FineLife- At Home in the Sonoma Valley

Sonoma’s Culinary Curators
Thanks to knowledgeable hosts, on local radio food and wine take center stage

Marty Olmstead
Special to the Sun

Published July 14, 2005

You’re facing an uninspiring pantry or driving home with no idea what to prepare for dinner -- let alone which wine to serve with it -- do yourself a favor and tune in to 91.3 FM. KSVY, Sonoma Valley’s own radio station, broadcasts five different food and wine shows every week.

Hosted by a half-dozen local experts, these various programs feature interviews with food producers, winemakers, chefs and well-traveled Valley residents eager to talk about their culinary experiences both here and abroad.

The hosts, all of whom have backgrounds in food, wine and/or travel, have developed extensive networks that provide an endless source of creativity and ideas. Their enthusiasm for their subject matter tends to make their segments entertaining as well as informative.

Last Friday, for example, you might have gotten some good ideas by listening to Sondra Bernstein (proprietor of Sonoma’s the girl & the fig) as she quizzed chef Victor Scargle about how he decides what to serve each day at Julia’s Kitchen.

The answer was simple: he begins by checking out the gardens at Copia to see what herbs and produce are at their peak. That day, Scargle concocted a dish that very few amateurs would have thought of: pan-seared scallops with a melon sauce accented with fresh basil.

Earlier that afternoon, sommelier John Burdick conducted a live sensory evaluation of the latest pinot noir from Sapphire Hill, a small but prestigious Russian River winery.
Burdick, secluded in his “wine cave” (actually an undisclosed location at the station on West Napa Street), vividly described aromas he detected: sage, violets, cola. Then he got co-owner Tim Meinkin on the phone to explain his transition from grape grower to winemaker – which happened suddenly when Sapphire Hill had harvested more grapes than their suppliers could handle and Meinkin had to either let the extra fruit rot or start making his own wine.

This kind of insider information is what makes KSVY’s coverage so appealing to listeners, from wine novices to experienced home chefs.

Sheana Davis, who owns the Epicurean Connection, has two shows -- “Culinary Pairings” and “Tastebuds.”

To uncover fresh pairing ideas, explains Davis, “I tend to interview producers (winemakers, cheese makers and brewers included) rather than chefs.”
A recent guest was Richard Robinson, whose company, Sonoma Organics, distributes produce and Sonoma cheeses. Davis, as usual, asked for recommendations for preparing the week’s freshest produce. In this case, it was pea shoots and arugula, which Robinson suggested putting together with some mushrooms.

“I encourage listeners to not just go by what the cookbook says,” said Davis. “I suggest they look in the refrigerator and start with what’s there. If you’ve got leftovers like greens, garlic and red onion, you could (use these things and) caramelize some balsamic vinegar and add it to pasta topped with cheese.”
Davis’s co-host on “Tastebuds” is Mark Mulcahey, who focuses on educating listeners about produce (how to pick, store and use).

For his show, “Epicurean Adventures,” Tom Rusert usually takes listeners directly to the source, whether it’s to Artisan Bakery to talk with Craig Ponsford or over to the East Bay to interview sausage guru Bruce Aidell in his own kitchen.
“Our subtitle is ‘on their own turf, in their own words,’” says Rusert, who anticipates future shows featuring Alice Waters, Michael Chiarello and Harold McGee, whose “On Food and Cooking” won a James Beard award.

Veteran food and travel writers Kathleen and Gerald Hill host “Travel with the Hills,” on which the subject matter is all over the map – literally.
“We like to say we do ‘Santa Barbara to Naramata (in western Canada)’,” explains Kathleen.
The Hills begin their one-hour segment with news blurbs and continue with coverage of destinations such as Carmel Valley, details about the crops of the week at the farmer’s market and upcoming local events, and/or interviews with guests who describe where they’ve been and what foods they enjoyed there.
These disparate programs are linked by subject matter, yet maintain distinct identities. Combined with the station’s other coverage, they help round out the spectrum of interests locals consider important.
Bill Hammett, who founded KSVY in February of 2004, said his original concept was to “bridge the Anglo-Hispanic gap in the Valley”.

“We wanted to have a community resource that might help pull people together, making city government and news directly available to native Spanish-speakers in our community,” said Hammett.
The station’s food and wine coverage, he said, is one reflection of the community’s interests.

KSVY also strives to meet the needs of the entire community by offering a wide range of programming.

From Spanish-language broadcasts, to live sport coverage and community-involved talk shows, there is something for everyone on KSVY.

Tom Russert, host of KSVY’s “Epicurean Adventure,” regularly takes listeners out of the studio and behind the scenes at many of Northern California’s top resturants, cooking schools and food suppliers.

“I encourage listeners to not just go by what the cookbook says...I suggest they look in the refrigerator and start with
what’s there.”

Sheana Davis
KSVY Radio Host

When to listen: