To celebrate Sonoma County Wine Month here at home, we have from the Russian River Valley, three from Women in Wine producing Pinot Noir: owner/grower Renee Stein at Balverne, owner/grower Allie Ketcham at Ketcham, and winemaker Susie Selby at Selby Winery all paired with French Pate and Duck Breast.
Paradise Pantry picnic with wildflowers on a foggy “Grapril” Day
Happy Earth Month! Happy National Parks Week! Spring is sprung, and wildflowers are everywhere— at least in my neck of the woods!In fact, there’s so many wildflowers that my latest article for the VC Reporter published April 17 in the “Great Outdoors” issue is all about three easy accessible wildflower walks with picnics in the parks! The three parks are in Ventura– Channel Islands National Park, Ventura Botanical Garden, and Arroyo Verde Park—and we put together a picnic from Paradise Pantry paired with a rose from Clos des Amis Ventura County Estate Vineyard and a Pinot Noir from The Ojai Vineyard’s Fe Ciega Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills.
organic Domaine Bousquet for Malbec Day paired with empanadas
On April 17 in 1853, French soil expert Michel Aimé Pouget showed Argentineans how to adapt French varietals, including Malbec, to Argentina, so Wines of Argentina created Malbec World Day on April 17 to celebrate Malbec from Argentina and “to position Argentine Malbec as one of the most prominent in the world.” While wine has been made in Argentina since the 1500s, you might be surprised to learn that today Argentina is one of the top five producing wine countries in the world — with Malbec taking the lead. In Argentina, almost 25% of vineyards are planted in Malbec (almost 116k acres of vineyards!). This is nearly 200% increase in 20 years. Nearly 45% of the red wine made in Argentina is Malbec meaning there’s a Malbec for every palate, budget, and event and most of it is grown sustainably.
Domaine Bousquet has taken a lead in sustainability in Argentina. They began their project growing organically 25 years ago, and Domaine Bousquet earned the first Regenerative Organic Certification outside of the US (the fourth worldwide!) Here’s four wines from Domaine Bousquet that won’t break the bank or the planet.
Frey organic and biodynamic wines have lovely labels
“When we say that we are pioneers in organics, we’re not just paying lip service to our pioneer status. We’re actually situating ourselves as the fundamental players that brought organics into the wine industry,” says Molly Frey in conversation with her mother Katrina Frey, her sister Eliza, and Derek Dahlen vineyard manager.Organic and biodynamic pioneers Frey Vineyards Ranch became a bonded winery forty five years ago yesterday March 24— making them Mendocino’s winery number twelve. This year, they’re opening up their new winery facilities and making more plans for a green future with their extended family.
Back on March 24, 1980, Frey officially became a resale winery, but they were organic from the beginning when the family planted the vines in the 1960s. Demeter certified them biodynamic in 1996, and USDA certification came in 2003.
Frey family: assistant winemaker Eliza Frey and husband vineyard manager and biodynamic specialist Derrick Dahlen in a Texas kitchen following the eclipse
Today, multiple generations of Frey women live on the ranch and work with the winery including 100 year old matriarch Beba Frey, her daughter in law marketing maven executive director aka CEO Katrina Frey who married Beba’s son winemaker Jonathan Frey, their daughters Molly Frey who handles social media, and Eliza Frey who is on the winemaking team. Many more of Beba’s extended family are involved in all aspects of their operation on the slopes of Redwood Valley, in Mendocino County, California.
And as today March 25 is National Women in Wine Day,
“Sulphur Mountain sits 3,000 feet above Ventura County, looming directly above the Ojai Valley Inn. Not quite as tall as the Topa Topas to the north, where exposed shale glows white during the day and reflects the sunset for the famous “Pink Moment,” but tall enough to offer a magical and awe-inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean, the Channel Islands and the growing world of women working in wine.” So begins my VC Reporter article about five Ventura County women working in wine which came out Thursday, March 20, please check it out! For the past six weeks, I’ve been researching, interviewing, photographing, writing, and tasting the wines of winemaker Natalie Albertson of Wildflower Winery, now Native Bloom Winery; Olga Chernov, owner and grower at Ojai Mountain Estate; Gretel Compton, grower and winemaker Clos des Amis and South Mountain Winery; Sheila Donohue owner and importer at Verovino, and Alexis Wade, owner of Buddy’s Wine Bar.
Enjoying my StarsBox “glamp-site” at La Maliosa, Tuscany, Mother’s Day 2024
Exciting news! I’m once again nominated for the 2025 Wine Travel Awards in the Wine and Food Influencer category of “The Brightest Journey”— and public voting ends March 31st! I would appreciate it if you could take a minute to vote for me. It’s fast, it’s easy and it’s here: just click this link to my profile where you can learn more about me and vote for me!
View from my StarsBox glampsite at La Maliosa, Tuscany May 2024
The five nominees with the most votes from the public advance to the final round where judges will determine the winners— last year I made the Top 5 with thanks to you, dear readers!
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 