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Landmark Vineyards, 101 Adobe Canyon Rd., Kenwood, CA 95452.
Tel:707-833-0053 landmarkwine.com
Can anything be sweeter than
gingerbread during the winter holidays? Yes, say the vintners in
Sonoma Valley, who have taken their love of good food, fun and
friendly competition to new heights with their Gingerbread Winery
Contest. Concocting some of the best recipes, then shaping
fresh-made gingerbread into spectacular miniature winery creations,
they invite visitors to view their handiwork and vote on the best
designs. Candy cane windows, sugar-coated trees, blue icing
lakes and marshmallow snowmen planted on coconut snow are a few of
the touches that delight guests who venture out to participating
Sonoma wineries for this annual event that quickly became a favorite
in less than a year.
The stakes were high when
Gingerbread Winery Contest was first introduced in 2006. Landmark
Vineyards took home the award for best Gingerbread Winery after
applying information from the actual blueprints used to construct
their Spanish mission-style winery facilities. You would expect
nothing less from the likes of architect Gavin Holzapfel, who
co-owns the winery with his wife, Deana. Shown above is Landmark's
entry for the 2007 contest.
Getting by with a little help
from their friends, Landmark Vineyards proprietors decided the event
would be even sweeter with the added touches of Becoming Independent,
a non-profit agency offering vocational skills for independent
living. Disabled individuals in the program were given helping
hands, through “hand over hand instruction” from staff members who
assisted clients place finer details such as candy rocks, flowers, and
window casing placements on the gingerbread structure. The
organization's staff and Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Becoming
Independent, Leah Ronald, enjoyed learning about gingerbread houses
and especially like the fact that all items placed on the entry had to be
edible.
The contest, itself, was initially created as a
light-hearted contest between two friends. Word of the concept
quickly spread and the event became the Gingerbread Winery
Contest. From the chefs who
bake the gingerbread (it took 30 pounds of gingerbread to make
the creation shown in the photo above,) to the staff and community
partners such as Becoming Independent, many are impressed not only
by the creations, but by the
teamwork that goes into making a gingerbread structure.
Judged on appearance, creativity,
difficulty and precision, the buildings must be made entirely of
hand-made gingerbread. They can be built to any size or scale, and
Landmark's entry is big. In addition to the large sum of
gingerbread, it took over four weeks, 60 lbs of royal icing and 10
pairs of hands to build the edible winery. Chocolate graham crackers
were used for roof tiles, fruit roll ups for windows, and sugar
cones and green belt sour candy for Christmas trees. A beautiful,
snow covered vineyard was created with pretzels and royal icing.
In addition to seeing the
Landmark Vineyards masterpiece on display, you can sample and
purchase wines that make great gifts for Christmas. The first place
winner of the Gingerbread Winery Contest and the winner of the
raffle will be announced on January 8, 2007.
Other participating wineries
include Benziger Family Winery, Castle Vineyards & Winery, Chateau
St. Jean, Cline Cellars, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves, Kaz Vineyard
& Winery, Landmark Vineyards, Nicholson Ranch, and Sebastiani
Vineyards & Winery.
Another special gift you can give
during the holidays is support for a worthy organization. Becoming
Independent serves nearly 1,100 people throughout Sonoma, Napa, and
Solano Counties. Becoming Independent provides services to any
person with a developmental disability who asks for them, regardless
of the level of their disability. Becoming Independent teaches
people how to cook, work, read, pay bills, balance a checkbook,
resolve a difference, groom, change a diaper, ride public
transportation, talk to a teen-and so much more. Becoming
Independent provides opportunities to gain the skills needed to be a
valued and valuable member of the community.
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