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
McConnell’s Ice Creams, Michael Palmer, Santa Barbara, CA
Topa Topa Brewing Company, Jack Dyer, Ventura
Life coach + SLO County Farm Bureau, Kiah Twisselman Burchett + Brent Burchett, Carissa Plains
The Range owners Jeff, Lindsay, + Jade Jackson, Santa Margarita
Beth Vukmanic, Program Director + fitness influencer, Vineyard Team/SIP Certified + Bethercize, San Luis Obispo, CA
Jill Hammond + Joey Baxter, owners, Farm & Harvest + The Howdy, Los Osos, CA
Messermeister Premium Kitchen Knives, Chelcea Dressler-Crowley + Kirsten Dressler-Wilson, vice presidents, Ojai
Corazón 805 Tacos, Pedro Arias Lopez and Crescencio Villar, San Luis Obispo, CA
Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffet, author, The Spirit of Wine, San Luis Obispo, CA
Libbie Agran, founder, Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County, San Luis Obispo,CA
Benny’s Pizza, Ben Arrona, San Luis Obispo
Winemaker Samra Morris, Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Buellton, California
Heather Daenitz, founder and podcaster, Craft & Cluster, Orcutt, California
Stephy Terrizzi, viticulturist, Giornata Wines, Paso Robles, California
Robin Puricelli, sommelier and winemaker, Locura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, California
Sonja Magdevski, winemaker and owner, Casa Dumetz, Clementine Carter, The Feminist Party Wines, Los Alamos, California
Alondra Torres, vineyard management supervisor, Coastal Vineyard Services, Santa Maria, California
R.H. Drexel, wine writer and publicist, Atascadero, California
Sharde Shepherd, cellarmaster, Santa Barbara County, California
Riley Roddick, winemaker and owner, Hubba Wines, Paso Robles, California
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