9/15/14

WHOA FARM 2012 Pinot Noir Release - Buy now!

WHOA FARM 2012 Pinot Noir Release - Buy now!

Greetings

Wendy Mardigian and Eddie Gelsman are excited to announce the release of the 2012 WHOA FARM PINOT NOIR. This delicious, organically farmed wine from the Sonoma Coast is a key component in our efforts to achieve financial sustainability for the WHOA Farm.

For those of you who are unaware of our efforts, Work Horse Organic Agriculture (WHOA) Farm is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was started in 2010. The farm now produces over 50,000 pounds of organically grown food annually and distributes it, free of charge, to Sonoma County health clinics and soup kitchens who are serving those most in need.

100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this beautiful wine will be used to support the continuing efforts of the WHOA Farm.

Please join us in supporting this important work as it is a cause that has inspired us like no other. Buy a case and help us reach our goal. Better yet, buy some wine AND make a fully tax deductible donation. Better still, do all of the above and share the WHOA Farm's mission with your friends.

In order for this to work, we need everyone to participate. WE NEED YOUR HELP.

With gratitude in our hearts,

Wendy Mardigian and Eddie Gelsman
Founders of the WHOA Farm

WHOA Farm Pinot Noir

SAVE 10% ON 12
OR MORE BOTTLES.

For questions please contact Eddie Gelsman at eddie@whoafarm.org
or 707-585-0800.

"Ruby red in color, with great aromatics of red cherry, beet root, and anise with subtle oak tones. The wine has a great attack, and is quite suave on the palate. A Pinot Noir from the zone that shows the perfumed, elegant side of the varietal. Very fine tannins that are subtle yet provide a silky grip. Elements of pomegranate, orange peel and red berries are all framed nicely with fresh acids. This is textbook medium bodied Pinot that shows the intense side of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Very stylish and delicious."
- Paul Roberts, Master Sommelier

 


501(c)( 3) non-profit


TRACK

8/18/14

EVENT: 3 Sisters Garden Harvest Event – Sept 21, 2014



For the second year in a row, SFRR will be promoting our 3 Sisters Garden Project at the 3 Sisters Fall Harvest Celebration and Fundraiser. Some of Sonoma County’s best chefs will join students from El Molino High School, Piner High School, Santa Rosa High School, Laguna High School, and Healdsburg High School to craft original bites inspired by this year’s harvest of heirloom corn, beans and squash – foods when grown together are known as “the three sisters”. All of the dishes will showcase the season’s best from each school garden and some of our local farms, served by the students at the lovely Heron Hall in Sebastopol.

When:     Sunday, September 21, 2014, 4:30-6:30 pm
Where:    Heron Hall, 900 Sanford Road, Sebastopol, CA
Tickets: $25 for  Adults  $50+ for sponsors. Limited # of tickets! 


Promoting HIGH SCHOOL GARDENS in Sonoma County 
School gardens are important as “Every child deserves to grow up knowing where food comes from, how to grow it, cook it and share it, and how to be healthy.” (Slow Food USA - http://www.slowfoodusa.org/children-food)

This event provides an opportunity to experience the enthusiasm and talents of local high school student gardeners and their teachers. High school gardens are a new wave in Sonoma County. This year alone, gardens were started by Marilee Mazur at El Molino High School (1/2 acre), Riggs Lokka at Santa Rosa High School (1 acre near Hwy 101), and Simon Farmer at Laguna High School (1/2 acre). The new and existing gardens, including Robert Lopez at  Piner High School and Wesley Hunt at Healdsburg High School, all grew the three crops successfully. During the event, a short presentation will feature the teachers’ and students’ stories of their garden progress from spring to fall. 

Biodiversity, Culture and Traditions 
The Slow Food mission includes promoting food biodiversity. Many of the seeds that were provided to the schools for planting are listed on the Slow Food “Ark of Taste”, a living catalog of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. This program helps keep these foods alive for future generations.

This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash together, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations. According to legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. The plants exhibit a high degree of cooperation, or communality, so these qualities are also important in our project. This resilience and the economics of scale of these plants can be duplicated by anyone - a student, parent, chef or person who wants to grow good, clean, nutritious food.

Chefs as Educators :  Access, taste and cooking together
According to Melissa Kogut (Executive Director, Chefs Collaborative), “The chefs are now serving as educators for both the farmers and consumers. They are having a major influence on the public.” Some well-known chefs will join the event, including Daniel Kedan from The Backyard in Forestville, and Mateo Granados from Mateo's Cucina Latina and 2 other chefs. They will work with the students in the Farm to Table classes at El Molino, and Healdsburg to create gourmet tasting bites to be served at the event. 

The Location: A Beautiful Spot


The new Great Blue Heron Hall, part of the Laguna Foundation’s Environmental Center, is surrounded by rustic and historic barns, vineyards, orchards and the pastoral landscape of the Laguna and Stone Farm. To learn more about the Laguna Foundation and its mission, visit http://www.lagunafoundation.org/about_overview.htm


When:     Sunday, September 21, 2014, 4:30-6:30 pm
Where:    Heron Hall, 900 Sanford Road, Sebastopol, CA
Tickets: $25 for  Adults  $50+ for sponsors. Limited # of tickets! 


For more information, contact: 
Sue Deevy - selafranchi@gmail.com
Sueki Woodward - SuekiWoodward@mac.com or 707-483-4881 (text or voice mail)

8/4/14

Event: From August 16 until the end of apple season: Community Apple Press



Our Community Apple Press is now open and available for your use and the online calendar is ready to take reservations. 

Bring your apples, from a backyard tree or purchased from a local apple farmer, and make your own juice on our community apple press at the Luther Burbank Experiment Farm in Sebastopol - for free.  All you need to bring is apples and some plastic containers (to avoid breakage).  Click here for more details.

4/22/14

Event: May 3 Learn to garden in the drought + lunch!

Learning and Eating in the Garden 
Growing a vegetable garden that flourishes in the drought 
When: Saturday, May 3, 10:30 - 1:00
Tickets: $18 for Slow Food Members and Friends (Limited Seating) 
  
Join us to learn how to create a bountiful garden in a drought and enjoy
a  gourmet lunch in Marcia’s and Chuck's Garden in Sebastopol. 
Proceeds will benefit the Slow Food Russian River 3 Sisters Garden Project.

Some topics we will be demonstrating and discussing:
  • Best vegetables to plant in the drought: Heirloom/Ark/Hybrid seeds
  • Water saving practices: presented by Sonoma Co. Master Gardeners
  • Drip irrigation & mulching
  • How to make compost in quick 6 weeks
  • Vermicomposting - composting with worms  (demonstration)        
  • Planting in raised beds and containers (demonstration)
  • Handouts will be included.

 Followed by lunch in the Garden

Menu:
  • Coffe Cake, coffee & tea (prior to discussion)
  • Torta Rustica
  • Spring Salad
  • Please bring a dessert or fruit for 6, plus a beverage of your choice (juice, wine, champagne) to share. Plates etc. will be provided.

4/19/14

Share A Slow Meal: Tapas!

Let's Cook and Share A Slow Meal: Tapas!
By Peg Champion 

A beautiful Russian River spring green landscape fairly glowed outside the kitchen windows, as eight SFRRchapter members gathered on a Sunday afternoon to prepare a Slow tapas meal at the home of Marcia and Chuck Lavine.

The convivial guests, who chatted and sipped Spanish wines while they chopped, sautéed, roasted and bakedincluded: Peg Champion, Kate Hendricks, Ken and Liz Meyerhoff, Linda Peterson and Brad Whitworth.

The abundant alfresco menu began with tapas "appetizers" of seasoned olives, Manchego cheese with quince preserves, roasted asparagus with Serrano ham,and a spinach and mushroom tortilla, both paired withAlbarino wine.

While enjoying the Sebastopol sunset, diners sampled patates bravas with a tomato aioli dip, meatballs in almond sauce, fennel and orange salad, grilled Monterey sardines in lemon and herbs, chickpea and chorizo, and steamed mussels with a crusty bread for dipping, all paired with Rioja and Tempranillo wines. Dinner concluded at a table indoors, with a traditional flan and Fino Sherry wine.

Everyone joined in for a quick and easy cleanup, then the grateful guests thanked their hosts for a wonderful evening, calling "Buenas noches!" as they strolled into the night.
​
If you would like to host a Slow Meal in your home, contact the SFRR Cook-In Team:

3/19/14

MOVIES! Mar 19 Symphony of the Soil & Mar 29 After Winter Spring

Movie: Symphony of the Soil with a talk by Cotati farmer Roy Smith 
When: MARCH 19th, Wed., Time: 7PM  Free Event!
Film by Mill Valley cinematographer Deborah Koons Garcia. Cotati farmer Roy Smith will talk about how he is building soil on his farm Green Goose Farm, what role his pigs play, and what climate shifting has to do with it. SYMPHONY OF THE SOIL is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil's key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time. Filmed on four continents, featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers.  Watch trailer here.
Please RSVP to Slow Food Russian River Film Group, sfrrfilmgroup@gmail.com

SEBASTOPOL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (SFRR is sponsoring this film)
Movie: AFTER WINTER, SPRING
When: March 29, Sat., Time: 11:30AM
Seen through the eyes of family farmers in southwest France,  AFTER WINTER, SPRING is an intimate portrait of an ancestral way of life under threat in a world increasingly dominated by large-scale industrial agriculture.  Watch trailer here.
Purchase Tickets for the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival here.

3/13/14

EVENT: Fabulous Fungi, Mushrooms! Tours & Tasting, March 22

You are Invited to Slow Food Russian River:
Fabulous Fungi. Gorgeous Garlic. Perfect Pinot.
Two Tours and a Tasting, March 22 at 2 pm
Tickets $20 ( for Slow Food Members only)
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/590741
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc - Sebastopol, CA
2901 Gravenstein Highway
Sebastopol, CA 95472
The Event Highlights:
•  Tour of Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. by Bob Engel.
•  Introduction to Porter Creek Vineyards.
•  Presentations by a team member of GMI, by a    representative of the mushrooming scene, and by world-renowned garlic grower, Chester Aaron.
•  Comparing taste and texture differences between grilled and sautéed mushrooms.
• Wine pairing.
•  Appetizers from chef Rick Ferrari include: Endive boats with 3 mushrooms; Roasted Shiitake with Shiitake mousse; Filo cups with  Alba and Brown Clamshell Duxelles and caramelized Pear, and Vol-au-Vent with Maitake salpicon.
 
Questions : email - Zeno Swijtink <swijtink@sonoma.edu>
 Opportunity to buy Mr. Aaron's latest book, The Marriage of Mushrooms and Garlic, coauthored with Malcolm Clark (one of the founders of Gourmet Mushrooms) and Roger Adams (Photographer).

This tour is exclusive to Slow Food members. To become a member, google "Slow Food USA" and go to the national website. Click on  "Donate" to become a member, fill in your details and close the deal. 

Then inform us that you became a member so we can accelerate your inclusion in our conviviality.
Note: Tickets $20 ( for Slow Food Members only)
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/590741
Minimum Age: 21
Kid Friendly: No
Dog Friendly: No
Non-Smoking: Yes!
Wheelchair Accessible: No

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