Mar 4, 20202 min read

The young talents behind our Wildflowers & Wine pairings

Updated: Apr 15, 2020

Photo by hobopelican — Tori and Dan of Upcountry Farms

One of the things we love most about Amador is the new generation of talents moving to our small community. These young entrepreneurs are discovering opportunities here that would otherwise be unaffordable in most areas.

Tori and Dan of Upcountry Farms are a testament to planting new roots (literally) at their two acre farm in Jackson. They are self-taught farmers committed to sustainable and natural farming methods, growing more than 50 varietals of vegetables and flowers.

They started the farm four years ago with only a few shovels and racks their parents had given them.

Today, the beautiful food they put so much love into (note their smiles above - it's not just for the photo, they're always smiling) is flourishing at local farm stands, Element breakfasts, Lucy Spice Box dinners and Yorba events.

Insider scoop - our fellow farmer, viticulturist Ann Kraemer, is especially addicted to their hakurei turnips.

Farming is the family history of Yorba. We know it well and salute their tenacity to learn it through heavy study sessions and that oh-so-inevitable "trial and error."

And then there's Justin Lewis ("Jlew") of Amador Uncorked. Certified Sommelier, Chef and "Conductor" of his own wine tour company.

Four years ago Justin offered to volunteer at #ShakeRidgeRanch to learn more about wine. It took him several times to convince Ann before she caved. After only working one day at the vineyard, she agreed to hire him as part of the team.

From helping us at the vineyard to quickly becoming one of our "in house" chefs, Justin is incredibly curious, tireless, motivated, or how he puts it - ready to "step up" to a new Amador on the "brink of exploding."

He also kept us fed during our last Harvest - even through the "great power outage" of 2019.