Ojai Weekend: A Perfect Pairing of Food, Wine & Music

In his farewell comments from the stage Sunday evening, the Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra said it best: “We’ve had an amazing six months this weekend in Ojai.”

The packed amphitheatre roared its approval for the charismatic violist and his extraordinary musicians, but the bonhomie was meant to be shared with all the musical geniuses who had played or sung during a jam-packed schedule at the 65th Ojai Music Festival in Ojai’s newly refurbished outdoor bowl.   

As if six concerts in three days weren’t enough to dazzle the senses, the weekend also included a culinary experience in between Saturday’s musical events. I joined about 40 others on a Farm-to-Table Tour co-hosted by The Farmer & The Cook restaurant and The Ojai Vineyard. Farmer Steve Sprinkel showed us around Rio Gozo Farm, where he farms 12 acres of organic vegetables. Our group comprised several home gardeners, a few good cooks, a landscape architect or two, and one lady who braved the furrows in high-heeled open-toed sandals. Steve gave us plenty of information on organic techniques, seasonality, natural pest control and distribution, and soon enough we were eager to start tasting some of the bounty before us.

Off we went to the cafe/store Steve and his wife Olivia Chase have in Meiners Oaks, The Farmer & The Cook. Guess which one is which. As a patron of this favorite local spot, I was expecting an outdoor buffet of salads and cooked vegetables. What I didn’t expect was a sit-down five-course, organic feast accompanied by superb local wines served by the winemaker himself, Adam Tolmach.

We began with a sparkling cucumber KeVita Water garnished with a pickled carrot stick and garlic scape. Refreshing and delightful. At the table in their new dining room, Adam poured his Ojai Vineyard 2009 Sauvignon Blanc to accompany the first course which was flatbread topped with cherry chile aioli, thinly sliced potato, roasted cippolini onions and a lightly sautéed and seasoned squash blossom. The salad course came in a colorful bowl of radicchio, figs, salted walnut halves and orange slices dressed with honey and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

The next two courses were paired with an Ojai Vineyard syrah that Adam described as “perhaps our best syrah to date,” his 2006 Syrah Presidio, an absolutely superb wine that is made from biodynamic grapes grown in Santa Barbara County. It was complex and robust and paired perfectly with Olivia’s rye and rosemary biscuits topped with horseradish cream, and the main course, grilled Jimenez Farms leg of lamb.

I could have ended the evening right there with that magnificent syrah’s finish lingering on my tongue, but out came dessert: little cupcakes made with local tangerines and pistachios, soaked in a jasmine and orange blossom syrup and garnished with labneh, a tart, strained yogurt. Dessert was paired with a 2008 Viognier ice wine that Adam makes with Ojai’s Roll Ranch viognier grapes that are put in a freezer, returned to the winery for pressing and barrel fermented. The result: fruity and flowery and served ice cold with the petite cakes.

I was reluctant to tear myself away, but I had just enough time to make it to the next concert, where I sat, sated and dreamy, full of excellent food, superb wine and magnificent music. Now that’s what I call a weekend to remember. I’ve already bought my concert tickets for next year, and if they do another farm-to-table tour, you can bet that I’ll be there with my bib on.