Say Cheese! The 17th California Artisan Cheese Festival is March 24-26— new events and locales
Love cheese? It’s front and center at the 17th California Artisan Cheese Festival (CACF), March 24-26, taking place all around rural Sonoma County and beyond. After pared-down pandemic versions, this year marks the return of the full experience—farm and producer tours, seminars and pairing demos, marketplace, and a new event on Saturday evening, the cheese crawl—all geared towards tasting and celebrating cheese and having some fun after the storms. From new small-batch and very rare artisan cheeses to those that have already garnered international recognition, the spotlight is on the vibrant hues, bold aromas, and surprising new flavors of cheese. Sunday’s marketplace will include the debuts of a few new cheeses and will introduce people to a myriad of new gourmet products that pair with cheese. All tickets are sold individually on the website: https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/
This year’s events have been curated by executive director, Judy Groverman Walker, who’s been running the event for the past 11 years and has strong roots in Sonoma County agriculture. “The goal is to bring all these great California cheeses together, to help promote artisan cheese making, and to keep our diaries alive,” said Groverman. CACF is a 501c3 non-profit and proceeds support the California Artisan Cheese Guild which provides training for cheesemakers and helps them through the hurdles of establishing their businesses. People who attend the festival come from all over the country. Groverman estimates that only about 35 percent are from the Bay Area. “Now that we’re back to three days, we hope to see a lot of people back who haven’t traveled due to Covid 19.” If you haven’t been to the festival before, Groverman recommends Sunday’s Marketplace. “I really enjoy pulling all these cheeses together and the great products that go with cheeses and being able to showcase them all under one roof. ”
Friday, March 24, Farm and Producer Tours:
This year, five full-day themed tours are offered, including one out of the area to Anderson Valley. Each tour has three stops—local farms, creameries and artisan purveyors. Besides having fun and tasting, the emphasis is getting a personal glimpse into the vital role of the farmers and producers in our rich Northern California farming area, hearing their stories first hand and learning techniques of artisan cheese making.
Saturday, March 25: Seminars and Pairing Demos
The seminars, a 75 minute blast of education, tastings and ideas for inspired pairings, have traditionally been held at a hotel, most recently Santa Rosa’s historic Flamingo Hotel. This year, there are four seminars and they are at wineries, all with gorgeous settings. “This is not cheese school; it’s a lot of fun,” says Groverman, “it’s the wine country experience people are looking for—tasting cheeses and drinking wines in the country.” This years offerings—“Cheese and Wine Pairing” at Kendall Jackson Wine Center with KJ Chef and cheese expert, Tracey Shepos Cenami ; “Cheese and Wine Pairing” Bricoleur Vineyards with cheese expert Laura Werlin; “Cheese + Charcuterie Cone Building Workshop”at Baletto Vineyards with Alyssa Gilbert, Owner of Graze + Gather Co; and “Cheese and Chocolate” at the new Sugarloaf Wine Company with chocolatiers Jeff and Susan Mall of VOLO Chocolates. New: each seminar features an add-on experience at the winery, such as wine tastings, a gourmet lunch with wine pairings, or wine club privileges.
Saturday afternoon, 4 to 6pm: Cheese Crawl
In this new event, participants receive a treasure map and set off across Sebastopol’s Barlow complex in search of cheese booty. Each designated stop has a cheesemaker offering samples of their precious handcrafted cheeses plus a featured snack or beverage from one of festival’s non-cheese creators, and an additional special. Crawlers who check in at all 11 stops along the two hour crawl will be entered to win even more treasure—2 tickets to the 2024 Sunday Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace.
Sunday, March 25: Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace
The heart of the festival remains Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at Sonoma County Fairgrounds’ Grace Pavilion which always concludes the weekend of cheese, offering a chance to taste and buy the cheeses presented in the various events and all sorts of fabulous accompaniments, including wine, craft beers, cider, spirits. “I really enjoy being able to bring this together under one roof,” said Groverman, who added that the vibe is special, like a big friendly farmer’s market. Upon entry you’re given an insulated tote bag and a wine glass and you’ll meet and talk with the cheesemakers themselves, most of whom work behind the table selling their cheeses. This year, over 15 cheesemakers are participating, offering dozens of award-winning cheeses and new small batch offerings for tasting and sale, along with all sorts of accompaniments and artisan products from Argentinian alfajores to wood cutting boards. This year’s participants are listed here.
Cheese debuts: Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese Company, of Escalon, is bringing “Tuscano,” their new wine-infused Italian Style cheese, from cow’s milk, which is marbled throughout with a red wine blend. Tomales Farmstead Cheese Company will be debuting “Out Like a Lamb,” it’s fresh, seasonal all sheep’s milk cheese. Cypress Grove will be sampling its new Meyer Lemon and Honey goat cheese, released in the summer of 2022. After a several year absence, Occidental-based Bohemian Creamery is back for the first time with their fabulous small batch cheeses.
Having recognized how wonderfully their two products pair, Bohemain Creamery and Big Spoon Sauce Company, both from Occidental, will have tables beside each other at the Marketplace and sample some bites incorporating both their products. Big Spoon Sauce Company, a first time participant, is the creator of a line of spicy sauces which are vegan, gluten and MSG-free and pair especially well with cheese.
“Farm to table, spoon to face” is Big Spoon Sauce Company’s catchy motto. A first time participant, the company of two, Lani Chan and Nate Bender, produces a line of crunchy, savory go-with-everything olive-oil based sauces that have a cult following among those in the know. “Dragon’s Booty” is a chile crisp meant to light a fire under your booty —it’s loaded with habanero peppers for a base heat, then topped with a touch of Carolina Reapers and Chili de Arbol for a more complex burn that evolves over time, while guajillos add earthiness and depth. Apples and orange zest counter the dragon’s burn with a soft citrus and floral sweetness. This “super hot” sauce screams for grilled cheese and is the perfect accoutrement for any cheese or charcuterie board. If mild to medium heat is more your speed, “Chile Crisp,” Big Spoon’s flagship sauce, is a crunchy, salty, sweet, smoky, tingly, all-purpose burst of flavor with a mild tingling heat from Sichuan peppercorns that pairs exceptionally with cheese. In addition to peanuts and roasted garlic, they layer in smoky and sweet flavors with four varieties of dried ground chiles. Photo: Nathan Bender
New wineries and breweries: Adobe Road Winery, Anderson Valley Brewing Co, Bricoleur Vineyards, Golden State Cider, and Goldeneye Winery.
Sweet tooth?
Details:
California’s 17th Artisan Cheese Festival is March 24-26, 2023 at various locations throughout cheese country. Tickets for all festival events are sold individually online and are capped, so buy early to lock in your experience. Do not show up at an event without a ticket, with the exception of Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace where tickets ($65) can be purchased at the door. Fifty early entry (11 a.m. vs. noon) tickets have been released and are available online now for no additional charge. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/
Love vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes? Kendall-Jackson’s Heirloom Tomato Festival is September 14-15, 2012
The 16th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival features over 150 varieties of delicious vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes in all colors, shapes and sizes—all grown at Kendall-Jackson. Saturday, September 15, 2012. Photo: Geneva Anderson
It’s tomato time ! The 16th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, a special gourmet celebration of the bounty of Sonoma County featuring heirloom tomatoes, is September 14 and 15, 2012—just two weeks away. This year, the popular festival has gone from 1 to 2 days and features a new “Chef Tables in the Vineyard” component on Friday evening with celebrity chefs Guy Fieri and Mario Batali hosting a unique “al fresco” dinner experience at Kendall-Jackson’s acclaimed wine center. The traditional tomato festival is Saturday, September 15, 2012, from 11 to 4 p.m. and it always sells out in advance, drawing crowds from all over California. If you want tickets, buy them right now, as they are capped at 3,000 and no tickets are sold at the event itself.
Those lucky enough to have snared tickets to the festival will have 5 hours to feast to their heart’s content on a multitude of tomato-inspired gourmet dishes prepared on the spot by leading chefs and by dozens of local fine food purveyors and Bay Area top restaurants. All of them will use freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes supplied by Kendall-Jackson and, in many cases, K-J olive oil and fine wines too. The event also includes the chance to sample and compare more than 150 varieties of heirloom tomatoes (grown in the Kendall-Jackson
Kendall-Jackson’s Heirloom Tomato Festival has a new Friday evening gourmet dining event.
culinary gardens); a chef competition featuring Bravo’s Top Chef® contenders Kevin Gillespie and Eli Kirshtein and among others; and an array of food, wine and gardening seminars. There will also be garden tours, wine-tasting and live music. And new this year, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber is the festival’s first-ever celebrity critic who will sample and judge the festival’s various dishes on Saturday and award a “Critic’s Choice Award” to her favorite restaurant or food purveyor that afternoon. Tomato Heaven! The emphasis is, of course, heirloom tomatoes. Genetically unchanged from one generation to another−heirlooms offer the intense flavor prized by gardeners and gourmets. There’s no better place to grow these jewels than right here in Sonoma County where our climate, soil and tomato fervor combine to produce a wide selection of these lovely delicious orbs. Always central to the event is the famous “tomato tasting tent”−a large tent with long tables holding dozens of plates of delicately vine-ripened sliced heirloom tomatoes organized by color/type−all of them are grown in the Kendall-Jackson’s extensive gardens. This year, the weather has cooperated and we are enjoying a particularly flush Indian summer output of tomatoes. The tasting tent will have over 150 varieties to sample, including some Sonoma County favorites such as Brandywine, Green Zebra, Stupice, Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano, and Cherokee Purple and, along with these, many unfamiliar varieties. There will be a tomato growing contest, too, for gardeners to show off their prize heirlooms and have them judged by looks, flavor and texture. Larry Wagner and his Pink Berkeley Tie Dye tomato took home last year’s Best Of Show award and he’ll be back again this year hoping to win again.
The festival is all about heirloom tomatoes and attendees have 5 hours to eat to their heart’s content. Over 150 varieties of freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes from Kendall-Jackson’s extensive gardens can be sampled at the tomato tent, the festival’s go-to spot for tomato aficionados. Photo: Geneva Anderson
New this Year: Friday night celebrity chef dinner, hosted by Mario Batali and Guy Fieri:
The festival will kick off on Friday evening at 6 p.m. with Chef Tables in the Vineyard, an exclusive celebrity chef dinner, hosted by Mario Batali and Guy Fieri to support Santa Rosa-based CWK Foundation (Cooking with Kids Foundation), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit founded by Guy Fieri in 2010 with the goal of inspiring one million young people to get in the kitchen and cook. The dinner will feature 22 of the Bay Area and wine country’s most acclaimed chefs, including: Douglas Keane, John Ash, Domenica Catelli and Kendall-Jackson Executive Chef Justin Wangler. (full list chefs here) All of the menus will showcase local ingredients and wine pairings from Kendall-Jackson, and will be enjoyed “al fresco” in the lovely estate vineyard with each chef hosting a table that will feature a unique dinner menu designed and prepared by that chef.
A limited number of VIP tickets are available with assigned seating at the head table, hosted by Guy Fieri and Mario Batali. With a menu designed and prepared by these two renowned celebrity chefs, and net proceeds also benefiting Cooking with Kids, this promises to be one of your most memorable dining experiences. Even if you’re not at the head tables, an evening spent in the company of any one of the talented guest chefs will leave you exhilarated and there’s always a fabulous take-away in terms of cutting edge techniques, food lore and gourmet gossip. Buy tickets here.
General Seating Chef Tables in the Vineyard: $350 per person (includes entry to Saturday’s Tomato Festival.)
VIP Seating Chef Tables in the Vineyard: $3,000 per person (includes entry to Saturday’s Tomato Festival.)
More About Debbie Macomber, inaugural judge for Saturday’s “Critic’s Choice Award:
Debbie Macomber is one of today’s most popular authors. Seven of her novels have hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, with three debuting at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly lists. Best known for her heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family, enduring friendships and women who knit, Macomber also has cookbooks (Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Cookbook), books for children, and inspirational non-fiction to her publishing credit. Macomber has also channeled her creativity into top-rated Hallmark Channel movies and A Good Yarn Shop, her own yarn store and tea room in Port Orchard, Washington. Her latest book, The Inn at Rose Harbor (Random House, August 2012)takes readers back to the fictional Pacific Northwest setting of her much-loved Cedar Cove series where a charming cast of characters finds love, forgiveness and renewal behind the doors of the cozy Rose Harbor Inn. Hallmark Channel is currently filming a Cedar Cove series pilot tentatively scheduled to air in 2013.
KJ Executive Chef Justin Wangler’s “go-to” heirloom for eating is Cherokee Purple, a delicious sweet fruit over 100 years old that has captured the hearts of many, especially food-writers who have embellished its history with all sorts of lore. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Heirloom Tomato Festival Details: Saturday, September 15, 2012 • 11am – 4pm, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, California 95439, information: 707.571.7500TICKETS—Tickets are pre-sold only (3,000 are available) and are $85 for the general public and $50 for Wine Club members and are available online at www.kj.com, or at the Kendall Wine Center itself, or the Healdsburg Tasting Room. The festival sells out every year, so buy your tickets now if you want to attend.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.
The festival is an outdoor event, and it’s usually hot, so bring appropriate hats for sun protection and country walking shoes.
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender is this Saturday, June 30, 2012
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender is this Saturday, June 30, 2012. The winery’s Lavender Garden features some 5,000 plants. The cultivars “Grosso” and “Provence” line the entrance to the winery and are the basis of its Estate Grown Lavender product line. Photo: courtesy Matanzas Creek Winery.
“lavender, sweet lavender;
come and buy my lavender,
hide it in your trousseau, lady fair.
Let its flovely fragrance flow
Over your from head to toe,
lightening on your eyes, your cheek, your hair.”
Cumberkand Clark Flower Song Book 1929
Ask any California gardener and you’ll find that lavender is an herb that is easy to fall in love with—it grows like a dream, has a calming fragrance, and its deep purple hues are treasured by almost everyone. And luscious culinary lavender has endured long past its trending phase to become a gourmet staple. This Saturday, at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender, you can put your problems aside and escape to a lush lavender oasis in Bennett Valley’s rolling hills. The winery’s breathtaking lavender garden will be in full fragrant bloom and the day is geared towards tasting exquisite wines and sampling all things lavender—from artisan breads dusted with lavender flour to lavender lemonade to Matanzas’ rejuvenating Estate Lavender line. This popular event always sells out early and draws a crowd of 400 from all over California for a leisurely and relaxing summer afternoon. Designed in 1991 by landscaper extraordinaire Robert Kourik, with 5,000 impeccably cultivated plants; this is the largest planting of lavender in northern, CA. It’s surrounded by a border of exotic trees, shrubs and tall grasses and the overall impact is reminiscent of the enclosed secret gardens of classical Europe. If you’ve never been up to Matanzas Creek, the event this Saturday is just about the best introduction you could have to the sprawling estate and its rich offerings.
There will be ample opportunity to taste the wines of Matanzas Creek, featuring Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, and the unique Dénouement ® (day-nu-ma), a fabulous dessert wine made from Sauvignon Blanc that experiences botrytis, or ‘noble rot,’ which is prized in France for its ability to produce stylishly luscious fruit characteristics. Velvety and sophisticated on the palate, this wine is led by aromas of baked peach and honeysuckle which transition elegantly into flavors of baked apricot with hints of brioche and hazelnut. Delicacies featuring edible lavender and that pair well with the wines will be prepared by Matanzas Creek’s estate chefs Justin Wangler and Eric Frischkorn and their culinary team. Last year, Chef Eric Frischkorn prepared out-of-this-world homemade artisan breads featuring lavender. Some of these breads were created from a unique wild yeast starter dough from yeast Frischkorn collected on the vineyard’s grapes. This year, be sure to try his special foccacia with Chardonnay Grapeseed Oil and lavender and his Kalamata Olive Sourdough with herbs de Provence which is made from Frischkorn’s grape sourdough starter.
Chef Eric Frischkorn will be baking and serving his fabulous artisan breads this Saturday at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual “Days of Wine and Lavender.” Photo: Geneva Anderson.
This year’s menu:
Assorted Local Artisan Cheeses & Charcuterie
Paired with Sauvignon Blanc: Drakes Bay Oyster Shooter with Cucumber Consomme
Paired with Chardonnay: Lavender Honey Glazed Scallops, Sardinian Couscous Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Paired with Merlot: Lavender Roasted Leg of Lamb with Confit Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans & Salsa Verde
Paired with Sauvignon Blanc: Lemon Grass Chicken Lettuce Cups with Toasted Almonds & Pickled Vegetables
White Chocolate Lavender Mousse with Caramelized White Chocolate Cremeux, Lime Streusel & Vanilla Bean Meringue
Justin Wangler assured me that there is a “subtle difference” between various culinary cultivars that fine palates can distinguish. “Lavandula x Intermedia,” commonly named “Grosso,” is a strong and vigorous hybrid, grown on the Matanzas grounds that was developed in France in the early 18oo’s for its heightened oil content. It yields a robust purple violet bloom and produces one of the highest quality culinary grade lavenders to be found and is favored by the culinary team.
This Year’s Highlights Include:
- Learn first hand from winemaker Marcia Monahan, what sets Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc apart from the rest. Featuring a sensory experience by tasting fruits, herbs and spices to discover exotic tasting notes.
- Visit the Journey Tasting Room for an elevated experience and taste amazing wines.
- Indulge in a chair or hand massage while surrounded by our gorgeous estate.
- See a live demonstration how a dish is prepared and why it pairs beautifully with Matanzas Creek wines.
- Take an immerging walk through lavender gardens in high bloom.
- Groove to live music and just have a great time exploring our estate gardens, grounds and vineyards.
- The Lavender Barn will be open with Estate Lavender culinary items, lotions, soaps, massage oils and much more available for purchase. And this is not your ordinary lavender spa line–of course, there’s a pure lavender scent from the finest essential oil. Several lavender products have also been blended with ingredients like tangerine, neroli and rose to create modern invigorating scents. There’s also a men’s line that features a handmade soap with a spicy earthy lavender-infused scent that’s worth stocking up on.
- Tantalize your taste buds by indulging in unique desserts, local cheeses served by local vendors. Try Marshall’s Farm estate lavender-infused honey which utilizes Matanzas Creek’s estate lavender.
Details: Saturday June 30th, 2012, noon to 4 p.m. Tickets: $85 General Public and $70 Wine Club members. Matanzas Creek Winery is located at 6097 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 800 590-6464
The winery is known for its crisp sauvignon blancs, luxurious chardonnays and fruity, earthy merlots. To learn more, visit www.matanzascreek.com.
Justin Wangler, K-J’s top chef, talks tomatoes on the eve of the 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival
Justin Wangler, Kendall's-Jackson's executive chef, will be heading the K-J culinary team at the 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Wangler has "at least" 12 festivals under his belt and helped choose the chefs for the popular Chefs Challenge competition. He is responsible for the fabulous food and wine pairings at Kendall-Jackson. His go-to heirloom is Cherokee Purple, which he also grows at his Santa Rosa home. Photo: courtesy Kendall-Jackson
Tomorrow, Kendall-Jackson celebrates all things tomato with their 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, a 5-hour gourmet and sensory extravaganza with samples galore. Kendall-Jackson’s executive chef Justin Wangler will head a culinary team of twenty chefs and a large group of volunteers in preparing for the biggest annual event at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center. Before joining the Kendall-Jackson Culinary Team in 2003, Justin worked at Syrah in Santa Rosa, at Saddleback Cellars and at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. He attended culinary school in his home state of North Carolina.
I spoke with Justin on Thursday, just before the Chef’s Challenge contenders were slated to arrive at the center to begin preparations for Saturday. This year’s three visiting contenders—Jen Carroll (10 Arts Bistro & Lounge by Eric in Philadelphia), Chris Jacobsen (“CJ”) (The Yard in Santa Monica) and Kevin Gillespie (Woodfire Grill in Atlanta) —have all competed on Bravo’s hit TV show “Top Chef.” Justin was responsible for choosing all of them as well as for inviting the five local chefs—Douglas Keane (executive chef and owner of the two-Michelin-Star Cyrus in Healdsburg, serving from Shimo Modern Steak in Healdsburg), Paul Monti (Monti’s in Santa Rosa), Josh Silver (Petite Syrah and Jackson’s Bar and Oven in Santa Rosa), Jeff Mall (executive chef at Zin in Healdsburg, and John Ash in Santa Rosa).
First on their activities list was a trip up to Healdsburg to visit K-J’s 5-acre tomato garden, on which over 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes are grown. The evening would be spent dining at some of Northern California’s finest restaurants including Syrah, in Santa Rosa, where Justin had previously cooked before K-J lured him away. On Friday, each of the guest chefs would be paired up with a sous-chef from Kendall-Jackson’s staff and together they would strategize for the Chef’s Challenge competition. The challenge, which is enormously popular, entails cooking three tomato-based dishes in 25 minutes, also incorporating the contents of a “mystery basket” of local meats and fish. Here’s what Justin had to say on the eve of the big event:
In your opinion, what are the best techniques to capture robust heirloom tomato flavor in cooking?
Justin Wangler: We use lots of different techniques for lots of different tomatoes and I think there are great flavors to be had from all techniques. This year we’ve had a lot of green tomatoes because they haven’t gotten ripe yet, so we’ve been making fried green tomatoes all summer. Also for this event we do some oven-roasted ones where we just toss the tomatoes, kind of like a plum tomato, we slice it in half lengthwise and we toss it with garlic, olive oil, thyme, and rosemary and just put it the oven cut side up and turn the oven on to about 95 degrees and we just leave it overnight and then we come in the next morning and they’re oven-dried tomatoes, which intensifies the sugars. It’s a good technique if you don’t have the best tomatoes.
But my personal favorite way is just raw tomatoes with really nice salt. I like Malden sea salt flakes from Essex: it’s very flaky and looks like snowflakes and has a really crunchy texture. I would imagine any high-end food purveyor would have it.
What are your favorite tomatoes just for eating with some good salt?
Justin Wangler: I’m a big fan of the Cherokee Purple. It’s so sweet and the color is so beautiful. Usually at my house I try to be growing about five different tomato varieties at any given time. I try to do one or two little cherry tomatoes, red or yellow, just for salads or snacking. I try and mix it up. We have so many seeds here, I try and change it up each year. But I always like Yellow Sun Gold, and then we have one called Orange Currant which is super-sweet. Usually I try and do a couple of big tomatoes like the Cherokee Purple, which is good for BLTs. And then every year I try one I’ve never heard of, just for fun. One of my favorites is the Big White Pink Stripe, a yellow tomato that almost looks like it’s tie-dyed inside with pink colors. That’s a fun one. We have 400 seeds on hand, so we try to do new stuff each year.
Which heirloom tomatoes do you prefer for sauces?
Justin Wangler: Definitely the plum and Italian tomato varieties. But what we do is as soon as we start slicing tomatoes we put a nice big container in the fridge and we save all the scraps and we just pile them in there. Then usually about once a week we just toss it with garlic and some herbs and we roast it in the oven and caramelize it and then we puree that in a blender, strain it, put it in a pot and cook it down, and then we can it at the end of each season. So we don’t waste anything. All the tops and bottoms of our tomatoes we save, skin and everything. We just remove the stems with what we call a tomato shark, like a melon baller, because the stems can make it a little bitter.
Justin Wangler's "go-to" heirloom for eating is Cherokee Purple, a delicious sweet fruit over 100 years old that has captured the hearts of many, especially food-writers who have embellished its history with all sorts of lore. Photo: Geneva Anderson
What are the most unusual or creative uses of heirloom tomatoes you’ve encountered—both successes and failures?
Justin Wangler: Every year for our Chefs Competition I try to make a dessert. One of my favorites was a cherry tomato clafouti–like a pancake batter with cherry tomatoes that’s baked. I served it with a little whipped cream. Actually it’s almost sweeter than with cherries, which are sweet and tart, but tomatoes are just sweet. Also, one year Carrie Brown from Jimtown Store in Alexander Valley made a sweet tomato shortcake. She made these little biscuits and put whipped cream on them and just marinated some really sweet tomatoes with a little bit of sugar and mint and it was really good. And then the John Ash restaurant a couple of years ago did a tomato cheesecake and I think they won that year. Then one year somebody peeled tomatoes, then blanched them, and then took little petals out and dipped them in chocolate, like tomato roses dipped in chocolate. So there’s always fun and really exciting stuff. Every year brings some new items and new things we haven’t seen before so we always look forward to the Tomato Festival to see what people are doing.
A highlight of every K-J Tomato Festival is the pairing of locally grown vine-ripened tomatoes with Kendall-Jackson wines. What do you have planned for this year?
Justin Wangler: We try to create dishes to match the flavors in the wine. This year some of my favorites are Sauvignon Blanc with our fried green tomatoes and then we have a beautiful pasta that we’re pairing with our new Avant Chardonnay.
This year’s dishes prepared by our Culinary team:
Smoked Fennel & Paul Robeson Tomato Soup
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir
Fried Green Tomatoes with Delice de la Vallee
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc
Farfalle with Marinated Yellow Marble Tomatoes & Point Reyes Mozzarella
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay
Fresh Baguette with Indian Moon Yellow Tomatoes, Bacon & Beehive Cheese
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay
Herb Roasted Boxcar Willie Tomatoes with Point Reyes Blue Cheese Bruschetta
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Syrah
Smoked Kobe Beef on Fresh Baguette with Bearnaise Aioli & Black From Tula Tomato
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon
What’s the best way to care for heirloom tomatoes once you buy or pick them?
Justin Wangler: At my house usually I set them with core side down in a cool dark place. You can put them in a paper bag but you don’t want them touching too close together, you want a little air to circulate so they don’t get moldy.
We’re often told it’s not good to refrigerate them. Is that true, and if so, why?
Justin Wangler: It changes the texture a little bit. If you’re taking the time to grow or buy really good tomatoes, you might as well just leave them out and eat them as soon as possible.
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Justin Wangler: The Heirloom Tomato Festival is one of those events where you get to see all your friends from around the county and also meet new chefs from all around the country. I like the interaction with all the guests, and to see how much people enjoy themselves drinking great wine and eating lots of tomatoes.
Any cool tomato tips?
Justin Wangler: We’ve got a slicing technique that you’re going to love.
Details: Saturday, September 10, 2011 • 11am – 4pm, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center
5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, California 95439, information: 707.571.7500
TICKETS– This year’s festival is completely sold out, but make sure to check Kendall-Jackson’s webpage in May 2012 for information and tickets for the 16th Annual Festival in September 2012. Tickets, $65, are pre-sold only (3,000 are available) and will be available online at www.kj.com, or at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center itself or the Healdsburg Tasting Room.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 15th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender kicks off this Saturday, June 25, 2011
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 15th Annual “Days of Wine and Lavender" is this Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo: Matanzas Creek Winery
Ask any gardener around Sonoma County and you’ll find that lavender is an herb that is universally praised—its fragrance evokes a Zen-like calm and its deep purple hues are treasured in the garden and home. And that luscious scent has spilled over into flavoring as well–culinary lavender has rapidly become a staple for Northern California gourmets. This Saturday, at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 15th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender, you’ll get to stroll the winery’s breathtaking lavender garden in full fragrant bloom and sample all things lavender– from artisan breads dusted with lavender flour to lavender teas to Matanzas’ rejuvenating Estate Lavender line. This popular event always sells out early and draws a crowd of 400 from all over California for a leisurely and relaxing summer afternoon in the Bennett Valley hills. Designed in 1991 by landscaper extraordinaire Robert Kourik, with 5,000 impeccably cultivated plants; this is the largest planting of lavender in northern, CA. It’s surrounded by a border of exotic trees, shrubs and tall grasses and the overall impact is reminiscent of the enclosed secret gardens of classical Europe.
There will be ample opportunity to taste delicacies featuring edible lavender prepared by Matanzas Creek chefs Justin Wanglerand Eric Frischkorn and their culinary team. Justin Wangler assures me that there is a “subtle difference” between various culinary cultivars that fine palates can distinguish. “Lavandula x Intermedia,” commonly named “Grosso,” is a strong and vigorous hybrid, grown on the Matanzas grounds that was developed in France in the early 18oo’s for its heightened oil content. It yields a robust purple violet bloom and produces one of the highest quality culinary grade lavenders to be found and is favored by the culinary team.
Delicacies on Saturday’s menu will be prepared with lavender salt rubs, highly concentrated lavender oil and dried lavender. The menu (subject to change) includes: Lavender Coconut Ceviche, Lavender Poached Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce Crab Claws, Whole Roasted Lavender Chicken, Israeli Couscous with Oranges, Green Olives, Lavender and Mint, Kobe Beef Sandwiches with Lavender Red Wine Dijonaise, Sweet Potato Tots with Lavender Salt, Lavender
Chef Eric Frischkorn will be baking and serving his fabulous artisan breads this Saturday at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 15th Annual “Days of Wine and Lavender.” Photo: Geneva Anderson.
Cheesecake with Blueberries. These dishes will also be served with complementary Matanzas Creek wines including Matanzas Creek 2010 Helena Bench Sauvignon Blanc from Knights Valley, 2010 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc and several library wines (well-aged older vintages).
Chef Eric Frischkorn will also be serving his popular homemade artisan breads featuring lavender. Frischkorn has created a unique wild yeast starter dough from yeast collected on the vineyard’s grapes and Saturday’s sourdough bread will come from this starter.
Event Highlights Include:
- The Tim Hockenberry Blues Band: They will get you movin’ and groovin’ under the oaks.
- Photographer Marlene Smith: a professional photographer who will take a portrait of you against the spectacular backdrop of the lavender fields to remember your day at Matanzas Creek Winery.
- Marin French Cheese: Enjoy hand-crafted Artisan soft-ripened cheese paired with Matanzas Creek wines.
- Desserts: gourmet sweets paired with Matanzas’ new release of their dessert wine, Dénouement.
- Bocce Ball Courts: Guests can try their hand at “Lavender Ball” in the Bocce Ball Courts by the Lavender Barn.
- Open Air Jeep Tours: tours to the neighboring Jackson Park Vineyards featuring a spectacular view of the lower winery, vineyards and gardens.
- Local Artists: Sonoma County Artists who specialize in photographing or painting lavender fields and vineyards in Bennett Valley will have works on display. Chalk artist Robin Burgert will create a colored chalk artwork on the parking lot blacktop.
- short complimentary hand and shoulder massages utilizing Estate Lavender products
- The Lavender Barn will be open with Estate Lavender culinary items, lotions, soaps, massage oils and much more available for purchase. And this is not your ordinary lavender spa line–of course, there’s a pure lavender scent from the finest essential oil. Several lavender products have also been blended with ingredients like tangerine, neroli and rose to create modern invigorating scents. There’s also a men’s line that features a handmade soap with a spicy earthy lavender-infused scent that’s worth stocking up on.
On-going Lavender Education Series: Matanzas Creek hopes to inspire wine and garden lovers with a series of quarterly educational seminars on growing and using lavender. All classes are held at 9 a.m. and include a wine-tasting and lunch. Cost is $75 per person, or $55 for 55 for Custom Crush wine club members. Upcoming seminars:
Matanzas Creek Winery's Lavender Garden features some 5,000 plants. Terraced rows of the lavender cultivars "Grosso" and "Provence" line the entrance to the winery. Photo: courtesy Matanzas Creek Winery.
July 19, 2011 “Explore the Wonders of Honeybees”: This seminar will delve into the busy life of the honeybee. Local natural honey purveyor Marshall’s Farm will join us for an in-depth look at beekeeping and a demonstration of how to make lavender-infused honey. This is a hands-on course.
Sept. 20, 2011 “Cooking with Culinary Lavender”: Matanzas Creek’s culinary team will teach attendees how to incorporate culinary lavender into every-day cooking. This is a hands-on course.
Nov. 8, 2011 “Making Lavender Gifts for the Holiday”: This workshop will show participants how to make a lavender sachet, holiday potpourri and a lavender rock salt warmer. This is a hands-on course.
Details: Saturday June 25th, noon to 4 p.m. Tickets: $75 General Public and $60 Custom Crush members. Matanzas Creek Winery is located at 6097 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 800 590-6464
The winery is known for its crisp sauvignon blancs, luxurious chardonnays and fruity, earthy merlots. To learn more, visit www.matanzascreek.com .
ARThound 