Artisan cheese festival coming to Petaluma March 18

Cheese wheels keep on turnin’

California’s Artisan Cheese Festival rolls its wheels into Petaluma March 18 for the 10th year in and around the Sheraton Sonoma County on Lakeville Road in Petaluma. Join in for lots of cheese tasting, appreciation and education.

Guests can attend two days of farm and creamery tours to see where the cows, goats and sheep live along with their keepers and how artisan cheesemakers practice their craft to please your palate. Attend a big celebration under the “Big Top” on Saturday night; cheesemongers’ duel for the best bite; and seminars at the Sheraton and at Cowgirl Creamery’s Petaluma facility on Saturday.

Seminars will range in topics from pairing cheese with sake to the similarities of making cheese and chocolate.

Popular cheese experts who have confirmed to make presentations include Peggy Smith and Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery, Janet Fletcher, Laura Werlin, and wine author Kristin Jackson.

Chef John Ash will preside over the Sunday Bubbles and Brunch at the Sheraton, and include a cooking demo at the brunch, all of which is accompanied by Gloria Ferrer sparkling wines.

Tickets to the brunch also include early admission to Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace. At the Marketplace you can taste loads of cheeses, chocolates and bread and watch cooking with cheese demos as well.

Tickets and info on activities for all three days at artisancheesefestival.com.

More cheese, please...

Ramekins hosts Sheana Davis and Alec Stefansky of Uncommon Brewing for a hands-on cheese and beer pairing dinner on Sunday, March 13 featuring crème de Ricotta with pea shoot pesto and Golden State Ale; roasted potato and leek soup with Siamese Twin Ale; Bacon Brown Ale braised short ribs; roasted Fifth Street farms carrots, fingerling potatoes and red onions, and Baltic Porter vanilla bean adult sundaes. $125. 6 to 9 p.m. ramekins.com.

Anyone for lunch?

Ramekins’ chef Kyle Kuklewski will demonstrate recipes to be served for lunch at Chateau St. Jean on Sunday, March 20. All to be paired with Chateau St. Jean’s fine wines, the menu will include fresh rolls with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, carrots and glass noodles; beef Bourgignon aranchini with Romesco; Mozzarella stretching; mushroom gnocchi with brown butter and sage; and sweet crepes with hazelnut chocolate puree with whipped cream and fresh berries. $100. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reserve at Ramekins.com.

More St. Patrick’s celebrations

Rotary Sonoma Valley holds its always fun St. Patrick’s Day feast before St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 12 at the Moose Lodge on Broadway. Volunteers will cook all day at the Moose Lodge kitchen, Ladies of the Moose will help prep the silverware and some decorations, and the generous Moose bartender will be at the ready.

Enjoy traditional corned beef and cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and lots more, along with a whole lot of hilarity and a drawing of raffle tickets for trip for two to Ireland or $10,000. DJ,Raffle tickets $50, dinner free to Rotarians and $40 to others, which includes two beer or wine tickets. Full bar available. Tickets from any Rotary member or at the door. 5:30 to 10 p.m. 20580 Broadway, Sonoma. More info or tickets call Gary Umholtz at 338-0338.

CornerStone offers a St. Patrick’s Celebration on Thursday, March 17 at Park 121 Café & Grill with beer, corned beef and cabbage pizza, and a brownie. $20. Noon to 6 p.m.

Back in time

Buena Vista Winery’s Vinicultural Society launches a series of winegrowing dinners starting Friday, March 18 in the winery’s main cave. “Our reincarnated founder Count Agoston Haraszthy and director of winegrowing Eric Poolser will host and explain specific 19th century European winegrowing techniques brought by the Count to America and how these techniques are being used today to create extraordinary wines,” according to winery spokesperson Tamara Stanfill. Jean-Charles Boisset’s French-trained chef Michel Cornu will prepare the food, using Boisset wineries’ biodynamically grown vegetables, paired with special Buena Vista wines. $150 public, $135 wine club members. Tickets at cellarpass.com. or 963-6939.

Waiting to exhale

Sharon Cohn and her two sisters, Rebecca and Cynthia Faust, have begun construction of their new and unusual Breathless Wines tasting room in Healdsburg, built out of four connected shipping containers with “1920s industrial chic design.”

The three sisters founded the winery in 2011 in memory of their mother, Martha, to honor her dedication to giving back to the community. The sisters even broke ground for the unique tasting room on their mother’s birthday.

Sharon said, “In that spirit, we donate to a variety of nonprofits and are excited to provide a space for these partners to host educational events and fundraisers at the new tasting room.” Cohn is a generous member of the ChaChas, a group of 20 women dedicated to providing special programs at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home.

Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster produces 1,500 cases of Brut, Blanc de Noirs and Brut Rose that have amassed 25 Best of class, gold and 90-plus point ratings. Watch for “Still Breathless” still wines to come. They are also crowdfunding via breathlesswines.com/crowdfunding.

Boysenberry update

Claire Wirick, daughter of Brian Wirick and Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Louann Carlomagno, was featured in a Washington Post story about growing boysenberries on Cannard Farm in Glen Ellen.

Claire used to be the school garden coordinator at El Verano School until Bobby Cannard admired her work so much that he lured her away to grow veggies full time for Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley.

Return to Copia

Victor Scargle, former executive chef at the former Julia’s Kitchen at the former Copia in Napa, was just named Executive Chef at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia in Napa.

Scargle, who has presided over dining experiences at Sonoma Raceway, will oversee a new restaurant, wine tasting experiences, food-enthusiast programs and other special events. The restaurant might open in late spring. Scargle taught at the CIA’s Greystone campus in St. Helena from 2009 to 2011.

Scargle has also served as executive chef at Lucy Restaurant & Bar at the Bardessono Hotel in Yountville, Go Fish! In St. Helena, Grand Café at San Francisco’s Hotel Monaco, and cooked at Jardinière in San Francisco and Aqua and several more.

Tea and cookies?

Friends of Maysonnave House offer coffee, tea and cookies to anyone who stops by the historic First Street East abode between 10 a.m. and noon on Fridays in March to get acquainted and see updates of the house. 251 First St. East, Sonoma.

Runway rundown

Linda Hamilton of Nomad Chic at Cornerstone put on a phenomenal fashion show last week to benefit the Sonoma Mentoring Alliance and created a long runway from the barn along Cornerstone’s gardens.

It was a huge hit, culminating with two gorgeous women in black, founding and long-serving executive director Cathy Witkowicki and current executive director Lee Morgan Brown. Then came spoofers Dave Allen and his ever present dog Axel of Artifacts & Salvage, Creekside High School teacher Walt Williams, and Fred Groth of Prohibition Spirits distillers, sending the crowd into laughter probably heard across the highway at Gloria Ferrer.

Park 121 and Ramekins served appetizers, wine was everywhere, and Amy and Fred Groth served 180 Limoncello vodka martinis, which I have to admit went down very easily. The Groths will soon provide a Prohibition Spirits “distillery experience” at the south side of Cornerstone so everyone can see and taste what they do, according to the Groths.

Cheers!