Publisher’s Note

The human touch is at the core of our ethos at Word of Mouth magazine. We are tactile, conscious of thefeel of paper and the joy of reading words on a surface that reflects light rather than emits it. Our digital worldis filled with constant demands on our attention. It’s an on going assault on our senses that requires analysis, discernment, reaction. The currency of our attention is demanded and then manipulated.

In this modern existence, we find ourselves constantly questioning: “Is this true?” AI is being pushed from every quarter, yet an underlying challenge in the new paradigm is that computers lie. Ask any search engine how many breweries are in Mendocino County and it will unhesitatingly tell you 10. Never mind that many of those are bars and restaurants with no brewing involved, or that they reside in Sonoma County. No shade on our neighbors to the south, but we are mighty proud of our locals. For the record, the correct answer is six.

At Word of Mouth, we cherish the very real writers and creatives who fill our pages. This spring issue is filled to the brim with stories of the season, like local food celeb Queenie, who has taken the helm of Rhody’s Café within the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. You’ll read about the iconic Broiler Steak House, an institution that has welcomed diners to its old-school restaurant in Redwood Valley for generations. Another piece looks at the UC Extension in Hopland, where researchers travel from all over to do experiments with the property’s rangeland, meadows, and animal inhabitants. Ironically, the writer of that piece created an experiment of her own. She offered up her prose and asked AI to edit it. The later draft certainly focused some of the sentences, but the original was a bit messier and more real. When it comes down to it, all of these large language models are built on the creativity and voices of real people, so for our publication, we’ll skip the artificial and go directly to the authentic—the human-made creations—for these pages.

In this issue, you’ll find a number of stories highlighting people who work with their hands, including the Dooling family who cleared forest, planted Mariah Vineyards, and raised four children off-grid in the hills between Anderson Valley and the coast. Every harvest is picked by hand at their dry-farmed vineyard, the second highest in the Mendocino Ridge AVA. The two founders of Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate originally were shipbuilders. Cathy and Bill, of Farm to Family Homestead, built their own off-grid home and microfarm outside of Willits, sharing just-picked produce as well as Cathy’s handcrafted insect repellent and salves at their seasonal farmstand. And if you want to get your own hands in the dirt, Misha Vega of Philo Flora has some great advice about planting starts in the early spring.

While the incentives in our increasingly online lives are focused on outrage and division, Word of Mouth chooses to connect people, showcasing the wonderful restaurants, farms, and organizations providing offerings that are interesting and helpful (and often delicious). We use technology as a tool, not a replacement for the very real people who make us so special. You have my gratitude for being on this journey with us.

Holly Madrigal

Founder & Publisher