Publisher's Note
By Torrey Douglass
The young folk have a saying—“touch grass.” It’s usually deployed towards someone who is perceived to be too online and out of touch with reality that exists beyond screens. Scolding tone aside, the advice is sound, though I would replace grass with dirt. When my mind becomes crowded with headlines created by people with big microphones and little sense, going out into the garden and breaking off a sugar snap pea to chew on while I check on the tomato plants reboots my outlook. The warm sun, the smell of damp earth, the sweet crunch of the pea—it’s a good reality to come back to.
In Mendocino County, our particular reality is collectively created by all sorts of different people, some of whom have come a great distance to make their home here (and many of us come from descendants who themselves came a long way to be here). These global transplants bring their ideas, their energy, and their effort, all informed by their cultures of origin.
In this issue, we share the story of Terra Sávia, a Hopland winery created by a Dominican and Swiss German couple that employs an Argentinian wine maker to produce two distinct lines of organic wine (p37). A bit to the north, Ukiah native Bailee and her Argentinian husband Peter have opened an empanada food window on Clara Street, where they sell savory pockets of spiced deliciousness (p11). The popular Italian restaurant, Luna Trattoria, was started by Italian Massimo Melani and his wife, American Marissa Rey, in 2014 (p8). Immigrants and their good work (and good food and wine!) are all around us.
Also in this issue is the story of Molino Campo Noble, the first tortillería in Japan (p26), started by Mexican national Geovanni Beristain and his Japanese partner, Reiko Matsumoto. Closer to home, Mexican immigrants in Mendocino County identified needs within their community and responded by creating Nuestra Alianza de Willits (p39), a nonprofit that provides 14 different programs to serve local Latinos.
Concepts can be imported too, and used to inform, improve, and uplift. Wild Hare Farm, of both Willits and Fort Bragg, use a Korean natural farming method called JADAM to cheaply and organically grow clean, nutrient-rich herbs, fruit, and vegetables (p23). Syd’s Tempeh, based in Fort Bragg, was inspired by the Indonesian tempeh movement to create plant-based burgers with local quinoa and other ingredients (p43).
Just like monoculture is a bad idea in agriculture, it doesn’t do us any favors sociologically, either. A diversity of plants on a farm brings balance, longevity, and resilience. The same can be said of society at large. I no more want all my neighbors to be like me than I want every restaurant to serve up the same menu. If you find yourself worked up about any group of people—and I mean any group of people—trace where you got your information about them. Then go and meet a few of those folks in real life. I guarantee they will be different than you expected. And when you’re done, touch dirt—and, ideally, grow something in it.
Torrey Douglass
Co-Publisher & Art Director
Photo by Phil Hearing courtesy of Unsplash.