San Francisco is like a second home to me. Many of my best friends live there and every time I visit I never want to leave. The city and surrounding area has so much to offer in respect to art, music, cuisine, and outdoor activities, that the city never lends a dull moment.
This post is really a double post, but due to proximity of their locations and their connection to each other, they really go hand in hand. I was invited up to Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma Valley by my friend Jason Rose, who served as their Executive Chef, to sample their wine and food pairings prepared by him.
Mindblowing.
Any words written here cannot truly justify what really transpired in those few hours, but needless to say, hyperbole is warranted & deserved. I’m not a food or wine critic, but its not hard to judge that Ram’s Gate and Jason Rose created culinary combinations that transcend excellence. If there’s one chef to follow in SF, it’s Mr. Rose: he had a heavy hand as the Project Manager for Delfina Restaurant Group including the opening of Locanda restaurant and before that he was the Culinary Director with the Tyler Florence Group & Culinary Director for La Cocina, a kitchen incubator for restaurant entrepreneurs.
Yup. The dude is gifted.
While at Ram’s Gate, it was a rainy day, but I managed to walk around and capture a few shots during Jason’s tour of the vineyard complex. Afterwards, it turned out that Jason had another surprise.
As any self respectable chef should do, he likes to reach out and support local farmers for organic natural ingredients. Turns out, he had struck a deal with a ranch hand across the street for some cage free eggs on a weekly basis.
Also turns out that the ranch hand works on the famous Donnell Gardens ranch across the street. Designed in the late 1940s by famous landscape architect Thomas Church, Lawrence Halprin, & George Rockrise, it’s a cultural iconic landmark for it’s modernist architecture that has been featured in countless architecture & landscaping magazines.
I’ve been told that the ranch encompasses about 15,000 sq acres in Sonoma Valley. Basically as far as the eye can see. And the best part is that the land and the ranch have been left untouched since it was created.
The pool was the first item to be built on the property, even before the main house. Near the pool are two building structures, one setup as the bar & entertainment area with floor to ceiling sliding glass windows and doors opening up to the pool. The other structure was the changing area, but seemingly was much more than that, as there were several rooms available for guests to relax in.
A short distance away was the main house that overlooked Sonoma Valley from on top the hill they built it on. The best part about this ranch is how EVERYTHING is original artwork, furniture, wallpaper, books…down to the bathroom tiles.
It’s a timewarp back to the 1950s, and walking around this place in awe, you can only imagine the social gatherings that have transpired here during its prime years. It’s like a cross between the Brady Bunch and The Playboy Mansion. Crazy stuff. Enjoy.
