The vineyards at Rams Gate Winery (Photos courtesy of Kopol Bonick Photography).

One of the most common questions that comes my way is, “What are your four or five favorite wineries in Napa Valley? [Or Sonoma, Paso Robles … fill in the blank.] We’re headed there this Saturday and would like to hit a few.” The question is wrong on so many levels—name five favorite Napa Valley wineries?! But mostly I just want to scream, “No, don’t do it! Don’t even think about a five-winery afternoon!” How could you possibly appreciate anything about that fifth place except that it’s made you a little drunker and happier (let’s hope there’s a limo waiting).

Weekend before last I discovered a winery that aims to change that behavior. It’s Ram’s Gate, conveniently one of the first wineries you get to heading north across the Gate from San Francisco, then east into Sonoma Valley. Sure, you can just drive up and head to the tasting bar for a few sips, and then move on. But that would be to miss the layers of this place completely—like the welcoming nooks to settle in by the outdoor fireplace, suggesting that you might want to stay awhile. But here, it’s not just about rustic high style (which is everywhere in spades). That’s just matching backdrop to seriously well-crafted wine—single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from some of Sonoma’s most venerable growers. And to feed the inner wine geek in us all, Ram’s Gate has deep dives arranged, so you can find out why the Hyde Vineyard Pinot tastes different from the Sangiacomo bottle.

Reserve ahead for a guided tasting or, even better, one paired with food (wine is very much a food partner here). Another great track is the picnic plan. The pond beyond the Chardonnay vineyard out back is one of the sweetest picnic spots I’ve seen in wine country. Call ahead, and a basket will be waiting. But the deepest dive of all—and the reason I was at Ram’s Gate—is their summer Sunday suppers in the vineyard.

Long, sunflower-decked tables surrounded by the vines your wine came from, the likes of grilled Sonoma lamb over a tangle of fresh greens and ripe plums, earthy and complex Pinot Noir vying for your head to kick in along with your happy heart at this moment … Okay, I wax too elequent. But great food and wine—in spectacular settings that they happen to be related to—can be unsettlingly exhilerating. I think that’s a good thing.

Vintner Jeff O’Neill (L) and Sunset wine editor Sara Schneider (R).

(Photo by E. Spencer Toy)

Sunset recipe retester Kevyn Allard, an avid home cook, had never made fresh orecchiette pasta before. But for a story in our June issue, we asked her to give it a go, to make sure our recipe worked. Strangely enough, her uncle Mike had called her just days earlier. He had a gift for Kevyn, he said: her Italian grandmother’s pasta knife, which he’d just rediscovered nearly a decade after her death.

Kevyn’s grandmother, Rose, was from Puglia, the birthplace of strascinati, or “dragged pastas”—a whole family of Italian pastas formed by dragging nubbins of dough across a wooden board; orecchiette (“little ears”) is the most famous member. (Ladies in Bari, the capital of Puglia, do it by hand to this day, and it’s a marvel to watch.)

Rose’s version, which she just called strascinati, was a simpler, shell-shaped type, and Kevyn had vivid childhood memories of her Nonna making heaps of it using her special knife. Although Kevyn had been too young at the time to learn, and her own mother wasn’t interested in cooking, many a family photo show Rose in the act of teaching some relative or the other how to make the pasta of their heritage. Afterward, she’d tuck the knife away in her purse, ready for the next time.

Using her special pasta knife, Rose Fiorentino shows her son Mike how to make strascinati in the early 1990s. 

Uncle Mike sent Kevyn the knife. It was delicate and a little worn, with a fancy column handle and a rounded tip; it had probably been made in the 1920s. As fate would have it, a week after she received her gift, Mike passed away. “It’s almost as though Grandma was telling him to hurry up and give it to me,” said Kevyn.

She brought her grandma’s knife into Sunset’s test kitchen, and proved to be an ace at making orecchiette, right out of the gate. Some things are meant to be.

Orecchiette 101: Make this simple pasta at home tonight.

Two great recipes: Serve Orecchiette with clams, chiles, and parsley or cherry tomatoes, marjoram and ricotta salata. 

Pork belly in the Wild Ginger smoker. (Photo courtesy of Mat Hayward Photography)

This past winter, Jacky Lo, executive chef at Seattle’s Wild Ginger, experimented with new ways to smoke pork belly and came up with a very Northwest take on a Szechuan-style recipe: Pine needle-smoked bacon. (For the curious, pork belly is the raw product; once cured, it’s called bacon.) We sat down with him to learn how to recreate it at home—turns out you need to look no further than your backyard.

Why pine needles?

Jacky Lo (JL): Our owner, Rick Yoder, came up with the idea for Szechuan-style bacon, which requires some smoking. Part of his recipe said to smoke it with what you can find. I had this big giant pine tree in my back yard that was blocking my view and I wanted to make it smaller, so I thought, ‘Great I’ll use pine needles.’ I did a lot of research before to figure out what can be smoked and what’s toxic—pine is actually edible smoked.

What’s the smoking process?

JL: We rub it with Szechuan peppercorn, salt, rice wine and a few other spices, then let it cure for about a day or two. And then we hang it in our smoker. I bring some pine needles from home, and we just slowly smoke it for about 90 minutes.

What if you don’t have a smoker?

JL: I smoke meat on my grill all the time at home. Cut some fresh pine needles and twigs into small pieces—you want the wood and the needles—throw it on top of charcoals, and close the lid. You have to do it in very small amounts—about two handfuls at a time, while monitoring the heat—otherwise the smoke becomes a high flame, which isn’t good for the food.

How do you adjust the level of smokiness?

JL: If I just want to add a little smoke to a piece of chicken or steak, I use a flash smoke: Put a small amount of pine needles on top of the heat and use a higher heat. The pine needles should burn out within three minutes; during that time, you’ll want to flip your meat twice.

For a more intense pine flavor, lower the heat quite a bit, break down the branches into smaller pieces and cover the coals, then close the lid right away and smoke for at least an hour. I did that with a roast chicken once and it turned out pretty good.

Have you experimented with any other trees?

JL: We did a little bit with cedar, but I think this coming summer I’m going to try the cedar a little more. I’ve trimmed the bottom of my pine tree and I don’t want to climb up any higher. But I have a cedar tree next to it, so I figure I’ll use that one instead.

How do you use the bacon?

JL: We slice the bacon really thin, so it’s almost see through, then wrap oysters with it, put it on a skewer and we grill it. We also use it to make bacon cheeseburgers. You can use it as normal bacon—for breakfast, chop it up into a scramble or use it in fried rice. Bacon with anything is good.

Find more grilling tips here and 23 ways to use your bacon here. 

Now, I’m rooting for a new green-your-home product campaign: The self-watering “Patch” planters made by a Vancouver entrepreneur. (Shout out to Vancouver shop, Walrus Home, where I first spotted Patch.)

How it works:

From the founders: Founded in Vancouver in 2012 by entrepreneur Kent Houston, Let’s Patch was fuelled by the idea that anyone could grow food, anywhere. Kent wanted to help people grow good food not only because it was healthy, but because it could help improve and propel communities to be a viable solution for environmental challenges. After experimenting with prototypes, he discovered how much food could actually be grown on our windowsills and what benefits small actions could have. So, he tried to figure out ways to make things easy, friendly, and a little nicer looking.

And what do I love more than an eco-friendly product promoting healthy living? One with a good charitable cause. Patch supports Growing Chefs!, a classroom gardening program giving students hands-on experience growing and cooking their own food.

Support Patch here! (They’ve got 1 day to go!)

Sunset has a summer gin habit: the occasional warm, late afternoon finds a bevy of us—wordsmiths, design types, photo editors—circled on managing editor Alan Phinney’s back patio, sipping gin and tonics. And on Alan’s patio, the gin in a G & T is always Tanqueray. There’s no wiggle room on that point—or there hadn’t been until recently.

When yet another press release crossed my desk about a small craft distillery launching a new brand of gin, loaded up with all manner of wild botanicals instead of leaning mainly on juniper for its character, I marched into Alan’s office and said, “We have to do a story on all these new gins coming out!” The look on his face was priceless: pure pain. But game and objective editor that Alan is, he nodded (very slowly), and then proceeded to join me (and plenty of other willing editors) for several liver-busting tastings and one riotous drink-mixing session. (It seemed important to find out whether the likes of lavender in gin could possibly be good in a negroni.)

After said serious research—and just in time for Father’s Day—I have five new favorites to report. They run the gamut of deviating only slightly from tradition to messing with it entirely. Any of them would make Dad a happy man this Sunday—you be the judge of just how severely you want to shake up his gin world. Pour him one of the drinks that follow (winners from our staff mixologists), and you’ll have a convert—unless he’s as hard-core as Alan, whose last gin evening reverted to Tanqueray.

The gins

Dry Fly Washington Dry Gin ($30). Loads of apple flavors, with fresh mint, lavender, and citrus.

No. 209 Gin ($35). Hints of coriander and cardamom round out straight-up juniper.

Old World Spirits Rusty Blade Gin ($60). Orange laced with holiday baking spices—ginger and cinnamon—in a barrel-aged version.

St. George Botanivore Gin ($35). Herbal and briny, with fennel, cilantro, and bay leaves mixing it up with ginger and orange peel.

Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin ($35). Wildly fragrant: cucumber, sage, and lavender layered under fresh lemon.

Mix it up

In that negroni, try the barrel-aged Old World Rusty Blade.

In your next margarita, substitute No. 209 or Uncle Val’s for the tequila.

In Dad’s Sunday morning bloody Mary, switch out the vodka for No. 209 gin.

Or pour him a Manhattan with Rusty Blade instead of the whiskey.

And upgrade your martinis with No. 209—with an olive.

“Rebecca Solnit’s West” –> Slate

“Rebecca Solnit is one of the most interesting contemporary writers about California and the West—by turns quirky, opinionated, meditative. This overview in Slate does a good job of introducing readers to her.” — Peter Fish, editor-at-large

“Tart Gallery: 20 Reasons Why Sour Beer is Here to Stay” –> Weekly Pint

“Warm sunshine, soft little breezes, and flowers blooming everywhere—I love summer on the San Francisco peninsula. In summers past, my favorite thing to sip at the end of a summer day has been chilled rosé. But I think I have to branch out after reading this thirst-inducing newsletter from beer writer Christian deBenedetti.” — Margo True, food editor

That scene we show on page 101 of Open Range is a day I’ll never forget. We were at J Bar L Ranch, a working cattle ranch that raises grass-fed beef in Montana’s Centennial Valley between Twin Bridges and West Yellowstone, which is very remote. It’s covered with lupine and sagebrush, and every step we took kicked up these amazing scents. It was just an exhilarating, blue ribbon day until…

Cattle in the sagebrush in Montana’s Centennial Valley

Cowboys from the J Bar L Ranch; ranch manager and Yellowstone Grassfed Beef owner Bryan Ulring is in the red shirt.

…a snowstorm hit. It was a raging blizzard with giant, fluffy flakes (which melted upon landing—it was early July!). The cattle were soaking wet and a little freaked out, and the cold water in the Red Rock River didn’t look too appealing, so the cowboys got off their horses and tied their 60-foot lariats together to make a “fence” so the cattle couldn’t turn back. (They jokingly named this the “Patented Hurst Rope Trick” after cowboy Bradeon Hurst, the ranch operations manager, who thought it up.) Eventually, the herd crossed. The cowboys (and cattle!) were soaked through-and-through. Then they started driving them back to a pasture near the main lodge.

The cattle got soaked

Bryan checks on the cattle’s progress back to the ranch.

They got the cattle in the pasture, and the cowboys took off for the barn. Then it was back to the main lodge (I stayed in the room upstairs) for cocktails and dinner. Bryan manned the grill, but they have a chef. The cute girl in the plaid shirt, Joy Hurst (wife of Braedon), was guest manager at the time and she also helped in the kitchen.

Grilling grass-fed steaks for dinner.

Then the guests sat down for a real ranch supper of green beans, steak and potatoes, and berries and angel food cake for dessert.

Our dinner was amazing.

The angel food cake was served with beautiful summer berries.

When dinner was over, I snapped the sun going down on the Centennial Mountains…pink alpenglow.  The only thing you could hear were crickets and frogs. It smelled so good after that wet snow, like after a heavy rain: soil, sage, and lupine. Glorious!

The sun setting behind J Bar L Ranch’s lodge.

P.S. Here’s the scene from my window the next morning. The ranch guys were busy roping calves to vaccinate them. It was another gorgeous day in the Centennial Valley.

The Red Rocks River in the Centennial Valley.

Another June, another Sunset Celebration Weekend! We’re in recovery mode from our 16th-annual festival here on our campus in Menlo Park: 20,000 or so of our newest best friends showed up last weekend for celebrity chef demos (Iron Chef Fabio Viviani found a way to get the crowd going—kiss food editor Margo True repeatedly, to keep her blushing), a 4,000-square-foot idea house built right into one of our office buildings, a bloody Mary bar, test-garden tours, and some of the Bay Area’s best food trucks (Bacon, Bacon—yum), among a mind-boggling menu of other events and activities.

Of course, I was concentrating on leading a series of seriously fun wine seminars all weekend. And the big news this year was that I had a most-civilized, air-conditioned tent to host said seminars in. To know how big a deal that is, you need to know that leading up to our CW weekend every year, the potential weather stars in every conversation. We’ve had full-on thunderstorms, perfect beach temperatures, and devilish heat waves. This year? Saturday took the last path—it was beastly hot. Even in my air-conditioned world, white wines were the stars. Here are several winners we poured, plus a handful more I highly recommend, because I just kept tasting whites into the week. Probably not a bad thing, because I’m hearing there’s another heatwave in the offing for this next weekend. Stock up!

Canoe Ridge 2012 “Expedition” Pinot Gris (Horse Heaven Hills; $16). A bushel of apples wrapped in fuzzy peach flavors and textures, with bright lemon-lime balancing out lovely honeysuckle notes. I’m thinking some gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese laced with melty smoked gouda would be a good thing alongside this one.

Dobbes Family 2011 Grenache Blanc (Rogue Valley, Oregon; $26). A beautifully stony version of this white Rhône grape, full of zesty grapefruit, tart pineapple, and racy acidity. (Look for more on the Rogue Valley—and the rest of the Southern Oregon wine region—in our October issue.) The wine got me thinking about orange-peel shrimp.

Eroica 2012 Riesling (Columbia Valley; $22). One of Washington state’s most famous Rieslings (and the state is known for Riesling), this is a partnership between big Chateau Ste. Michelle and Germany’s most prominent Riesling maker, Dr. Ernst Loosen. German in style, Eroica is off-dry but bracingly crisp, with tangerine zest and an earthy minerality brightening layers of spicy apple. A Vietnamese pork bánh mì sandwich would be good company.

Gilbert 2012 Estate Riesling (Columbia Valley; $20). A new Washington label on my radar—this Riesling is very nearly dry, its characteristic green apple core decorated with honeyed florals and set off by brilliant acidity. With only 313 cases of this wine in the world, hit the winery’s website fast. Whip up a seafood omelet and throw in some avocado; dry Riesling can handle both serious wine challenges (eggs and avocados).

Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs (Carneros; $22). In this consistant deal of a sparkling wine from Sonoma, bright berry-cherry notes pop with the lively but creamy bubbles. Find yourself some carnitas for this one.

Madrigal 2012 Gewürztraminer (Mendocino; $29). Orange and honeysuckle mix with warm spices, leading to a Meyer lemon finish edged with dried petals. You couldn’t go wrong with smoked pork sausages here.

Sbragia Family 2012 Sauvignon Blanc (Dry Creek Valley; $22). A beautifully aromatic Sauv Blanc, with peach blossoms and fresh herbs layered over grapefruit and green apple. Ed Sbragia, head winemaker at Beringer for decades, launched this family label, but his son, Adam, makes the wines now. Pile goat cheese on a salad that involves asparagus and fresh herbs.

We spent two beautiful (and fun and delicious) days photographing the “Family Made” story about the Robertson family’s Whidbey Island cabin and ended up with enough images to fill a whole issue. The home is so dreamy (and the family so cool!), I may have asked them to adopt me. 

Here are some favorite snaps.

Don (left), and sons Nick and Chad on the cabin’s green roof!

The roof of the former (unsalvageable) cabin on the property couldn’t be kept in good condition because it was always covered in moss. So the family decided to turn Northwest’s rich, green climate to their advantage: Nick designed a green roof, which they laid with native soil. Since then, it’s self-seeded with clover, native grasses, and wild flowers—and sometimes even attracts deer! “It’s like Judo,” explains Nick of the green roof as a solution. “You use your opponents weight against them.”

Exterior and interior entry.

ABOVE AND LEFT: The flooring, dining table and bench were crafted from old Alder trees on the property —the wood was dried for 18 months! RIGHT: Lighting design by Don and trestle system by Nick. 

The Robertson’s creative minds are only matched by the lush Northwest landscape, which in turn provides inspiration for their day jobs. ”We try not to do any work at the cabin, but when you allow that free space in your mind, we end up with so much inspiration” says Chad. “We get some of our best ideas there,” adds Emily. Similarly, Isabelle finds time for artwork every visit: “In my Seattle work studio, I don’t have a lot of play mess around time,” she says. “I always pack paints and papers for the cabin, and find time to just paint.”

ABOVE: The kitchen island and cabinets were designed by Chad and Emily of Chadhaus; dishtowels, aprons, and melamine plates are by Isabelle of Piano Nobile. 

LEFT: The shell-imprinted ceramic tiles were crafted by Suzy.
RIGHT: Coastal collections by Suzy adorn a living room bookshelf unit designed by Don.

LEFT: Paintings by Isabelle, console and lamp base by Chadhaus, lamp shade by Piano Nobile. RIGHT: Chad and Emily relax by a bench seat they designed.

ABOVE: Red stool by Chadhaus, textiles by Piano Nobile.

While the initial floorplan and framework were very thought-out, “a lot of it was ad hoc,” says Nick. The bathroom was originally plumbed for a shower but they ended up with a tub (the shower spigot how secures the laundry line), and they’d intended to have a second story, but that became an economic issue: “It was supposed to be design-build, but it’s actually build-design.”

LEFT Nick and Clara; RIGHT Chad, Clara and Emily.

The cabin lifestyle is as casual at the aesthetic. “We have something called ‘Beach rules’,” says Chad. “You do want you want to do. If that means you want to have a beer with lunch, or not take a bath.”

Suzy grows fresh herbs, potatoes, kale, and some berries. Inspired by neighbor Linda, the veggie garden fence was designed to keep deer away.

Nick barbecues pizza on the grill (which lost its legs in a grilling incident years ago).

Their Whidbey cabin (just 90 minutes away from their Seattle homes by car and ferry) is “an escape from urbanity,” says Nick. “But it’s not always peaceful or quiet—we have dogs, and kids, which have lots of excitement.” “But that’s the good part,” chimes in Isabelle. “It’s a change of rhythm,” adds Don, who likes shore activities like clamming and kayaking. “The rhythm of the tides.”

Time on the water is at the center of Robertson family trips to Whidbey:

Don digs for clams.

Stairway to heaven: 82 stairs from cabin to shore!

Styling by Bergren Rameson. Photographs by Thomas J. Story.

This weekend, we’re welcoming grilling expert Jamie Purviance back to Sunset for Celebration Weekend. He’s a graduate of Stanford University and the Culinary Institute of America (with high honors) and he’s the author of all of Weber’s cookbooks, including Weber’s Way to Grill (a James Beard Award nominee) and Weber’s Smoke, both New York Times best sellers. His latest book is Weber’s New Real Grilling. We thought his upcoming visit would be a perfect opportunity to learn more about him.

How many grills do you own?

Jamie Purviance (JP): I have 6 grills that I use regularly now. I had 10 at one point, but when your kids can’t go outside to play because there is no space left in the backyard, it’s time to cut back.

Do you have a favorite grill, or is that like asking which one of your kids you like the best?

JP: Yes, it’s kinda like that, but if one of your kids is the most capable, the best looking, and he/she never ever lets you down, the choice gets a little easier . . .   Grilling on a high-powered, six-burner Weber Summit grill with a built-in smoker box and an infrared burner in the back for rotisserie cooking is ridiculously fun and gratifying.

How about a favorite food to grill?

JP: I’ll say a rack of lamb or anything that is just on the edge of challenging. There is a layer of fat on a rack of lamb that will cause flare-ups if you are not careful, and that cut of meat is pricier than a lot of jewelry, so it’s a crime to overcook it. When I’m presented with a grilling challenge and the stakes are high, I’m a happy guy. Plus I just love eating a great rack of lamb.

Is there a new technique, flavor combo, or cut of meat you’ve learned lately that you’re jazzed about?

JP: I have been having a lot of fun and great success using a cast-iron wok in the grill. At first, a grill and a wok don’t seem to go together at all, but I’ve learned that I can get a wok much hotter on the grill than I can on my stovetop, so the results are just like what you have at a really good Chinese restaurant where chefs cook with huge flames surrounding the base of the wok.

What are some little touches that make the difference between good grilled food and great grilled food/ a good griller and a great griller?

JP: I think one of the biggest differences is in the searing of meats. A lot of backyard cooks settle for a gentle sear of golden colors and subtle flavors. They tend to turn meat too often and don’t give it enough time in one place to develop deeper flavors. Searing adds hundreds of new flavor compounds that make a big difference to the flavor of the meat and the texture, if you let them. So remember, golden is nice; brown is better.

You’re a lot of people’s grilling guru. Where do you go to learn more?

JP: Oh gosh, everywhere. For example, I was in Germany last month and learned a lot about sausages. Here’s a little factoid I didn’t know before. Knockwurst get their name from the fact that they are made with fairly thick casings that make a “knock” sound when you cut into them. Also, in Bavaria they have a special white sausage called “weisswursch” that must be cooked very gently so that it is not “aufblazt,” which means that the skin has burst open — a terrible mistake. There is an unwritten law that this veal-and-bacon sausage must be eaten before noon with sweet mustard and a beer.

Is there anything you’ve grilled so often you can’t look it in the face anymore?

JP: Nope.

What’s the holy grail of grilling geekdom? You know you’re a grilling geek when…

JP: Well, I don’t think it is the holy grail, but on the Internet there are web sites and forums devoted to esoteric topics like how long it takes to light various types of charcoal and how much ash they leave behind. If you find yourself ignoring the yard work so you can surf these sites, I’d say you are a grilling geek.

Can you give us a sneak preview of what you’re going to demo at this year’s Sunset Celebration Weekend?

JP: This weekend I’ll be cooking a “remixed” recipe from “Weber’s New Real Grilling.” While writing the book, I looked at a lot of the grilling books from the 1960s and 1970s to get a sense of how the grilling landscape has changed over time. There was a funny steak recipe from 1967 called Tournedos Heloise that shows how obsessed Americans were at the time with French food, to the point where they were willing to spend hours and hours shopping for specialty foods like imported pâtes and black truffles to make an elaborate steak dish drenched in creamed mushrooms and Madeira sauce.  I’ll be grilling an updated version that you can shop for at any supermarket and make in less than 30 minutes. I hope to see a lot of Sunset readers there. I’ll be giving away cookbooks during the demo.