Kathleen Hill: History dinner, Eco Terreno and more...

Buena Vista history progressive dinner According to George Webber, aka the Count of Buena Vista, the Buena Vista Winery presents a Progressive History Dinner tonight, July 28 with local actors performing as Count Agostón Haraszthy and his two sons, Arpad and Attila.|

Buena Vista history progressive dinner

According to George Webber, aka the Count of Buena Vista, the Buena Vista Winery presents a Progressive History Dinner tonight, July 28 with local actors performing as Count Agostón Haraszthy and his two sons, Arpad and Attila.

For the “dinner performed in three acts,” Chef Victor Scargle will make appetizers of truffled devilled eggs, and Petrossian caviar blinis, and sautéed Sting Ray. Dinner will be sautéed foie gras with garden berries and arugula brioche, followed by Akaushi beef striploin with wild mushrooms and baby carrots, and gougères with époisse and fig jam, all with Jean-Charles Boisset’s best wines. Should definitely be interesting and fun. $120 public, $100 club members. 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets at 800-325-2764.

‘Retro food’ at ?Museum of Art

Yes, to accompany their SVMA Summer of Love Art Night with live music by Beatles tribute band Rubber Soul, staff will be serving “Marmalade Skies” courtesy of Sonoma’s Prohibition Spirits, along with arts and crafts on Friday, Aug. 4. “Groovy threads and moves encouraged.”

Their “retro foods” will include Ruffles with onion dip, Chex Party Mix, orange sunshine Jell-O, fruit salad and brownies without the funny stuff, pigs-in-a-blanket, and stuffed celery. $25 includes nibbles and two drinks. 6 to 9 p.m. 551 Broadway, Sonoma. More info contact mmaynard@svma.org.?

Annadel Estate for sale

The historic Annadel Estate Winery on Highway 12 at the southern tip of Santa Rosa across from Oakmont is for sale for a mere $7,750,000, according to local real estate agents familiar with the listing. Online records show that the winery was listed by Sotheby’s in 2016 for $8,900,000.

A motorcycle lover of some renown and a former Marin County Harley-Davidson dealer, Annadel proprietor Dean Bordigioni told the Kenwood Press that “If I don’t get my price I’m not selling.”

Annadel consists of a restored late 1800s home, a 5,000-case winery, Annadel Flower Company, 33 acres with nine acres planted to vines, and apparent county approval to build a new 60,000 case winery with public tasting and events up to 30 per year. Already they book several weddings.

Bordigioni was also the hopeful purchaser of the Kenwood Restaurant property where many locals had hoped Olive & Vine would relocate, but the deal fell through.

Actually, it seems as if everything is for sale at the right price.

Annex Wine Bar to close

While Community Café and Sushinoma’s Friday and Saturday night popups continue to thrive,

Margie Brooke emailed she was “sad to announce that Annex has lost its lease despite our best efforts to negotiate with our landlords.” Sunday, July 30 will be their last day of business. The email went on to say, “Almost everything in Annex is for sale,” including furniture. Email offers with a photo of the item you want to buy to margieofl@gmail.com. Email offers for artwork to Susan Loesch at sloesch@gmail.com.

More lobster walk and talk

Corner 103 will throw a Lobster and Wine Lunch at Suite D on Saturday, Aug. 5 to include lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams, housemade sausage, and “delicious sides,” along with Lloyd Davis’s Corner 103 wines. If you missed the Boys & Girls Clubs’ lobster feast catered by Lombardi’s of Petaluma last Saturday, try this one prepared by John Toulze and crew. $95 or $85 for wine club members and Suite D Social Club. 1 to 4 p.m. 21800 Schellville Road, Sonoma. Reserve by Aug. 2 at 931-6141.

Santé to host ?winegrower dinner

This one could be fabulous. Santé Chef de Cuisine Andrew Cain and Phil and Sam Coturri will host a four-course dinner on Wednesday, Aug. 16.

Phil Coturri is famous for pioneering organic vineyards and forwarded the idea that organic grapes make better wines.

The evening will begin with a canapé reception at 6:30 featuring forest mushroom “cigars,” Sonoma foie gras mousse as a profiterole, and Maine lobster with English cucumber vol au vent.

Dinner at 7 p.m. starts with marinated Heirloom tomatoes from the Patch, compressed summer melons with burrata, pan-seared Diver scallops with pearl pasta paella and mussels, Manila clams, chorizo and lobster Bordelaise, followed by a roasted rack of Colorado lamb with tomato curry, Romano beans and chickpea panisse.

The final delectable course will be Bellwether Farms’ fromage blanc, cabernet sauvignon-poached peaches, cabernet glace and a pain d’Epices tuile, all paired with Coturri wines. $150. 6:30 p.m. Reservations at 939-2407.

SmashMallows a smash

SmashMallows, one of Jon Sebastiani’s latest ventures via his Sonoma Brands, is selling $1 million or 500,000 units a month, growing three times faster than his Krave jerky did before he sold that company to Hershey in 2015, according to Businessinsider.com. Watch for the Krave jerky tasting salon on West Napa in the Sonoma Index-Tribune building. Since Krave is now owned by Hershey, will it be called Hershey Jerky?

Wine and chocolate tasting at Spann Vineyards

Spann Vineyards’ tasting room in Kenwood Plaza just debuted its new Wine and Chocolate Pairing in addition to the regular tasting menu. Customers will taste through six wines, then re-taste the last three, including malbec, cabernet sauvignon and syrah, each with a different chocolate truffle specially designed for the individual wine.

Spann also introduces four locally grown and produced olive oils, two balsamic vinegars, and three chocolate/wine sauces to taste at no additional charge.

The chocolate truffles are made by Anette’s Chocolates in Napa and American Canyon. Chocolate and wine tastings $23, with $15 refunded with wine purchase. 8910 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood. 282-9143.

Eco Terreno certified biodynamic

Mark Lyon, who served for more than 30 years as winemaker at Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, owns Eco Terreno Vineyards, lives in Sonoma, and was one of the first gay winemakers to come out (in fact in this column.)

Lyon bought the 120-acre Eco Terreno Vineyards in Alexander Valley in 1980 with his father, Rusty Lyon. Mark took time out after leaving Sebastiani to care for his now late father, showing his personal family priorities.

He just announced that his vineyard, originally planted in the 1970s, has just received the designation of Certified Biodynamic by Demeter USA and by Stellar Certification Services, making it the “largest biodynamic single vineyard operation in Sonoma County.

“The conversion process to biodynamic has been a journey for us as we embraced this more ecologically friendly farming. We have had expert stewardship under Daphne and Demeter USA to get to this milestone of certification, and look forward to being the leader in Alexander Valley fostering biodynamic and organic farming,” noted Lyon at a celebration in the vineyard last month.

The first wine to be released with the certified biodynamic, organic grapes will be the Alexander Valley 2017 “Cuvée Acero” Sauvignon Blanc in the late spring of 2018. All wines from the 2017 vintage on will be made with 100 percent biodynamically, organically certified estate fruit from Eco Terreno Vineyards.

Mayo Family Winery ?has a new chef

Mayo Family Winery Chef Sam Frumkin has decided to move on and Chef John Locker will move in to cook at Mayo’s Reserve Room. According to Jeff Mayo, Locker worked at the General’s Daughter, Equus at Fountaingrove Inn, Viansa, Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, Mazzocco, Chateau Souverain, and for Elaine Bell. He was opening chef at Prelude Restaurant at the Green Music Center, and then moved to Ft. Lauderdale to teach at Miami’s branch of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School for a year. 1301 Arnold Drive at Highway 12, Glen Ellen.

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