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Agricultural Bounty, Renowned Wine Regions, Celebrity Chefs and Festivals

When it comes to wine and food, no other state in America comes close to California. Studies show that California is the top wine and food mecca in the United States, driven in part by the state’s production of 90 percent of American wine and its boasting nine of the top 10 agricultural counties in the nation.

“California is the land of abundance, especially when it comes to our culinary delights and diverse wines,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Caroline Beteta of the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC). “We don’t have to go far to source fresh, organic ingredients that make for savory dishes. And, of course, we’re known all over the world for our wines. In fact, we have more wineries to choose from than any other state in the U.S.. Visitors can easily meet the farmers and winemakers behind California’s culinary bounty, or even bump into chefs at farmer’s markets. Nowhere else in America can visitors have such a deep connection to the food and wine they’re enjoying on vacation.”

Because most of the wine and food is grown and made in the Golden State, established and aspiring celebrity chefs are drawn here, magnetized by the bountiful fresh ingredients available in their own backyard. With so many wine and food enthusiasts drawn here, many destinations in California are hosting top culinary festivals celebrating everything from wine to asparagus. They’re also developing immersion programs – such as wine blending and cooking classes – to let visitors take a piece of the California lifestyle home.

Celebrity Chefs
Many locals and visitors are thrilled to rub elbows with celebrity chefs looking for the perfect ingredients at farmer’s markets from San Diego and Los Angeles in Southern California up to San Francisco and beyond in Northern California. This keeps the chefs in tune with the seasonal ingredients that drive their menus, and keeps them connected to the public they’re serving.

“There’s no better playground for a chef than being in California,” said celebrity chef Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant + Farm in Santa Rosa, who recently appeared on national television in America as a competitor on the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” and who stars in CTTC’s wine and food commercial. “The ‘locavore’ movement – where chefs source ingredients from local farms, ranches and fishermen – is what sets California apart. We and many other California chefs love to be able to grow our own produce and shop at the local farmer’s markets for the just-picked ingredients that make our plates the best around. I love pairing dishes with local wines from a winery right nearby. We are spoiled here, but we are happy to share that with our guests, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Award-winning celebrity chef Ben Ford, who recently spoke about California cuisine on America’s national morning TV show NBC’s “Today,” agrees. “At Ford’s Filling Station, we call ourselves a regional gastropub, focusing on seasonal menus based on what’s fresh and local,” Chef Ford said. “One of the most meditative parts of my day is foraging in my garden or local farmer’s markets, which sparks my creativity. Whatever I find inspires new menu items, which keeps customers coming back.”

Many big-time national chefs – celebrities in their own right – have been lured by this creative, laid-back lifestyle and abundant local ingredients. Scott Conant of Scarpetta Beverly Hills presents soulful, seasonally-inspired Italian dishes that offer fresh ingredients and clean, earthy flavors, while Thomas Keller and his team serve a French bistro-inspired cuisine from their travels at The French Laundry in Napa at Bouchon Bistro Beverly Hills. Rick Bayless of the PBS series “Mexico – One Plate at a Time” reinvents Mexican cuisine and serves up lighter California fare at Red O in L.A. Voted 2011 Best Restaurateur in the U.S. by Gayot.com, Michael Mina never fails to impress at his restaurant XIV in West Hollywood, with big-plate a la carte selections, robust market salads, sumptuous appetizers and shared plates. Mina also has several restaurants in San Francisco, such as Michael Mina, and other locations in California. Chef to the stars Brian Hill, who has worked for Mary J. Blige, Eddy Murphy and now has a Food Network show, has a roaming gourmet comfort food truck that diners find each day via Twitter. Other Food Network luminaries have joined in the game, such as Tyler Florence, who opened Tyler Florence Rotisserie & Wine in Napa, and Emmy-winner Chef Michael Chiarello of Bottega in Napa Valley.

Agricultural Bounty
The size of the state and the diversity of its soils and climates mean that a vast array of fresh, seasonal crops thrive here, making California the nation’s top agricultural state. More than 400 agricultural products are produced in California, and more than 117 varieties of winegrapes are grown here. This abundance of fresh ingredients and superior local wines attracts renowned chefs and sommeliers from all over the world, creating some of the best restaurants in the U.S.

Although produce, cheese, meats and seafood do come from the coastal areas of California, the leading agricultural county is the Central Valley. Sometimes called the “fruit basket” of the nation, the Central Valley is synonymous with orchards – beautiful, flowering fruit and nut trees in spring, branches laden with delicious peaches, plums and other fresh fruits in summer, and a bounty of nuts come fall. Fresno County, the top agricultural county in America and the raisin capital of the world, is a leading agritourism destination. From early February through late March, depending on weather conditions, the Fresno Blossom Trail leads visitors through a breathtaking display as hundreds of orchards burst into bloom. May through September, when produce ripens and local farmstands open, follow the Fresno County Fruit and Nut Trail. For those not visiting at these times, the Fresno Vineyard Farmer’s Market is open year-round. Throughout the seasons, these friendly farms, many of them family-run, host lively festivals and seasonal events where visitors can pick their own produce and taste and buy delicious pies, preserves and other treats straight from the farmers’ kitchens.

America’s Wine Country
California is America’s premier wine region, growing 117 varieties of grapes and producing 90 percent of U.S. wine, attracting more than 20 million wine lovers to tasting rooms in many of the nearly 3,000 wineries across the state. Since the Judgment of Paris in 1976, increasingly adventurous consumers look to California to set new trends. Winegrowers and vintners are stepping outside their comfort zones, producing new varietals that appeal to consumers’ curiosity and evolving palates. This means wine lovers can experience not only the award-winning wines California is famous for – such as Napa cabernets, Sonoma chardonnays and Paso Robles Rhône varietals – but different, unexpected varietals grown in both established and emerging wine regions. California also has the leading sustainable winegrowing program in the world and eco-friendly tours of wineries are popping up throughout the state to showcase this aspect of winemaking (e.g., Sustainable Vine Wine Tours in Santa Barbara, where visitors climb aboard a biodiesel-powered van to visit vineyards that practice organic and biodynamic farming). Kunde Estate in Sonoma features extensive hiking tours of their sustainable vineyards, while Cooper-Garrod in the Santa Cruz Mountains offers horseback rides through sustainable vineyards. As awareness of sustainability grows, an enthusiastic and savvy new generation of winegrowers and winemakers are taking the reins throughout California, combining great traditions with their own fresh perspective and talents. For more information on visiting wine regions, check out www.visitcalifornia.com/wineanddine, or for varietals and detailed winery information try www.discovercaliforniawine.com.

Wine and Food Festivals
To enhance California’s reputation as the culinary capital of America, CTTC will launch its second annual California Restaurant Month in January 2012, featuring dining promotions in hundreds of restaurants in more than 20 destinations across California. The program offers foodies the chance to dine at some of California’s finest restaurants at a value they can’t get any other time of year. California’s Wine Institute and the state’s wine industry also host California Wine Month each year in September to celebrate the state’s signature beverage, featuring special tastings, educational programs and events throughout the state.

There are too many wine and food festivals to mention, but visitors can rest assured that no matter where or when they travel here, there’s a wine or food event they can savor. In the Central Valley, many farm towns celebrate their bounty with events like Modesto’s Almond Blossom Festival (February), Stockton Asparagus Festival (April), Lodi ZinFest and Oakdale Chocolate Festival (May), Gilroy Garlic Festival (July) and the California State Fair’s Grape & Gourmet Competition in Sacramento (July).

Other regions celebrate, too. Down in Southern California, June is busy with annual wine events, such as the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, the Newport Beach Wine Festival and the LAWineFest. Also in June are wine events such as the renowned Auction Napa Valley and the Vintners Festival in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Other notable spring events in the rest of the state include the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and the Paso Robles Wine Festival in May, and the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival in April.

The busiest season for wine festivals coincides with the fall wine harvest. Highlights include the Sunset – Savor the Central Coast (September) in several San Louis Obispo County locations, featuring unique culinary tours, celebrity chef demonstrations and extraordinary winemaker dinners.

Monterey’s Harvest: Farm to Table event (September) is a two-day, family-friendly, farm-to-table event with local and regional farmers, artisan cheese makers, food artisans, celebrity chefs and winemakers. Also in September is the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival in Truckee, and the famous Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. Later in the fall is the Annual California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria (October) and the Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival (November).
Although winter is the slow season for wine country, it’s a great time to meet the growers and winemakers. And a few destinations are throwing special events, such as the Crab and Wine Days in Mendocino and San Francisco’s Zinfandel Festival in January, followed by Madera’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend in February and Temecula’s World of Wine Barrel Tasting Weekend in March.

Immersive Wine and Food Programs and Tours
California offers many interesting programs and tours for wine and food lovers year-round. It’s impossible to mention them all, but a few highlights include: In the Kitchen with Lisa, featuring interactive tours in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Mission District, wine country and Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, the latter of which is also the location of the Kitchen on Fire improvisational culinary classes. Also in Northern California is the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute in Fort Bragg, the world’s premier organic raw vegan chef training school, widely considered the originator of the gourmet raw food movement. Robert Mondavi Winery and the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley offer classes on how to taste wines like a professional.

Market Forays in Santa Barbara teaches visitors to eat like a locavore during a guided culinary tour. Also on the Central Coast is The Taste of Monterey Wine Visitor Center in Monterey’s Cannery Row, featuring educational classes, special events and daily tastings from more than 70 local wineries.

In Southern California, Los Angeles’ California Sushi Academy and Sushi Institute of America offer classes dedicated to the art of making the finest sushi, reflecting the city’s strong Japanese base. There are many chefs offering cooking classes around the city, such as Chicks with Knives, two women chefs who offer sustainable cooking programs and a hot monthly sustainable supper club. The San Diego Wine and Culinary Center provides wine and food classes led by kitchen staff, local chefs and cookbook authors.

Wine blending classes abound all over the state. Notable examples include Ravenswood in Sonoma, which offers a “Blend Your Own No Wimpy Wine” class, where guests can play vintner for a few hours and try blending Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane as their palate prefers and take home a bottle to impress their family and friends. Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles offers an Art of Blending class, while Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma County offers a Cinq Cépages Blending Seminar where visitors can try blending their flagship wine from five Bordeaux varietals. Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley offers an Insignia Blending Seminar, where wine lovers can play winemaker for the day, tasting and comparing their blend with the winery’s current vintage.

California’s Signature Foods
In addition to being known for fresh ingredients, California’s destinations also boast unique local foods. Visitors are discovering local culinary delights that make each region distinctive. San Francisco, famous for fresh seafood, has amazing sourdough bread. The “Hangtown Fry” is unique to the Gold Country – as is the much loved Santa Maria barbecue in the Central Coast. For those who like sweets, head to the High Sierra for the delectable delights of Mono Cone or to Orange County for a famous Balboa Bar.

Background
CTTC is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry – that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. According to CTTC, travel and tourism expenditures total $95.1 billion annually in California (18 percent of which is international), support jobs for 873,000 Californians and generate $6.1 billion in state and local tax revenues. For more information about CTTC and for a free California Visitor’s Guide, go to www.VisitCalifornia.com