Drink
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Green Gold
Sebastopol’s Guayakí proves that money really does grow on trees “People, Profit, Planet” is the unofficial slogan of Guayakí Sustainable Rainforest Products, an international beverage company based in Sebastopol. Guayakí’s flagship product is yerba mate, a caffeinated beverage derived from the leaves and stems of a holly tree native to the Atlantic rain forests of…
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Wine into Wheat
WHOA Farms makes wine in order to give food away. According to Sonoma County’s strangely riveting official document, “Obesity Prevention Plan, 2010-2013,” a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet consisting of calorie-dense foods costs the local consumer $3.52. The average American eats a range of foods at that calorie level costing roughly $7 a day. But the price of…
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Holistic Horticulture
Will biodynamic growing push beyond organic—and wine? Enough about the cow horn already! Yes, there is a cow horn and yes, it is packed with fresh cow manure and buried in the ground on the Autumnal Equinox. Recovered on the Spring Equinox, the manure inside has transformed to clean, chocolate-smelling humus that is preferably hand-mixed…
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Fire + Water
Wine and beer make room for a new boom in spirit distillation. You could be smelling one of any number of things,” Adam Spiegel says matter-of-factly as we quite literally sniff about the 750 square feet that currently comprises the heart of his 1512 Spirits distillery in Rohnert Park. Rye grain, steam, malt—who knows what’s…
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Letters of Intent
Sonoma County aims to be the first 100 percent sustainable wine region in the U.S. OK, here’s a word that sounds good: Sustainability. But what does it mean? Even the dictionary is of little use: “The property of being sustainable.” All right, let’s go to the root. Sustainable: “Able to be maintained at a certain…
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DRNK ‘n’ Drones
Winemaker Ryan Kunde doesn’t have to go high tech, but why wouldn’t he? In 2011, in an Armenian cave, researchers discovered what might be the world’s oldest winery. The press, storage vessels, drinking cups, and vines, skins, and seeds scattered throughout the cave are thought to be 6,100 years old. In 2011, Ryan Kunde launched…
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Far From the Tree
Nana Mae’s and the sour taste of an ungrafted economy. Apples! Such an innocent fruit. The sturdy globe of a red-cheeked apple is American shorthand for student affection of favored teachers, wholesome homespun values, patriotic pies, and good health. Apples! Such cunning tricksters. Leave an apple tree ungrafted and it will produce an apple entirely…