Bellwether Carmody
The winner is….. Shelly Larson! Thank you so much to everyone who commented below. There were some awesome answers, and Laurie Figone, your Sonoma cheese and produce poem rocked so much that I entered your name in the name bag twice. Love your spirit. Shelly, Congratulations! Email me your address at itsnotyouitsbrie@gmail.com and I’ll send your golden tickets!
It’s Sonoma Restaurant Week in the green land of rolling hills, frolicking sheep, and tasty cheese and “It’s Not You, it’s Brie” is celebrating by hosting a giveaway. This giveaway, of course, is completely centered around cheese.
Rich with wine grapes, abundant produce, and happy livestock, Sonoma is an area that easily supports its local producers. True with such bounty, it would be sacrilege not to, but these kids are devoted.
The regions cheese is no exception to this devotion. For example, a quick look at the links on Sonoma Restaurant Week’s website reveals that many of the best eating establishments have secured a place on their menu for Sonoma favorites like Bellwether Farms or Délice de la Vallée cheese. The restaurant week runs from Feb 22nd-28th.
In conjunction with the Sonoma festivities, I am celebrating local cheese reverence with a gift pack so cool that I will be jealous of whoever wins.
The Fromagical Pack Includes:
- A VIP tour of Bellwether Farms (they aren’t normally open to tours, so cheese lovers, this is the golden ticket!)
- A $25 gift certificate to the Epicurian Connection, a cheese, gourmet shop and cafe owned by Sheana Davis, the cheesemaker behind Délice de la Vallée.
- Another $25 gift certificate to Japanese restaurant Hiro, which is serving a to-die-for Bellwether Farms ricotta cheesecake as part of its 3-course menu throughout the restaurant week.
Keep in mind the Bellwether tour is a timely thing. Says Bellwether owner Liam Callahan, late weekday mornings are when the action happens and Friday mornings around 10am are best if you want to experience the mighty curd cutting (you do, you do!). Plus, you also want to go soon to see the cutie-pie lambs that are being born in the spring. I, ah, might also try to sneak along on the tour with you.
How to Win:
- Leave a comment in the comment section below saying what Sonoma cuisine means to you.
- Plus, leave a quick mention of a favorite Sonoma (preferred) or California cheese.
- The contest will run through Sonoma Restaurant Week and on Friday the 26th I will randomly draw a winner.
Thanks for playing and good luck!
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Oo hooray!!
Sonoma is pretty much the epitome of the Californian dream that I had in mind when I moved out here from the East coast. I’m actually a big fan of Bellwether’s ricotta. I recently also enjoyed a Redwood Hill Camelia, and of course Laura Chenel’s chevre pretty much brought goat cheese on the map!
Thank you for such an awesome posting on Sonoma County Restaurant Week and of course, Bellwether Farms! I hope to take this tour someday….
Cheers!
Sonoma food, to me, means seasonal and tasty with a hint of something new. Favorite Sonoma cheese lately is Bellwether sheep’s milk ricotta…reminds me of some that I have tasted in Italy.
Bellweather Farms Carmody (and Carmody Reserve) are my favorite cheeses, for the moment. I love every cheese there is, so favorites tend to ebb and flow with what I’m nibbling on or cooking with. The great part of living in Sonoma County is being able to discover every season’s latest bounty — always new and fresh. As part of this healthy Sonoma County lifestyle, I recently did a cleanse, which was fabulous in every way except for the exclusion of dairy. 10 days without cheese is cruel and unusual punishment. Sonoma cuisine is wholesome, fresh, local and seasonal – a “quad”-fecta of perfection that’s never pretentious, always tasty and always easy to find and make your own.
Thank you for including Delice de la Vallee~
Sincerely,
Sheana
Sonoma food – fresh and seasonal, always tasty… and always pairs great with Sonoma wines!
Cheese: The Bellweather Crescenza, Joe Matos’ St. George, and Sheana Davis’ Delice de la Vallee are all great Sonoma cheeses. Still, expanding to all of California Ihave to say that Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog or Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk are my favorites.
Ah, Sonoma dining to me means taking the best of what is local. I just had a wonder Farm to Table meal at Quivira winery in Sonoma and it was incredible.
As to local, Sonoma cheese, again that’s such a hard one, depends on which one is within easy reach. Just sampled some Point Reyes Blue on our trip and I always enjoy that cheese.
Sonoma Cuisine.
One word – Fresh. Never have I had such wonderful food right out of the garden.
Fav Cheese – Right now it’s Cowgirl’s Red Hawk.
Totally looking forward to restaurant week.
Cheers.
Alan
Sonoma county cuisine means everything fabulous…fresh veggies, sustainable production, fantastic wine, and an ambiance that is second to none
Fave cheese: Bellweather Farms Sheep’s Milk San Andreas…yummy!
Sonoma County is my home turf, so Sonoma cuisine is really just the fruits and vegetables I grew up with, nothing fancy. I didn’t really get into restaurants until I left sonoma county. So I’d say Gravenstein apples and Clover milk, good stuff. My early cheese memories are of Sonoma Garlic Jack cheese- really great with a nice crusty baguette and some thin sliced dry italian salami. Nowadays I’d say a perfectly ripe Red Hawk in the middle of summer with some good fruit- like peaches and cherries. Yah! Sheana Davis is a great cheese gal- I went to a cheese and beer pairing at Rogue last year. I had no idea she was also a cheese maker!
Sonoma Cuisine is the best reason to leave Southern California for the weekend and head north!
Sonoma Cuisine Means to Me………
Valley Ford Estero Gold
the best on my pasta, I am sold.
Bellwether Farms Creme Fraiche
in my Gorgonzola Salad dressing is the best!
Point Reyes Blue
when only the best will do.
Meyer Lemons from my tree
the best in my cakes and in my tea.
We are spoiled with all that’s here,
the ocean, the mountains and fresh produce all year.
The restaurants are simply the best!!
I am so GLAD to live out West!!!
Sonoma cuisine to me is just as unique and refreshing as Sonoma wines, which is what Sonoma County is known for. It is inviting, fresh and flavorful, made from the most local and organic products around! My mouth waters just thinking about it!
I LOVE Brie, but actually many others too, paired with different Sonoma Count wines!!
My favorite thing about Sonoma County food is the freshness!
Oh boy oh boy. One of the best things about Sonoma cuisine is that so many folks emphasize the localness of their products or choices. Another great thing is that you can literally find everything growing here at some time of the year (well, perhaps minus the coffee and other tropical vittles). And to pick a favorite cheese is something next to torture… when pushed, I’ll go with Pt. Reyes Blue and Oliver’s fresh mozzarella. But there’s that Andante pyramid too.
Sonoma cuisine: creative combinations that allow you to taste all the elements and how they play together in your mouth and are highlighted and enhanced by fabulous Sonoma wine.
Sonoma cheese: Marin French cheese Co (in Petaluma!)’s petite bleu and bleu chevre.
CA cheese: Cowgirl’s Red Hawk, and Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor.
Sonoma County food is all about growing your own produce and being able to eat it the day it is picked. This goes for restaurants, farmers markets and people!
During dinner in Sonoma on Monday my mind was blown by a lavender salt garnish, fennel pollen with crab, perfectly cooked duck confit that teased my home attempts, spicy and fruity cocktails, and a menu so beautiful I had to ask to take one home.
As for cheese-related products, Bellwether’s sheep yogurt with vanilla tastes like walking through a field holding a freshly bathed lamb.
Hi K!
Great post and restaurant week in Sonoma sounds off the hook! Sonoma cuisine speaks to my locavorian soul. Lot’s of restaurants support their local farmers which is really, really cool. As for cheeses, the San Andreas from Bellwether is killer.
We are serving a Sonoma County Cheese Course this week in honor of Restaurant Week:
Delice de la Vallee
Marin French Petit Blue
Laura Chenel Cabecou
Fresh olive oil crostini, nuts, fruits and a taste of Sonoma!
THANKS~
Sheana
Ooh, I would dig a golden ticket. I’m not too familiar with Sonoma County cheeses but North Valley Farms Chevre here in Sacramento is beyond tasty. =)
am i too late?
sonoma cuisine means earthy, lively, local, and fresh. locally caught ling cod with wild nettles and foraged chanterelles; a wine evocative of the musty lavender and clover and mustard that grows along dry creek valley. lots of fruit, lots of sun, and earthy, honest flavors.
cheeezzz, i heart bellwether sheepsmilk ricotta. like mad. with or without local lavender or eucalyptus honey. ohmgdmmmmsszzz nom nom nom.
i hope i win! :p
Have you notified the winner???
Great town, great chesses, great olives, great mustards, great wines, great responses above. Thanks so much.
If only more than 28 people could hear this!