Good Food Awards and good Food Month

A couple of years ago we were lucky enough to sponsor SLOW FOOD NATION – a celebration of artisanal food (and wine) in San Francisco. We collaborated with a variety of producers from chocolate to pickles and coffee to charcuterie and helped organize the sustainable wine bar where hundreds of like-minded wine growers from across the nation presented their wines. Over 85,000 people made the trip to visit the event and it helped highlight the interest there is in our food community.

In January there is going to be another slow food bonanza in the form of the GOOD FOOD AWARDS and Medlock Ames is again a main sponsor. This inaugural event celebrates products that taste great but are ethically made: sentiments close to our own philosophy. The competition will honor a diverse cross section of artisan food producers from across the country in a quest to highlight the best of what is tasty, authentic and responsibly produced.

The winners will be announced on January 14th and on the 15th there will be an opportunity for us all to meet, sample and learn about these fantastic producers at a Marketplace hosted at the ferry building in San Francisco. We hope to see you there and join us in celebrating the best tasting of the best produced wares in the US.

In fact, the weeks following the event will see GOOD FOOD MONTH  being celebrated throughout the bay area. All kinds of restaurants, farms, dairies and kitchens will be opening their doors and encouraging you out into your food community. An estimated 500 events are being planned and Medlock Ames has a couple of our own to invite you to:

JAN 22nd: Release of our new olive oil from the 2010 vintage. We’ll be celebrating the new oil with lots of wood fired goodies and edibles from the garden – right at our tasting room in Alexander Valley. 12 to 4pm. Email us to RSVP.

JAN 29th: Bellwether cheese tasting at the tasting room from 12 to 4pm. We’ll have an expert from Bellwether on-site to guide us through some pairings and provide an interactive and informative walk through a flight of wines and cheese. Bellwether are one of our local gems and we are excited that they are able to help us host this event. Email us to RSVP.

We'll also be hosting a dinner at Chez Panisse - details coming soon - and look forward to seeing you at one of these events during what promises to be a fantastic month.