SxSWente

Friends,

I am fresh back from the SXSW music fest in Austin, Texas. And I am rejuvenated, inspired, impressed!

I was there thanks to the exquisite Heidi Richman, Program Director of Wente's Discover the Wine, Discover the Music campaign.

Founded in 1883 by C. H. Wente, Wente Vineyards is California's oldest family owned and continuously operated winery.

For more than twenty years, the Wente Family Concert Series has hosted headliner artists ranging from Ray Charles to Buena Vista Social Club at their stunning Livermore Valley ranch.

Discover the Wine, Discover the Music puts a new spin on the Wente Family's passion:

Spearheaded by Karl Wente -- fifth generation winemaker, fine musician and exceptionally evolved human -- the program pairs Wente's 100% estate-grown wines with breaking new artists in innovative ways. For example, neck tags on participating Wente wines include codes for free music downloads and info on how songs like Under the Influence of Giant's joyous "In the Clouds" pair with the crisp and honeysuckled notes of Wente's Riverbank Riesling; how Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh's
"We Hung the Moon" mesh with Wente's appley, oaky Morning Fog Chardonnay.

It's a program that sings to me in every sense. And I wanted to be part of Heidi's high-profile promoting of it, built on her years of experience and success, at SXSW.

After all, I impressed upon her, I can pop, open, pour, have been talking and writing about wine since long before it was legal for me to drink, and have not ceased from exploration. And somewhere in the midst of it all, I entered the music industry....

And so, happily, I was invited along for what has proved one of the most pleasurable rides of my life.

While I savored Wente's ripe, luscious Riva Ranch Chardonnay and their long, smooth Southern Hills Cabernet on the front porch of a gracious Garden Street home, Karl and fellow Front Porch singer/songwriter Megan Bradford played covers of my favorite songs (John Prine, Bob Dylan, Counting Crows, Tom Petty), introduced me to new ones (Brothers Lekas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tally Hall, John Gorka) and knocked my socks off with their own work.

On March 13, at The Moonshine Veranda, Wente treated musicians, industry execs, lifestyle and entertainment press to one of the most intoxicating blends of standout wines, spicy food and mellow tunes that it has ever been my privilege to experience.

And then, it was time to get on the bus!

The Wine Bus, that is -- festooned with Karl's image and his “Discover the Wine, Discover the Music” tag outside, and offering up a cool, acoustically correct, wine-laden lair within.

Karl, Megan, Simi Sernaker of Suffrajett and Jason Russo of Hopewell played music while we made our way to the hottest (and I’m talking 95 degrees that day) venues. At stops that ranged from the swank Whole Foods Lamar St. parking lot to the controlled chaos of Maria’s Taco Xpress, festival goers, fellow musicians and VIP press would get on board to play music, drink wine, conduct interviews and such. I popped, poured, talked about the wines that I had come to know and love, and held my own (that particular time).

Then my official "tour of duty" was over!

I was free to soak up all the strangeness and beauty that is SXSW (1500 bands, 400 films and an embarrassment of parties) in Austin, Texas (a town I love so much I could live there) in Spring (redbud, wisteria, birdsong, splendiferous beyond words).

Mostly, I hung out on the Garden Street front porch and imbibed all the Simi, Karl and Megan music I could.

I bought running shoes and cowboy boots, but spent my time barefoot.

It felt SO GOOD!

Flying home, I read an endnote that Kevin Smokler had written for Austin Chronicle:

“How Your South-By High Can Last Through the Rest of the Year:

Was it a dream? Where do I go from here? What’s this business card stuck to my toothbrush?

Where, in little changes or giant swings, can you draw on SXSW as the start of something new instead of just letting what happens in Austin stay in Austin?”

I think I know....

In significant (and not unSchrodingerlike) ways, I’m still on the bus, inside the music, drinking enough Wente for all of us.

And if they'll have me, I hope my Livermore friends will keep their corkscrews handy:

When next I can, I’ll wend my way West for more of their wine, music, kind.

Meantime, from my perch to their porch, I send admiration, appreciation, LOVE.

For me, this party is so not over! In fact, it’s just begun....

Schools, Food, Community

Friends,

I encourage you to join our group of practitioners, parents and advocates for Schools, Food and Community -- an inspiration and action-packed day and a half of panels, workshops, resources, entertainment and networking.

The program -- produced by Baum Forum and the Nutrition Program of Teachers College -- takes place on April ll and 12th at Teachers College of Columbia University, Broadway between 120 and 121st St.

It will focus on strengthening the resolve and ability of children to eat nutritious, fresh foods by:

* Connecting holistic food and nutrition messaging in our classrooms, cafeterias, after-school programs, homes, and neighborhoods

* Fostering relationships among children and their communities that focus on food, cooking, and gardening

* Exploring the nuts and bolts of cross-sector (i.e. health, education, food service, and agriculture) public and private collaborations

* Committing to actions we can take.

Last year's program sold out. So here's hoping you will register soon and looking forward to seeing you there!

Warmly,
Wendy

Leap Year!

Whatever you do with this year's LEAP DAY, may it hold leaps of faith, love, learning and life for you. And maybe a little wine, too?!

Renewable Returns!

As all of the domain names coming up for renewal reminds me, TODAY is the birthday of of Biodiesel Babes and The Renewables!

This day last year I fell in love with and almost "bought the farm" for to build and run a renewable dude ranch where folks like us could build solar sheds, brew biodiesel, tend vines, make wine, grow food, cook and dine together, see stars, work hard, sleep well.

EVERYTHING had its intended use -- the fields, pond, creek, stone walls, build lot, old house, smokehouse, artist's studio, historic barn. But what was that "Ponies Only" section out back? And what could it become? Perhaps it would be where kids make gimp lanyards while parents drink local whiskey and shoot skeet? Or better yet, where little ones generate electricity, learn about food chains, plant seeds and the like? Hmmmn....

Several reality checks and one big banking crisis later, I remain without land. But I've got lots of intellectual property and what I hope turns out to be a virally good idea.

In the realms of renewable energy, agriculture and life, we plan to host a series of Renewable Challenges -- contests that will:

* Educate about issues
* Spotlight solutions
* Give people the impetus and tools they'll use to be part of the solutions
* Encourage them to be juicy, creative and collaborative in their sharing of ideas and actions
* Showcase and celebrate the results

For example, how many farms and farmers' markets can we visit, and how vibrantly and profusely can we prove it -- online and in the real world, through video, photos, assorted artworks, recipes, poems, stories, songs? Where does our energy come from, and how can we make more it while using less? How can one man's trash become another's treasure? Which TV show or network most successfully campaigns against climate change?

Of course The Renewable Challenge we will start small and stay fresh.

But with your help, The Renewables: Thinkable is Doable can grow in all sorts of meaningful, wonderful ways.

For every good reason, we'd love your insight and could use your energy!

Meantime, I'm still wondering what "Ponies Only" means.

Warmly and looking forward,
Wendy

Still There!

Yesterday, I arrived in Ireland forJohn O'Donohue's memorial service. Lindaa and I drove from the airport to Co. Clare through snow so fresh that our tracks were the first. Later, we learned that Feb. 1 is also the first day of Irish Spring.

It found me remembering a favorite quote from Diana Kappel-Smith's Wintering:

"In the winter, everything out of doors seems to be gone. But...we know that nothing is gone, and that all the rich life of a June morning is out there on a January morning."

The Space Between Us? Blessings To, For, From John

In Tribute to Poet, Philosopher, Friend John O’ Donohue….
Jan. 1 1956 – Jan. 4 2008

Our last e-mail, on Jan. 1, was just Happy: Happy New Year! Happy New Book! Happy Birthday! Happy Everything!

I know he went Happy.

But all of us in his circles -- intimate, expanding, infinite -- are bereft.

On Jan. 4, we lost our beloved John O’Donohue.

Or have we? Because as John always said, “Nothing is ever lost or forgotten.”

And he gave us more to remember, think about, hope for and grow towards than anyone I know.

I had the privilege of working with him last year.

Amongst phone calls, e-mails, meetings, we had fun thinking, talking, laughing, drinking, challenging each others’ beliefs and expanding each others’ horizons.

John is a spiritual mystic, Irish philosopher, prolific writer, part-time farmer and former Catholic priest.

I am an urban, agnostic entrepreneur.

In the birthing of his latest book -- Benedictus (to be published as To Bless the Space Between Us in the U.S. this March) -- we talked a lot about love, life, death, and everything before, after and in between.

“The dead,” he would say, “are nearer than they seem.”

I could grasp this in the same way that my Dad lives on in me through DNA and jokes we tell...as well as from a particle physics perspective: “We are in the universe. And the universe is in us. Isn’t that enough?” (Neil DeGrasse Tyson)

But anything beyond that would have to seen to be believed....

“You’ll see," he would say, "In the Celtic landscape and all over. Someday....”

Who knew how soon someday would come?

I don’t usually ask for signs. Or see them when they're there, but....

On the night of Jan. 3, in a rare effort to clear clutter, I came upon obituaries, eulogies and wills from one branch of my family tree. I was moved beyond words...into that reverent space where the sadness of loss balances perfectly with the appreciation of presence.

I can’t put my finger on why, but on a train ride north, I read poems from Linda Pastan’s An Early Afterlife, and was struck by these lines:

“Why don’t we say good-bye right now
In the fallacy of perfect health
Before whatever is going to happen
Happens….”

Hours later, I received the devastating, unexpected news: John had died peacefully in his sleep while on holiday in the South of France. No further details were available.

Immediately, hearts all over the world went out from his group of friends, fans and colleagues...all of us to each other, and most of all to his family and Kristine. Sadness, memories, stories, love and consolation were shared in unbelievable concentration and constellations via e-mail, on the Internet, over the phone. Tributes went up…on www.johnodonuhue.com and elsewhere, from friends and colleagues like David Whyte, Gareth Higgins, Jesse Kornbluth and from venues he appeared at often, like Miriam's Well and Kripalu. We were able to hear his voice on NPR, BBC and elsewhere.

Those who could gathered in Ireland, where he was laid to rest. I took solace in the thought that two soul friends, Linda and Loretta, might be bookends that would bring true a line from John’s “Blessing for Death” from Anam Cara: “May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.”

Me? I drank whiskey in his honor, and prayed as best I could at the time...including for a sign.

Bizarrely (though I’m sure it wouldn’t have seemed so to him), a lovingly inscribed copy of Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, arrived on the day of his funeral: He had sent and meant it to be there by Christmas. But it had gone to a wrong zip...sitting at that post office for a bit before finding me at just the right time.

It was one more way for John to say: “You are never alone” -- a proof point of the paradox, merriment, bedevilment, fulfillment, embodiment, humor, joy and generosity that is John....

Almost all the words I can find to express my sadness and hope are in that book and his others.

If you haven’t already, I hope you will go to the sources to hear, read, share the soul-satisfying stuff he is made of.

Here, I’ll simply end with Stars, a poem that I hope brings comfort and that perfectly expresses what I've come to know and believe about the universe, those that we love in it, and the way they live on....

Stars

By Hannah Senesh

There are stars whose radiance is
visible on earth
though they have
long been extinct.

There are people whose brilliance
continues to light the world
though they are no
longer among us.

These lights are particularly
bright when the night is dark.

They light the way
for human kind.

Wishes...Shared & Squared

This year, instead of feeling guilty for cards mailed late, we decided to feel GREAT about hopes, dreams, and all things worth building.

We send you and yours wishes for a happy, healthy, hope-filled New Year.

And we encourage you to share your wishes, here and via Wishing Wall online, where HOPE can be sent up into cyberspace and rain down on the crowd (as confetti) gathered in Times Square.

On second thought, would that mean PAPER wasted?

More likely, just ink....

To ring in 2008, the organizers would have dropped the ball with same cofetti weight anyway. Now, your hopes can be written out, sent up, perhaps carried home in a pocket and/or shared with the world.

The "message in the bottle" is RENEWABLE....

Thinkable is Doable.

And YOU can be the proof!

The Renewables: Thinkable is Doable

Friends,

We live in interesting times. Amidst all-too-present proof of global warming, environmental degredation, energy insecurity and unstable food policies, awareness is rising. Momentum is building. Important changes are taking place. Take, for example, University of Maryland's Leaf House (shown above) from last month's Solar Decathlon and the burgeoning best-of-local movement that is connecting people with the land and farmers with consumers like never before.

In coming weeks, The Renewables: Thinkable is Doable will launch its Renewable Challenge so as to EDUCATE about issues, CREATE solutions, and CELEBRATE results.

In realms of renewable energy, agriculture and life, who did great things...and how? From Gregor Mendel (made peas), Mahatma Ghandi (waged peace), Helen Keller (saw possibilities) to Thomas Edison, Rudolph Diesel, Henry Ford, Marie Curie, Coretta Scott and Martin Luther King, Steven Jobs, Al Gore, Bette Midler and more...

How did they make their ideals real? How can you? And what kinds of rewards can be reaped for people and the planet by doing so -- from the power of being the change you want the world to see to...well all sorts of things!

Stay tuned! The Renewables: Thinkable is Doable is DUE SOON.

Brown...The New Green?!

FINALLY, the seaons are changing. It's Fall. BROWN is the new GREEN !!!

Celebrating Home Grown!

Friends,

Farm Aid has come to New York City! And there are many ways to join the festivities and to support local food, family farming clean-burning biodiesel and renewable everything in the process.

On Saturday, September 8, Farm Aid's Home Grown Festival will kick off at Union Square Greenmarket at 7:30 a.m., when the "Upstate - Downstate Food and Farm Caravan" -- loaded with fresh food and produce gathered during its week-long tour of of New York State -- arrives at farmer's market for to show off NY's Pride and fill up with more food from local farms.

Union Square Greenmarket will be at the height of its growing season -- made even more delicious and celebratory through cooking demonstrations and contests, the presence of local food and farming groups,
hands-on activities and live music.

I'll be there all day -- visiting old friends, meeting new ones, brainstorming the revival of FarmHands-CityHands and the launch of The Renewables, and hoping you'll e-mail me (wendy@biodieselbabes.com) so we can seek each other out in the square and share a long glass of something good.

Then, the Food and Farm Caravan makes its way to Randalls Island, where, On Sunday, September 9, 22-year-old Farm Aid Concert comes to New York for the first time, and for the first time at a major concert event, aims to serve 100 percent local, organic, humanely-raised and family-farmed food.

There are still tickets for noon - midnight concert, whose lineup includes Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellancamp and Dave Matthews and many more.

There's also a noon - 5 p.m. Home Grown Festival abounding with family farmers, great food, hands-on activities and more. I'll be brewing biodiesel with friends from Windfall Farms and Neely Green Solutions, listening to some of my favorite music, feasting...and very much hoping to see you there.