When the sky's been gray for weeks, the furnace can't keep up with the chill and you're tired of de-icing the driveway, getting away to somewhere warm for even a week can be the secret to maintaining your mental health.
25.01.2024 - 23:03 / forbes.com
If there’s a better place for seafood in California than the Mendocino Coast, I haven’t found it. And right about now is high season for Mendo’s crown jewel: Dungeness crab.
The season opened late this year — on January 11th — and in this case, patience is actually a virtue. The delay was due to the danger of humpback whales and endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles getting caught in crabber’s nets. Once these animals moved out of crab territory, the season could safely open.
Starting tomorrow, January 26, and running through February 4, the annual Seafood & Sips Mendocinowill highlight the ocean’s abundance, including Dungeness crab, oysters, local takes on cioppino — alongside the region’s world-class wines.
The “Redwood Corridor” in between Highways 1 and 101 is a lush landscape with more than 90 wineries and 12 AVAs, and it happens to have the most certified organic and biodynamic vineyards in the U.S., by percentage.
Headline events:
Sparkling Wine & Oyster Celebration
Mendocino’s cool coastal climate is perfect for sparking wine producers, and some of California’s best small-production bubblies come from this region. Hopland’s Saracina Vineyards will host this event in the caves on site, serving Mendocino’s top sparkling wines with Hog Island’s freshly shucked oysters.
Saturday, January 27, 2024; 1-4pm; www.destinationhopland.com
Cioppino Dinner
What is cioppino? The name is Italian, but it originated in San Francisco as a tomato-based fish stew, invented by Italian-Americans, of course. It’s an ideal dish for showing off whatever seafood and shellfish are freshest that day. Little River’s iconic Little River Inn will host this year’s cioppino dinner, which benefits MendoParks, a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the stewardship of state parks in Mendocino County.
Friday, February 2, 2024; 5pm and 7:30pm seatings; www.littleriverinn.com/events
Crab Cake Cook-Off & Wine Tasting Competition
Northern Californians wait all year for Dungeness crab season, and when it comes, there’s no end to the creativity of preparation possibilities. This year’s crab cake cook-off and wine tasting competition will be held under an open-air tent in Fort Bragg, with 14 local chefs — all of whom know their way around the state crustacean — will vie for best crab cake, alongside an equal number of wineries that will bring their most Dungeness-friendly bottles. There will be three media judges (and I’ll be one of them)! This event will benefit Mendocino Coast Clinics, a non-profit community health center.
Saturday, February 3, 2024; 11am-3pm; www.crabwinefestival.org.
County Wide Seafood Feasts
From January 26 to Februal 11, chefs from Ukiah to Elk will offer a range of chowders, savory
When the sky's been gray for weeks, the furnace can't keep up with the chill and you're tired of de-icing the driveway, getting away to somewhere warm for even a week can be the secret to maintaining your mental health.
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