Pinot Lovers, Save the Date: Sept. 13

Oregon's Pinot Noir heartland is Willamette Valley, a far drive from the Bay Area. But come Sept. 13, you'll have a great opportunity to taste the excellent wines from this rainy Northwest region, famed for its Burgundian terroir and wines, when Willamette Wines lands in SF.

The event will be at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, Thursday night, from 6 to 9 pm.

A trade tasting will take place from 12-4 pm.

The organically grown wines that will be available to taste include:

Brooks (Organic/Biodynamic)
Cooper Mountain (Biodynamic)
Lemelson (Biodynamic)
Montinore (Biodynamic)
Sokol Blosser (Some Organic)

For more event details, click here.

McFadden's Winning Wines

Correction: I inadvertently omitted McFadden's wines from the Mendocino Wine Competition list of winners by winery.

Here are the winning McFadden wines:


MCFADDEN
Double Gold: Brut (Sparkling)
Silver: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris (2011), Sauvignon Blanc (2009), Gewurztraminer (2009), Riesling (2010)
Bronze: Pinot Gris (2007)

The original post has been updated to include them.

Mendocino Wine Contest Winners: Listed By Winery

It might seem like I am making much ado over the Mendocino Wine Competition winners list, but, let me explain: this, folks, is one of the best shopping lists to consider when looking for affordably priced, organically grown wines (at least until my app is published).

I've taken the list of winners, and organized the organic among them by winery, so you can see which wineries won what. This can also help you organize yourself come Hopland Passport or other wine-tasting trips in Mendocino's wine regions if you want to taste or buy the wineries' top rated wines.

BARRA OF MENDOCINO (5)
Silver: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Rose (Pinot Noir)
Bronze: Cabernet, Zinfandel

BINK (1)
Silver: Sauvignon Blanc

BONTERRA (8)
Double Gold: The McNab (Bordeaux Blend), Chardonnay
Gold: Viognier
Silver: Pinot Noir, Zinfandel
Bronze: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Red Blend (Rhones: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre)

CHIARITO VINEYARD (3)
Double Gold: Nero D'Avola
Silver: Petite Sirah, Negramoro
Bronze: Zinfandel

FREY (NAS - No Added Sulfites) (2)
Silver: Chardonnay
Bronze: Carignane

GIRASOLE (4)
Gold: Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc
Silver: Muscat
Bronze: Chardonnay

HANDLEY (2)
Double Gold: Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley)
Silver: Chardonnay
(Handley had many more entries but the others were not organically grown).

MCFADDEN
Double Gold: Brut (Sparkling)
Silver: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris (2011), Sauvignon Blanc (2009), Gewurztraminer (2009), Riesling (2010)
Bronze: Pinot Gris (2007)

NAUGHTY BOY (2)
Silver: Rose
Bronze: Pinot Noir

PATIANNA (3)
Gold: Sauvignon Blanc
Silver: Sparkling Wine, Zinfandel

PAUL DOLAN (7)
Gold: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc
Silver: Pinot Noir (Filigreen), Pinot Noir (Potter Valley), Red Blend: Deep Red, Zinfandel
Bronze: Chardonnay

SARACINA (2)
Gold: Sauvignon Blanc
Silver: Malbec

TERRA SAVIA (1)
Bronze: Cabernet Sauvignon

TESTA (4)
Double Gold: Carignane
Gold: Charbono, Rose, Bordeaux Blend: Black

YORKVILLE CELLARS (2)
Silver: Rose (sweet), Sauvignon Blanc

Mendo Wine Winners: Listed By Varietal

REDS

Bordeaux Blend (2)
Bonterra's flagship wine over the new/old Testa, which has been growing for decades, but bottling under their own name only recently.
Double Gold
Bonterra McNab, 2006
Bronze
Testa, Black (blend with Cabernet)

Cabernet Sauvignon (4)
Gold
Paul Dolan, 2010
Bronze
Barra, 2009
Bonterra, 2010
Terra Savia, 2009

Carignane (2)
This is an impressive debut for Testa's Carignane.
Double Gold
Testa, 2010
Bronze
Frey (NSA), NV

Charbono (1)
An old Italian varietal showcased.
Double Gold
Testa, 2010

Italian Varietals (2)
Chiarito's dry farmed, organic vineyard produced high quality deep flavors.
Double Gold
Chiarito, 2009 Nero D'Avola (not certified but organic)
Silver
Chiarito, 2009 Negramoro

Malbec (1)
A boutique, small production of 100% Malbec.
Silver
Saracina, 2010

Merlot (1)
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010

Petite Sirah (1)
Silver
Chiarito, 2009

Pinot Noir (8)
A surprising "Gold" for Girasole.
Double Gold
Handley - Anderson Valley (Estate), 2009
Gold
Girasole, 2010
Silver
Barra, 2009
Bonterra, 2010
Paul Dolan - Filigreen, 2007
Paul Dolan - Potter Valley, 2009
Bronze
McFadden, 2007
Naughty Boy, 2009

Red Blends (3)
Silver
Paul Dolan, Deep Red, 2008 (Petit Sirah, Primativo, Syrah, Grenache)
Bronze
Bonterra, The Butler, 2007 (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre)
Testa, Black, 2009

Rose (4)
Yorkville Cellars' rose is on the sweet side; the others are relatively dry.
Gold
Testa (Carignane), 2011
Silver
Barra, 2011
Naughty Boy, 2011
Yorkville Cellars, 2011

Zinfandel (3)
It's surprising that Zins haven't done better in Mendo.
Silver
Bonterra, 2009
Patianna, 2009
Paul Dolan, 2010

WHITES

Chardonnay (7)
More surprises - Bonterra's takes the top spot; and McFadden takes a silver, as high as benchmark Chardonnay producer Handley.
Double Gold
Bonterra, 2010
Silver
Barra, 2010
Frey, 2010
Handley Cellars, 2010
McFadden, 2010
Bronze
Girasole, 2010
Paul Dolan, 2010

Gewurztraminer (1)
Silver
McFadden, 2009

Muscat (1)
Warning: This one's way too sweet for my taste. (Girasole's sister wine, Barra, has a muscat that is better.)
Silver
Girasole, 2011

Pinot Blanc (1)
A notable achievement.
Gold
Girasole, 2010

Pinot Gris (1) 
Silver
McFadden, 2011

Riesling (1)
Silver
McFadden, 2010

Sauvignon Blanc (6)
All three top winners are very different - you might enjoy a taste-off comparison tasting.
Gold
Patianna, 2010
Paul Dolan, 2011
Saracina, 2011
Silver
Bink, 2011
McFadden, 2009
Yorkville Cellars, 2011

Viognier (2)
The Bonterra is a personal favorite of mine - particularly in the summer.
Gold
Bonterra
Bronze
Campovida

Sparkling (2)
My favorite go to sparkling wine is the McFadden, of course. (I have never seen the Patianna for sale anywhere, but would like to try it.)
Double Gold
McFadden Brut (NV)
Silver
Patianna, 2008

The Biggest Organically Grown Wine Competition: Mendocino Wine Competition - 2012 Winners

Though Mendocino's annual wine competition sounds like any other county competition, in fact, this county, with its large community of organic growers, is, in essence, a competition with more organically grown wine winners than any other county competition I've followed. (In contrast, Sonoma's county competition has almost no organically grown wines in it.)

So it's with great pleasure that I present to you the award-winning wines - many of which I've featured here in previous posts, but here with new competition results to re-inspire discovery and acknowledge excellence.

For a full list of winners (including the non-organically grown), see the pdf published here.

This year the competition results were published by overall ranking, not wine type. I'm going to present the organic and biodynamically grown winners both ways in two posts. This first post (of two - the latter to follow) lists the top organically or biodynamically grown wines:

DOUBLE GOLD AWARD WINNERS

REDS

Bordeaux Blends
Bonterra, 2006 McNab Red
A classic, the showcase red wine of the Bonterra brand, grown biodynamically in one of the most beautiful vineyards in California.

Carignane
Testa Vineyards, 2010
A new wine for Testa, which has grown this on wonderful, dry farmed old vines, but has sold its production to other winemakers until now. It's nice to see this wine's first bottling rate so well.

Italian Varietals
Chiarito, 2009 Nero D'Avola
A southern Italian classic, grown primarily in Sicily, this dry farmed (not certified) organically grown wine also got a gold at the Sunset magazine competition this year.

Pinot Noir
Handley Cellars, 2009 Anderson Valley (estate)
From a long time pro, Handley's Pinot Noir (be sure to look for the organic one, grown on the estate) is a perennial favorite.

WHITES

Chardonnay
Bonterra, 2010
At $14 a bottle, this wine is the best budget winner of the competition - and an award-winner in the Sunset magazine competition as well, rating as highly as $80, 94 point Parker rated wines like Bergstrom. 

Sparkling
McFadden, NV Brut
No matter what price you get it at, it's a bargain, tieing again this year with French powerhouse Roederer for top honors. If you join the McFadden Wine Club, this too can be had for $14 a bottle once or twice a year when it's on sale. 

I'll be publishing the list of wines by varietal in a future post.

BevMo 5 Cent Sale: Pacific Rim Organic Riesling Just $8 a Bottle

BevMo's running a new 5-cent sale - buy one bottle and get the second for just 5 cents.

The current special features just one organically grown wine - but it's a very good one.

If you like Riesling, hurry to snap up Pacific Rim's Organic Riesling, regularly $16 a bottle, but during the sale you can get it for basically half off. Happy Shopping!

Family Winemakers of California: Sept. 9 at Fort Mason

Do you like those crowded, mass tastings? If so, you can get hyperactive about wine tasting at the Sunday, Sept. 9 Family Winemakers of California tasting. Hundreds of wineries will be pouring, including many of the organic viticulture producers.

Info here.

Here's to the Doubters...Matt Kramer Among Them

KUDOS

Wine Spectator Matt Kramer's latest column takes doubters to task, particularly those who doubt the claims of biodynamics. Here's to the doubters who take say it ain't necessarily so.

Subscribers can read the post here.

Sunset Magazine's Organically Grown Wine Winners

Sunset Magazine's annual wine competition took  place July 9 in Menlo Park. Among the hundreds of wines submitted, the judges chose the winners; the list (available online here) will be published in the Nov. issue of Sunset magazine.

Here are the organically or biodynamically grown winners among them. I've starred my faves.

Among the highlights:

Chardonnay: you can spend $80 for a Bergstrom Chardonnay or $14 for Bonterra's Chardonnay? I'm not sure the judges got this one right. Both got gold.

Bonterra's Chardonnay is good, esp. for the price, but hasn't ranked in the wine press like Bergstrom's, which won 94 points from Robert Parker. You might try your own taste comparison...or just stick with the Bonterra, knowing it's a budget-price Gold winner.

Italian Varietals: I am a huge fan of Chiarito (organic but not certified) so I am delighted to see this Mendocino traditional grower/winemaker getting two Golds for its Nero d'Avola and Negramoro, both traditional varietals grown in southern Italy and perfectly suited to our California interior climates (much more than the international varietals - Cab and Chard).

I personally buy these two wines by the case, (If you're a Chiarito wine club member, there's a 35% off sale going on now on both of these wines.)

Bonterra: Overall this widely available (in supermarkets, even) organic powerhouse swept the awards, winning 7 prizes, the most of any organically grown brand. That's not so surprising, given that it's the biggest brand in the organically grown space, but it's reaffirming to see that its quality survives despite its high volume production.

Albarino: I was dismayed to see Verdad get only a Bronze for its Albarino. The label has been a powerhouse for this varietal, so one wonders if the judges are really familiar with this Spanish grape. It was a pick of the week from the LATimes (a previous vintage but still), so the judging seems a bit off to me.

Brut Rose: I was happy to see Handley Cellars get a Silver for its fantastic Brut Rose, which also got a Gold medal in the SF Chronicle Wine Competition and a 91 point rating from Wine Spectator. It's a lovely wine and usually flies off the shelf. It's not made every year, so grab it while you can. It tied with longtime sparkling wine producer Schramsberg (not organically grown), just one more sign of its lovely qualities.

REDS

• Bordeaux Blend
Bronze
Stone Edge, Surround ($30)

• Cabernet Sauvignon
Bronze
Stone Edge Farm, 2008

• Italian Varietals
Gold
***Chiarito Vineyard, Nero d'Avola
***Chiarito Vineyard, Negramoro

• Merlot
Silver
Bonterra, 2009 Merlot ($18)

• Pinot Noir
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 Pinot Noir ($16)

• Rose
Silver
Ceago Vinegarden, Syrah Rose ($16)

Syrah
Silver
Bonterra, 2007 The Butler ($36)
Ceago, 2010 Syrah ($22)

WHITES
• Albarino
Bronze
***Verdad, 2010 Albarino

• Chardonnay
Gold
Bergstrom, 2010 Sigrid ($80)
Bonterra, 2010 Chardonnay ($14)

Bronze
Handley, 2010 Chardonnay ($22)

• Riesling
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 Riesling ($14)
Pacific Rim, 2010 Riesling ($32)

• Sauvignon Blanc
Bronze
Bonterra, 2010 ($14)

• Viognier
Silver
Bonterra, 2010 Viognier ($14)

• Sparkling
Silver
***Handley, Brut Rose ($40)

Giornata Wines - Featured in Winery Finds in SG Chronicle Today

I first encountered Giornata's wines at Oakland's Boot and Shoe (a trendy restaurant that's an offshoot of Temescal favorite Pizzaiola) and wrote about them here.

Now today's Chronicle has an article featuring new wine finds across the state, and Giornata's flag is flying high.

Says Jon Bonne, "the rich calcium soils help retain freshness in their Nebbiolo, an improbable choice even for west-side Paso, but one they have made perfumed and subtle, with the tarry edge that's in classic Barbaresco."

Nuff said!

Here's their site where you can order up a bottle.

Wine Spectator Kudos to Organically Grown Sauvignon Blanc, Rose

Wine Spectator's latest issue is out, with special features on Sauvignon Blanc from California, and Roses.

ROSE - THREE WINES

Out of a field 110 roses tasted, 18 California wines made the list, tying with and/or rating higher than the large field of Tavels (from Provence).

Three of the top-rated California roses, came from organic or biodynamic sources - one from Sonoma County and two from Santa Barbara County.

The top rated California rose is Zin-maker Carol Shelton's 2011 Rendezvous Rose ($15), rated 90 pts., which is generally made from certified organically grown grapes. This year the rose is about 80% certified grapes; Shelton says she'll return to 100% next year, so keep an eye out. It's made from 70% carignane and 30% from a traditional field blend.

Here's a video on the 2009 vintage:



The 2011 rose of Syrah from Lompoc's Ampelos ($16) got an 88 pt. rating. Their estate wines are from certified biodynamic grapes - I'm not sure if this is purely estate grapes or not.

The perennially popular organic viticulture pioneer Alma Rosa with its 2010 El Jabali Vin Gris ($20) also rated 88 pts.

SAUVIGNON BLANC - TWO WINS

Out of 200 wines, 13 were rated "Top Wines" and just one is (almost) certified organically grown: the Voss Sauvignon Blanc ($18), a New Zealand style SB made by an Aussie, whose vineyards are being certified organic by their new Napa-based owner Ted Hall. The vineyards were certified in 2011.

Voss concentrates on and makes only Sauvignon Blanc. This wine was rated at 89 pts.

I was wowed when I first tasted it last year at a wine tasting at Fort Mason - it's distinctly different from the "normal" California Sauvignon Blanc - a no oak, no malo, bright fruit style SB:



In "Top Values", Quivira's 2010 Fig Tree Vineyard ($18) rated 89 pts. out of a field of 21 wines. This Dry Creek vineyard is the oldest certified vineyard on the Quivira estate.

Both of the Sauvignon Blancs are in stores in Northern California.

Of course, there are many more wonderful Roses and Sauvignon Blancs from organic producers. Here are a few more suggestions:

• Cowhorn
• Elizabeth Spencer
• Horse and Plow
• Neal Family
• Saracina
• Tablas Creek

Give it a Whirl: David Montomgery's YouTube Video on his book "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations"

You may think our lives depend on oil, but in reality soil is the far more fundamental essential. See why.

.

New! First Ever Coro Mendocino Farm to Table Dinner: August 18 at McFaddens in Potter Valley

Like what you see from below (from the previous post photos)? Another tour/feast will happen again - in a new way - August 18 when the Coro Mendocino gang gathers for its first annual Farm to Table dinner.

Two of the participating wineries offer organically grown Zin blends - Barra and McFadden. The event will be held at McFadden's idyllic Potter Valley paradise.

For more on the 2009 Coro Mendocino, see the article here.

Get the event details here.

Party Valley in Potter Valley: A Night to Remember

A farm tour through the "mooselike" Sauvignon Blanc vines, passing the grazing cattle, while majestic alleys of oaks beckoned, festooned with balloon like tents below for 50 of the more than 200 revelers at McFadden Wine Club's magnificent 4th wine club dinner.

The party was so everything Napa isn't any more. In Potter Valley, there IS sophistication and style - but without pretense. From the grilled Magruder pigs (the same pork Alice Waters cooks at Chez Panisse, but this time grilled by the farmer himself) to the glittering assortment of fashion from funk to glamour adorning both young and old, this party had it all.

There was the opening farm tour with grower/proprietor Guinness McFadden, a New Yorker who landed here after the Vietnam War 40 years ago, and started growing certified organic wayback then ("I was raising my kids here"). Guinness led a crowd of some 25+ tourers, showing off the solar power, water power, and human power behind McFadden's vineyards, wine, and organic herbs.

After show and tell at a number of farm machinery - some old, some new- the group strolled through the Sauvignon Blanc vines which Guinness described thusly: "These go to Diageo - they used them in their Sterling Organic brand," (alas, Sterling is ending their organic program), noting that these vines are "as big as a moose so we have to trim them back."

All around majestic oaks (mostly gone from Napa; their presence sadly recounted in Robin Grossinger's Napa Valley Historical Ecology Atlas) and beautiful mountains beckoned. Potter Valley is a paradise.

Until 2005, there wasn't even any Roundup applied to wine grapes out here (at least according to the California State Dept. of Pesticide Regulation).

The area is definitely "off the grid" for wine lovers - except for a very few days of the year when McFaddens opens its doors for this magic-and-dancing-under-the-stars event.

There really are no words to describe the sweet delight of the tour and the evening, so I'll hope these pictures can do the talking for the tour part of the program. I'll publish more photos in a separate post on the evening festivities.

Hay rides - YES!
How long has it been...

Guinness leads a tour

Where the farm and vineyard gets energy is a big part of the story
at McFaddens...solar panels, water power - it's ahead of the curve.

Guinness shows off an old water wheel.
Note the solar panels on the roof in the background.

The organic herbs and herb blends are part of the tour.
The herb business helps keep the workers busy year round.

Here you can see the solar panels again...

What's a farm tour without some dangerous machinery to gawk at?

The discer

The vineyard tour

Traipsing down the Sauvignon Blanc allee

These grapes used to go into Sterling's organic brand, but no more since
Diageo ended its organic line.   Why...? We know not.
Guinness found another buyer for more money within a day.

Getting to the party was half the fun.

If you find yourself drooling over the locale and the scenery, you can still make reservations and attend the upcoming Coro Mendocino dinner which will be held at McFaddens August 18. 

Cabot Vineyard's Syrah: High on Praise from Hospice du Rhone Tasting

Jennings' rate the Cabot Syrah 91-94 pts.
It sells for $28.

Humboldt's Cabot Vineyard, one of the northernmost vintners in the state, is happy to pass along the word that Richard Jennings, voted one of the 100 Most Influential People in Wine, rated their wines 91 to 94 points at the recent Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles.

Wrote Jennings, "John Cabot continues to do a great job with his flavorful, cooler climate Syrahs. The prices are very reasonable, too." Read the full review here.

Naughty Boy WInery to Double Hopland's Organic Row

Naughty Boy has two
organically grown wines:
a rose and a Pinot

I passed through downtown Hopland this weekend en route to the McFadden Wine Club party up in Potter Valley only to discover that on the site where the latte shop used to be, there were brown-paper covered windows and a legal notice saying that Naughty Boy Winery had applied for a permit here.

Naughty Boy is a tiny winery with reasonably priced organically grown Pinot Noir. One year they took a big prize, winning a top 100 wine in the SF Chronicle's annual selections. 


They also have an organically grown rose (and a not organic Chardonnay). 


Here are some photos from a visit to the winery last summer, when the Scotts graciously hosted a friend and I for a creekside tasting at their five acre place on the Russian River (although it's just a creek here). At that point grower/proprietors Jim and Emjay Scott told me of their plans to open a spot in Hopland - so it's good news to know that it is getting closer to reality.

Naughty Boy vineyard in Potter Valley

Naughty Boy's organically grown offerings come in
two labels - the one for dog lovers and the royal look

Jim leads us to the tasting room ("before" photo) - on the Russian River

Tasting rose on one of the hottest days of the year

Vineyard entrance

Jim and Emjay with The Naughty Boy
(on the site of their facility for making white wine - located on their vineyard/home property)

So now downtown Hopland will have not one but two organically grown wine tasting rooms from little known Potter Valley - and that's a good thing. 

Until the new Naughty Boy tasting room opens up, you can most likely find their wines (in that area) at the Ukiah Natural Foods store. 

The legal notice says Naughty Boy winery has applied
for a permit to sell wine here.

Naughty Boy (organically grown Pinot and Rose)
will be right next door to McFadden's (all organic)

Hopland's Newest Hot Spot: Piazza de Campovida

BEAUTIFUL VERANDA VIEWS AND FANTASTIC FOOD

Welcome

Right on Route 101 in
downtown Hopland

The best, new hot spot for wine country dining in Mendocino has got to be Hopland's Piazza de Campovida, a classy yet casual pizza place with a Grade A view from the veranda of mountain ranges and a chef who makes food you'll come back again and again for.

And why, you may ask, is this important? Because Hopland is ground zero (along with Ukiah and nearby Potter Valley) for organic viticulture and when in wine country, where the wine prices are right, a girl still has to eat. Before the Piazza came along, there was only the Bluebird cafe, a place famous for pie and burgers. So in this case, more is better...Piazza de Campovida has definitely raised the bar.

The veranda has lovely mountain views

I've been there twice now. It's the basic gourmet pizza and handcrafted beer theme, but the execution is flawless. It's a classic Italian theme, yet with that hops twist - so Hopland, don't you think?

Piazza de Campovida specializes in
handcrafted beers made in Oakland

The summer squash salad, a unique seasonal specialty,
was beautiful and flavorful with corn, herbs, and pine nuts -
hurry it won't be on the menu for long

The seating inside is spacious and casual

Super casual, but those hefty cloth napkins come in handy

Best bets are the pizzas (sorry, we ate ours before I thought of photographing it) and the salads. This weekend my friend and I sampled a special summer squash and white corn salad - to die for. 

The panna cotta is one sexy dessert.

I also love love love the panna cotta.

The wines aren't organic (and there are only two of them - house wines), but the beer is - and down the side road there, you'll find Campovida's winery and retreat center (less than a mile away), where some of the wines are organically grown, if a bit on the pricey side.

Read more about Piazza de Campovida and customer reviews on their Yelp page.

GREAT FOOD - NEAR THE HOPLAND WINERY TASTING ROOMS (FOR ORGANICALLY GROWN WINES)

Piazza de Campovida doesn't try to compete with the nearby winery tasting bars so it's the perfect place to eat between wine tastings at downtown Hopland's two organic wine mainstays - the McFadden Vineyards tasting room and the tasting room at Cesar Toxqui (the latter where you'll find a few organically grown wines mixed in with mostly not organic). There's also a good selection of organically grown wines at SIP Mendocino in downtown Hopland as well. 

Further north on Route 101, stop in a Saracina for a lovely cave tour, tasting bar and picnicking. The wines there are made under the supervision of wine rock star David Ramey.

All in all, Piazza de Campovida adds a lot to Hopland as a destination, both for Route 101 visitors passing through - and for us organic wine tourists.

Quote of the Day: Wallace Fuller on Soil and Lifelessness

"A cloak of loose, soft material, held to the earth’s hard surface by gravity, is all that lies between life and lifelessness.” --- Wallace H. Fuller, Soils of the Desert Southwest, 1975


For more soil quotes, visit http://urbanext.illinois.edu/soil/quotes/quotes.htm.

Symphony of the Soil Debuts: New Film by Deborah Garcia ("Future of Food")

"A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself," says Franklin D. Roosevelt - a quote that graces the web site of the new documentary film about soil from filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia. (Her previous ag film was The Future of Food, about the dangers of GMOs).

Garcia's new film is a head-turning story that will totally change the way you think about "dirt." It should help a wide audience understand just what is happening to our soil (from chemicals that are hardly "conventional" agriculture) and how important it is for our civilization to focus on organic agriculture and soil health. It's all about the microorganisms, bebe!

The film shys away from being anti-Monsanto and goes towards being more pro-soil, a long overdue messaging strategy that is good to put into play.

On June 18, following successful screenings at the DC-based Environmental Film Festival, London's Curzon Theater and New York's Stone Barns, the film debuted in the Bay Area for a friends and family screening (which I attended). Here is a little scrapbook of photos from that event for your enjoyment.

For more about the film, visit its web site here. The site's blog has a good continuous feed as well.

Filmmaker Deborah Garcia at the film's debut party for friends and family June 18 at Fort Mason's Cowell Theater

A dear friend, plant lover and incredible editor Vivien Hillgrove pieced together film shot on several continents over years of shooting

Cinematography Nancy Schiesari (a close friend of mine) shot UK portions of the film. A former UK resident, she teaches cinematography at UT Austin when she isn't making films.

Nancy enjoys a drink at the after party celebrating with John Chader , who shot most of the film - which was filmed everywhere from China to India to Norway

Publisher Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books was among the many who celebrated at the generous after screening party at the nearby General's House looking out over the bay

For more on the star-studded group of participants in the making of the film, see here. And take a look at the incredible lineup of experts who participated here.

DON'T MISS THE NEXT PUBLIC SCREENING

The film will screen Monday, July 30 at 7 pm in Sonoma at Sonoma State as part of the Biochar conference. For details and an excellent synopsis of the film, click here. 

You can also subscribe to the film's email list to be emailed about future events and screenings. DVDs will be for sale in the fall.