Wild Edibles

While out checking where we were with new shoot growth the other day I spotted some goodies that looked like ramps.  To the uninitiated, ramps are wild edibles that grow only for a short period each spring.  They are part leek, part green onion but wholly wonderful – fragrant and delicious.  I’d never seen them growing in the wild but having recently enjoyed them at Quince restaurant  they were on my radar.  Unfortunately, ramps don’t seem to grow in California – confined as they are to more eastern climes.  However, it was a great excuse for a walk as well as a chance to talk with our vineyard foreman Agustin.  While we were talking about vineyard balance, what the bulls were eating and which blocks we’d be working next he told me about some plants growing near our tiny Cabernet Franc vineyard: tender greens that reminded him of garlic.  Upon closer inspection it turns out that he’d found a lovely patch of vineyard onions.  Pungent little garlic-like plants with a delicate yet wonderful flavor in both the bulb and the green stalk.  Another delightful little discovery made at Bell Mountain.  It occurred to me that our policy of keeping a permanent cover crop in this part of the vineyard had helped encourage these wild edibles to thrive.  Another unexpected but welcome benefit of farming the way we do.