Cain

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Cain

Pair this Cabernet Sauvignon with [fill in the blank—as long as it’s steak]. Endlessly reiterated, Cab pairing suggestions like juicy steak, slab of beef—among braver thinkers, maybe, venison-wrapped beef—have worn out the carving knife, so it was refreshing to enjoy a 2004 Cain Five, a Cab blend, with sake-marinated poached cod in a light broth with Chinese mushrooms. The wine is an earthy, minty blend of five Bordeaux grapes; the occasion was a press trip hosted by Cain’s husband-and-wife team Christopher Howell, winemaker and general manager since 1991, and sales director Katie Lazar. The pairing was a hit.

I’m sorry to report that such adventurous food pairings are not part of the everyday tasting experience at Cain, but then little is everyday here. Developed in the 1980s, the Cain vineyard occupies a big, terraced bowl on part of the former McCormick sheep ranch. Picture this: If you were standing atop Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, looking toward Napa, and Howell was standing atop his ridge, you could almost wave to each other.

The vineyard may be spectacular, but it ain’t pretty. Grass and weeds brush the vines, and not just in the biodynamically farmed block (typical of Howell’s philosophy, biodynamics is an experiment at Cain, not a dictum). Drip irrigation tubes slipped into PVC pipes stuck in the ground like syringes feed each vine a little extra something to make it through the summer. Compared to some of the so-called de-vigorated mountain vineyards I’ve seen, Cain is the real deal.

This unique land makes a bigger difference, ultimately, than the particular varieties of grapes that are grown here, says Howell, pouring a 2000 Cain Five, a nicely integrated, older Cab-based blend which shows no bricking and no stewed fruit. Although Howell had to petition the government to be allowed to list all of their flagship wine’s five varietals on the label, “that doesn’t tell you anything about the wine,” he says. Nor, he suggests a little more controversially, does that hint of brett that another guest picked up on mean that the wine is spoiling. In small amounts, Brettanomyces—the yeasty bugbear of today’s clean, mean, super-fruity wines—adds a little interest, says Howell, and he has no fear of it.

Whether from outlier microorganisms or the aromatic weeds that grow around the vineyard, the 2008 Cain Five ($125) has sweet, alluring floral aromas opening to a hint of mint. For roasted free-range chicken? That’s the Cain way, and it works.

Cain Vineyard & Winery, 3800 Langtry Road, St. Helena. Tour and tasting by appointment only, Monday–Friday, 10am and 11:30am; Saturday, 10am and noon. $35. 707.963.1616.

Not Exactly for Kids

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Not Exactly for Kids

The garroting of Luca Brasi, portrayed by the corpulent Lenny Montana, in The Godfather isn’t something you soon forget.

The thought that someone made a way of life out of this is the most stomach-churning part of the documentary The Act of Killing. In the film, director Joshua Oppenheimer interviews several of the now elderly heads of a paramilitary group in North Sumatra who, in the 1960s, participated in the killing of some 2.5 million Chinese nationals and communists with the blessing of President Suharto’s military government.

Encouraged by the filmmaker, one of these hit men, Anwar Congo, and a few of his comrades restage their murders. At first, it’s an ordinary reenactment, but after Congo critiques the video as too fake, the team reach for higher production values, with lighting, costuming, prosthetics and location shooting.

And things only get stranger with the introduction of a would-be parliamentarian named Herman Koto, who seems to think he’s landed in a movie by surreal filmmaker Alejandro Jorodowsky. He playfully pretends to eat a pal’s liver (“Look what I found in your stomach! Ugh! It’s rotten!”) and, dressed in Divine-like pink drag, directs a line of depressed chorus girls as they emerge from the maw of a giant metal carp.

These bizarre images mostly distract from the confessional restaging of the atrocities. They also distract from one of the issues at the center of The Act of Killing: whether it was film-watching itself that carried the seed of all this cruelty. What Oppenheimer wants to capture is old men mourning at midnight what they did in the midday of their youth, but this remorse almost eludes him; it’s beyond the narrative of what Congo and company have in mind.

There have been movies about the impossibility of recapturing a holocaust on film—Atom Egoyan’s Ararat is one—but even as prosecutorial a director as Oppenheimer can’t answer the question of why, after a century of cinema, the world’s sense of empathy isn’t getting any stronger.

‘The Act of Killing’ opens Friday, Aug. 16, at the Rafael Film Center.

Mom! I Need a Ride!

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Mom! I Need a Ride!

1. It’s a fact of nature: sweet cooing, smiling and cuddly babies eventually grow up into awkward, moody, hormonal, smelly, door-slamming, screaming teenagers. Don’t take it personally.

2. You will never have enough milk (cow, soy, goat, hemp, rice, whatever) or cereal in the house to satisfy the hunger of a growing teen. Buy a goat or cow and a grain mill.

3. Some teens never grow out of their obsessions with Harry Potter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every parent should educate herself and know the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

4. If your teenager is female, you will spend a few hundred dollars a year on menstrual products, PMS tea, rom-com rentals, chocolate, gynecological visits and stain removers. You’ll also be able to prove the theory of women’s cycles syncing up. For roughly one week each month, your home will transform into a modern-day Red Tent situation, sans actual tent and bloody stacks of hay.

5. Thumbs really can be sprained by too much texting. You’ll learn this when you get your kid a new cell phone “for safety reasons” in eighth grade.

6. No matter how many unshaven radical feminist friends you have, and no matter how many annual goddessy ceremonies your daughters attend at the Women’s Herbal Symposium, at some point they will attempt to pluck their own eyebrows and shave their legs without your permission. It’s not pretty.

7. Morning carpool is a perfect time to interject your politics into conversations about celebrities. For example, when a Chris Brown song comes on the local radio station, this is an opportunity to discuss boycotting, sexism and violence against women—and to make sure the teen boys around know you mean business.

8. As teens get older, you don’t have to wait until they’re sound asleep to watch all the steamy R-rated movies you rented. R-Rated Movie Night can and should become a Friday-night family tradition. The only catch: sex scenes are often used as an opportunity for your teen to badger you with questions about your own sex life. (Also, watching Girls with your teen is a great opportunity to show them just exactly what bad sex looks like.)

9. If your child is psyched about driving and gets a driver’s license (unlike mine, who is afraid of being on the road while other teens are driving and takes the bus everywhere), you, my friend, have a personal designated driver for rides home from happy hour!

10. At some point in the mid–high school years, no matter how difficult or exhausting you become from driving back and forth across town, calling to make sure no creepers abducted your child on public transportation, helping with geometry homework and college job applications, buying cereal and milk, addressing health issues, counseling the kid after a blowup with a friend and all of the other various and unpredictable challenges that come with being a teenager, you will panic. You will sit alone at your kitchen table while your kids are out at parties or movies, and you’ll think, Oh mother of pearl, how did this happen so fast? These people are almost adults and will be leaving me soon. You’ll think of how desperately you want to shrink them, to encase them in cute little boxes in order to hold on to every precious, gut-aching, nostalgic memory forever. Then you realize putting your kids in boxes is creepy and illegal, so you let them go out into the world, you learn to trust that you are a great parent, that you did everything you could to love them and guide them into the people they are. And then you’ll pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back and learn to enjoy the last few years together while you still have them.

Growing Out

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Growing Out

‘Maria” was a 28 year-old new mom overcome with depression. Her three-month old son was healthy, her partner supportive. But she spent days crying, thinking about the previous child that she lost when she was 25 weeks pregnant—thinking about how overwhelming it all was, this new little human being with so many needs, and no owner’s manual.

Maria moved back in with her family for help. Eventually, through the USDA’s Women, Infants, and Children program, she was referred to a place that would provide therapy, advice and direction—a place that would help her negotiate time off with her employer so she could bond with her son and that would give her hope of moving back in with her partner and starting her family on a positive note again.

Maria’s hope came from the California Parenting Institute, where the perinatal mood disorder program is just one of many resources available to parents who’ve known the all-too-common frustration of hitting a wall. Founded in 1978, the nonprofit offers parenting groups, therapy, group classes, supervised visitation, in-home visits, off-site classes, autism programs, a call center, the New Directions school and various trauma treatment programs. Their mission is simple: to end child abuse and strengthen the health of children, parents and families.

“We get funding to see kids who don’t have health insurance, so it’s like the last-ditch safety net for kids,” says executive director Robin Bowen. “Kids who have been abused, kids who come from high-conflict divorce, kids who have witnessed community violence, kids who have been in some traumatizing accidents, or maybe just even witnessed horrible things in their community—those kids can come here without insurance.”

Except there’s a waiting list for the programs at CPI—Bowen estimates about 80 kids total. That’s why last week, Bowen walked through the warehouse into which CPI will be expanding, explaining how the new Parent Education Center will increase services, whittle down the waiting list and better serve families in Sonoma County.

“It’s really hard when you have kids who have trauma—maybe they’re being bullied at school—and you have to go, ‘Well, we have a waiting list,'” Bowen says. “And a lot of these families don’t have a lot of resources to go elsewhere, so they’re stuck waiting.”

Adding an extra 4,600 square feet for group rooms, playrooms and supervised visits will surely help. Construction is slated to be completed in September and is estimated to serve an additional 250 children and families each year. (Last year, more than 3,000 families received services from CPI.)

The expansion is being funded by a $350,000 donation from First 5 Sonoma County, and by nearly $100,000 from Connie Codding and Jean Schulz. While a bank loan is covering the additional bills, “We’re short about a half million,” says Bowen, “and that’s what we’re looking for right now.”

In 2007, the G.K. Hardt Foundation gave $500,000 to CPI to improve its existing center on Standish Avenue in southwest Santa Rosa. Bowen estimates that CPI has doubled in size since then.

Expansion into the warehouse across the parking lot will also allow CPI to concentrate mental-health services into one building. “I think people are getting more comfortable with looking for mental health help,” says Toni Sprouse, who serves on the CPI’s board of directors, “and becoming more aware that there are issues, and you need to seek help.”

An estimated 51 percent of children seen at CPI are affected by domestic violence. Some parents are referred to CPI from family court on child-abuse issues, mandated to complete a 52-week program. Some are returning veterans with PTSD. Some have drug or alcohol issues. All of them have a chance for a better start at CPI. At the same time, says Tiffani Montgomery, CPI’s marketing director, “we’re here for everybody. For any type of family. Anyone can call us.”

Indeed, classes are inexpensive and accessible—$10 to $50, depending on duration—and are bilingual. They range from infant massage and yoga classes to raising a child with an ex-partner and handling anger. Along with parenting tips, the classes provide a reminder that parents aren’t alone in the struggles they face, says Bowen, who’s served as executive director at CPI for over 30 years, and who has three grown children of her own.

Her ultimate advice for parents echoes that of many: “Enjoy your kids. Really, really enjoy your kids. Because they’re little for only so long.”

Gaagggh Uuuh Muuff Guhh

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Gaagggh Uuuh Muuff Guhh

It’s, like, totally funny that you would wanna know all about what I eat, like, today of all days. Because if this were two weeks ago, I would have said, “Uh, duh, boob?” Like, what else would I eat, I’m a freakin’ baby! I mean, I don’t actually eat the boob—what do I look like, a cannibal? I don’t even have teeth!

No, I was on a pure liquid diet. Not like some skinny rich lady Gwyneth Paltrow $5 billion (yeah, I’m only six months old and I know math . . . whatevs) liquid-detox-cleanse grodiness. No, this stuff my mom was giving me was, like, full of totally rad nutrients, and it was, like, totally free. Yum.

But then, like, this morning? My mom starts cramming this orange goop up in my face. She tells me, all nice, that it’s called sweet potato. So, yeah, I tried to eat some, but then I was, like, gag me with a spoon! No, literally, I tried to gag myself with the spoon, but before I could jam that thing down there, my mom grabbed it out of my hand, and I’m, like, “Mom, I can totally feed myself, I’m six months old now.” But it came out sounding more like “Ba ga ga ga ba ga ba ma ma.” My mom totally didn’t get it.

Then she gives me this other mushy gunk, and she says they’re called apples, and that was a little better and I wanted more, but when I went to put more in my mouth, I put it in my eye instead, but, like, whatevs. And then, like, I’m just sitting there, and my mom crams this, like, mesh sock in my hand, and it’s all loaded up with these cold, purple circular things, and my mom says, “These are blueberries, baby.” And I put that sock in my mouth and suck on it, and YUM. Oh. My. God. Sooooo good. I could eat these all day.

And then Grandma comes over and she brings these, like, Gerber mashed up peas and carrots, and my mom is totally, like, “Um? Are these organic? Because if they’re not organic I don’t think they’re healthy for the baby.” And I’m all, whatever, mom, is that pile of black dog hair on the floor organic, because I just totally crammed it in my mouth when you weren’t looking.

And then she says, “And these plastic containers? I don’t think they’re BPA-free. We should only feed the baby out of glass jars,” and I’m, like, what about the floor? Who needs a plate when you’ve got, like, a totally delicious, dirt-seasoned floor to eat off? Like I just did when my blueberry sock fell down. Just pick it up, let the dust flavor it up all nice, and then pop! Back in the mouth.

Mom says next week we’re gonna try something new. Like organic puréed broccoli or something. Can we at least put some cheese on that? Uh, like, barf me out—no, like, literally, I’m projectile-vomiting right now, can someone get me, like, cleaned up? I have a hot date with a teething ring after this.

Cell by Cell

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Cell by Cell

Robert Michael Smith is the first sculptor to use 3D print technology at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine to produce a sculpture comprised of living human cells, and in a lecture this weekend in Healdsburg, he’ll tell you all about it. “What he’s doing now is just beyond,” says Hammerfriar Gallery owner Jill Plamann. “It’s absolute science fiction, its incredible.”

In his art, Smith uses the same technology used to regrow human tissue for organ transplants, creating his own artistic molds with a 3D printer in which the tissue grows. (Smith was an early adopter of 3D printing about 15 years ago.) His sculptures are mostly made with machines from his own CAD designs, including Paradise Bird Burlesque. “I recognized early on that it was a favorite,” he says. A six-foot version of the piece carved from stone sits in the National Art Museum in China. A smaller, plastic version is on display at Hammerfriar, but don’t let the size fool you—it’s still a stunning visual display.

“Regenesis” by Robert Michael Smith is on display Aug. 15–24 at Hammerfriar Gallery, with a lecture by Smith Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6pm. (Please RSVP to Jill Plamann 707.473.9600.) 132 Mill St., Healdsburg. 707.473.9600.

Aug. 18: Sonoma County Bicycle Expo in Downtown Santa Rosa

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Aug. 18: Sonoma County Bicycle Expo in Downtown Santa Rosa

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It has a bike swap, a cargo race, BMX tricks, a track-stand contest, a marching band and a tractor pull. Seriously, is this not just a crazy bike festival all ’roided up? All kidding aside: the Sonoma County Bicycle Expo jams every fun thing to possibly do with a bike into a one-day event, starting with the bike swap, where riders and collectors gather to buy, sell, trade and discuss bikes and accessories from every era. Also at the expo is the track-stand contest, where a judge will record how long each competitor can go on their fixed or freewheel bikes without putting a foot down. Other attractions include the crowd—pleasing flatland BMX stunts, performances by the Hubbub Club and a race of silly, practical and creative cargo bikes. All of this and more on Sunday, Aug. 18. Fifth Street between B Street and Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa. Free. 10am—4pm. 707.545.0153.

Aug. 17-Aug. 18: The 22nd Annual Accordian Festival at Cotati’s La Plaza Park

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Aug. 17-Aug. 18: The 22nd Annual Accordian Festival at Cotati’s La Plaza Park

renzo-ruggieri.jpg

Where’s the only place in Sonoma County that rolls out the red carpet to the accordion every year? Cotati, of course! The 22nd Annual Accordion Festival makes its appearance this weekend, exciting the hearts of diehard accordion lovers and players. The featured performer is Renzo Ruggieri, Italy’s jazz accordion legend. This sunglass-wearin’ accordionist founded an acclaimed organization of music schools, has collaborated with and arranged music for dozens of artists, and tickles a mean squeezebox. The two-day fest includes many other performers (don’t miss Polkacide), dance parties and a play—along to “Lady of Spain.” Led by honorary director John Volpi, who frequently plays his accordion in the back bar at Volpi’s in Petaluma, the festival fun runs Saturday, Aug. 17, to Sunday, Aug. 18, at La Plaza Park. 60 West Cotati Ave., Cotati. $15—$23. 9:30am. 707.664.0444.

Aug. 15: ‘That Certain Something’ at the Arlene Francis Center

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Aug. 15: ‘That Certain Something’ at the Arlene Francis Center

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One could say that Arlene Francis dabbled in show business, but that person would simply be an idiot. Francis has a résumé that would put many others’ to shame, at least those in the business. You see, Francis was one-of-a-kind and she stayed committed to her career, with her most memorable ones including her years on Broadway, where she starred in All That Glitters and appeared with Orson Welles in a production of Danton’s Death. In the 1940s, Francis looked toward radio as her next goal and played in as many as five radio serials a day.

It was a different medium, however, that soon put Francis’ name on the map. She became one of the highest-paid women in TV when she became a permanent panelist on CBS’ What’s My Line? from 1950 through 1967. She then continued as a panelist in a syndicated version until 1975, thus staying with the show for its entire 25-year run. In 1960, she starred in a daily interview show in New York called The Arlene Francis Show, which ran for 23 years. Her commitment to her career as well as her charming personality, wit and fashion made her a fan favorite and icon at the same time. After her final show’s run, Francis retired from show business and spent her last years living in San Francisco, where she died from cancer in 2001 at age 93.

With the Arlene Francis Center named in her honor by her son and center owner Peter Gabel, the late actress is now being remembered in a different way: through film. Arlene Francis: That Certain Something, a documentary by independent filmmaker Jackie Sanders, is a film on the life and legacy of Arlene Francis that will screen at the center this week. To begin the event is a dinner, followed by music from national touring jazz group Bordeaux Blues and a screening of the film. All proceeds support Jackie Sanders.

Come view the life and inspiration of the amazing Arlene Francis on Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Arlene Francis Center. 99 Sixth St., Santa Rosa. $10 suggested donation. 6pm. 707.528.3009.

Aug. 16: Rita Moreno at the Napa Valley Opera House 10th Anniversary Concert

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Aug. 16: Rita Moreno at the Napa Valley Opera House 10th Anniversary Concert

Rita_Moreno.jpg

It’s been a decade since the remodel of the Napa Valley Opera House, and that means it’s time to paaaarrrrttaaayyyy! Rita Moreno, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner, was the first artist to perform upstairs at the Opera House after the renovation was completed in 2003, and is now back to join in this 10th anniversary benefit concert on Saturday, Aug. 17 ($50—$100. 7pm). The fun spills into Friday, too, as master conguero Poncho Sanchez fuses jazz, soul and a variety of Latin American and South American influences for a perfect blend of styles in the heart of wine country, in one of our favorite theaters. See Sanchez perform at the Napa Valley Opera House on Friday, Aug. 16 ($35—$40. 8pm). 1030 Main St., Napa. 707.226.7372.

Cain

Pair this Cabernet Sauvignon with . Endlessly reiterated, Cab pairing suggestions like juicy steak, slab of beef—among braver thinkers, maybe, venison-wrapped beef—have worn out the carving knife, so it was refreshing to enjoy a 2004 Cain Five, a Cab blend, with sake-marinated poached cod in a light broth with Chinese mushrooms. The wine is an earthy, minty blend of...
Read more

Not Exactly for Kids

The garroting of Luca Brasi, portrayed by the corpulent Lenny Montana, in The Godfather isn't something you soon forget. The thought that someone made a way of life out of this is the most stomach-churning part of the documentary The Act of Killing. In the film, director Joshua Oppenheimer interviews several of the now elderly heads of a paramilitary group...
Read more

Mom! I Need a Ride!

1. It's a fact of nature: sweet cooing, smiling and cuddly babies eventually grow up into awkward, moody, hormonal, smelly, door-slamming, screaming teenagers. Don't take it personally. 2. You will never have enough milk (cow, soy, goat, hemp, rice, whatever) or cereal in the house to satisfy the hunger of a growing teen. Buy a goat or cow and a...
Read more

Growing Out

'Maria" was a 28 year-old new mom overcome with depression. Her three-month old son was healthy, her partner supportive. But she spent days crying, thinking about the previous child that she lost when she was 25 weeks pregnant—thinking about how overwhelming it all was, this new little human being with so many needs, and no owner's manual. Maria moved back...
Read more

Gaagggh Uuuh Muuff Guhh

It's, like, totally funny that you would wanna know all about what I eat, like, today of all days. Because if this were two weeks ago, I would have said, "Uh, duh, boob?" Like, what else would I eat, I'm a freakin' baby! I mean, I don't actually eat the boob—what do I look like, a cannibal? I don't...
Read more

Cell by Cell

Robert Michael Smith is the first sculptor to use 3D print technology at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine to produce a sculpture comprised of living human cells, and in a lecture this weekend in Healdsburg, he'll tell you all about it. "What he's doing now is just beyond," says Hammerfriar Gallery owner Jill Plamann. "It's absolute science fiction,...
Read more

Aug. 18: Sonoma County Bicycle Expo in Downtown Santa Rosa

It has a bike swap, a cargo race, BMX tricks, a track-stand contest, a marching band and a tractor pull. Seriously, is this not just a crazy bike festival all ’roided up? All kidding aside: the Sonoma County Bicycle Expo jams every fun thing to possibly do with a bike into a one-day event, starting with the bike swap,...
Read more

Aug. 17-Aug. 18: The 22nd Annual Accordian Festival at Cotati’s La Plaza Park

Where’s the only place in Sonoma County that rolls out the red carpet to the accordion every year? Cotati, of course! The 22nd Annual Accordion Festival makes its appearance this weekend, exciting the hearts of diehard accordion lovers and players. The featured performer is Renzo Ruggieri, Italy's jazz accordion legend. This sunglass-wearin’ accordionist founded an acclaimed organization of music...
Read more

Aug. 15: ‘That Certain Something’ at the Arlene Francis Center

One could say that Arlene Francis dabbled in show business, but that person would simply be an idiot. Francis has a résumé that would put many others’ to shame, at least those in the business. You see, Francis was one-of-a-kind and she stayed committed to her career, with her most memorable ones including her years on Broadway, where she...
Read more

Aug. 16: Rita Moreno at the Napa Valley Opera House 10th Anniversary Concert

It’s been a decade since the remodel of the Napa Valley Opera House, and that means it’s time to paaaarrrrttaaayyyy! Rita Moreno, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner, was the first artist to perform upstairs at the Opera House after the renovation was completed in 2003, and is now back to join in this 10th anniversary benefit concert on...
Read more
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