Fresh fruit and veggies, excellent olive oil, a variety of wine and beer … ahhhhhhhh, the good life … and it is all right here at UC Davis.
You can find produce at the East Quad Farmers Market, scheduled every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., April 1 to June 3. It is a project of Health Education and Promotion, a unit of Student Health Services, and other campus and community organizations.
Or you can consider growing your own fruits and vegetables, with help from a pair of edible gardening seminars presented by the Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.
• April 25—Growing a Successful Vegetable Garden, with Robert Norris, a UC Davis plant science professor emeritus, and Terry Allan of Seeds of Change.
• May 23—All About Fruits, Nuts and Berries, with Chuck Ingles, a Sacramento County farm adviser, and Ed Laivo of the Dave Wilson Nursery.
Each seminar is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and each costs $35, including a box lunch, or $25 without lunch. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
More RMI-Good Life Garden events
• An Evening to Savor Port—With Professor Roger Boulton, who holds the Stephen Sinclair Scott Chair in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, and Sacramento grocer and wine merchant Darrell Corti. 6 p.m. May 2, RMI’s Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater, $125. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• A Very Special Mothers Day Brunch—With Suzanne Ashworth, owner of West Sacramento’s Del Rio Botanical Farm. 11 a.m. May 10, Good Life Garden, $65. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• Cheese Loves Beer: Mastering the Marriage—With Charles Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences; Moshe Rosenberg, a food science professor and Cooperative Extension specialist in dairy science and technology; and Clare M. Hasler, a nutritionist and RMI executive director. Co-sponsored by Slow Food Yolo. 1-4 p.m. May 16, Sensory Theater, $75 per person. Register with Kim Bannister, (530) 754-6349 or kbannister@ucdavis.edu.
• Locavore Feast—Featuring food from the greater Sacramento region, and the farmers and food artisans behind the food, who will discuss their products during dinner. This event is all about "eating locally, healthfully and zestfully," a celebration of the locavore movement, which encourages people to fill their larders locally—by maintaining backyard gardens, and by patronizing farmers markets, bakers, butchers, cheesemakers, wineries, etc. Advocates say fresh, locally grown food is tastier and healthier, and it need not be transported far, thereby saving fuel and limiting environmental impacts. 6 p.m. June 20, Good Life Garden. $125 per person. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• Beyond Extra Virgin: An International Conference on Excellence in Olive Oil, from Agriculture and Sensory Evaluation to the Culinary Arts—Presented by the UC Davis Olive Center in collaboration with UC Davis’ California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, the Culinary Institute of America, and others. June 21-23, UC Davis and in the Napa Valley. Registration and more information: olivecenter.ucdavis.edu.
• Good Life Garden Grape Stomp—Roll up your pant legs, take off your socks and start stomping in a vat of squishy, fragrant grapes. The juice will go to the university’s pilot winery, where Chik Brenneman of the Department of Viticulture and Enology will guide the conversion of juice to wine. When it is ready, the stompers will gather for a family-style dinner. $100 per person. Benefitting UC Davis' viticulture and enology programs. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• Cheeses of the World—One-day seminar blending the science, history and romance of cheese production, and exploring cheeses from various countries, proper storage, serving practices and more. Program includes cheese tasting, of course, plus a box lunch featuring local ingredients. $170 per person. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 17, Sensory Theater. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• A Swanky Evening of Caviar and Artisan Vodka—With Peter Struffenegger of Sacramento's Sterling Caviar. Nov. 14, time and location to be announced. $95. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
• An Evening of Beer and Spicy Foods—With Charles Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences. This program will explore the relationship between beer and spicy foods. An international array of lagers and ales will be accompanied by vibrant dishes from Mexico, India, Thailand, China and Vietnam, for group tastings and discussion. $95. Dec. 5, time and location to be announced. Register at goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu, or call Kira O’Donnell, (530) 681-6412.
Tasting events
• April 1—Wine and beer tasting, a benefit for the UC Davis Hospice Program and Sacramento’s AIDS Housing Alliance. With piano music by UC Davis physician Don Zacharias, associate medical director of the hospice and home health services. 5-8 p.m., Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, 2791 24th St., Sacramento. $20 per person in advance, $25 at the door. To arrange reservations, call the AIDS Housing Alliance, (916) 979-0925, or send an e-mail to KayC@AIDSHousingAlliance.org.
• April 1—Wednesday Night Wine Flight, a monthly event presented by the Gunrock Pub and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Vintage Aggies Wine Club. $10; no reservations needed. 5-6:30 p.m., Gunrock Pub, Silo, on the Davis campus.
• April 17—Vintage Aggies Spring Wine Tasting, presented by the Cal Aggie Alumni Association's Vintage Aggies Wine Club. Alumni, friends and family are welcome to attend. 6:30 p.m., Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center. $10 for CAAA members, $15 for nonmembers. Sign up online, www.alumni.ucdavis.edu (click on "Events"), or e-mail Jennifer Thayer, jsthayer@ucdavis.edu.
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu