SANTA ROSA
Kentucky Derby pairing and meals-to-go
Kendall-Jackson and La Crema, recently crowned the Preferred Wines of the Kentucky Derby, will celebrate the iconic horse race by offering themed food and wine to enjoy at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Garden and to take home.
Executive Chef Justin Wangler has created a Kentucky Derby Day-themed wine and food pairing available only on May 1, the day of the big race. Derby-style hats and attire are encouraged.
The food pairings include an Estate Spring Garden Veggie Salad with Herb Benedictine Dressing; Kentucky Dry Rubbed Pork Belly with Beets, Carrots and Spiced Pecans; Barrel-Aged, Bourbon-Glazed Snake River Farms Steak with Crispy Grits and Garden Collard Greens; Chocolate Bourbon Tart, with Caramel and Sea Salt and, because one dessert is never enough, Pecan Balls. Cost is $70 per person, with a maximum of six people in the party. To reserve a spot on May 1, go to exploretock.com/kj.
If you are hosting an at-home Derby Day party and don’t feel like cooking, you can order a premade feast from the Kendall-Jackson’s Meals-To-Go program to pick up on April 30 and May 1.
Each meal includes Kentucky-style dishes, with wine pairing suggestions. The meal includes Kentucky Sorghum-Rubbed Pork with Sweet Bourbon Mustard Sauce; Collards with Bacon; Anson Mills Cheesy, Creamy Grits; Beet and Carrot Salad with Spiced Pecans and Sherry Vinaigrette; French Bread with Pimento Cheese and Chocolate Bourbon Tart with Salted Caramel.
The meals cost $50 and serves two. To reserve, go to kj.com and click on Kentucky Derby and Meals To-Go. The pickup times are between noon and 5 p.m. April 30 and May 1. Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens is located at 5007 Fulton Road.
La Crema is offering the same menu of Kentucky Derby meals to go on April 30 and May 1 at 3575 Slusser Road in Windsor. To order: exploretock.com/la crema/
Curated Wine Packs are available directly from the Kendall-Jackson winery, kj.com and lacrema.com, including Kendall-Jackson Derby Trifecta Pack ($110) and La Crema Kentucky Derby Pack ($115).
All purchases automatically will be entered in a sweepstakes for a variety of prizes and a grand prize of two tickets to the 2022 Kentucky Derby Celebration at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens.
Kendall-Jackson Founder Jess Jackson has had a lifelong love for the sport of horse racing. At age 8, Jackson watched famed racehorse Seabiscuit win the 1938 Bay Meadows Handicap. That memory propelled him to establish Stonestreet Farm, a 1,800-acre Bluegrass stable, in 2005 in Kentucky.
HEALDSBURG
Spoonbar launches Seafood Sundays
Spoonbar has launched a new Seafood Sundays menu offering rotating, three-course prix fixe meals to lure in those who want to avoid the pre-Monday blues.
Each meal will start with a salad, move on to a main dish made with delectables from the deep and end with a sweet finale.
The May 2 menu will feature a choice of Beet Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Endive and Champagne Vinaigrette or a trio of Miyagi oysters, a main course of the Belgian-style Mussels and Frites and a Ricotta Doughnut for dessert.
Spoonbar is located in the h2hotel at 219 Healdsburg Ave. To reserve: spoonbar.com or 707-433-7222. The restaurant is open for dining 5 – 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. A Fried Chicken prix fixe dinner is available on Wednesdays.
SONOMA COUNTY
Sustainable wine panel for Earth Day
The Sonoma County Winegrowers and Sonoma County Vintners will co-host a virtual panel discussion at 11 a.m. Thursday on sustainability.
The hourlong webinar will broadcast live from several of the 18 different American Viticultural Areas in Sonoma County and feature sixth-generation farmer Taylor Serres of Serres Ranch, President John Balletto of Balletto Vineyards, Winemaker Ames Moriso of Medlock Ames and Winemaker Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards.
The panel discussion on Zoom is free and open to all. To register, go to sonomawinegrape.org and click on news and events.
GRATON
Redwood Empire Whiskey celebrates in April
Redwood Empire Whiskey will mark Earth Day, Arbor Day and the birthday of John Muir during April by offering creative cocktail recipes, distilling updates and a sweepstakes contest.
The whiskey label, launched in 2017 by Purple Brands, rose to new heights in 2019 with the inaugural release of its Pipe Dream Bourbon, Emerald Giant Rye and the Lost Monarch blend of Straight Whiskeys. Each signature blend is named after one of the iconic coast redwood trees found on the North Coast.
The label also is offering a chance to win a weekend trip to Sonoma County, including meals and glamping in the redwoods. To enter, go to redwoodempirewhiskey.com. Entrants must be over 21. No purchase is necessary.
Staff Writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.
Diane Peterson
Features, The Press Democrat
I’m interested in the home kitchen, from sheet-pan suppers to the latest food trends. Food encompasses the world, its many cultures, languages and history. It is both essential and sensual. I also have my fingers on the pulse of classical music in Sonoma County, from student mariachi bands to jazz crossover and symphonic sounds. It’s all a rich gumbo, redolent of the many cultures that make up our country and the world.