Wendy Krupnick, associate faculty in sustainable agriculture at Santa Rosa Junior College, leads a pruning workshop at Ethic Cider in Sebastopol. [Photo courtesy Ethic Cider] attract some of its guests. GROF hosts custom crushing services with the press, as
Sebastopol, says the tour of his cheesemaking facility and aging rooms is popular because of the guided tasting. Participants are able to sample all the cheeses, from the mild Bo Peep to the powerful La Bomba. “Guests love the detail we go into on our $40 per person tour. The tasting is also an opportunity to let guests know where they can find our cheeses. We sell them wholesale to local businesses like restaurants,” says Marquez. Marquez builds relationships with other producers by offering bottles of wine from several Napa and Sonoma County wineries. In addition, the creamery sells olives, jam, jelly, crackers, breads and pastries made by other local businesses. Elizabeth Stein is the co-founder of Cassidy Ranch in Sonoma, which she started with her husband Tucker in 2021. The organic vegetable and flower farm benefits from being a 10-minute drive south of Sonoma’s Plaza Park. “We offer a U-Pick or harvested option for our 100-plus varieties of organic flowers, herbs, vegetables and berries. This year we will start offering our pinot noir, which guests can purchase and enjoy while they are here,” says Stein. Guests frequently stop at Cassidy Ranch between wine tastings to picnic, play pickleball and pick produce. “Guests help us spread word of mouth, but a number of people also found us through Tock, an online reservation system with which we partner,” says Stein. Gold Ridge Organic Farms (GROF) in Sebastopol, an organic olive, apple and citrus farm, showcases its award- winning olive oils and modern Rapanelli olive press to
well as three levels of olive oil tastings, from introductory to immersive. It also holds cheese and heirloom apple pairings, farm tours, educational seminars on growing olives and apples and special seasonal events like the farm’s annual Heirloom Apple Celebration in mid-September. “During our events we offer wood-fired pizzas, apple turnovers, ice cream with apple cider syrup, shrubs and more, all highlighting our own fresh, farm-to-table in season apples, citrus and [other] local produce,” says Brooke Hazen, owner of Gold Ridge Organic Farms. This summer, GROF will start construction of an event center that will become a larger venue for public and private events and tastings. “We also just finished planting an apple U-Pick area for families and kids to learn, tour and harvest. We are in the midst of starting our first subscription fruit program,” says Hazen. As ag businesses find ways to attract the public, environmental organizations such as Point Blue are developing paths for farms and ranches to support conservation. Ryan DiGaudio, senior ecologist at Point Blue, says the nonprofit has partnered with 15 ranches in Marin and Sonoma counties. Point Blue staff conduct bird surveys, vegetation surveys and studies on soil health. This work contributes to the Rangeland Monitoring Network, a statewide effort that generates ecological information on rangelands (grazing
May 2024
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