July 30, 2018 - Long Meadow Ranch Summer Series

Slow Living Radio is delighted to welcome Jeff Meisel from Long Meadow Ranch to talk about their magical summer series, featuring celebrity chefs and musicians.  Long Meadow Ranch is an iconic winery in the Napa Valley with a strong focus on organic, full circle and ethical farming, from their wonderful wines, the food they serve in their restaurant, Farmstead and the magnificent Highland Cows they raise.  Tune in, pour yourself a glass of their wine, and get in soon to book one of their upcoming shows.

LONG MEADOW RANCH ANNOUNCES SUMMER EVENTS SERIES AT FARMSTEAD, ST. HELENA

Long Meadow Ranch, an agricultural enterprise and one of Napa’s most innovative wineries, is proud to announce its dynamic Summer event schedule, namely the Live Fire Guest Chef Series and Bluegrass-fed Live Music Series. The events will take place at Farmstead in St. Helena (738 Main Street, St. Helena, CA 94574), launching on June 3. Please find details and ticket information below.

Live Fire Guest Chef Series:

Gather around the fire pit with some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs alongside Executive Chef Stephen Barber and the Long Meadow Ranch culinary team, as they roast, smoke, and sear a family-style feast served right from the flames. Paired with your favorite Long Meadow Ranch wines, the 2018 Live Fire Guest Chef series benefits the Timothy W. Hall Foundation. See below for this summer’s guest chef lineup:

●      Saturday, June 23 features Chef Laurence Jossel of NOPA, San Francisco. Reception at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets run at $170 per person.

●      Saturday, July 21 features Chef Michael Scelfo of Alden & Harlow, Cambridge, MA. Reception at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets run at $170 per person. Guests invited to stay for bluegrass-fed live music band Trout Steak Revival on a complimentary basis.

●      Friday, August 17 features Chef Pat Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Nashville, TN. Reception at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets run at $170 per person.

●      Friday, September 28 features Chef Jan Erik Hauge of Nemesis, Oslo, Norway. Reception at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets run at $170 per person.

All dinner prices include tax and gratuity. Live in San Francisco and attending dinner? Let Chariot give you a ride, so you can enjoy a carefree evening without the stress of driving. More information here.

Bluegrass-fed Live Music Series:

Relax on the lawn this summer for some of the country’s best bluegrass bands. The music will be as tasty as the food and wine. Open to all ages, with food and beverage for purchase. See below for this summer’s band lineup:

●      Sunday, June 3 features Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. Doors open at 4 p.m. with the show at 6 p.m. Advance tickets for $35, door tickets for $45.

●      Wednesday, July 4 features Dead Winter Carpenters. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the show at 7 p.m. Advance tickets for $35, door tickets for $45. St. Helena firework display following!

●      Saturday, July 21 features Trout Steak Revival. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets for $35, door tickets for $45.

●      Sunday, October 7 features the Long Meadow Ranch All Star Big Band. This all-star ensemble is once again being assembled for the Fifth Annual Timothy Hall Foundation Benefit Performance at Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. with the show at 4:30 p.m. Advance tickets for $50, door tickets for $60. Transportation via Chariot from San Francisco available here.

Long Meadow Ranch (LMR) is a family-owned agricultural enterprise producing estate-grown grapes and wine, olives and olive oil, grass-fed beef and lamb, fruits, vegetables, and eggs. The multifaceted operation includes the LMR Mayacamas Estate home ranch and the 90-acre LMR Rutherford Estate in Napa and the 145-acre LMR Anderson Valley Estate in Mendocino. In addition, Long Meadow Ranch operates a general store and wine tasting bar in the historic Logan-Ives House, an outdoor cafe, a farmer's market, and an acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant, all located at Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch. The destination location also includes working gardens and a variety of unique event spaces. Consistent with its time-honored motto of "Excellence through Responsible Farming," Long Meadow Ranch is certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers.

ABOUT JEFFREY MEISEL

Jeffrey Meisel is Vice President of Brand Marketing at Long Meadow Ranch. Meisel joined Long Meadow Ranch in September 2016 as Director of Brand Development. In the summer of 2017, he was promoted to VP of Brand Marketing.

Prior to Long Meadow Ranch, Meisel was co-founder and President of Merchants of Beverage, a cutting-edge, e-commerce destination that was the elegant online destination for flawless client & team gifting solutions of highly curated wine and spirits.. Imbibe Magazine named Meisel in “The Imbibe 75: People, places and flavors that will shape the way you drink in 2015. Unfortunately, Merchants of Beverage shut down in September 2015.

Prior to creating Merchants of Beverage, Meisel worked with Gilt Groupe for two years. In October 2011 as the Consulting Wine Director at Gilt Taste, he directed the entire wine business overseeing its strategy and operations including sourcing, merchandising, positioning and financial planning. In addition to working side-by-side Editorial Advisor Ruth Reichl and Managing Editor Jennifer Pelka, Jeffrey worked closely with executives across all Gilt business units. During this time, Meisel was featured in various media outlets, including CNN Eatocracy and Gentry Magazine’s March 2012 feature article, “7 Men of Intrigue, Courage & Captivation.” In April 2013, Meisel joined the team at Gilt City as Wine and Spirits Consultant.

Before joining Gilt, Jeffrey Meisel was Vice President of Business Development for Domaine Select Wine Estates.  DSWE represents wines and specialized spirits from around the world. He joined DSWE in 2001 just eighteen months after its creation and immediately launched the business beyond the NY base, proving to be instrumental in the company’s growth. Meisel went on to lead national sales and education programs. His last three years at DSWE as Vice President of business development were spent negotiating strategic partnerships and building new sales channels with hotel groups, national retail big box stores and direct to consumer companies, representing over twenty-five percent of the gross revenue for the company in that period. In 2010, Food & Wine Magazine named DSWE Importer of The Year.

From 1999 to the summer of 2001, Jeffrey was a co-founder of wiredKitchen.com, an online marketplace for food professionals and one of the first software companies that connected independent restaurant chefs to their food suppliers by providing procurement options and inventory management tools. Alas it was ahead of its time and wiredKitchen suspended operations in July 2001.

Prior to wiredKitchen, Jeffrey was immersed in the world of wine and spirits while working in top restaurants in Northern California and New York City, including managing The Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Restaurant in Napa Valley where he worked closely with Karen McNeil and Joyce Goldstein, two of the most respected women in the wine and food business. In NYC, Meisel worked at Zoë Restaurant and at San Domenico.

Meisel had the chance to work with Chef / Author Joyce Goldstein again in 2005 and 2006 when he paired each and every recipe of Goldstein’s for two books, Slow and Savory and Antipasti.

If that wasn’t enough, Jeffrey has had many local fans in San Francisco who have enjoyed his wine selections at the James Beard Foundation Award winner Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina where he was the Wine Director from 2002 through 2006, and Beretta (Tales of the Cocktail Award winner) where he created the opening wine list.

Meisel currently serves as an Advisor to www.ItsOnMe.com and www.SevenFifty.com.

Jeffrey lives in the San Francisco with his wife and two sons.

23 July, 2018 - A Conversation with Gentlemen Farmers

Slow Living radio was pleased to speak with Joe Wolosz and Jeff Durham of Gentleman Farmer Wines of Yountville-Napa Valley... producers of stunning chardonnays, velvety merlots and luscious cabs. But as we soon learned, this dynamic pair’s creativity and commitment extends beyond fine vintages in Yountville to the hospitality world in the legendary California Redwoods with the Redwood Riverwalk Hotel in Fortuna. Join us for an evening with Joe, Jeff… and course… faithful vineyard scout – Stella!

Jeff Durham, Joe Wolosz and Stella

From Gentleman Farmer…

We have a need to just be human in this very digital age, to reconnect with what is real. To hear a story told in an authentic voice. It is the tactile, the analogue, and the acoustic that touch us. It is also the artisanal. Winegrowing is at the crossroads of nature and culture. It is a balance between the imagination of the craftsman and the wisdom of the grower. Working with what Mother Nature gives us, we celebrate the vintage and the variations that come with each one. We err on the human side of winemaking.

Meet Joe Wolosz and Jeff Durham…

Joe Wolosz

My story starts in 1972.  I was five.  My father and mother bought two motels that year on the California central coast; El Patio Motel and The Wayside Motel. I am a native Californian who grew up with birthdays and summer parties at the motel pool. Guests would join in, dad would barbecue, and I would help. These were the seeds of food, wine, and hospitality. This childhood led to a college degree in travel, food, and wine with culinary school along the way. These became my compass and my foundation. I was working tasting rooms by day and cooking in beach burger shacks and five-star kitchens at night. I loved it. This history has shaped the path of Gentleman Farmer, keeping it in a culinary context.The label reads Gentleman Farmer, but calling myself a country gentleman would be a stretch. I am just a sidekick winemaker waking up each morning doing my life’s best work.

Jeff Durham
It could be said that I am a product of the valley, born and raised in Napa. My roots here are not only figurative; my family started farming grapes in the Oak Knoll region in the early 1980’s. My father had planted 22 acres on Big Ranch Road. My brother, sister, and I worked after school, weekends and vacations. I learned at an early age vineyard management, trellising, pruning, and of course, harvest. Today we source grapes from this same area, with the once family home sharing a narrow road with the Boyd Vineyard, where we source some Merlot. University in Southern California led to a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management. A career in fine dining brought me to San Francisco shortly thereafter. Wine brought me full circle, back to Yountville and the Napa Valley.  I now understand T.S. Elliot, “…to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.”

And... Stella!

Be sure to visit these gentlemen (and Stella) at Gentleman Farmer Wines

And check out their  hotel, nestled in the beautiful redwoods, at The Redwood Hotel.

16 July, 2018 - The Sciandri Family Story

From time to time, Slow Living radio engages in a special retrospective… a show focusing on the life and times of a particularly remarkable person or family. Past programs have included vintner Mike Grgich, hoteliers Tim and Donna Egan, sports executive and now vintner Carmen Policy, to name a few. Tonight, we are pleased and honored to feature a local wine family — Roberta, Ron and Ryan Sciandri of Sciandri Family Vineyards located in the Coombsville wine AVA.  Sadly, their father Ron Sciandri, Sr., co-founder of the winery with Roberta, his wife of 47 years, passed away in 2015 after a valiant battle with cancer. He left behind a great family legacy that we learn about this evening. It’s a story of love, commitment, passion… and above all, family bonds.

The Sciandri Family arrived in Napa in 1992, purchasing 20 acres of unplanted pasture, begging to be planted. So, it was not long before they planted their first Cabernet Sauvignon field and started a new adventure in wine. The Sciandri family farms their vineyard in the Coombsville region of Napa. Coombsville is the 16th, and one of Napa’s newest AVA (American Viticultural Area). A quiet area, in the southeastern corner of the Napa Valley, tucked up against the foothills of the Vaca Mountain Range, just outside of historic town of Napa. Most people who visit Napa never pass through it, or even know it exists. Coombsville wines can be recognized by their typically soft but significant tannins, which provide excellent structure and mouthfeel, along with underlying layers of earth and minerality. Coombsville weather is also unique. They often say it is the first place the fog rolls in from the San Pablo bay and the last place it leaves. This allows a long, slow ripening period as the vines bud early and our grapes are usually among the last to be harvested.

As growers, the Sciandri’s were honored to provide fruit to some of the most prestigious winemakers in the valley. It was after many years of enjoying the fruits of their labor in others’ wines, they made the family decision to start their own production.

In 2006, they launched Sciandri Vineyards. The logo and label were conceived following a visit to the small village where their family resides in Italy. Their ancestors have been making house wine for generations and the Sciandri’s hoped to continue in that tradition. Aiming for a convergence of family and wine our label tells a story of history and generations. The leaf pays tribute to the town, La Quercia, which translates to “the oak” in Italian. Each grape on the logo cluster represents a member of the family, while the dual triangle pattern and blue color scheme was inspired by the town flag of La Quercia. Their hope is that their wines can be used as a vehicle to bring together family and friends.

The first wine was an Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon. They have since grown the portfolio to offer their Coombsville Cuveé, a Rosé, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a special 4 barrel production of a wine called “Nello”. Named in honor of Ron Sr.’s dad, who taught the family about gardening, farming, and the importance of being good stewards of the land. As with all family businesses it is all hands on deck.

For more information, or to connect to these amazing folks and their wines... https://www.sciandrivineyards.com/