Silicon Valley wineries offer up some fantastic finishes to your feast By Carol Maskus Merry and bright: we found six local dessert wines to keep your holidays festive. (Photo by Charles Russo) Chocolate torte, Buche de Noel, rugelach, sweet potato pie: a big part of holiday feasting is the dessert. And while we often go all out for dessert over the holidays, we typically neglect to properly pair our sweets with appropriate drinks. This can leave ...
Read MoreMoving beyond the obvious with the obscure offerings of Peninsula vintners By Carol Maskus Rows of grapes ready for harvest at Ridge Winery’s Monto Bello vineyard. (Courtesy of Ridge Winery) Wine tastings can often be a case study in the usual suspects: list after list of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — typical varietals that have long-thrived throughout California. In the highly competitive world of wine, it can be a risk for vineyards to invest in more unusual varietals. ...
Read MoreWe asked local butchers and farmers to weigh in on the best bird for your buck By Elena Kadvany Turkeys on the move in full fanned-out glory. (Photo via Flickr) Matthew Prentice, head butcher at Belcampo Meat Co. in Palo Alto, grew up eating Butterball turkeys for Thanksgiving. The widely available birds are injected with what the company calls a “pre-brine” and are raised on factory farms. This was all he knew, he said, “until I became a ...
Read MorePerfect outdoor spots entirely conducive to your canine By Juliette Spirson Like small children, bonsai trees and just about any surfer, dogs are simply happier if they get proper outside time. It’s a simple equation really, though one that can ultimately require a bit of know-now for navigating dog-friendly locations around the region. Luckily for Peninsula residents, the area contains some spectacular spots for man’s — and less face it already, woman’s — best friend. From beaches to hillsides to ...
Read MoreHere is what’s fermenting at the local wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains by Laura Ness Mindego Ridge: 10 acres of sun-warmed Pinot vines off Alpine Road. They are fairly anonymous and the majority are not open to the public. Their acreage is often small and they don’t benefit from the name recognition of places like Napa and Sonoma. Even still, a notable array of Peninsula vineyards have quietly made a reputation for themselves in ...
Read MoreHappy chickens, frolicking pigs: Where to buy local humanely-raised meat right here on the Peninsula You don’t have to be an insufferable bore to want boar that didn’t suffer! This little piggy from Root Down Farm is living the dream. Photo by Federica Armstrong. We all know that Portlandia episode where Fred and Carrie pepper their server with questions about the chicken. “How big is the area where the chickens are able to roam ...
Read MoreDos and don’ts of Silicon Valley trail running from the experts at ZombieRunner and Fleet Feet (including where to park for free) Scenic trails abound in the Edgewood Preserve. Lace up and go! (Photo by Veronica Weber) If you run, jog or shlog (shuffle-jog) on the Peninsula, you’re probably used to charting routes through neighborhoods that do creepy things like plant enormous hedges in front of mansions and refuse to install sidewalks and streetlights. ...
Read More5 fresh farm boxes for Silicon Valley foodies For the Peninsula, CSA’s worth committing to…. Gone are the days when people signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box out of grim determination to do what was right, suffering through too many of the wrong kinds of vegetables or just too many vegetables, period. Farms today are wising up and offering biweekly boxes with high-quality extras like pastured eggs, grass-fed meat, and ...
Read MoreThis Labor Day, keep it low-stress with an outing to the farm country south of Half Moon Bay. The slice of bucolic heaven that lies on the other side of the Santa Cruz Mountains is one of the best things about Silicon Valley. Goat farms, produce stands and quaint towns turn a trip down Highway 1 into an odyssey to another time. And then there’s the scenery: miles of blue Pacific Ocean ...
Read MoreA Procrastinator’s Guide to Camping in the Bay Area Looking for a last-minute campsite within an hour of the Peninsula? Try one of these places. Matt Dolkas, content marketing manager for the Peninsula Open Space Trust, has a sermon to deliver to all you hiding in your cubicles right now: Get outside. Better yet, go camping. “Not to get too preachy, but that’s exactly what people need to do,” says Dolkas. “They need to feel the ...
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