In 2014, Lynette Sonne founded FarmsteadEd, an organization whose goal is not just to get people to buy locally made products, but to see the small farms and ranches where the goods are grown and made. This is what’s called “agritourism,” and it has its spiritual home in Italy, where staying overnight on a farm and experiencing its culture up close bonds visitors to the work being done there in a special way. I had met Lynette several times in the past, and knew that FarmsteadEd had developed a SLO County Farm Trail for visitors to use, but I really saw her efforts up close during the 2023 Open Farm Day, wherein small family farms along the trail opened their gates to the public. That day, my son and I made tea in the garden at Niner Wine Estates, tasted olive oil at Olea Farm, learned about the honey-collecting process at Sierra Honey Farm, and swooned over lavender at Hambly Lavender Farm. Recently, Lynette’s also taken on the role of Executive Director with the Paso Robles Distillery Trail, so she knows a thing or two about the food and drink landscape of the Central Coast.
Websites: pasoroblesdistillerytrail.com / farmsteaded.com
Instagram: @farmsteaded / @pasoroblesdistillerytrail
Two Broads Ciderworks, Maggie Przybylski + Morgan Murphy, San Luis Obispo
Dr. David Cleveland, Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara
Hatch Rotisserie + Della‘s owner Maggie Cameron, Paso Robles, California
Mushroom hunter Dennis Sheridan, Los Osos, California
Hearst Castle, Dr. Amy Hart + Tara Stephenson, San Simeon
Village builder Roberto Monge, San Luis Obispo
Wine + food critic Stephen McConnell, Avila Beach, California
SLO Food Systems Coalition, Ellen Burke + Claire Tuohey-Mote, San Luis Obispo
Castoro Cellars + Bethel Rd. Distillery + Whale Rock Music Festival, Paso Robles, California
Home cook Vincent Rodriguez, Hesperia, California
Six Test Kitchen, Ricky Odbert + Matt Corella, Paso Robles, California
Lincoln Market & Deli owners Becky + Mike Hicks, San Luis Obispo, CA
Rancher Elizabeth Poett, “Ranch to Table,” Lompoc, CA
Whiskey & June owner Daniel Green, Atascadero
Farmhouse Corner Market chef/owners Will + Kari Torres, San Luis Obispo
Beda’s Biergarten owner Beda Schmidthues, San Luis Obispo
Lonely Palm Ranch photographer + homesteader, Christa Pfleeger, Arroyo Grande, CA
Filmmakers/photographers Carter + Veronika Hiyama, Sundae Cereal + Datsu Films, Santa Barbara, CA
Certified herbalists Angela-Sarah North + Sadie Rogers, San Luis Obispo, CA
Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, Arcenio Lopez, Santa Maria + Oxnard, CA
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