Slow Food Nation '08

Sunday 10:00 – 11:00am

• Exploring Coffee and Chocolate Pairings
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $10

  This workshop explored the possibilities and pitfalls of pairing coffee and chocolate while explaining the commonalities in their post-harvest processing, colonial legacies, and (naturally) offering some amazing food and drink. James Freeman from Blue Bottle Coffee and Seneca Klassen from Bittersweet Cafe dug into two of the world’s favorite stimulants.

• Slow Food Meals on a Budget
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $10

  Living the slow food lifestyle doesn’t require selling the family farm. Whole Foods Market value experts shared tricks for maximizing your shopping dollars even as you maximize your eating pleasure. Chef Instructor Josh Hanoka presented a four-course meal for four people for under $50 and showed how to save on the best local foods.

Sunday 12:00 – 1:00pm

• Fermented Delicacies
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $10

  Food doesn’t get much slower than fermentation. In this workshop, Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, offered a broad survey of the exciting flavors of fermented delicacies enjoyed by cultures around the world. Participants learned about the healing qualities and nutritional importance of fermentation, as well as its illustrious history and integral role in human cultural evolution. 45 people were empowered by simple techniques and have now become part of the fermentation revival.

• Northwestern Sips & Morsels
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $20

  Rainforests, oceans chilled by arctic currents, protected valleys, open plains, and the mountains of the Pacific Northwest served up a platter of unique regional foods paired with libations from skilled craftsmen in this workshop led by Greene Lawson, owner of HotLips Pizza and Soda in Portland, Oregon.

Sunday 2:00 – 3:00pm

• Mendocino Pinot Noir
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $20

  Classic old-and new- world-style Pinot Noir from Mendocino County was introduced in a horizontal tasting of same vintage year. The workshop explored Mendocino County AVA’s and microclimates and included tastings and comparisons of Pinot Noirs from the cool climate Anderson Valley and warmer climates such as the Russian River, Redwood and Potter Valleys. Participants enjoyed a lively discussion of the effects of soil, topography and climate on the finished wines while they sipped.

• Heirloom Tomatoes with Local Wines
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $20

  Participants swirled, sniffed and sampled wine glasses filled with brilliantly hued heirloom tomato chunks in this extraordinary workshop. Ann Noble, creator of the Wine Aroma Wheel, and Professor Emerita, UC Davis Enology Department, led a tasting of Yolo County-grown heirloom tomatoes. Paired with local wines, participants decided which wines go best with tomatoes.

Sunday 4:00 – 5:00pm

• A Traditional Taste of Southwest Heritage Foods
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $20

  Chef and author John Sharpe and Southwest Regional Slow Food Governor Pamela Hamilton led a taste journey through Southwestern heritage foods: Presidium Churro lamb, Piki bread with Hopi Hummus, and Chiltepine salsa. Participants learned about and discussed the importance of the churro lamb to the community, its history and traditions and its methods of preparation. They also sampled hand-selected foods such as tepary beans, dry-roasted blue corn and chiles from Arizona and New Mexico.

• Eat It To Save It, Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $20

  Who’d have thought that to help increase the availability of some dwindling foods and foodways all we have to do is eat them? Slow Food’s Ark of Taste co-chair Poppy Tooker led a tasting of some of the most delicious and endangered food of the USA and introduced the very special people who work to rescue and promote them: hand harvested and parched “manoomin” or wild rice with Winona LaDuke, Sun Crest peaches with Mas and Nikiko Masumoto, Guinea and Mulefoot heritage hogs with Arie McFarlen and Ark vegetables and fruits with Alyssa Jumars of Dunbar Farms. Neal Peterson, champion of the pawpaw and Betsy Lydon award winner, discussed his work recovering the American pawpaw and offered tastes as well.

Sunday 6:00 – 7:00pm

• Slow Sips & Charcuterie Snacking
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $20

  Sam Edwards of Surry, Virginia, Kenneth Rochford of Medlock Ames, and Mark Pastore, co-owner of Incanto and Boccalone, told their stories of how a prosciutto partnership saved a family business, a winery was founded on sustainable and organic principles, how chefs became shopkeepers and how flavorful experiments in the charcuterie world are feeding America’s revolution of new aromas and flavors. Participants snacked on a sumptuous array of sandwiches layered thick with charcuterie and artisan pickled delights while slowly studying the piquancy of organic, sustainable wines.

• Biodynamics and Wine
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $20

  Wines produced from biodynamically-grown grapes, farmed by gentle methods good for the earth, are a true expression of place. Four wineries described their disciplined biodynamic practices and ongoing, intuitive awareness while they presented wines for tasting from their certified Biodynamic® properties: Paul Dolan Vineyards, Ceago Vinegarden, Grgich Hills Estate, among others.

Sunday 8:00 – 9:00pm

• Slow Spirits
  

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 370 | Tickets: $20

  Allen Katz, master mixologist and Chairman of the Slow Food USA Board of Directors, Greg Lingren, Proprietor of Rye Bar, and H. Joseph Herman, Proprietor of Elixir, led a tasty and enlightening exploration of sustainable spirits and cocktails – the new wave of responsible drinking! While sipping creations from artisan spirits producers such as Prairie Organic Vodka, they discussed sustainability in distillation and the exciting use of local, seasonal ingredients in the creation of mouth-watering cocktails. Allen compared local food and drink to their industrial, commodity counterparts and illustrated how, in the campaign for a good, clean, and fair food chain, what we choose to sip is as important as what we choose to eat.

• Lodi Rules

  Fort Mason Center, Bldg C, Room 362 | Tickets: $20

  A journey through Lodi Wine Country! Led by the Lodi Rules ‘Guru’ himself, Dr. Cliff Ohmart, this memorable trip included a tasting of wines produced within Lodi Rules guidelines: California’s first set of appellation-wide sustainable viticultural standards. Participants learned how these standards, certified by third party Protected Harvest, help vintners produce high-quality wines reflective of the Lodi Appellation and address the overall health of the vineyard, ecosystem, and employee well-being.