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A shout out to the wineries with organic estates that also grow food and feed us. Happy Thanksgiving!
California
Napa
The Clif Family (yes, they founded and used to own Clif Bars) has migrated to Howell Mountain where they grow wine grapes and some fruit and veggies. They purchased a large vineyard on the valley floor in Oak Knoll. (You drive right past it going north on Route 29.) And they have a food truck locals and tourists like love in downtown St. Helena. Their preserved food wares are for sale in their St. Helena tasting room or online.
• Long Meadow Ranch and Farmstead
Laddie Hall and her husband Ted have been stalwart champions of organic wine grape growing in Napa from the start. Laddie's been selling their produce for decades at the St. Helena Farmers Market and now at their Farmstead Ranch in St. Helena on Fridays. Farmstead is also a restaurant, following Ted's vertical integration business model. The legendary Amigo Bob, CCOF founder and organic eco-hero, was one of their first guides to growing organic wine grapes.
Mendocino
• Filigreen Farm | Velma's Farm Stand
Known mostly to those who live in Anderson Valley, Filigreen Farm does not have a public face, but it is one of the top quality biodynamic farms in the U.S. It sells its grapes to various wine producers, including Donkey and Goat. But it's delicious biodynamic produce and biodynamic olive oil and other farm produce are on sale at its roadside stand.
Sonoma - Dry Creek Valley
Devoted to Italian varieties, this Healdsburg "living farm" is co-owned by a chef. Their olive oil won awards in Tuscany. The variety of wines is unique and appealing. They make estate honey and jams from their orchard.
A Dry Creek Valley mainstay, this bucolic, organic (and formerly certified biodynamic) farm and winery has it all–a farm stand with produce (with a freezer of estate lamb sausage) and a tasting room brimming with good cheer and great wine.
Another Dry Creek winery, it sells estate grown apple butter and pear butter, green fig and peach jams and quince jelly. Delicious. Some include their famous Sauvignon Blanc and other wines. They also have a Slow Food Arc of Taste that preserves historic flavors.
Oregon
Southern Oregon
Long time farmers of asparagus and other crops for local consumption, this biodynamic winery and farm specialized in Rhone wines, but has been expanding its agricultural roots under new management.
A truly diversified biodynamic producer, it makes its own estate grown cider and apples, has a vegetable garden and hay fields, along with re-wilded honeybees, sheep and chickens.
Soter Vineyards Mineral Springs Ranch
A biodynamic pioneer in Oregon's Willamette Valley, Tony Soter, formerly an organic vit star in Napa, set up shop with biodynamic farming and viticulture at its heart in his home state. They've had a farm stand at the estate. Today they offer culinary experiences at the tasting room from estate produce.
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