Slow Food Nation '08

Saturday August 30th | 9:00am – 5:00pm (8 hrs)

Outstanding food and wine producers took visitors on a trip through their stories and their land. Hosted by Slow Food Marin and Taste of Marin (Marin Organic, The Marin Agricultural Institute and The Marin Agricultural Land Trust).

General Itinerary

• AllStar Organics – Janet Brown and Marty Jacobsen are seed saving folks who have more varieties of heirloom tomatoes than you can imagine.
• McEvoy Ranch – Participants toured the gorgeous 550-acre ranch that produces award-winning olive oil and tasted why it’s so popular.
• Della Fattoria – At the beautiful McEvoy Ranch, participants enjoyed a superb lunch and local wine catered by one of Petaluma’s most popular bakery/eateries!
• Stubbs Vineyard – A tour of this little peace of Heaven and a tasting of their heavenly wines.

Cost: $129

Promotional description:

When people think of Marin, they might think of hot tubs and fancy cars, but did you know that over 50% of Marin’s land is used for agriculture? This Slow Journey will give you a chance to see how some of that land is being put to excellent use providing us with excellent eatables (and drinkables!)

You’ll start your morning with a visit to AllStar Organics. Janet Brown and Marty Jacobsen (Terra Madre delegates 2004) began with their neighbors raving about their homegrown tomatoes. They now produce a huge variety of heirloom tomatoes grown from seed that they’ve preserving. They have also introduced a line of Hydrosols, Essential Oils, Dried Herbs, and Infused Salts and Sugars. They have both stayed true to growing the most interesting and best quality products available that represent the beauty of the land where they were grown.

After seeing all that luscious fresh food, you’ll be ready for lunch at McEvoy Ranch – home to 18,000 organic olive trees on a 550-acre oak-speckled parcel on the Marin-Sonoma border. Originally inspired by the olive oils found in the Italian countryside, McEvoy Ranch’s award winning extra virgin olive oil in the Tuscan style with its characteristically rich, slightly peppery flavor is the result of six Tuscan varietals: Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, Maurino, Leccio del Corno and Coratina. The Mediterranean climate here is perfect for growing the Tuscan varietals.

Once a dairy farm, it is also a country home for Nan McEvoy and a place where she can spend time with her grandchildren. By using sheep instead of mowers to keep undergrowth at bay, they take care of the sheep and the orchards. By planting beneficial cover crops like clover and vetch, they not only reinvigorate the soil with nitrogen and organic matter content, but create an environment for those insects and animals helpful to the ranch. You will visit one of their olive orchards and discuss the horticulture of growing olive trees, their certified organic practices and harvest techniques. Then you proceed to the milling room (Trattoria) to explain the process of extracting olive oil. The tour concludes with a sensory evaluation, tasting, and overview of the culinary uses of olive oil and a picnic lunch – catered by the very popular Della Fattoria Bakery – overlooking the pond and orchard.

Fully satisfied, you make one last stop at Stubbs Vineyard on your way back to San Francisco. On this 600-acre parcel of heaven, the Stubbs grow 11 acres of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes from which they get about 600 cases of each type of wine each year. Their land was one of the very first easements purchased by the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. They also have 1,000 Frantoio olive trees, a small flock of sheep, a small herd of llamas to guard the sheep and a Rottweiler named Fluffy. We will taste each of their wine varieties and tour the grounds. Meet Tom and Mary Stubbs. Tom grew up in England and takes care of the agricultural side of the operation, while Mary, who has a degree in viticulture, does sales, marketing and label design.