This document discusses the growing grain movement in Santa Cruz County. Several local farms are experimenting with grain crops like wheat and quinoa. The UC Santa Cruz Farm has been growing quinoa for years and recently added wheat to its crops. It is growing six grain varieties total and hopes to supply more to local bakeries. Pie Ranch and Cedarville Vineyard also grow and sell wheat and flour. The movement aims to expand the local vision beyond just produce to include grains.

1. Summer rolls along, and here are the Gravensteins
In the Bins
Can it really be that time of year again? I’m
talking apple time. Gravensteins have been
at the farmers market for a couple of weeks
now, and pink ladies and fujis are not far
behind.
History: Apples are considered members of
the rose family. It is thought that Russian fur traders brought the
Gravenstein to California over 100years ago.
Fun fact: Apples will float because about 25percent of their
volume is air.
How to select: Apples come in a variety of colors and tastes.
They should be firm not mushy. Be sure to ask the farmer which
apples are sweet or tart or somewhere in between to ensure the
best fit for your application.
How to store: Apples continue to ripen after they’ve been picked
so the best place to store fresh apples is in the coolest part of
your refrigerator.
IN THE BINS IS A WEEKLY FEATURE BY CATHERINE BARR, HEAD OF THE MONTEREY
BAY CERTIFIED FARMERS MARKETS. VISIT WWW.MONTEREYBAYFARMERS.ORG.
By Stacey Vreeken
features@santacruzsentinel.com
FAIR PLAY >> If you’re curious what
a grenache tastes like, give this es-
tate-grown Sierra Foothills version
a whirl. The well-made wine from
Cedarville Vineyard in Fair Play, El
Dorado County, has plenty of red
fruit and a dusty-earthy flavor that
characterizes the varietal.
THE WINEMAKER >> Jonathan
Lachs is a skilled winemaker
who turns out refined, complex
wines that reflect the granite soil
terroir of his 15-acre vineyard.
He grows Rhone varietals gre-
nache, syrah and viognier as well
as cabernet sauvignon and zin-
fandel. Lachs' commitment to
sophisticated, exquisite zinfan-
dels has earned him leadership
in ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates and
Producers, which seeks to uplift
the reputation of the sometimes
maligned grape. Try his zin; it
will turn the concept of jamy
sweet zinfandels on its head.
WHYLIKEIT>> This dry wine is like
a just-picked strawberry, fresh and
warm from the garden, with a lit-
tle dusty coating. Red fruit and rose
aromas open the wine while rasp-
berries and an earthiness travel
across the palate. Black pepper, or-
ange peel, thyme and a bit of cedar
complete the long finish. Tannins
are present but soft on this juicy,
easy-drinking wine. Serve slightly
chilled on a hot summer’s day.
PAIR IT WITH >> Strawberries. Also
sharp cheeses, tart foods.
COST >> $25.
TASTING ROOM >> 6320 Marestail
Road, Fair Play. Call for appoint-
ment; available most weekends.
DETAILS >> Call 530-620-9463 or
visit www.cedarvillevineyard.
com.
CALIFORNIA WINE OF THE WEEK
Foothills grenache an easy-drinker
Cedarville Vineyard
2012 El Dorado Grenache,
Estate Grown
Pie Ranch: Sells wheat ber-
ries and its whole-wheat flour
at its Highway 1farmstand,
between Pescadero and Wad-
dell Creek. It is open noon to 6
p.m. Thursday and Friday, and
10a.m. to 6p.m. Saturday and
Sunday. Visit www.pieranch.
org or call 650-879-0995.
UC Santa Cruz Farm &
Garden: Sells quinoa at the
farm’s market cart at Bay
and High streets at the base
of campus. It is open noon
to 6p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Unfortunately, the farm is
sold out of its quinoa for the
season. Call 831-459-3240
or visit casfs.ucsc.edu for
farm details.
Companion Bakeshop: at
2341Mission St. in Santa
Cruz, sells a Local Loaf made
with locally grown flour, and
some of its other products
also are made with local
grains. It is open 7a.m. to
7:30p.m. Tuesday, 7a.m. to
4p.m. Wednesday through
Friday, and 8a.m. to 3p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. Visit
companionbakeshop.com or
call 831-252-2253.
Coke Farm: near San Juan
Bautista, has about 10acres
in grain production. It sells
its flours at the Palo Alto and
Menlo Park farmers markets.
Visit cokefarm.com for details.
GRAINRESOURCES
PHOTOS BY DAN COYRO — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
Some of the baked goods for sale at Companion Bakeshop are made with locally grown grains.
LOCAL FOOD
By Tara Fatemi Walker
features@santacruzsentinel.com
@santacruzfood on Twitter
SANTA CRUZ >> Mention the word
“farm” to folks around here, and it
conjures images of the wonderful
bounty of fresh produce available
year-round on the mild-climate-
kissed Central Coast. But foodies
might want to expand that vision
a bit. Think amber waves of grain.
A number of local farms riding
on the wave of the locavore move-
ment, which stresses the impor-
tance of eating locally produced
foods, not ones moved long dis-
tances to market, have been ex-
perimenting with grain crops.
The UC Santa Cruz Farm has
grown quinoa for a number of
years — last year’s crop was of-
fered for sale in half-pound bags
at the Farm & Garden Market
Cart for the first time in June
and it sold out for the season in
early July — and now the farm has
added wheat. All told, the farm
is currently growing six different
grain varieties.
“I have ... wanted to highlight
important food crops from other
cultures around the world, so that
our students learn more about im-
portant staple crops and the cul-
tures that they come from,” said
Christof Bernau, garden manager
and instructor at the UCSC Farm.
He’s referring to students at the
university’s Center for Agroecol-
ogy & Sustainable Food Systems,
or CASFS, where students in the
Apprenticeship in Ecological Hor-
ticulture program receive hands-
on training at the UCSC Farm and
Alan Chadwick Garden. “With a
lot of Peruvian and Bolivian qui-
noa production now being export
driven, often at the expense of do-
mestic nutrition and food sover-
eignty, it seems all the more im-
portant that we develop a West-
ern basis of production to serve
Western consumption.”
The UCSC Farm grains — un-
til the quinoa sale in June — had
been grown mostly for demon-
stration and “in-house consump-
tion.”
“We only grew enough to try
to gauge public interest and mar-
ketability and have found that our
customers seem to really like qui-
noa,” Bernau said. “We have two
plantings currently maturing,
but this will still not be enough
to meet apparent demand, and it
is on the late side to make signif-
icant crop planning changes for
this year. We will definitely be
growing more for the 2015 sea-
son.”
Darryl Wong, a manager at the
center, is in charge of the new Hay
Barn field where the wheat crop
is planted. He said the program is
excited to start bringing the har-
vested crop to local bakeries.
“We are only growing about a
half-acre to start,” Wong said. “We
are trialing five different varieties
Waves of Grain
Rose Waldear makes pies at Companion Bakeshop, where local
fruits and some locally grown grains are used.
Chris Pester lays out loaves of bread to cool on racks at the
Companion Bakeshop.
Ever-growing grain movement taking root in Santa Cruz County
GRAIN >> PAGE 3
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