Both Memorial Day weekend and the St. Anna Greek Food and Wine Festival in Roseville have officially marked the start of summer for me two years running. It’s never too early to mark your calendar for 2018 and plan to spend a day kicking off your summer, Greek-style.
When I think Greek festival, I think amazing, authentic Greek food – of course, custom and culture, too, but if I’m being honest, the food is top of mind for me. From Moussaka, to spanakopita, and a plethora of salads in between, you have to come hungry and try a little of everything.
But even better than the food this year was the special sampling of five imported Greek wines from vines throughout Greece. Didn’t know Greece was a wine producer, did ya? Well, Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, but Greek wine is not widely available here in the U.S. Well, until now that is, thanks to a local importer, Shaji Mathew, who is introducing Greek wines to festival-goers across the region. Now in their second year serving up the Greek Festival in Roseville, his imports are catching on and selling out by the glass.
Shaji and his wife, Vijna, have a belief in sharing the wines “from people who want to swim against the current,” Shaji says. They travel throughout the world to visit wineries and to meet winemakers, mostly those who produce 30,000 bottles or less from Greece, France, Spain, Italy, and Argentina, with plans for introducing some Mexican wines soon.
“I travel to meet the winemakers, get an understanding what the wines are about, to know what they’re doing in their vineyards, so I know what to expect in the wine. Authenticity is key. These wines are not mass produced and there’s a story behind each one.”
With each taste, I was instantly transported to the islands of Crete and Evia, with their blue waters and white rooftops. The white and light red blends were refreshing for a hot summer day: Pop Art, a dry white blend of Athiri and Malagousia varietals from Lykos Winery reflected subtle stone fruit flavors, and my fruit-forward favorite, a Grenache Rouge by Idaia Winery, was very pleasing to the palate.
All the vineyards Shaji works with grow their grapes sustainably, and many also practice organic and bio-dynamic farming. He brings the fruits of that meticulous labor here through his website Terra Vigna, wine club and at festivals, re-distributing throughout the U.S. (where possible), for all to try.
Visit Terra Vigna’s website to learn more about Greek wines, or consider visiting one of these two upcoming festivals to experiences the wines first-hand:
San Jose Greek Festival: June 2, 3 & 4
Reno Greek Festival: August 18, 19, 20
And, cheers! Or, in Greek, ΥΓΕΙΑ (phonetic pronunciation: Yamas)!
Archives for May 2017
California Honey Festival – The Direction of Sunbeams
by Laurel Harrison
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” – Henry David Thoreau
When I was in junior high, my mom started keeping bees on our farm. This meant that each year our pantry was stocked with thick, golden honey from our own backyard. To this day, I have a giant mason jar of my mom’s honey in my pantry, zealously hoarded and treasured. This familiar connection to beekeeping made me all the more excited to attend the California Honey Festival in Woodland, CA. Put on by the Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis, the California Honey Festival was a celebration of all things honey and bee – a weekend of education, fundraising, and all-over honey appreciation.
That Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the VIBee Opening Night Reception for the festival. The event included an open mead bar done by Strad Meadery, honey-themed food from Morgan’s on Main, and a Burning Man-esque bee art car. I had a wonderful time seeing honey represented in such a variety of culinary ways!
The Honey Festival itself was held on Saturday morning, with Woodland’s Main St. shut down to accommodate the vendors and crowds. There were food trucks, craft vendors, educational sessions, kids’ crafts, and more booths on bees than I could count. The festival was packed, with something for everyone who attended.
My personal highlights included the mead speakeasy, honey tastings, and a section devoted to bee-friendly gardening. Because bees are such a vital part of our culinary ecosystem, we would be remiss to not recognize their importance in our foodie musings. All of the delicious tidbits we enjoy, both as a part of our job and on our own time, would not be possible without the hard-working honey bee.
I was so happy to see the community come together to educate and celebrate bees and the honey they produce. I look forward to attending this event for many years to come, and I can only hope it grows more and more successful as it continues.
At the beginning of this piece, I included one of my favorite quotes by Henry David Thoreau – “The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.” For me, honey is a little jar of all those directed sunbeams – an amalgamation of the agricultural bounty that surrounds us here in Sacramento. Through their dedication to the honey bee, the California Honey Festival managed to direct their sunbeams onto the bee world and the local community, shining a light on bee education, production, and preservation. The result was a wonderful, honey-sweet weekend.
#PassThePepper and Give Big!
Today, non-profit organizations in the Sacramento community are encouraging people to participate in the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s annual Big Day of Giving, a 24-hour online giving challenge to help raise funds for worthy causes in our area.
Food Literacy Center is partnering with Big Day of Giving once again and is encouraging everyone to #PassThePepper and help inspire kids to eat their vegetables. Just $25 will give one kid food literacy education for one week!
It is really easy to help Food Literacy Center meet their goal. Schedule your gift here: https://www.bigdayofgiving.org/foodliteracycenter. Every dollar donated today will be matched by The California Rice Commission.
So how can you #PassThePepper? Head over to the FLC Facebook page, share a post, tag a few friends encouraging them to give and #PassThePepper too!
It is that easy. Make a difference in the lives of kids with one click of a button. We’ll be passing the pepper and we hope you’ll join in!