Balletto Vineyards/Applewood Restaurant/Sonoma County/West Coast Road Trip

We will start today's Wine Country Excursion in Sonoma County,and northern California.We will introduce you to John Balletto and Balletto Vineyards. John Balletto began farming in 1977 at the tender age of 17. He had just graduated from high school and due to the untimely death of his father, gave up what looked like a promising college football and track career. With $200 in the bank and five acres in Sebastopol, California, John began farming produce with help from his mother, Hazel. In 2001, the Ballettos crushed enough Russian River Valley fruit for 391 cases of Chardonnay and 689 cases of Pinot Noir. In 2002, they again crushed small amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir while adding Pinot Gris from their Burnside Rd. vineyard. For the 2003 vintage, they added Zinfandel from the BCD Farms vineyard in the Russian River Valley. The Balletto Family has over 600 acres in the Russian River Valley and select 10% from many different clones and soil types to make their wine. They feel fortunate to sell the remaining 90% of their grapes to other wineries. In July 2010, the Balletto Family was honored being awarded the Sonoma County Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year. Now let's add another great Sonoma County destination, Applewood Inn Restaurant. For Applewood Chef Shelley Cerneant, what matters most about making guests happy is: everything. Her path to the kitchen began as an anthropology student, where she developed a passion for ethno-botany - the use of plants by humans - including edibles. Which might explain why she tends an herb garden just steps from the kitchen and uses only just-picked garnishes and fruit zests in her wonderful deserts. Chef Ty Taube is a man connected to the land. As a chef and farmer, he grows much of the produce used at Applewood’s award-winning restaurant. He cultivates precisely what he needs, and picks it at the peak of flavor. Extensive relationships with other Wine Country farmers allow him to cook with the best ingredients grown in Sonoma County.After a couple days we are then heading north to Seattle and,YES! we are bringing the wines of Balletto Vineyards with us.We have room,please join us!Cheers! Click here and enjoy this great food and wine pairing with us. Click here and enjoy a couple more courses at Applewood Restaurant. Click here and join us as we head north to beautiful Seattle.