Our Local Bounty

NEVADA AND PLACER COUNTIES are home to a growing, healthy and vibrant base of local farms, rivaling the Central Valley, Sonoma and San Luis Obispo. From fruits and vegetables (Riverhill Farm and Machado Orchards, for example) to grass-fed beef (Nevada County Free Range Beef and Sinclair Family Farm) — from olive oil, jams and honey […]

Tasting Notes: Nevada City Winery, Sierra Starr and Avanguardia

FOOTHILLS CELEBRATION Now in its 17th year, the Foothills Celebration in downtown Grass Valley is one of the region’s premier wine and food events. On Saturday, March 3, from 1-4 p.m., participants gather to sip wine from foothill wineries while sampling chef specialties and sweets from local restaurants. One of the more decadent offerings has […]

What’s in season: Farm, Food & Drink

NEPTUNE’S DELIGHT The Bloody Mary’s simple, two-ingredient base—tomato juice and vodka—lends itself to countless interpretations. We’ve sampled this cocktail in our region, and the “Neptune’s Delight” served at Morgan’s Lobster Shack in midtown Reno is a standout. The 22-ounce cocktail-meal consists of Chopin vodka and house-made Bloody Mary, topped with a crab leg, shrimp, Berkshire […]

California State Fair announces commercial cheese winners

Winners have been announced for the 2016 California State Fair Commercial Cheese Competition. A panel of twelve qualified judges tasted and evaluated 169 California cheeses at Cal Expo on May 11, 2016. The 34 California cheese companies who entered the competition range from small artisan producers, to international distributors with large-scale production, but for this […]

Artisan cheese in the foothills: Dedrick’s, Wheyward Girl, Shaft’s

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS A storied cheese making history. Marin’s historic Rouge & Noire cheese company, now Marin French Cheese, has roots that go back 150 years. In the 1930s Gaetano Vella started Vella Cheese Company in Sonoma at the urging of local dairymen. And in the ‘90s, longtime friends Sue Conley and Peggy Smith founded […]

Wheyward Girl Creamery Kickstarter kickoff on March 2

Downtown Nevada City continues its popular transition into a foodie destination due to its burgeoning number of artisan bakers, brewers, and local organic restaurants and farms. Now Wheyward Girl Creamery will be adding to the mix this summer when it opens its doors next to the popular Three Forks Bakery & Brewing Co. on lower Commercial […]

Nevada County’s first creamery store to open in late spring

Wheyward Girl Creamery plans to open in late spring, making it the first creamery to open as a store in Nevada County in recent memory. Artisan cheese is a big trend. Examples include Shaft’s Cheese in Roseville, Cowgirl Creamery at Point Reyes Station and stalwarts such as Vella Cheese in Sonoma. In Nevada County, Tess’ […]

New Cowgirl Creamery Cookbook celebrates artisan cheeses

Founded in 1994, Cowgirl Creamery of Point Reyes Station, CA, has fueled the popularity of artisan cheeses in Northern California. Some longer-time cheese makers in California include Vella Creamery in Sonoma (founded in 1931), whose customers have included celebrities such as actor Carey Grant. We regularly eat Vella and Cowgirl Cheeses, among others. In our […]

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