04/21 CHEF SARAH PENROD, THE URBAN COWGIRL, DAVID PARRISH, PARRISH FAMILY VINEYARDY

CHEF SARAH PENROD - AUTHOR, THE URBAN COWGIRL: DECADENTLY SOUTHERN, OUTRAGEOUSLY TEXAS, FOOD, TRADITIONS AND STYLE FOR MODERN LIFE

Sarah is best known as the resident “Texpert” on Food Network Star season 10, where she won fans nationwide with her bold flavors and equally bold personality. (Co-host Bobby Flay called her a “walking sound-bite.”)

As Sarah explains it, most of us have a little “Urban Cowgirl” in us – we love comfort food and country flavors, but sometimes we like to add a little big-city style. We read Saveur or Bon Apetit, but our favorite recipes were hand-written on index cards by our grandmothers. We cherish our culture and traditions, but we know that we can – and do – add our own modern twists.

Urban Cowgirl: Decadently Southern, Outrageously Texan, Food, Family Traditions, and Style for Modern Life

Celebrating the modern Southern culture, country chic lifestyle, and spitfire attitude of the city cowgirl… the cowgirl in heels.

Part cookbook, part how-to and inspirational guide for the modern city girl with Southern roots and a cowgirl attitude, Urban Cowgirl features Sarah Penrod’s unique outlook and point of view—as shared with viewers on the Next Food Network Star. Her approach is to take classic Southern and Texas foods and ingredients and traditions like the tailgate and give them a new twist with her personal brand of sparkle and shine. Her recipes for family dinners and girls’- nights- in all come with her own special touch and her outsized personality.

Urban cowgirls appreciate Southern big city lifestyle, but don’t let the high heels and designer dresses fool you. These girls will celebrate their heritage, acknowledge their cultural roots, and build from traditional values, with a smile on their face and a glass of sweet tea in their hand. They may have a designer coffee table littered with gourmet cooking magazines , but the recipes they hold most dear are third generation, handwritten, kitchen love letters from a grandmother they may have never even met.

WWW.SARAHPENROD.COM
WWW.URBANCOWGIRLLIFE.COM


DAVID PARRISH - OWNER & WINEMAKER, PARRISH FAMILY VINEYARD 

Winemaker, David Parrish, graduated from UC Davis with a degree majoring in Biology with a Chemistry/Math minor taking several courses in Winemaking. Years later, Dr. Mark Kliewer, the head of the UC Davis Viticulture Department, contacted David to inquire about a research project for different trellis styles in the wine grape industry. David agreed to do a 5-acre trial, which was a success. Commercial growers from Napa Valley, who wanted to use his expertise, then contacted David and he agreed to meet with them. He found himself in the company of Robert Mondavi, a giant of the wine industry, among others. At the time, they were hoping to turn Napa into the world quality wine region that it is known for today, by improving the quality of their grapes using David’s trellis system. David has been growing his own vineyard since 1995, and producing his own wine since 2004. He is someone that truly knows every step of the winemaking process.

HISTORY:
Atascadero was intended to be built as a utopian community with agricultural sustainability. That’s what EG Lewis had in mind, when he purchased 27,000 acres in the Atascadero/Paso Robles area.  Lewis called upon a man named Earl Henderson, who was farming in the San Joaquin Valley at the time, to be the viticulturist managing the acreage set aside for wine grape production. With great success, Earl planted and managed approximately 740 acres of wine grapes that consisted of Alicante, Charbon, Petit Syrah, and Zinfandel (the Zinfandel cuttings were purchased from the Paderewski Ranch).  Unfortunately, no one could foresee two major problems that would lead to the collapse of this new fledgling industry: U.S. Prohibition and the Great Depression.  Although Earl was able to sell his grapes privately to individuals who could make their own wine, he was unable to have a commercial winery.  He and his wife, Katie, settled in Atascadero calling it home, raising their kids, and watching the next generations grow.

Fast forward 70 years, and David Parrish, Henderson’s grandson, was living a similar dream with his own vineyard in the foothills outside Atascadero. Like his grandfather, he didn’t fall into the winemaking world; he was called to it.  However, it wasn’t until one evening, sharing a bottle of wine with his brother, overlooking the vineyard, that David considered the possibility of taking it a step further than their grandfather ever could: opening their own winery.  The Parrish Family took the leap!  The family began producing their boutique wine in 2004 and later opened a tasting room to the public in 2011.  In memory of their grandfather, the family has named one of their labels, P.O. Box 1, since Earl and Katie Henderson had the first P.O. Box in Atascadero.

CREEK RESTORATION:
Parrish Family Vineyard is very excited to work with the San Luis Obispo Resource Conservation District (RCD) in the restoration of the Adelaida Creek on our Adelaida Vineyard Property! The creek bed has been donated to the County of San Luis Obispo for the work. The restoration will lead to the planting of about 600 native plants, which will help with the rehabilitation of the water aquifer and slow erosion. The work will begin in early November 2016.

Thanks to the RCD, California Conservation Corp, and AmeriCorps’ Environmental Stewards for their work!

WWW.PARRISHVINEYARDS.COM