Usually, a tour of a winery focuses on the wine. But at Quivira Vineyards in Healdsburg, it can be difficult to look past all the gorgeous food that’s blossoming in every nook and cranny of the property.
That’s because Quivira practices biodynamic-certified and biodiverse farming, which means that its owner Pete Kight emphasizes the terroir, for the exceptional edibles that are coaxed from the very same soil as the wine grapes.
According to Quivira winemaker Steven Canter and Quivira farm manager Andrew Beedy, it’s not enough to just grow grapes, but one must consider how that growing interacts with everything in nature.
If that sounds like a dry concept, a recent feast in the vineyards emphasized just how juicy the idea really is. As part of Quivira’s new Farm-to-Table wine dinners, a series of seasonal events that will be hosted throughout the year at the Dry Creek Valley winery, Canter and Beedy worked with chef/farmer Doug Nicosia of Sensuous Farms in Sebastopol to create a family-style supper where everything came either from gardens within 100 yards of the table, from animal pens on the property, or from livestock ranches very close by.
Guests indulged in a lavish repast in the middle of the vineyards, beginning with crunchy, colorful boutique carrots in varieties called Dragon, Nantaise, Narome, St. Valery and Yaya, all glazed with honey and sea salt. The entrée was tooth-tender beef ribs (from cattle Nicosia raises in Potter Valley) paired with marinated summer bean salad, garlicky spinach, mashed potatoes swimming in celery butter, and a salad of wild arugula, preserved Meyer lemons and feta. For dessert – a wild blackberry gelato with a semolina and Meyer lemon biscotti.
If the biodiverse concept sounds like a huge undertaking, it is. Consider that the winery farm is home to four dozen exotic chickens, two goats and two pigs (including one named “Entrée” that is scheduled to be just that for the next vineyard dinner). There are more than 100 raised beds growing up to 100 types of produce, plus a berry field and an orchard of peaches, pears, apples and lemons. Beedy recently added beehives to produce honey and to cross-pollinate his plants – visitors can get up close and personal with the buzzing beasts, if they’re brave.
The animals live in luxurious quarters but do fair trade for their accommodations, Beedy explains – the chicken manure is excellent fertilizer, for example, while the pigs root up coddling moth larvae, a fruit tree predator, as they snuffle about in their apple tree pens. Then, of course, there’s the part where they get eaten.
The next Farm to Table dinner will be held October 10, and reservations are essential for the intimate event; contact Relish Culinary Adventures of Healdsburg at http://www.relishculinary.com.
In the meantime, you can taste some of Quivira’s products at your favorite restaurants and shops – the winery sells its eggs and produce to local chefs and purveyors. Current seasonal treats and where to eat them include:
Dry Creek Kitchen, Healdsburg: eggplant, basil, arugula
Scopa, Healdsburg: tomatoes, eggplant
Dry Creek General Store, Healdsburg: mixed lettuces, eggs
Barndiva, Healdsburg: baby salad greens, eggs
Manzanita, Healdsburg: tomatoes
Bovolo, Healdsburg: peppers, beans, tomatoes
Charcuterie, Healdsburg: eggs
Shelton’s Natural Foods, Healdsburg: carrots, kale, basil
Relish Culinary Adventures, Healdsburg: heirloom vegetables, eggs
Windsor Green Grocer, Windsor: arugula, kale, salad greens, eggs
Details: Quivira Vineyards, 4900 W. Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg, 707-431-8333, quivirawine.com.
