SlowFood

Will Sonoma's Slowness Drive Tourism?

In this fast-paced world slow is becoming more and more of a virtue. The wine country town of Sonoma has received an official designation as a "slow city" by Cittaslow, an international group that advocates for a more relaxed way of life. Sonoma is the first place in the United States to win the title partly because the town has sought to create an old-fashioned small-town atmosphere. The Cittaslow network includes 129 towns spread across 29 nations. The town each have populations of less than 50,000 and are evaluated on criteria including environmental management, infrastructure, quality of local historic buildings, parks, local produce, products, craft, and availability of healthy eating.

While a recent NY Times article questioned whether or not the "slow city" label is a sign of a wealthy enclave stuck in a rut, it is hoped that the new title might attract more tourists. After all, these days one of the major reasons people go on vacation is to escape the pace of their hectic lives. Where better to do that than in a town celebrated for its quality of life? A bunch of hotels including the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa are celebrating the news.

The end of this month might be a good time to visit. CittaSlow President Gianluca Marconi, director of CittaSlow International Pier Giorgio Oliveti and Dr. Paul Knox, professor and senior fellow from Virginia Tech will make an official visit to Sonoma beginning January 26 to tour Sonoma's many "slow" features like wineries, restaurants and community gardens and talk with the community about the slow" philosophy. Slow Food Sonoma Valley, led by Gary Edwards, will host a Slow Soup Supper featuring locally grown winter vegetables.

Tags: cittaslow, SlowFood, SlowFoodMovement, SlowFoods, sonoma

Live a Luxurious Ranch Lifestyle at Maytag Mountain Ranch in Colorado

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Green, Real Estate Developments

You can always buy a ranch fill your closet with Western togs, but if the Old West has always captured your imagination, you can take it one step further and buy a homestead at Maytag Mountain Ranch in Hillside, Colorado.

This working cattle ranch, a project of slow food advocate Russ Maytag, is set on 3,000 acres at the foot of Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and 100 acre homesteads are for sale. Purchase one of the 14 lots still available -- priced from $879,000 to $1.5 million -- and you also get a 1/27th ownership share of the still-operating cattle ranch, which raises certified organic produce and livestock. The income from the ranch provides income for the housing association, plus, your kitchen will be stocked with your very own dairy, grass-fed beef and produce, and if you want, you can even participate in the ranching. (And if you don't, you can leave it to the ranch staff.) Owners get one month's use of the association's two guest cabins, as well as access to a "Cookhouse", or a clubhouse, which is available for hanging out and parties.

And what would a homestead be without a horse? If you don't have your own, the Ranch Association owns six, and there's room to board your own steeds on site.

Gallery: Maytag Ranch, Colorado

Tags: colorado, ranch, ranch for sale, RanchForSale, slow food, SlowFood

Fields On Saco Event Celebrates The Pleasures Of Slow Food

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

Care for a little alfresco dining? A pair of New Hampshire and Maine farms along with four award-winning chefs combine for one fabulous evening that includes a four-course meal and event held in the fields of Weston's Farm on the Saco River. August 29th is the date for the Second Annual "Fields on the Saco", an event that offers up the best of the season's harvest in a lavish feast for 100 under tents set up in the field. The menu will be accompanied by paired wines and Maine Cold River Vodka and will be presented by Chef Bryant Alden of the Chef's Market in North Conway, Executive Chef Brad Southwick of the White Mountain Hotel and Resort, Chef Jonathan Spak, co-owner of the Oxford House Inn, and Chef Jim Harrison of the Flatbread Company.

Hors d'oeuvres will include sweet corn fritters and scallops wrapped in pancetta with an Amaretto reduction. The meal begins with an appetizer of roulade of pork gratin with braised baby beets and butternut-apple coulis. The salad is baby spinach with grilled peaches and goat cheese with a maple pecan apple cider vinaigrette. The entree will be a mixed grill of tournedos of beef, lamb sausage, and chicken kebob with summer vegetables on a potato nest. The meal finished up with a blueberry polenta pound cake with honey and chevre semifreddo.

The event actually begins at 1 p.m. in the afternoon and includes far more than the dinner. There are guided farm tours, farm stores showcasing foods, flowers and local products. Cold River Vodka and complimentary wines will be offered with live music provided by Jazz Meisters and a "wet art" auction (wet art refers to paintings created on site). Winners of the Art-A-Ron-Dack Chair judging will be auctioned, offering bidders the chance to take home a unique chair and artwork combined. A Border Collie exhibition at Nerefield Farm on East Conway Road and a bonfire will round out the schedule. Each person attending the dinner will take home a beautiful Lead Wine Glass by Cristal d'Arques of France and a gift bag. Tickets are $125 each and the event will be limited to 100 people. Info on ordering tickets can be found on the Mount Washington Valley website.

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Tags: fine dining, FineDining, food, maine, new hampshire, NewHampshire, slow food, SlowFood