Category: <span>SIP</span>
SIP and Shuck: Only at Tolosa Winery!
I had the difficult task of heading down to Tolosa Winery in San Luis Obispo (thanks to Central Coast Vineyard Team and the SIP Certified program) with my wife to check out this awesome event with an amazing name: SIP and Shuck! It was all about Tolosa wines, their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc to be specific, and some amazing oysters from Ciopinot Seafood Grille. Not only was I completely impressed with the idea of the event but it’s absolutely true…the pairing was off the hook! It was a beautiful day to sit on the patio at... [Read more...]
Chicken Recipe With 2008 Riverbench Cork Jumper Champagne
I love bubbly so this recipe from General Manager Laura Mohseni at Riverbench Vineyard and Winery immediately caught my eye. Here is a note from Laura and her chicken recipe for Champagne Chicken with 2008 Riverbench Cork Jumper. Champagne Chicken When my mom was in cooking school at La Varenne in France she learned to make this dish. It’s so simple but so luxurious and decadent. Use a little sparkling wine to make the chicken, then enjoy the rest with it- you won’t be sorry! Yield serves 4 Ingredients • 2 tbsp. flour • 1 tsp. salt... [Read more...]
The Importance of Sponsors at #EDFW12
In these final days before Earth Day Food and Wine Festival it’s important to think about all that goes into such an event. As someone that has gone to many wine events as a wine lover and “blogger”, I very rarely have been able to look deeper into the effort that goes into pulling an event of this size together. I’ve been very fortunate to be working with the Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) recently and have seen and heard about so much of the stuff that this team does year round to prepare for... [Read more...]
SIP, EDFW, and CCVT Oh My!
[caption id="attachment_1105" align="alignright" width="138" caption="EDFW2012"][/caption] Yep, lots of letters but lots of great meaning behind those letters. Kris introduced me to you in a very kind post last week and I wanted to start by giving you my story on how I found out about all the letters in the title. CCVT is THE group, the Central Coast Vineyard team, which puts on the Earth Day Food and Wine (EDFW) Festival and also runs the SIP Certification program (Sustainability in Practice) for vineyards and wineries. My original interactions were with SIP on Twitter (@SIPtheGoodLife) and... [Read more...]
A Little Chat With Baker and Brain
[caption id="attachment_965" align="alignright" width="300"] L to R: Matt Brain and Josh Baker of Baker & Brain[/caption] We recently chatted with Matt Brain & Josh Baker of Baker and Brain for our quarterly newsletter and thought we would share their thoughts here. They are fun, and what's not to love about the bold use of the ampersand? Since we don't have the proper sarcasm font installed here, they've provided a helpful key for your reading interpretation. Baker and Brain Interpretive Key * kidding ** not kidding *** kidding about all of that, seriously Josh it never... [Read more...]
Matt Browne Joins the Team
[caption id="attachment_900" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Matt and Annie - Of Hoot and Annie Blog"][/caption] It really amazes me how much work we do with our small, but efficient staff. We reach over 1,000 people with our tailgates, workshops & Sustainable Ag Expo. We speak, table, and participate in about 50 events every year throughout the country. We sit on committees and advisory boards on water, the environment, and sustainable ag. We put on this really cool Earth Day Food & Wine Festival. And of course we manage and administer the SIP Certification program, which involves over... [Read more...]
Cabbage Soup | The Luck of the Irish
I have a group of friends who get together every week of so for an informal potluck . We loosely assign who will prepare the main, sides, dessert, etc. and always come up with a fabulous feast (and as the primary cook in the house I LOVE the ease of making a fraction of the meal!). Naturally, we had to theme our most recent gathering around St. Patty's. There were corned beef sandwiches, herbed potatoes, sauerkraut dip, soda bread, and Bailey's and stout cupcakes on the menu but what was I to bring? I did... [Read more...]
Earth Day | No Tie Dye Required
[caption id="attachment_1013" align="alignright" width="200"] No Tie Dye Required | Andrea from Chamisal Vineyards[/caption] When I hit the radio "tour" for our first Earth Day Food & Wine Festival in 2007, I was pretty excited to get the word out to try and sell tickets. Prepped with all the relevant event info, I brought my enthusiasm to the studio to promote our little party that celebrates farmers and the environment. One of my first interviews went something like this: Him: So, I've never really heard of anything like this. Are there going to be be hippies... [Read more...]
Fondue Recipe With Smoked Gouda and Porter | Courtesy Artisan of Paso Robles
[caption id="attachment_969" align="alignright" width="200"] Fondue Recipe With Gouda - Photo Credit Rob Stark Photography[/caption] Although bell bottoms have come and gone out of style since the 1960's, I think that long forks loaded with toasted bread and a communal pot filled molten cheese should never be passé. Fondue will always have a place on our table. And no one makes this retro delight better than chef and co-owner Chris Kobayashi of Artisan in Paso Robles, California. Their fondue recipe with porter and smoked Gouda fondue served with garlic toast, andouille sausage, and broccolini is a... [Read more...]
Earth Day Food and Wine | How It All Began
[caption id="attachment_929" align="alignright" width="200"] Our First Earth Day Postcard | A Little Treasure I Discovered During Our Recent Move[/caption] Our "roots" have always been with the work that we do with farmers. Tailgate meetings, workshops, research, farmworker education - these programs are the core of all of our work. We are a farmer group. Period. But a few years ago (actually it was probably more like 8 or 9 years ago), we thought, "Hmmmmm - I bet there are other folks who would be interested in learning more about our group and mission. In fact,... [Read more...]