Fork & Bottle: Slow Food Gravenstein Apple Celebration

August 8, 2004

Slow Food Russian River
Gravenstein Apple Celebration

With Judy Rogers of Zuni Café
Event at Cherrybrook Farm, Graton, CA

To Benefit Slow Food USA’s Gravenstein Apple Presidia

3pm – Apple Sauce making
5:30 – Speakers Talk about the project
Michael Dimock, Chairman Slow Food USA
Lee Walker – Walker Ranch
Bill Niman – Niman Ranch
Judy Rodgers – Zuni Café

Accompanied by
Wild Boar Sausage from Willowside Meats
Organic Cherry Tomatoes
Village Bakery Bread
Russian River Brewery Beer
Joseph Swan Gewurztraminer, Zinfandel & Pinot Noir

6:30 Dinner

Niman Ranch pork ribs & shoulders
Tierra Vegetables Corn
Quetzal Farms Peppers, leeks, eggplant & onions
Laguna Farms squash

Roasted Gravenstein Apple with Straus Creamery Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Bellweather Farms Pt Reyes blue cheese, Carmody cheese & Bear Flag Toma Cheese

We arrived for the 5:30 reception in the redwood grove. Here’s some quick facts we learned from the speakers:

Gravenstein is the earliest apple (meaning it ripens the earliest)
Slow Food has about 100,000 members worldwide and between 10,000 and 15,000 US members
Judy Rodgers shops at Monterey Market in Berkeley for the restaurant and herself.
Judy summed up that "cooking is about shopping."

The wild boar sausage was good but not notable. The Joseph Swan gewurztraminer was unfiltered and very cloudy, but very drinkable. The Pinot was the 2002.

Josh Silvers of Syrah Bistro (also a Slow Food member) cooked the dinner with his staff along with the help of Holy Smokes BBQ of Sebastapol.

Allen Katz (of New York) was also in attendance.

Apples from Walker Ranch were available for sale at $10 for 20 pounds. Ours made a couple of fantatic pies and a lot of fabulous applesauce.

Nicoletta Niman is an Environmental Lawyer. She mentioned that the Sierra Club was doing a lot for the non-commerical production of pork.

Niman Ranch has 350? farms it buys from and as pigs are sold to them, the owners of the farms receive part of the company in payment.

Walker says he estimates there are only 8 or 9 farmers growing Gravensteins in Sonoma now of any tonnage. 50 cents a pound wholesale is what they would like to sell apples for. This year the Gravenstein crop came in really early

The invitation:

Slow Food Russian River Convivium

The Sonoma Gravenstein & Wild Boar Event to benefit Slow Food’s Gravenstein Apple Presidia Project

Sunday August 8, 2004

David & Louise Smith’s Cherrybrook Farm
Graton CA

Special Guests
Judy Rodgers, Chef & Co-Owner, Zuni Café
Bill & Colette Niman, Niman Ranch, Inc.
Lee & Shirley Walker, Walker Ranch

3:00 Gravenstein Apple picking and applesauce making in the redwood grove

5:30 Program begins accompanied by chilled Sonoma micro brews and wines & Willowside Meats grilled Sausage

6:15 Dinner is served

Dinner

Slow Roasted Niman Pork and a Sonoma County wild boar (if the hunting is successful - it wasn't!) with fresh apple sauce

Roasted Organic peppers, onions & corn

Salad of organic summer greens