Kendall-Jackson Farmstand (Santa Rosa)

[Melanie Wong]

Kendall-Jackson Wine Center on the northern outskirts of Santa Rosa has been hosting a farmstand and tours on the first Saturday of the month. The next one is tomorrow, July 3, and there will be two more after that. Entrance is free.

I stopped by last month to check out the offerings. Nursery starts, just-picked produce, bread baked on site, cheese tasting and sales, and wine tasting are the edible side of the event. A Master Gardener is on hand to answer home gardening questions and there was a culinary talk in progress. In addition, tours of the KJ gardens were also offered.

The produce was beautiful and priced the same as at our local farmers markets. I bought some of the baby fennel to take home and then stepped into the gardens to find where it was planted in the well-groomed fields. The gardens are well-marked for self-tours with helpful information on wine affinities, as you'd expect from a wine producer.

I spoke to the head gardener briefly who has been here from the start. I asked where the rest of the produce harvest goes. He said that most is used by KJ's own kitchen for special events and the wine pairing menu, plus he has a couple restaurant accounts.

Photos -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...