2018 Harvest Party

September 6, 2019

I can’t believe it’s already been almost a year since our first harvest party at the vineyard, but October will mark twelve months since we hosted our inaugural fall celebration. Since we’re getting ready to host our second harvest party in just over a month, I’ve been looking back and reflecting a bit on what we did right, places to improve, and brainstorming new ideas with the team to make an even bigger impact this year. I can’t wait to spill the beans with you soon! First, a little context on 2018.

The weekend before our harvest party, my mom had a major surgery (hysterectomy, appendectomy, and multiple lymph node biopsy) to remove a massive ovarian cyst that had grown rapidly and turned into cancer over the course of the previous month. When she went into surgery, we weren’t sure what we were dealing with, but her incredible surgeon confirmed that it was cancer as my dad and I completely crumbled in the hospital waiting room. He was optimistic that they’d gotten it all and that she might not need further treatment based on what he was able to tell so we clung on to those words for the next few days. Thankfully, later that week, we received the news that she was stage 1A (!!!!) and no further treatment was necessary, but recovering from such a major surgery was going to be difficult. We were absolutely ecstatic at the news, but knew we needed to focus on her getting better. Her post-operative delirium was terrifying to say the least and she needed 24-7 monitoring by my dad and I following the surgery. We took turns sleeping, him usually at night, while I took the night shift to make sure she didn’t try to walk around by herself or put strain on her healing incision getting in and out of bed.

The week leading up to our harvest party was more physically and mentally trying than ever before in my life. My mom has always been my rock, but has been an even bigger sense of help and stability in the years since acquiring the vineyard. Being a caretaker for her that week filled me with gratitude for how lucky we’ve been as a family in terms of health, but was also crushing knowing that so many families don’t get that same prognosis. Every single day and moment is a gift. What kept me going that week was knowing that every chance we have to connect people with our mission to help make the world a better place, by funding clinical trials for other women fighting diseases, funding meals for children fighting hunger, funding fire re-build efforts and more, should not be taken for granted. This is what we were going to be doing at our harvest party – highlighting worthy causes that needed our help.

Our first Harvest Party was absolutely stunning, totally moving, and went off without a hitch! I’m SO excited for round two this year and I’m thankful that my mom is here with us, healthy, and will be bringing her talent to the table once again 🙂 We have so much to celebrate in 2019!

I’ll be sharing more details soon, but in the meantime, take a look at last year’s event! Since it was our first harvest party, we kept things simple with heavy apps and fairly simple and economical decor (lots of greens and fall foliage, simple bud vases with seasonal florals, bowls of seasonal fruit to be snacked on or repurposed after the event – one of my favorite event decor hacks). Let me know what you think! Cheers!

{we kept details simple with bud vases and bowls of seasonal fruit}

{guests were greeted with a delicious apple cider mimosa}

{one of my favorite bars I’ve ever styled! those colors! bar & back-bar by found rentals}

{our beautiful and incredibly talented winemaker, Mari Coyle}

{our architect, David Rulon, with his daughter, Gabby}

{Rob Mondavi Jr., Mari Coyle, and my husband, Jake}

{Jake and I with two of our largest partners and close friends, Erik & Deborah Anderson}

{Our friends and longtime supporters, Deb & Brian}

{Incredible presentation by our friend and immensely talented photographer, Laura Schneider}

{tour of the winery (under construction)}

Sauvignon Blanc Harvest / 2017

October 23, 2017

UPDATE: I wrote this post before the devastating fires that swept through Napa, Sonoma, Lake County and Mendocino beginning October 9th-20th, 2017. I’ll share my thoughts on the fires and how it impacted our community as soon as I get my head back above water. xo – Meg

In Napa Valley, harvest is one of the first indications that the seasons are changing. This summer was so jam packed with work, sourcing trips, events, photo shoots, and multiple design projects, that the 2017 harvest season arrived shockingly fast. When our Director of Wine at ONEHOPE called to tell me that we were going to be harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc on August 24th, while ecstatic that I was going to be in town to shoot, I was simultaneously a little bummed that summer was really coming to a close and that it felt like it had passed by in a blink. Now that pumpkins and fall produce have arrived in stores and the temperatures are cooling with particularly chilly mornings, I’m choosing to embrace it and I’m looking forward to a change in pace after a marathon of a summer. Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day.

PS: I blogged about harvest last year here and how monumental it was in shaping my views on the Mexican American farmworkers here in Napa Valley. Watching this crew harvest 12 tons of grapes by hand in just under three hours only reaffirmed my views that we need to be taking care of our farmworkers here, not only in the wine industry, but in agriculture in general. As consumers become more and more conscious of how and where their food is being farmed, I hope they also pause to think about where their wine is coming from and the work behind it, the next time they open a bottle. I’m so honored to be working for a company that cares so much about the production process and the people behind it. Cheers!

Update / My Grandpa

October 3, 2016

Hey there! It’s been a little while and with life passing by faster than ever, I simply haven’t had the time to dedicate to writing recently. At the tail end of August, right after our Sauvignon Blanc harvest, I received word that my grandpa wasn’t doing well. Honestly, he hadn’t been doing well for almost 20 years when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but this time it was different. He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer earlier this year and with an already weak heart, the additional illness was just too much for his body to bear any longer. He passed away in the loving arms of family on August 27th at 88 years old.

No matter how mentally prepared you are for someone to transition to the other side, you’re never fully ready for the heartbreak. The helplessness, the worry about those he left behind (my grandma, my aunts, my younger cousin who was there in those final moments), and the grieving of a better life when everyone was young, healthy and together were almost too much to bear in those first few weeks. My grandpa had the kindest soul, a jokester spirit and the most contagious laugh. He fiercely loved his 4 girls, sailing, and the next project around the house or yard. My grandma was the love of his life and their stories of him chasing her in their earlier years will live on forever in my heart. I will never stop missing him.

After a couple of weeks in a funk, I’m feeling almost back to normal, but I’m missing my family more than ever. This is our first fall in Napa and the temperature change and fall colors make me nostalgic for home in the midwest. I’m looking forward to returning later on this month for my grandpa’s service and being able to hold my grandma once again.

With love,

Meg

Harvest 2016

August 22, 2016

It’s official! Tomorrow marks the beginning of our 2016 harvest at the ONEHOPE vineyard! It’s the first time I’ve ever witnessed a harvest in person, and I’ve been getting butterflies with excitement since finding out last week. It seems so silly… grapes are just fruit and I’m not sure that any other fruits or vegetables get so much attention when they’re harvested, but there’s something so symbolic and historic about a great growing season coming to a close and the mystery of wondering how this final wine is going to taste when we get barrel samples next year.

Additionally, things on the construction site at the vineyard are really starting to take shape! Framing is almost complete for the two guest wings (4 bathrooms on either side) and has started to go up on the center of the house (the great room, kitchen, man cave, laundry and car barn). Our HUGE great room and car barn trusses are being delivered next week and we’ll have plumbers on site in the coming two weeks to rough in plumbing. It’s getting REALLY exciting to see, spaces are finally making sense and it’s also made me incredibly busy on the design side that I’ve been sharing a few sneak peeks of on my Instagram story. Selecting tile and finishes for 11 bathrooms has proven to be WAY harder than I anticipated, but I’m loving ~~almost~~ every minute of the ride. I promise to share some content on the interior design side soon! In the meantime, be sure to tune in to Instagram tomorrow morning (@onehope and @megrobins) for a few exciting peeks 🙂

Fig & Chevre Ciabatta Toast

October 8, 2015

Toast is really having a moment. I’m fairly certain that avocado toast opened the toast door and now it’s everywhere in every shape, size and ingredient combination. And honestly, what isn’t there to love about toast? Growing up, I ate toast almost every morning (peanut butter was my favorite) and I don’t really know when or why I stopped, but I’m a big fan of this new toast trend and exploring new ways to enjoy it.

With a leftover loaf of ciabatta and a a handful of figs remaining from our fig frenzy at the office, I decided to try a combination of flavors that I’d been wanting to explore. This crostini was a huge hit so I decided on a toast and whipped these up in almost no time. The end result was pretty incredible. They were easy enough to throw together in under 15 minutes, but felt a little fancy with the drizzled honey and sprinkling of thyme. AND, with the perfect wine pairing, they were certainly something that you could eat anytime during the day or night. Toast isn’t just for breakfast anymore, people! Cheers!

Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

6 slices of fresh ciabatta
1 tbs. butter (melted)
8 oz. chevré
3 figs (thinly sliced)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 tbs. honey

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 and butter both sides of each slice of ciabatta.
Place slices on baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes (until bread starts to toast). Remove from oven and carefully flip toasts. Bake for another 3-4 minutes being careful not to let the toast burn.
Remove from oven and allow toasts to cool slightly.
While toasts are still hot, but cool enough to be handled, spread each piece with chevré and top with 3-4 slices of fig.
Garnish each toast with a few small pieces of thyme and drizzle honey over top.
Serve immediately and serve with Chardonnay (for white lovers) or Pinot Noir (for red lovers) – my recommendation is the Pinot which is known to pair wonderfully with chevré. Cheers!

Chicken a la Vendemmia

October 1, 2015

With pound of leftover figs from our Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail and Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza, I was on the hunt for a yummy fall harvest inspired recipe. When I stumbled upon Michael Chiarello’s Chicken a la Vendemmia recipe, I was sold. What better way to use up our figs than with ripe grapes that could be pulled off of our own vineyard? Since I was making this in LA and not at the Napa house, I opted to use table grapes instead, but next year when I’m in Napa for harvest, I’m definitely making this with grapes from our vines. I sought out to replicated the dish with a few little tweaks along the way and was delighted with how simple and delicious this turned out to be. I’ve never cooked a bone-in chicken breast, but it was so juicy and wonderful that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to cook a boneless/skinless chicken breast again – so much better! The skin and fennel added just the right amount of savory crunch and it’s hard to go wrong with figs. The combination of the figs and grape made for a sweet sauce over the chicken that paired wonderfully with a well balanced, lightly oaked Chardonnay. YUM!

Find the original recipe here and make sure you check out Michael’s restaurant, Bottega in Yountville the next time you visit Napa – it’s one of our favorites. Cheers!

Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 lbs grapes (seeded or seedless table grapes)
2 large bone-in chicken breasts (skin on)
Sea salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons fennel
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 cup fresh figs (halved)

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Using a food processor, puree the grapes and then strain. You want to extract as much of the juice as possible so you may need to press the solids up against a sieve to do so. 2 lbs. of grapes should yield about 2 cups of juice.
Season your chicken breasts liberally with fennel. Sprinkle each with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium/high heat. Once your skillet is hot, add the olive oil and chicken (skin side down) and cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and cook until chicken is done (10-15 minutes).
Remove chicken from the skillet and discard all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened and slightly transparent. Add rosemary for 10-15 seconds before incorporating your grape juice, stirring to evenly distribute the heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes (or until mixture starts to reduce) and add your figs. Allow figs to warm throughout (about 1-2 more minutes before removing from heat).
Plate your chicken and pour the sauce and figs overtop. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Chardonnay. Cheers!

Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza

September 29, 2015

Last week when I was experimenting with fall figs, I whipped up a yummy Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail that ended up being a team favorite. We had a pound of figs left over and some prosciutto so I fired up the oven to create a crispy flatbread. I was so surprised at how incredible this was! I’d never rolled our my own dough so this was the first pizza from “scratch” that I’d made, (although the fresh dough was still store-bought – can’t take all of the credit!) so I had no idea what to expect. I was ecstatic at how perfect the crust was and the combination of salty and savory prosciutto, creaminess of the mozzarella, sweetness of the figs and slightly sharp parmesan made this a crowd pleaser. This paired perfectly with a glass of Edna Valley Pinot Noir… with just the right amount dark cherry on the nose, concentrated fruit, a touch of nutmeg and fall spice on the palate, the Pinot really complimented the sweet and savory flavor profile of the pizza. I’ll definitely be making this again! So easy and so worth the TINY bit of extra effort to get that perfect crust. Cheers!

Time: 45 minutes
Yield: One 16″ round flatbread pizza

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 tbs. flour
16 oz. pizza dough (we used Trader Joe’s pre-made classic dough)
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. prosciutto
8 oz. fresh mozzarella (sliced)
5-6 figs (thinly sliced)
1.5 cups arugula
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (shaved)
1/2 tsp. sea salt

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you’re using a pizza stone, make sure your stone is in the oven during the preheating process (dramatic shifts in temperatures can cause a pizza stone to shatter if the stone isn’t warm before placing it in your oven).
If your dough is refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature before working with it. Flour your work surface and gently kneed, stretch and roll dough to desired shape and size. Ours was ~16″ in diameter.
Brush a little olive oil on the dough and top with prosciutto and mozzarella. Transfer dough to your pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes (or until crust has started to crisp).
While the pizza is in the oven, carefully top the pizza with figs and bake for 3 more minutes. You want to give the figs time to warm up and heat throughout without over cooking them.
While the figs are warming, place arugula in a bowl and toss with olive oil and sea salt.
Remove pizza from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Allow pizza to sit for 1-2 minutes before slicing. Top with arugula and shaved parmesan. Serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Pinot Noir for the perfect pairing. Cheers!

Fig + Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail

September 23, 2015

Happy First Day of Fall, guys! Aren’t you so excited?! Jake and I flew back from New York on Monday after a whirlwind trip to celebrate the marriage of two of our close friends and I was REALLY hoping for some fall weather while there, but we were SOL. The temps were in the mid 80’s for almost the entire time, with the exception of ONE afternoon when we could feel the familiar crisp autumn air that I miss so much now that I call LA home. Thankfully, it has cooled off at least a little and I don’t feel so weird burning a Pumpkin Candle now that it isn’t 100 degrees in our house 😉

Every year, I tell myself that I’m going to experiment with figs in the fall (I’ve never cooked with them before now!), but they’re so hard to find and something else always seems to take priority. By the time I make the effort, they always seem to be out of season and impossible to track down. I’ve been dying to get my hands on some this year to mix into cocktails and to add a little something sweet to the fall entertaining cheese boards we’ve been crafting for work. Finding them proved to be difficult since figs aren’t generally carried at most big-chain grocery stores, but when I finally spotted them at a downtown LA farmer’s market, I grabbed all I could and headed straight for the kitchen. After a bit of research on fig cocktails, I stumbled across this one that sounded too good to pass up. I made a few proportional adjustments to accommodate our bubbly and it turned out SO deliciously perfect. I whip up a ton of cocktails for work and our team is pretty vocal at this point with what they like and don’t like so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this was one of the favorites we’ve ever made. Check it out below!

Timing: 1 hour total
Yield: 4 cocktails

I N G R E D I E N T S

Rosemary Simple Syrup

1 cup honey
1 cup water
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Cocktail

1/2 cup fig puree (2 cups fresh figs, 4 tbs. water blended in a food processor)
4 oz. chilled vodka
Juice from 2 lemons (peel for garnish)
4 oz. Rosemary Simple Syrup
ONEHOPE Sparkling Brut
Ice

D I R E C T I O N S

Combine honey, water, and fresh rosemary into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced by half. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. We transferred to a jar and placed it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
While simple syrup is chilling, remove stems from figs and place all but two figs in a food processor. Pulse to puree until consistency resembles that of apple sauce. Set aside.
Using a citrus peeler, peel your lemons (4 ribbons – one for each cocktail). Juice both lemons and set juice aside.
Once your simple syrup has chilled completely, combine syrup, fig puree, chilled vodka, lemon juice, and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
Fill two glasses with ice and pour cocktail mixture into each glass. Top with ONEHOPE Sparkling Brut and garnish with lemon peel, fresh rosemary, and one half fig each. Cheers!

Pumpkin Doughnuts

September 16, 2015

This morning is an early one! A bunch of us from work are jetting off to New York on the first flight out to celebrate the marriage of one of our co-workers and I can’t wait to see her walk down the aisle! It also doesn’t hurt that the wedding is in NY being that I’ve been dying to get back there – it’s been over a year! I was hoping for a super brisk, fall week, but the forecast is unfortunately showing 80+ every day we’re there, so I’ll just have to deal with my overwhelming #basic fall nostalgia and pumpkin cravings. In yearning for all things fall, I thought I’d pass along one of my favorite recipe finds from last year – Pumpkin Doughnuts! I can’t wait to make these again when I’m back from NY. I made a few of my own adjustments (below), but find the original recipe here. It’s ~~almost~~ fall, y’all!

PS: Proof that Americans Love Pumpkin Flavored Everything & An In-Depth Analysis of Pumpkin Spice’s World Domination – two good reads on America’s obsession with fall pumpkins.

Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 doughnuts

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Coating
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/butter doughnut wells and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined. Add your wet ingredients (oil, eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Using a mixer, blend until mixture is well combined.
Spoon mixture into your doughnut baking pan. Each well should be filled about 1/2 of the way. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until doughnut is firm, but not cooked all of the way through (toothpick should not come out clean).
Remove from oven and gently remove each doughnut from individual wells. Grease/butter each well again and fill wells with more batter about 1/2 of the way. Place your partially cooked doughnuts on top of the new batter and bake for 7-10 more minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Because the batter is quite heavy, these doughnuts won’t puff up like you’re used to traditionally. The first time I made these, I skipped adding more batter and flipping the first set of doughnuts over – my doughnuts were flat on the bottom 😉
Once doughnuts are baked all the way through, let them cool slightly and remove from the pan. While doughnuts are cooling combine coating sugar and cinnamon in a ziplock bag. Add one doughnut at a time and shake until completely coated. Enjoy while warm with your favorite coffee or hot apple cider. YUM!

Butternut Squash Soup

November 21, 2014

One of the many things I love about fall is eating seasonally and experimenting with fall flavors. Fall is the perfect time to experiment with butternut squash, figs, root vegetables and all sorts of yummy produce and I always find myself craving a great, hearty soup around this time of the year. A quick internet search for a great butternut squash soup recipe lead me to this with an almost perfect 5 star review average with over 1,900 reviews (!!!). I knew I had to give it a try. I adjusted it a tiny bit to make it slightly healthier and the end result was nothing short of incredible. We served it with warm sliced sourdough bread and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc to cut through the hint of spice and creamy, buttery flavor one weekend when we had friends in town and we were thrilled with their feedback. This is something really great to make on a cool fall weekend so I wanted to pass it along. Cheers!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons chopped sweet onion
4 tablespoons butter
1 5lb. butternut squash
3 cups water
4 chicken bullion cubes
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 8oz package reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

For Apple Topping

1 apple diced (I used a fuji apple)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Season with garlic salt and olive oil. Place in a baking dish cut side down and fill dish with 1″ of water.

2. Roast squash for 45 minutes or until soft and tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

3. Once squash is cool enough to handle, remove skin, discard seeds and dice remaining squash.

4.. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

5. Puree squash and cream cheese using a hand blender until smooth. Heat for 10 more minutes (do not boil).

Directions for Apple Topping

1. In a small pan, heat butter until melted.

2. Add apple and brown sugar. Saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.