Tag Archives: organic

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Sustainable dining at Kenwood’s Vineyards Inn

by TravelAndrew2 months ago in GLBT.0 Comments

Open for nearly 30 years, the unassuming but handsome Vineyards Inn (8445 Kenwood Hwy./Hwy. 12, 707-833-4500) is both a seasoned culinary institution and a cutting-edge experiment in sustainability. The rambling roadhouse-style restaurant set amid some of Kenwood’s most celebrated vineyards is along busy Highway 12, which cuts through Sonoma’s fabled Valley of the Moon. Steven and Colleen Rose are the {…}

Farmer Envy?

by secretlocal11 months ago in Local Secrets.0 Comments

Release your inner farmer with an afternoon in the country at one of McClelland Dairy’s farm tours. Learn about the farm and how the animals are cared for; visit the nursery and pet the “babies”; and try your hand at milking a cow! After the tour, sample their European-style organic artisan butter and visit the Farm Store, where products grown {…}

French Garden Grows New Chef

by careysweet2 years ago in Dining.0 Comments

After Mark Malicki closed his Café Saint Rose in Sebastopol last August, the chef told me he planned to return to catering full time. But now he’s got an even better deal: he’s gone to the French Garden, a straight shot just two miles east of his former restaurant on Bodega Avenue in Sebastopol. There’s no news yet on the {…}

Diggin' the Dirt in Sonoma County

by Beth2 years ago in Email.0 Comments

Imagine yourself amidst rolling hills and valleys, where trees are heavy with succulent fruit and tilled soils cradle ripening vegetables. From apples to zucchini and everything in between, taste Sonoma County and its rich agricultural heritage by visiting one of our many farms or farm markets. And celebrate our foods – with the Heirloom Tomato Festival,  Gravenstein Apple Fair,  Harvest {…}

Chateau St. Jean 2007 Sonoma County Pinot Noir

by jamesknight2 years ago in Wine of the Week.0 Comments

Pardon your French. No, really. When visiting this venerable property or discussing its product, be sure to drop your no-doubt meticulous French pronunciation. It’s “Jean.” Like, what do I mean? Exactly. Nestled beneath dramatic volcanic mountains, before a lush swath of vigorous green vines, the winery is a picture-perfect chateau idyll-or is it more like a monastery where diligent monks {…}

New chef, new direction

by careysweet2 years ago in Dining.0 Comments

The French Garden in Sebastopol has always had the necessary ingredients to be a destination restaurant – a lovely space on Bodega Avenue at Pleasant Hill Road, and truly exquisite heirloom fruits and vegetables to accent its Mediterranean-inspired menu. (How fresh is fresh? Owner Dan Smith grows his own produce, in fact, on his 30-acre organic, bio-intensive farm nearby.) Yet {…}

Fermentation Celebration Yields Short Vacation

by tina2 years ago in Itineraries.2 Comments

Take a “hot” little trip to Sonoma County this weekend that will celebrate the ancient process of fermentation. (“Hot,” as in fermentation creates heat. Get it?) The Freestone Fermentation Festival, Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17, will be held at Salmon Creek School. Visitors can participate in hands-on presentations by the award-winning Wild Flour Bread, Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, Freestone Vineyards {…}

Ruby in the Rough

by serenabartlett2 years ago in Green Sonoma.1 Comment

Andrew was the cleanest farmer I had met in a while, but after I took a closer look at his callused hands and listened to his perspective on Bulgarian-Italian mixed wild pigs, rye grass, and soil, I knew he was the real McCoy. Quivira is an exceptional, certified biodynamic winery on Old Dry Creek Road, one of the best windy {…}

New Farmers Market in Sebastopol

by careysweet2 years ago in Dining.2 Comments

If you’ve driven by the French Garden in Sebastopol on a recent Sunday, you’ve probably wondered what all the fuss is about in the parking lot facing Bodega Avenue. Long tables stretch under the canopy of patio trees, with hoards of folks clambering over each other to grab leafy greens and other spring produce. It looked like a private party {…}

Benziger 2005 Ooanapais Estate Sonoma Mountain Red

by jamesknight2 years ago in Wine of the Week.0 Comments

There really is a sleepy little hamlet in the heart of Sonoma Valley as pictured on tetra packs of the widely available Glen Ellen Wine. The Benziger family sold the successful brand in 1993, but they stayed put-and also pushed on, creating ever deeper connections between their wine and picturesque land. Benziger’s estate wines are Demeter certified, meaning they adhere {…}