Flourish Magazine

handmade organic baked goods, pizza, "Methode Champenoise" style Point Reyes homemade soups, and fair trade coffee/ Sparkling Wine. The winery's portfolio has teas. We stop briefly to sample a delicious continued to expand, as has the impressive lightly spiced chai, then board Hill's com- display of ribbons and medals lining the fortable, air-conditioned van for a short ride wall of their tasting room. down Highway One to Marin Sun Farms Restaurant & Butcher Shop. This popular venue is known for its We cozy up to a salvaged antique wood bar as our server, Julia, begins pouring. First up is the winery's signature Blanc de grass-fed meats. Discerning carnivores will Noir sparkling wine, a silver medal win- love the well-stocked butcher case featuring ner at last year's California State Fair Wine a tempting array of cuts to choose from. Competition, followed by a clean, delicate Specialties include house-made pancetta, stainless-steel aged 2011 Dry Creek Valley thick-sliced beef jerky, duck eggs, and Chardonnay. Next comes a flight of juicy baskets of pig ears for lucky dogs. The reds including a 2005 Marin County Merlot restaurant menu highlights locally sourced with plush blackberry notes; an elegant, produce and "pasture to fork" meats. medium-bodied 2004 Marin County Cab- Owner and rancher David Evans, a fourth- ernet Sauvignon (another silver medal win- generation West Marin native, collaborates ner), and a smooth, jammy 2006 Syrah. A with other grass-fed producers around the white grape Viognier dessert wine finishes Bay Area to bring as much diversity to his the series and pairs perfectly with a sam- store as possible. Casual dining tables and pling of Point Reyes Farmstead Original a wine bar serving local vintages complete Blue Cheese. the space. Hog Island's Cody Anderson (left) and Sandy Curth. Hidden behind an old wood fence, this small bakery is well-known for making rustic, old-world style breads fired to perfection in a traditional wood-burning brick oven. We file past a display of retired wood peels, metal bins of spent almond wood ash, and racks of linen couches, to peer inside the modest space. For thirteen years owner Celine Underwood has been baking her artisan breads here, using locally sourced ingredients and naturally fermented starter to yield a truly memorable product. Hill grabs a freshly made Pumpkin Seed-Caraway loaf as we leave, and invites us to tear off still-warm hunks of the crusty, moist bread before We venture outside to the adjacent picnic Continuing north, we follow Highway One and the winding coastline of Tomales area and settle around a table as tasting Bay toward Hog Island Oyster Company — plates appear. There's a mouth-watering the final stop on our tour. Strings of cars gourmet goat burger piled with grilled line both sides of the road as we catch a mushrooms, onions, and goat cheese as glimpse of Hog Island's rocky profile jut- well as a lamb burger with bacon, chi- ting from the water in the distance — a michurri, and melted Manchego cheese. sure sign we have arrived. Bowls of crispy sweet potato fries and In 1983 friends and marine biology ma- Brussels sprouts, flash-fried in pork lard, jors John Finger and Michael Watchhorn, sprinkled with parmesan, and served with began cultivating oysters on five acres of a generous dollop of housemade citrus- leased off-shore land in northern Tomales aioli, make for an unforgettable lunch. Bay. Later joined by Terry Sawyer, an Returning to the van, we drive to the aquarist with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, outskirts of Point Reyes Station, turning the trio turned the small aquaculture busi- down a cypress-lined lane to Table Top ness into Hog Island Oyster Company, a Farm, a modest half-acre garden plot where flourishing enterprise celebrating its thirti- Arron Wilder and Vanessa Waring grow eth anniversary this year. organic produce for local restaurants, a We crunch across the blinding-white CSA, and their on-site honor stand. Stroll- parking lot, littered with millions of oyster ing leisurely through the field, we pick sun- shell fragments, toward holding tanks of ripened strawberries and crunchy sugar bay water where Hog Island's oysters are tourists, and clusters of cyclists filling the snaps before moving on to taste local wines filtrated to yield the clean, mild-tasting town's main drag to tiny Bovine Bakery at nearby Point Reyes Vineyards. meat patrons love. To the rear of the prop- continuing down the street. We make our way past day trippers, where a line of customers spills out the door. "It pays to get here early or risk disappointment," Hill advises, noting the bakery often sells out. Bovine's ardent fans are wild for their Perched on the crest of a hill flanked by erty, a large picnic area invites visitors to seven acres of grapes, this vineyard has relax, enjoy gorgeous bay views, and order been producing award-winning coastal from the outdoor oyster bar. vintages since 1990 when owners Steve & Sharon Doughty started making their Hill spreads out a locavore feast under a nearby overhang with a selection of cured FALL 2013 • FLOURISH 49

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