Something other than wine in Napa

[HMK]

OK, OK. I know it sounds crazy, but my husband and I will be out in wine country for our annual harvest season get-away and we want someting more than just good food and good wine. We've been to Napa and Sonoma countless times, so for this trip, we are looking for a different experience. Rather than just winery after winery (we'll still do our fair share), we were thinking about options to make this trip a bit unique. For example, visiting cheese artisans, or olive oil specialists. Any recommendations?

[sfsand]

cooking classes, biking, balloon ride and if you go coastal then, oysters, kayaking and hiking. All of course with a picnic basket of good food and wine :)

[Melanie Wong]

Not crazy at all. Though you asked for Napa in your subject heading, if you're willing to check out Sonoma County, I'd have a few hundred suggestions for you. You can use the Farmtrails link below to search for Sonoma County food producers (e.g., cheese, olive oil), and I suggest that you order a map to carry with you.

http://www.farmtrails.org/visit_our_f...

If any of these appeal to you, you might want to ask again here for more details. You might also find reports on many of them by using the site search engine.

[HMK]

Sonoma would certainly be fine. In fact, we have dinner reservations for Cyrus one evening - it might be nice to spend a good portion of the day in Sonoma rather than just driving over for dinner.

[Melanie Wong]

Off the top of my head, here are some suggestions. You'll find more details by searching the site for past posts with these key words.

Cheese-
Joe Matos
Spring Hill Jersey
Petaluma Creamery
Vella
Two Rock
Bodega Goat
Bellwether (in Plaza farms in healdsburg)
Redwood Hill, no public tours in the fall, but here's the schedule of community events in september to find them
http://www.redwoodhill.com/goatzette....

Cheese counters -
Whole Foods
Oliver's
Cheesemaker's Daughter
Cheese Store (healdsburg

)

Olive Oil -
Olive Press in Glen ellen
BR Cohn
McEvoy
Wetzel Estate
Medlock-Ames
Preston
Da Vero (in Plaza Farms)

Handmade ice cream -
Downtown Bakery
Bovolo
Buona Sonoma in La Dolce V
Screamin' Mimis
Petaluma Creamery
Dry Creek Kitchen in Cafe Newstand

Bakeries -
Della Fattoria
Downtown Bakery
9 Islands
Karina's Bakery
Little Maya Bakery

Poultry, charcuterie, salumi -
Santi
Traverso's
Bovolo
Willie Bird
Angelo's

Chocolatiers -
La Dolce V
Gandolf's (Santa Rosa farm market on saturday)

Farmers markets - recent reports on Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Windsor

Other things for the season to look up on Farmtrails - cider (fresh and unpasteurized this time of year), mushrooms, pumpkins, chili peppers (Tierra Vegetables), honey

Keep an eye out for community festivals --- barbecues, crush parties, salmon roasts, crab feeds, pancake breakfasts --- by tuning to local radio stations and watching for banners along roadways. These are often the best food to be found and a place where local products are showcased. Let me know if you need more suggestions.