CleverRoot

5 8 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Vineyards and 300 acres of vineyards (The winery is located a few miles northeast on Tesla Road). The restaurant and surround- ing buildings, built with a simplified Spanish aesthetic, fit cleanly into the landscape. Livermore is a warm East Bay location, and the outside dining area is comfortable and inviting for al-fresco evenings. Inside, several dining areas, as well as an open and airy bar with dark, natural wood ceilings and flooring, can seat more than 100 guests. The restaurant is a favorite for family get-togethers, weddings, events or just a meal out in a luxe setting. The restaurant is presided over by Execu- tive Chef Mike Ward, a native of Chester, California—a beautiful, near-wilderness spot not far from Lassen Volcanic National Park, one of the most fascinating yet least-visited national parks. "I'm a culinary gypsy," Ward says. "I've worked in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Sacramento. My style is what California cuisine should be—and that means embrac- ing the culture of California in its great diver- sity." He leans forward and adds, "Look, you go into any city in this state and you'll find Mexican restaurants, Asian markets, Indian markets. I'm influenced by all these cultural currents . . . I love what the Japanese do with raw fish. I like Mexican dishes with all that flavor. Forget reproducing some 'authentic' cuisine. I like to cook what I like to eat." A glance at his menu reveals these influ- ences, all featuring a hefty addition of Dovho- luk's garden produce: ahi tuna crudo with cu- cumber, radish and shiso; roasted baby beets with garden beet chips; garden squash soup with garam masala curry; roasted sea scallops with garden vegetable paella; and roasted duck breast with fennel purée, spinach and garden squash. The menu changes frequently—sometimes daily—depending on "what's coming out of the ground," Ward says. So how does he coordi- nate his kitchen creations with Dovho- luk's planting decisions? "Seasonally, we look through lots and lots of seed catalogs and choose varieties. My input is to look for produce I like to work with, and her expertise is to give an okay or say, 'That won't work in the garden here.'" Dovholuk agrees: "I say, 'Okay, Chef, you tell me what you want,' and he picks a vari- ety. I might say, 'This one's okay, but I don't want that one in my garden—it's too prone to powdery mildew.'" She grows a great diversity of produce, about 80 to 100 different kinds each year. "My biggest crops are fresh tomatoes—I grow 50 varieties—plus herbs," she says. "I always grow patty pan summer squash. For corn, I've grown Bloody Butcher [a variety that won the best-tasting corn competition at Organic Gardening magazine], and now I'm growing miniature blue corn." She points at rows of three-foot-tall corn already tasseled and ripe with bulging ears. The garden holds many kinds of peppers, too: Gypsy, Jimmy Nardello, spicy-hot varieties and sweet bell peppers. Wente Vineyards, founded in 1883, is the country's oldest continuously operated family-owned winery, and the owners trust the expertise of their team. "I've been working for the Wente family in one capacity or another for 31 years, and they are wonderful people," says Dovholuk. COVER STORY Master Gardener Diane Dovholuk has been develop- ing the Wente Vineyards organic gardens for nearly 20 years. they Dovholuk gow a geat divesit of produce—about 80 t 100 diffeent kind each year. Fall mean peppe, quash, heb, garlic and beet.

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