Yesterday’s Taste of Sonoma was the largest outdoor food and wine event in California.  Which says a whole lot for a state known for being a mecca of culinary artistry and amazing wine.  I have always known that Sonoma County has it’s own eclectic way of doing things and yesterday showcased my county’s attention to detail, commitment to local/seasonal ingredients and humor.

Just like I saw during the Barrel Tasting and Passport events in Dry Creek Valley this past year, the crowd  at Taste of Sonoma was younger.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed, according to the Press Democrat, “The demographic this year seemed to shift to a younger, hipper crowd of folks in their 20s and 30s.“   This just proves that my idea for Project Y-ine is a great idea and that wineries (and restaurants) need to put more effort into reaching out to this demographic.  The Taste of Sonoma isn’t a cheap event, and at $95 to $160 a ticket, yesterday showed that my generation is willing to pay for the finer things in life.

They had a Taste 2.0 section where anyone could go onto Twitter or Facebook, which was awesome considering MacMurry ranch had no service for us AT&T users (for people like James Marshall Barry who has Verizon, it was humorous).  My one issue with this was that they did not use this service ONCE themselves, though they did post a status update and video on their Facebook Page.

But then again, I tweeted enough about Taste of Sonoma for everyone.

In addition to running back to the Taste 2.0 booth, I took pictures of everything I ate during the day.  Thankfully, it is tomato season, so the theme of many bites to eat revolved around this fruit.  Keep in mind as you read this post that I am a vegetarian, so I was only able to eat some of the food at the event…  Thankfully, my Sonoma chefs kept me in mind when creating their veggie dishes (or so I like to think).

The apple-ation cocktail from Cyrus in Healdsburg was an amazing apple brandy cocktail that only the mixoligst’s at Cryus could create.  They provided recipes, but considering I cannot pronounce one of the words in the recipe, I am not sure how easy the drink would be to recreate….

The mini ice cream cone was a yummy combination of goat’s milk and cow milk ice cream made with Delice de La Vallee cheese (made by Sheana Davis, my favorite cheese lady and organizer of all chefs at the event).

The Bellwether Farms cheese was amazing too, but sadly only located in the Visa Signature section, so most of the guests were not able to try it.

Bacon was also another theme with bacon pizza, pea shooters with bacon topping from John Ash & Co, BLT’s from Bovolo/Zazu and bacon wrapped figs from the girl & the fig and I did get some pictures of these items for you carnivores to enjoy:

If I could give out a prize for my own personal favorite booth of the day, it would have to go to Sondra Bernstein of the girl & the fig and ESTATE in the city of Sonoma.  She truly embodied the Taste of Sonoma by providing three separate ‘tastes’ all made with her restaurants namesake – figs.  The figs wrapped in bacon I couldn’t eat, but I went back for thirds of the fig desert and her fig coolers.  By popular demand, I think quite possibly mostly by me, she posted the recipe for this refreshing and delicious cocktail on her website.  Oh, and I already asked: Yes, they are on the menu at the girl & the fig.

Overall, I ate much more than I drank, but I did visit many of the amazing wineries that Sonoma has to offer.  It was my first time being at an event that solely showcased my favorite county.  Even though each appellation had their own tent, I overheard a lot of comradery and respect for the other wineries and tents.  All together an amazing day in an amazing county.   For more of the pictures I took of the day, please go here, here or here.