, surging ahead of milk production. A reappearance of phylloxera in the 1980s hurt, but it did not slow down Sonoma’s wine industry. While corporations have bought a number of Sonoma wineries, including Simi, Glen Ellen, Chateau St. Jean, Chateau Souverain and Geyser Peak, the corporations have largely respected the special nature of the wineries they own and the vineyards they control. Although corporations own more than a few Sonoma wineries, the two biggest operations in Sonoma County, Gallo and Kendall Jackson, remain family run businesses not public corporations.

The Special Natures of the Many Sonomas

While in just about any temperate climate grapes can be grown, only in a few places in the world can grapes attain that special richness and complexity that make world class wine. You need a special combination of warm days and cool nights during the growing season, the right soils and topography to allow grape sugars to ripen slowly and flavors from the earth to develop in the clusters that will yield a wine capable of gaining further complexity through aging. “Heat Summation,” a system of measuring climate derived from the length of days and the average daily temperature during the growing season, provides a valuable clue, but it does not tell the whole story. Not just the “degree days” that Heat Summation measures are important. When and for how long it is hot or cool, and spikes in temperature are important as well. So are soils, slope, humidity, fog, cloud cover, wind and the way sunlight hits a vineyard. Sonoma County has that rare combination of factors that make it one of the world’s great wine areas. In fact in Sonoma, we are blessed with many areas. The great strength of Sonoma County wine and grapes lies in its diversity. Within its borders Sonoma County comprises eleven separate appellations, or, more correctly, American Viticultural Areas (AVA). Each of these districts has a distinct climate, geography, soils and history, and each produces distinctive wines.

• Los Carneros in the south cooled by San Pablo Bay, comprises flatlands and rolling hills and produces Burgundian varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
• Sonoma Valley, where the North Coast wine industry originated, enjoys some of the same cooling fogs of Carneros, but gets warmer up valley. In addition to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Sonoma Valley has a reputation for its Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet and Zinfandel.
• Sonoma Mountain west of Glen Ellen in the highlands lies totally within the Sonoma Valley area and is known for its high quality mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
• The Russian River area, one of Sonoma County’s largest, covers about 150 square miles between Healdsburg and Sebastopol. Much of the Russian River AVA has a cool climate with marine influence and valley fogs and produces great Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.
• Green Valley, a smaller area within Russian River, has an even cooler climate than its surroundings and produces some very fine sparkling wines from the same Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.
• Chalk Hill, another small viticultural area within the Russian River area, boasts volcanic ash soils and a slightly warmer climate, produces some great Chardonnay.
• Sonoma Coast and Northern Sonoma are two large areas that comprise other areas. Sonoma Coast has cooling influences and tends towards Burgundian varietals while Northern Sonoma with its drier inland valleys and ridges favors Bordeaux varietals and Zinfandel.
• Dry Creek Valley northwest of Healdsburg is within the Northern Sonoma designation and its hot days and cool nights make for great Zinfandel.
• Alexander Valley, northeast of Healdsburg, displays some of the same warmer climate characteristics and makes some great Zinfandels but also Cabernets and Chardonnays and Merlots.
• Knight’s Valley in northeast Sonoma County comprises a small upland valley separating Alexander Valley from Napa Valley. Beringer Vineyards owns most of the vineyards in Knight’s Valley, and the warmth and relative lack of fog make for great Cabernets and Sauvignon Blancs.

Sonoma County grapes have a proud history, but perhaps the best is yet come. The diverse soils and climates allow Sonoma County growers to produce among the world’s best of many different varietals. Our fascinating and complicated wine history, only hinted at this account and yet to be fully recorded, shows that although there are cycles of boom and bust, the direction over the long haul is towards progress, increased quality and overall quantity. Right now there are plans afoot to put more vineyards in along the ridges in the northwest part of the county, and in the area west of Sebastopol, and in the south near Petaluma. Wine making and grape growing are very competitive businesses, but a spirit of cooperation pervades Sonoma County. There are technical groups both among the wine makers and grape growers that meet regularly and exchange ideas. The Sonoma County Wine Library is a cooperatively financed joint venture with the wine and grape industry which since it opened its doors in 1988 has provided business and technical information to the all sizes of growers and wineries. This cooperative spirit has allowed the industry to grow tremendously in size and stature and continues to influence our destiny as we face the new millennium.

2008 Update: More wineries pop up, growers plant more vineyard acres and play and the players in the industry becomes more complex. A record harvest in 2005 broke records with tonnage and dollars. Francis Ford Coppola bought the property that housed Chateau Souverain. Kendall Jackson bought Murphy-Goode. Global warming threatens the whole winegrowing area of the North Coast. Sonoma wine keeps earning respect and keeping green with biodynamics and sustainable methods, and, beyond that, discerning any trends is a fool’s errand.

Stark Wine at Divine Affair — Saturday, 25 Oct 2008

[Submitted by Jennifer Stark of Stark Wine]

Stark Wine is the kind of thing that can happen when two artists follow a shared dream of creating, bringing people together and building something larger than themselves.

In 2003, we made one small lot of Dry Creek Valley Syrah. Since then, Stark Wine has grown to reflect our passion for family, community, art and sustainability.

We produce and sell ultra-premium wine made with grapes grown by reputable farmers with proven track records for growing exceptional quality fruit. The wines are handcrafted with tremendous care using traditional methods and modern equipment. They are full-bodied, elegant wines created to be enjoyed with food and friends.

This Saturday, October 25th at 6:30 pm we will share the table with friends and family for a delicious meal created by our friends at A Divine Affair in downtown Healdsburg.

Here is the menu - we hope you will join us…

Passed appetizers
2007 Stark Viognier, Damiano Vineyard
Seared scallop, white corn griddle cake with carrot & cardamom
Spiced roasted baby beets with persimmon carpaccio & greens

2005 Stark Syrah, Teldeschi & Unti Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley
Chestnut soup with duck prosciutto

2005 Stark Syrah, Sonoma County
Braised beef cheeks with baby turnips, creamy polenta & Dry Vella jack

2004 Stark Syrah, Teldeschi & Unti Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley
Gorgonzola Dulce cheesecake with black mission figs & Syrah

Please reserve your place at the table by calling (707) 433-1035 by Friday, October 24th.

Mateo Granados: Fresh, Local, Fabulous

I hear about Mateo Granados from a few people before I actually get to talk to him myself. David and Ondine mention him when they find out I’m looking for interesting perspectives. And I crosscheck the reference with Julie, my winemaker-foodie friend. She nods her head. Yes. Definitely.

And when I’m talking to Evie at the Tierra Vegetables Farm Stand, she says: “Oh. You HAVE to talk to Mateo.” And she calls him right there and leaves a message with my phone number.

Mateo calls me the next day. I’m driving home and don’t really get a chance to explain myself, but we agree to meet the following Wednesday, at 9:00 am at the Palette Art Café.

I arrive early to sort myself out before he arrives. He rushes in a few minutes late, dripping and sheepish. He’s been at his kitchen making tamales since 6:00 am. He wanted to shower and clean up before he met me. We order coffee and sit down to chat.

He’s animated. He’s not only explaining himself with words. He uses his face, his hands. He gestures. He just starts explaining.

“What I’m doing,” he says, “Is reproducing the food I grew up eating—but with the bounty of Sonoma County growers.” He smiles and nods his head, “Modern Yucatan Cuisine.”

He explains a bit about the Nuevo Latino cuisine movement and states: “But we’re taking it further. We’re making it regional: Flavors of the Yucatan—with Sonoma County flair.”

“I grew up in the breadbasket of Mexico. My father was a butcher and my mother—an artist. This is what I know. This is what I love. This”—he motions to the table in front of us as if there were a grandiose spread right there, “This is just what I do.”

I ask him to explain more of his past. How did he come to Sonoma County? Believe it or not, he came to the US as a professional soccer player. It wasn’t long though, before he injured himself too much to continue to play. “My housemate at the time was Michael Bonaccorsi. We would spend all of our time together tasting. Tasting food. Tasting wine. And expressing ourselves. That is how I learned English: talking about food and wine with Michael Bonaccorsi.”

Michael went on to become one of the first twenty master sommeliers in the United States. Mateo went on to work his way up through some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants and is now a pedigree chef. He’s held positions such as Executive Sous Chef at Masa’s in San Francisco and Executive chef at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen here in Healdsburg.

LOCAL FINE DINING

Now, Mateo’s goal is to start his own fine dining experience. He aims to bring his refined Mayan recipes to the same level as respected French, Italian, and Spanish cuisine.

He started small. In fact, he went back to square one. In 2004 he started selling his handmade tamales in the Farmer’s Markets all over Sonoma County. His philosophy: “Grow local. Know local. Buy local.”

His commitment to his customers is 100% locally grown and produced. He buys his ingredients from over 30 growers in Sonoma County. “If you love what you do, you have to do it right.” He’s a passionate proponent of not only knowing where his food comes from, but knowing the grower and how it was grown. The Local Harvest website defines community supported agriculture as “putting the farmers’ face on food.”

Mateo certainly puts a face on every ingredient he uses. He describes every dish with a list of identities. It wasn’t just queso fresco. It was Bodega Bay Queso Fresco. Black Sheep bacon. Pug’s Leap Goat Cheese. Black Beans from Tierra Vegetables. And so many more. I couldn’t keep track.

“You can’t beat it. The flavors. The smells. The textures. I get vegetables from Tierra—there’s still earth on them. And roots!” He cups his hands as if he’s holding a bulb of garlic or something and brings them towards his face. I can tell he can smell the earth.

The idea of fresh, local produce is to keep it alive until you use it to cook. He tells me: “Enjoy it while you can. Because the fresher it is, the more alive it is on your plate. The more flavor explodes in your mouth.”

Another part of Mateo’s philosophy is: Respect. Respect the land. Respect the food. Respect the growers. Respect the producers. He knows how much energy, time, and labor it takes to grow a tomato, an onion, a carrot, a pig. Because he knows his suppliers, he doesn’t waste. He creates his signature dishes around what’s available in the season and finds a use for everything. Everything. He doesn’t waste anything because he doesn’t want anything to go to waste. He’s very aware of what he’s throwing away.

He tells me all of this and I take notes. Finally, he takes a moment to sip his coffee and looks at me expectantly: “Do you have any questions?”

“Well,” I say thoughtfully, “Is it possible to have an experience?” He looks at me and thinks for a second and says: “Ok. You want an experience? Let’s go to my kitchen.”

FRESH FAST FABULOUS

We drive to the kitchen where he prepares his tamales. As we get out of his car, he points to two big trucks and adds with a grin: “Those. Those are complete mobile kitchens. I am so committed to local ingredients and the idea of fresh. I bring everything to your site and prepare it right there.”

He shows me around the kitchen and introduces me to his workers who are preparing tamales for his Farmer’s Markets. He makes me taste some of his garnishes: olives from Lou Preston, beets and cabbage cured with bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cloves.

I realize what he means by keeping the produce alive until it’s on your plate (or in this case—in my mouth). (A few weeks later as I’m writing this article and thinking about his cured beets and cabbage, I’m still salivating from the memory).

“OK,” he pulls a cast iron fry pan from the cupboard, “Let’s make a quesadilla.” He asks his helper to clean some cactus.

“Come over here,” he motions and makes me smell the olive oil. “Can you beat that?” He pours a dollop to the fry pan and turns up the heat. He adds the cactus pads for a few seconds on each side then removes them to a cutting board. Then, he goes into the other room to get out his knives and comes back sharpening one: “To make good food, you have to have good knives.” He’s cheeky.

He slices some onion and crystallizes it in the pan. Then dices the cactus pads, slices a bit of Pug’s Leap Cambremer goat cheese, and layers it all together on a soft tortilla. All of which, he now puts it back in the fry pan, fast. Both sides. Just enough to grill the tortilla and soften the cheese.

He whisks it out onto a cutting board, quarters the quesadilla and decorates the top with tomatilla salsa and his cured cabbage condiments. He tops it all off with a handful of sliced green onion. All the while, he’s lecturing about not wasting anything in his kitchen.

How can you beat that? 10 minutes or less. Fresh. Fast. Fabulous.

He smiles:“Pair it with a crisp Rose and you have yourself a succulent, fine-dining, regional experience.”

MORE ON MATEO
Flickr photo stream for this article
MateoGranadosCatering.com
Interested in attending a Missing Link diner?

PS: You can taste more than his tamales at the Healdsburg Farmer’s Markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. You can also find a Mateo Granados menu at the Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and in Sebastopol on Sundays.

Francis Ford Coppola Interns and Fois Gras

My friend Mitch wrote me last year and told me he and an his familial entourage are taking a tour of Napa Valley. He forwarded me their itinerary and asked if I knew anything about the wineries on the list:

• Domaine Carneros
• Tour of Napa, boutique wineries
• Rubicon Estate
• Clos Pegase

So, even though I know nothing about these wineries nor the wines, I wrote him a long and convoluted email back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hhmmm….

Carneros is an appellation that is known for their Chardonays and Pinots. I’m guessing they capitalize on the hot days and cool breezes…but I don’t know if they get the cool breezes from the Bay or from the Petaluma Gap.

…quick google search says from San Pablo Bay.

I know about the Carneros Inn because the lady at PlumpJack Cafe wanted me to send Bush-Field Pinot there. …now a google search indicates that the Carneros Inn is part of the PlumpJack family and probably resides in the Carneros appellation…and has nothing what-so-ever to do with Domaine Carneros except the proximity. So–you’re going to have to let me know what you think. Judging by their website, you’ll be suitably impressed.

Rubicon…that’s the sister winery (or parent winery?) to Rosso & Bianco Winery. Rubicon is the original FFC (Francis Ford Coppola). Cindy (my housemate for a few months last year) was the winery intern at Rosso & Bianco for the harvest season 2007. She toured Rubicon in late August for a day. She says it’s much nicer than Rosso & Bianco .. except Rosso & Bianco is pretty damn nice (see: An Afternoon at Rosso & Bianco Winery).

Oh. Side note—Francis Ford Coppola apparently started a community concert band in St. Helena. He plays the tuba.

Other than that…I know nothing about their wine. I do know, however, that I don’t like the new Rosso & Bianco label….it doesn’t pop. The label is red and sits on a red bottle. It disappears on the shelf.

Here is a picture of the winemakers from Rosso & Bianco Winery in my back yard. We had them over for dinner! One night last summer, Cindy made an evening of French cuisine local to her region in France. She invited her colleagues. That was a funny story.

She’d brought over some homemade preserves. Her family are farmers–so everything is grown and preserved right there on the farm. One thing she’d brought over was her Mum’s foie gras.

Everybody was tasting a bit of this and a bit of that and somebody asked her how she made the foie gras. (Keep in mind, that when she arrived, she spoke in broken English–she now speaks in less broken English–but she has greatly improved).

She said:

“At my parents, we have ducks.”
“In the spring, we start to feed them a lot of mais…What is mais?”
“Corn,” we piped up.
“Ok. So. We feed them corn. A LOT of corn. Maybe three of those bowls a day.” She pointed to a dish on the table.
“Ok,” We said. “So you feed them a lot of corn.”
“Yes,” She continued: “They eat a lot of corn for two or three months then…bup!” She motioned with her hands like she was cutting off their heads. “Bup! We harvest them.”
“What?” We exclaimed. “That’s it? You harvest them?”
“Yes.” She nodded her head. “We harvest them. We kill them and take their liver…and…Voila! Foie gras.”
“Don’t you do something to their livers? You know, before we eat it?” We asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “Harvest the liver. Put it in the jar. Cover it with oil and Voila! Foie Gras.”

Nobody ate the rest of the foie gras. We just let it sit on the table while we ate the gratin and salads and prunes—even though they were harvested in much the same fashion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So. That’s it. That’s the story about how I know nothing about Domaine Carneros and Rubicon Wineries. But, I do know a little bit more about Foie Gras.

Two-Drink Minimum: Two Cocktails Recommended by Shana

Scott Beattie has certainly raised the bar for cocktails, not just in Healdsburg, but all over the United States. His soon to be released book, Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus (you can pre-order it on Amazon) is all about using local ingredients to create unique, fresh custom cocktails. Though I have still not visited Cyrus to try one of his signature cocktails, I have enjoyed my fair share of beverages at many other establishments in Healdsburg.

Months ago I discovered my favorite cocktail — A hand-made Blueberry Lemondrop by Anthony DeMaria in the Hotel Healdsburg lobby bar. Anthony hand muttles the blueberries ending up with a Hotel Healdsburg signature cocktail that is so good it can be dangerous.

Currently, they are making the same drink with blackberries, lime juice and tequila, so ask for a Blackberry Limedrop and they will make it for you.

Selecting a second favorite cocktail was a bit difficult because I am in love with a few different drinks from a few favorite bartenders. Chelsea and KC’s Mojitos at Ravenous are deliciously refreshing, while the Pineapple Lemondrop from Daniel at Willies Seafood & Raw Bar is tart and quenching. In the end, I had to go with an old favorite, that Erin Beecher from the B&B Lounge calls a “Hibiscus.”

It is a combination of Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Blanc de Noirs and cranberry juice with a splash of orange juice for an extra tangy kick. Ever since I tried the combination of sparkling wine and cranberry juice one Thanksgiving, I fell in love with this nameless drink. Erin randomly poured it for me one day and named it a Hibiscus. If you are looking for a zesty pick-me-up, visit Erin during the day on a Saturday and she will make this drink for you, or a spicy Bloody Mary that will cure any hangover better than any espresso.

Visit either one of these establishments and tell Anthony or Erin that Shana sent you…. Oh. and don’t forget…tip your bartenders.

Hotel Healdsburg Bar: 25 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448
The B&B Lounge: 420 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA 95448

A different kind of local food for Healdsburg

Hi there Healdsburg,

I’ve been busy this summer meeting people and talking and building out my plan for this website. This weekend, I finally figured out something I could do relatively quick…

Publish YOUR BLOGS!! Check ‘em out.

I guess this constitutes as local feeds… but really, send me your RSS feeds–for your blogs, for your events, for your websites. You can also just email me: jen@HealdsburgMagazine.com — that should work too.

Let me know what you think.

PS: Just installed some software for the mobile edition. Can anybody see my site on their iPhone? How’s it working for you? I’d love to hear–leave a comment or email me.

Dan the Tomato Man: Soda Rock Farm

After I interviewed Mateo Granados last June, I always stop by his tamale stand at the Farmer’s Market to say hello. He’s always happy and chatty and talking to someone or another. One day, I was just hanging out and Dan Magnuson of Soda Rock Farm comes over to drop off a few boxes of his tomatoes. Mateo immediately says to me: “Here’s one guy you have to talk to. His tomatoes, mmmmuah… ” He kisses his fingers and releases them into the air, in a typical chef-sort-of-way. And he introduces us.

I talk to Dan a bit, and talk to him a few times before we actually make a time to meet. But we meet one morning at the Costeaux Bakery Cafe. He sits down and says: “So. What do you want to talk about?”

I’m prepared: “Tomatoes”, I say.

He smiles: “Well. That’s a pretty big subject.”

I narrow it down: “Your tomatoes? Tell me about your tomatoes.”

That doesn’t do much good. I guess it’s just too big of topic. I ask him some more rhetorical questions.

“When did you start growing tomaotes?” and “Why tomaotes?”

He says he started growing tomatoes about 10 years ago out on his property in Alexander Valley. He’d taken a class at the Santa Rosa Junior college in agriculture. He just liked tomatoes. And I also find out he’s a tennis pro. During the winter months, he teaches tennis athletes at the Charlie Schultz indoor tennis courts.

Tennis and tomatoes. That’s our man. He’s an expert at both.

He started out with an acre out on Alexander Valley and about 3000 plants. He now farms both his property and four to five acres in Dry Creek Valley. Today’s stats are approximately 20,000 tomato plants, 15,000 basil plants, and 1000 lemon cucumber plants.

I ask him how many tomatoes does 20,000 tomato plants produce (I was looking for tonnage or something–I don’t know how you measure tomatoes). He blinked and looked back at me: “A lot.”

He grows between 35 and 40 different varietals, but his mainstay is red beefsteak.

“Do you have any secrets to growing tomatoes.? His eyes are smiling as he tells me — “Trial and error.” He’s been doing it for 10 years, he just figured out what worked and what didn’t. He knows that’s not what I asked and follows up by saying: “Would you give your secrets away?” But he does explain a bit further.

“I grow in Dry Creek Valley. What’s good for the grapes is good for my tomatoes.” Which turns out to be sandy loam soil and sunlight. He also tells me it’s important to plant at the right time, and pick at the right time (which I guess isn’t really anything new.) He plants in April and May (depending on the weather) and the harvest is ready by mid-July through October.

He tells me about staking the plants so they grow up-not out. He tells me about watering them until they’re ripe, then stopping the water before the skins split. He tells me about figuring out how to do things right and making those things repeatable year after year.

He also says that he only grows the tomato varietals he likes. He tried others once, but the fruit could tell he didn’t really like that variety. His customers could tell he didn’t really like that variety–so he just decided he’d never do that again.

I ask him if there is such a thing as a tomato competition. He laughs and said certainly. One year he won awards in five categories from the Kendall Jackson Tomato Festival: aroma, all other colors, orange & yellow, red, and cherry.

He started by selling his tomatoes to high-end restaurants. Bistro Ralph here in Healdsburg was his first. Over the years, Underwood Bar and Bistro and Willow Wood Market Cafe in Gratton sell his tomaotes, Syrah and Willi’s Wine Bar in Santa Rosa. His latest account is Cyrus Restaurant here in Healdsburg. He also does most Farmer’s Markets in the area. I’ll have to check specifically. His tomatoes are also in some produce markets. I noticed them in Big John’s the other day and out at the JimTown Store. And, he tells me later–the Pacific Market in Santa Rosa.

If you’d like to try his tomatoes in more of a social setting, Bovolo Restaurant featuring his tomatoes in one of their BIG NIGHT dinners on Sunday, 14 September 2008. Here’s the menu:

hand thrown MARGHERITA PIZZAS
black pig bacon BLT PANZANELLA
rosemary rubbed PRIME RIB / tomatoes / white corn / fingerling potatoes / salsa verde,
TOMATO + WATERMELON SORBETTO / candied mint + basil / cornmeal shortbread

Let me know if you go. And let me know what you think about it. Minimally, let Dan know what you think of his tomatoes–leave a comment.

Update from the Bacigalupi Vineyards and John Tyler Wines

I have to say, I had no idea what to expect for our very first time ever being open to the public. Now looking back I couldn’t have expected more. The weather for the Friday tasting was quite warm, not the best partner for wine drinking but everyone who participated wasn’t about to let the heat get in the way of enjoying our great wines!

Tyler, my cousin and our winemaker was greeting customers from all over, including 3 separate groups from the UK, they enjoyed and took home some John Tyler Wines to England.

Saturday we geared up to host our private group of 14 with a tour of the Paris tasting vineyard and a ride in a newly remodeled grape gondola, which was a hit. My dad, John was our tour guide, he gave such great history and interesting facts about our family, like when my grandparents first bought the vineyards in 1956, all their friends thought they were crazy!

The tour really let our guests take in the sights, sounds and smells of being in the vineyard, and our unique Russian River Valley appellation. We ended the tour with a beautiful set up under a 100 year old oak tree amongst the vineyards. Chef Jack Mitchell from Sassafras Restaurant in Santa Rosa prepared some amazing delectable appetizers that were paired beautifully with our Pinot Noir and Zinfandel wines. Our guests were the first ever to taste a vertical of our Pinot Noirs from 2002-2004, all our wines of which are designed to show Tyler Heck’s unique winemaking style.

Meanwhile my sister Katey, boyfriend Jarrod and good friend from college Laura, held down the fort at the public tasting area. The rest of the day we saw so many great people from all over, who had come to experience our wines for the first time. Thank you to everyone who helped us this weekend, friends and family. I couldn’t have done it with out you!

On Being Chardonnay

[I saw the film Bottle Shock yesterday. I quite liked it. I'll probably see it again today and take my notebook so I can take notes and say something intelligent about it. It did remind me, however, of this entry I wrote on YukonJen.com a few years ago...On Being Chardonnay.]

A friend and neighbour Paul Brasset has been a winemaker in Sonoma County for over thirty years. Over those thirty years, he has won the Sonoma County Sweepstakes award for his Chardonnay (more than once). He has recently started selling wines from his own cellars (Bluenose Wines), but has started with only Syrah and Zinfandel. I asked him why he doesn’t sell a Chardonnay?

According to Paul, Chardonnay takes more. It takes more to grow the grapes. It takes more to harvest the grapes correctly. It takes more to process the grapes and create the wine. Chardonnay takes more energy. Chardonnay takes more refrigeration. Chardonnay takes more attention. It simply takes more to create a good Chardonnay. His Chardonnay leaves a clean, fresh, crisp palette. Unlike the robust, meaty, lingering palette of a Zinfandel, it takes more to be less.

When I heard this explanation, I decided that I was going to be Chardonnay. I was going to do more. I was going to be more. I was going to ask more (of myself and of other people). I was going to be a good Chardonnay. Clean. Crisp. Now.

When I tried this theory out on a few people, one person mentioned in an email:

>”…I wish you all the best with your quest to become
> chardonnay. When all you drink is fine wine it may
> seem as common as tapwater. Some prefer water to
> kool-aid. Some crave pure glacier water much more
> than kool-aid, or the finest of wines, chardonnay and
> champagne included…”

So, then I started thinking about my experiences with glaciers and glacier water. Now, I’ve been thinking I might aspire to be glacier water instead of Chardonnay. Here is what I think when I think about glacier water (based on specific visuals of the Dyea River, Skagway Alaska, the Yukon River, and the Kluane River in the Yukon Territory): Pure. Natural. Rich in minerals and nutrients (substantial but crystal clear). Earthy. Honest. Firm but fluid. Flexible. Travelling. Moving. Independent. Enduring. Essential. Real.

I tried my glacial water theory out on a few people. Yet another person considered that, effectively, I should be Chardonnay made from glacier water. Who makes wine in the Yukon?

[Picture of a glacier feeding the Dyea River, Skagway Alaska. Originally Published 22 May 2005 on YukonJen.com]

Invitation from the Bacigalupi Vineyards and John Tyler Wines

Hi, my name is Nicole Bacigalupi and I am the third generation in a grape growing and winemaking family here in Healdsburg, California. My grandparents—Charles and Helen Bacigalupi—founded our vineyards in Russian River Valley in 1956, and were pioneers in the wine industry. Since then, they have been growing and providing wineries with world class fruit. In 1973, our vineyard provided some of the Chardonnay fruit that went into the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the Paris tasting in 1976, and put the California wine region on the map.

We are excited to announce that our vineyards and new wine label (John Tyler Wines) will be open to the public for the FIRST and ONLY time this August 15th-17th as part of the Grapes to Glass event in the Russian River Valley. Our label, John Tyler Wines, specializes in the production of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel wines with the fruit from the Bacigalupi vineyards. We will be able to share the history of our vineyards, our newest wines, as well as selections of our library wines.

The name John Tyler represents the union of our two families who have been involved more than five decades in winemaking and grape-growing tradition in Sonoma County. My father, John Bacigalupi, is the skilled farmer of our historic Bacigalupi vineyards. My cousin, Tyler Heck, is our winemaker and comes from a well known wine making family. His grandfather Paul Heck was the late owner of Korbel Champagne Cellars.

On behalf of The Bacigalupi Family and John Tyler Wines please come join us for a historic day of wine tasting under the oak trees.

Who: Bacigalupi Vineyards and John Tyler Wines
Where: 4375 Westside Road; Healdsburg, Ca 95448 (map)
When: 10:00AM – 4:30PM
Visit us online at: johntylerwines.com

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