Spring is here. The eggs for breakfast are grade A, size X-large and locally sourced at Keyes Farms. With the state line only 9 miles south, Oasis is officially in California and still in Fish Lake Valley. I have been assured that these chickens are laying on the Nevada side of the border.
Queensland Vineyard Bed & Breakfast salutes Paul Revere Williams, the architect who designed the Cord House on the White Mountain Ranch; once the Circle L, here in Fish Lake Valley. E. L. (Errett Lobban) Cord commissioned Williams to design his Beverly Hills mansion (Cordhaven), complete with chicken coops that matched the main house, as well as the family home on the Circle L Ranch.
Williams created homes for Hollywood royalty including Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. “The architect became known for houses that were comfortable yet elegant, family oriented while suitable for large-scale galas.
The Cord House at White Mountain Ranch must be a Williams creation as it so closely mirrors the attributes mentioned above. For years we thought it was a Frank Lloyd Wright design.
We got a visit from Bill and Gretchen Loken this past Sunday. Pahrump
Winery (www.pahrumpwinery.com) was kind enough to make wine from five of the
eight wine-grape varieties in our vineyard. The process started with
harvest last September. We took the fruit from the Malbec, Merlot,
Sangiovese, Cab Franc and Riesling varietals. The wine we tasted is still
very young; though the basic structure and character of their flavors is
already present. As a treat (and to gauge the aging process) we opened a
bottle of Malbec from our 2012 harvest (our very first). This Malbec was
smooth yet robust and had an almost velvet feeling on the tongue. The
tasting and the advice from The Pahrump Winery will guide us as we expand
our production in the coming years.
For the love of Locavores: the Nevada Small Farm Conference helps grow the farm-to-table movement.
Like many small farms in the state, we have attended the Nevada Small Conference over the last couple of years and are looking forward to this year’s conference. John Ascuaga’s Nugget will host this year’s event in Reno, February 20-22. One focus of the conference is local food sourcing. Fruits, vegetables and meats are being sourced as close as possible to consumers. In a global marketplace, this local food sourcing movement is growing more popular all the time. For more information about the conference, visit http://nevadafarmconference.
The Queensland Vineyard Bed & Breakfast has taken inspiration from the farm-to-table movement and offers Nevada-sourced bacon, eggs and dairy products for breakfast. You can really taste the difference when you eat one of our buttermilk waffles: light, fluffy and incredibly fresh flavor greets your taste-buds with each bite.