September 2019 - 15

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens has seven distinct garden spaces across four acres of land in Sonoma County, California.
As one of the hosts, I answer
questions about the culinary gardens
and speak to the importance of fresh
food in hopes of encouraging people
to grow some produce at home.
VGN: Many growers host weddings
and other events as part of their farm
market operations. Is there any advice
you can pass on to them?
TT: I understand the immense
value of getting people into our
culinary garden (or on a farm), so I
am pretty understanding when I see
footprints on a planting bed or notice
that some apples have been picked
from a tree. I hope that the experience
of being in these places encourages
people to think more about food
production and hopefully inspires
them to plant gardens at home or
expand upon their existing gardens as
well as support more local famers at
farmers markets and farm stands.
VGN: How do you keep the gardens
" presentable " for the guests?
TT: It takes a great deal of
labor to try and always keep the
gardens looking nice for our guests.
Fortunately, I have a budget for
landscaping the culinary garden as
well as a budget for production.
VGN: On the other hand, how do
you keep the guests from messing up
the gardens?
TT: We do have a demonstration
vineyard and wine sensory gardens
where our guests are encouraged to
smell the herbs and taste the fruits.
Our guests are very respectful of
our culinary gardens. I feel like the
beauty of the gardens influences this
mutual respect.
VGN: What pointers or advice
would you have for growers looking
to land some high-end chefs or
restaurants as clients?
TT: Our main focus, when it comes
to growing for chefs, is practicing
consistency in quality, supply and,
most importantly, communication.
Most chefs understand that we are
faced with ever-changing elements
and that we do our best to have
a consistent supply of produce of
the highest possible quality, but
when things go awry it always
helps to communicate in a timely
fashion so that they can make other
arrangements.
VGN: How do you market your
Super Long-Life Design
Easy-Pull Plants
Mechanizable
produce to elite chefs, and how do
you retain them as clients?
TT: It helps to have a deeper
understanding of what chefs are
looking for and ultimately what they
are going to do with each type of
produce. I always try to talk with as
many chefs as possible to gain more
of an understanding of this. Through
this I come up with ideas to try and
save time for these chefs through
harvesting to spec of size, shape,
color or flavor. We also consider
ourselves " soil farmers " since that is
the foundation of everything we do.
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in organic matter, you have vibrant,
nutrient-dense produce that has a
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VGN | SEPTEMBER 2019 | 15

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September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2019