Living in San Francisco, I am only 1 hour away from wine country, yet I have never explored it this whole time I have been living here. My friend and I decided to start our Sunday by taking a tour at Tara Firma Farms, a sustainable, chemical-free, free-range farm in Petaluma, CA, followed by wine tasting in the afternoon at Benziger Family Winery.
My husband wasn’t anywhere near as excited as I was to take a farm tour, #1 because I am the major foodie in our relationship and #2 he grew up in Germany where there is beautiful “farm country” almost everywhere! Growing up as more of a “city girl” and being all about organic, free-range, local foods, I was so excited to learn more about this rare sustainable farm.
The farmers we met were all extremely friendly and enthusiastic about the way their farm operates, as it is very different from conventional farms. Have you seen the documentary Food Inc.? After watching that, I began to take more of an interest in where my food was coming from. It was so great to see all of the chickens, pigs, and cows being able to roam around the grass freely – every animal I saw looked so peaceful and happy, and they all lived in healthy, comfortable conditions. This is the food I would prefer to eat over the meats coming from animals caged in tiny, dark spaces on top of each other and being pumped with antibiotics and being fed unnatural foods.
I loved everything about the way the farmers at Tara Firma operate their farm.
After the farm tour, we headed over to Benziger Family Winery, where we took a tour of the facilities and tasted some of their wines.
It was a perfect Sunday.
How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun, or just have a relaxing weekend at home?
OMG that looks awesome! It looks like so much fun. When I went to visit farms as a kid, I never really appreciated the whole essence of it. I hated it when I was dragged to a farm. But as I have grown up to be a major foodie, I’d love to go on a tour like this.
Haha same with me!
I grew up in the Bay Area and went to Napa once. We really need to make a longer trip there!
Perfect Sunday indeed!
Looks like so much fun! Those baby chicks are too cute!
Yes, I have seen the documentary and it’s horrifying. Things are almost as bad here and so I try to buy free-range and organic as much as possible. I would love to explore the wine country around San Francisco xx
Yes, it is definitely tough these days!
Looks like a lovely day! One of the things I miss most about California is the wine tasting trips. We lived in Sacramento so we were literally surrounded by wine country and we definitely took advantage if it 🙂
Great pictures! Looks like a wonderful time. You really do live in a wonderful part of the world! Thanks for sharing your good time.
Thanks for sharing your adventure. I’ll be sure to look this place up. Looks like a lovely farm to visit. Beautiful photos!