Food and Wine pairing notes: The Artist's Palate/Canvas (worth five points)

Consider our dinner at The Artist's Palate/Canvas. Note the ambiance and atmosphere of the room. Describe the nature and quality of the service. How did the establishment make our group feel welcome?

Elaborate on the marriage of food and wine at our meal. Describe your meal in precise sensory detail. How did the wine support or conflict with the food?

Think critically about how well the establishment met your expectations. Apply your professional knowledge toward making a supported conclusion about the dining experience.

Write 400 words on the subject. This assignment is due by midnight on Friday, February 25th.

While in California, you will eat together as a group almost every day. In each instance, consider what distinguishes the restaurant. Have fun, too! It has been a pleasure having you in class. Please direct inquiries about the trip to Professor Morris.

Best regards,
Brent W.

Week Eight: Rowan Jacobsen, "California and Oregon," from A Geography of Oysters

The oyster is a simple yet amazing animal. Note how both the method and place of cultivation have a significant outcome on the taste of this bivalve. Hog Island Oyster Company, on the northern end of Tomales Bay, is renown for its oysters from this slender inlet.

Note: if you don't make it to the farm on Tomales Bay, visit the Hog Island Oyster Co. oyster bar in the San Francisco Ferry Building for a fine Kumamoto.

link to: Hog Island Oyster Co.
link to: Video--John Finger of Hog Island explains how to shuck an oyster

--Brent W.

Week Eight: Greig Tor Guthey et al.: "Creative Preservation in California's Dairy Industry"

Pictured here is Albert Straus at Straus Family Creamery. Visiting the farm reveals just how much the family is doing to ensure the ecological and efficient operation of the dairy. In addition to being a pioneer in the organic dairy business, Straus Family Creamery now has methane collection ponds that ultimately power the farm buildings and vehicles. As the reading explains, the company takes its responsibility to preserve the open land through active farming very seriously. The Straus family continues to be a strong voice in area politics, including continuing its role as founding members of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT).

The concept of food quality takes on new breadth here, in which the ecological care for an area contributes to consumers' perceptions of the products which originate there. This corresponds with our earlier discussions outlining the particular food culture of the Bay Area--one informed by politics, a strong sense of shared community, and a concern for social and ecological welfare.

link to: Marin Agricultural Land Trust
link to: Video of Straus Family Creamery's operations

--Brent W.

Week Seven: Mondovino (and review by A.O. Scott)

Mondovino's wry humor and grim view of the globalization of wine reflects the food system discussions we have been having in class. Wine, like so many other agricultural products, finds itself torn between small-scale traditionalism and large-scale industrialism. Why does wine evoke such a passionate response, compared to other food products?

The portrayal of Michel Rolland as the jet-setting pied piper of the wine world is both comical and searing. His call to "micro-oxygenate" develops into a slogan in favor of the standardization of the global palate.

Is wine really losing its soul?

--Brent W.

Week Seven: C. van Leeuwen and G. Seguin: "The Concept of Terroir in Viticulture"

Terroir is a product of both the natural and human environments. Van Leeuwen and Seguin focus on the natural environmental aspects of viticulture, providing a structured approach to understanding the conditions of the vine. This type of analysis may be extended to any plant, however. I especially am drawn to the agronomic questions of horticulture: how does the plant interact with the place? How deeply do its roots extend, or how does drought impact the plant's physiology? Terroir addresses the responses of living organisms.

Feel free to relate your comment to our class tasting of wines and spirits from California and China.

--Brent W.

Week Six: Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robisnon. The World Atlas of Wine.

Every wine enthusiast should refer to this amazing book full of detailed maps of the world's appellations. The number of California AVAs has grown rapidly in recent years as growers have identified the specific soils and microclimates of smaller areas of land. AVAs create a political and market identity for growers' fruit that can help to distinguish the resulting wines (if not in the glass, then at least on the label!).

In the picture: Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard speaks about terroir and his sense that wine should be a representation of place.

--Brent W.

Week Six: Stephen Rannekleiv, "Review of the Industry: Future of the California Wine Industry"

The challenges that impact the California wine industry reflect the broader hurdles agriculture faces in the state. Soaring land prices, challenging labor conditions, and increasingly competitive imports are forcing California vintners to consider how to shape the future of the industry. This 2008 article suggests that success will be found in the premium wine market. North Coast, Lodi, and Sierra Foothills producers dominate this market segment. The lower-end wines (priced below $9) do not compete well in a market flooded by inexpensive bottles from Chile, Argentina, Australia, Italy, Spain, and even France.

In the picture: Ravenswood Winery's Alicante Bouschet vines on their estate; a glass of their limited-production Viura.

--Brent W.