Publisher's Letter

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This month we welcome the beginning of fall, a season of change, of color and harvest. As part of fall traditions and celebrations, we explore Oktoberfest and the wine industry crush, when the wineries and vineyards begin harvesting grapes. For this we explore the Suisun Valley wine region, an area full of robust agriculture, small and boutique wineries, as well as the new, much larger Caymus-Suisun winery. Genevieve and I reconnoitered the area, visiting a few small wineries, Caymus, as well as Mankas Corner. We found the wineries and community to be warm and very supportive of each other. We interviewed Fah Sathirapongsasuti of Sunset winery, part of the Suisun Valley Wine Co-Op and met the charming and knowledgeable Brenda, who took us through a reasonably priced tasting and gave us background on the valley. I returned with our wonderful photographer, Luke George the following week where we interviewed Caymus owners, Charlie and Jenny Wagner. What a wonderful interview it was. They greeted us at the entrance and took us all over the property while regaling us with stories of the Wagner family's long history in the wine industry. They sent us off with baskets of tomatoes, peppers and stone fruit, as well as a lovely sampling of their wines. The Suisun Valley wine region is home to 30 small and large wineries as well as thriving agriculture, for which it is well known. In fact, Agriculture Tourism is becoming a major draw to the region.

In pursuit of Bay Area Oktoberfest events and festivities, Margaret Bowles (our Art Director) and I went to Alameda to visit a well known German restaurant called Speisekammer. Here we met Peter Kahl, owner and chef. Peter entertained us with stories of how the restaurant came to be and how their Oktoberfest is extremely popular. He begins Oktoberfest on the same dates as they do in Munich; celebrating three consecutive Sundays with crowds of up to 300 people.

September is a great month to take small local trips. The roads are less crowded and the weather is predictable. It's a great month to explore our town and our region.

—Mary