Earth Day;  a time to pull on the tie-dyed tee (the one with the peace sign)  slip on the Birks, and spin a few Donovan tunes (and say, good morning, starshine). On the other hand, if you'd rather skip your inner Hippie ensemble and accompanying tunes, maybe a more sophisticated celebration is in order, like popping the cork on a sustainably-produced bottle of wine. There are several 'green' agricultural buzzwords flying about the news these days, so you might be wondering, what exactly does 'sustainability' mean? Sustainable farming is the return to more responsible farming techniques. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture was embraced as a way to grow food abundantly and cheaply

Life. It's good, but it hasn't exactly been all rainbows and butterflies, what with the failing economy, record unemployment, escalating gas prices and health care 'reform'---oh, and lest I forget, Tax Day, which is mere hours away. Nevertheless, no matter how bleak the headlines read with my morning Fruit Loops, I rely on my nightly glass of  'vinous panacea' to ease the sting of the bureaucratic fingers digging deeper into my shallow pockets. Until now, that is. Adding insult to my fiscal injury, a couple from Southern California have proposed an initiative which would levy a massive 12,675% tax increase on alcoholic beverages. No, this is not a belated April Fool's joke. Kent and J

Mondays. Bah Humbug One recent Monday, however, was an exception to the perceived worst day of the week. I set aside my Monday blues, grabbed the umbrella and the BFF, and headed for Matteo's, Matt Woolston's eponymous neighborhood joint at the Five Points center in Carmichael.  Although the restaurant is usually closed on Mondays, Matteo's will occasionally schedule special events for Mondays, such as the food and wine tasting I attended this particular evening. As any 'foodie' worth their porcini mushroom will tell you, Matt's been turning out elegant repasts for the last 8 years at the north side's uber-swanky Supper Club. The elegant prix-fixe, multi course 'suppers' have maintained

What's a Pinot Noir lover stuck in Zinfandel country to do when they get a hankerin' for a Pinot Noir? Well, if it's Saturday, January 30th, they head to Davis, California, for the grand opening of the Fiddlehead Cellars tasting room. Kathy Joseph, UCD grad, winemaker and owner of Fiddlehead Cellars thought it only natural to open a tasting room in the hometown of her alma mater, which also serves as the hub of her business operations. Having to split her time between her 'production anchors' of the Santa Rita Hills, and Oregon's Willamette Valley, it seemed a logical step in the winery's growth to feed the Pinot-starved inhabitants of Northern California with her lovely, terroir-driven

In this day of Food Network stars and celebrity chefs, one culinary icon (BAM!) has been singing the praises of the pig for nearly as long as he's been mugging for the camera:   "Pork fat rules, baby".   Apparently, the man has never been to a Duck Off. Thursday night marked a unique culinary experience at Grange Restaurant: to my knowledge, Sacramento's first-ever Duck Off.  The five-course, prix fixe dinner benefitting the California Waterfowl Association, was preceded by an Iron Chef style competition between Grange executive chef Michael Tuohy and food writer Hank Shaw.  The cook-off was judged by a veritable who's-who of Sacramento Foodie Glitterati, including Darrel Corti and Rick