Fleeting faculties
Most people have been affected by it one way or another—a loved one begins to struggle with memory loss or a friend of the family shares their experience with their own parent vacillating between the tragic decline of dementia and moments of clarity.
For some,...
Tools to thrive
Patrick Ellis was at a crossroads, his future hanging in the balance. Having been expelled from San Benito High School and San Andreas Continuation School, Ellis ended up at Pinnacle Court Community School during his sophomore year. Ellis, who is the executive director of...
Got vegetables?
After all the work home gardeners have done preparing garden beds, pulling weeds and irrigating, summer is normally a time of plenty. Plenty to harvest, plenty to store, and what on earth are you going to do with all those zucchini?
You can make the...
Fair time nostalgia
County fairs and state fairs are in full swing by this time of the summer. I am planning on attending one to try what sounds like a horrible, wonderful treat, the deep-fried Twinkie or, even better, the deep-fried Oreo. I keep hearing how delicious...
Wine Faux Pas
Swirling too hard. And spilling it all over.
Putting ice cubes in your wine. Place the bottle in a bucket of ice or try liquid-filled stainless steel “ice-cubes” or even frozen red or green grapes—so as not to dilute your wine.
Mispronouncing Meritage....
Herbal Infusion
By the time Sara Steiner’s custom-made, herbal tea blends reach various farmers markets in the Bay Area, they will have gone through the most rigorous testing standards—Steiner’s palate.
“I’m more critical than the people drinking it,” says Steiner, who is the owner of San Benito...
Horsetail Falls
Homeward bound on US Highway 50, around a bend just a fistful of miles west of Echo Summit, Horsetail Falls appeared through my windshield with sudden grandeur. At that very corner, the narrow conifer-clad landscape widened into a sweep of bright granite carved millennia...
Martin Ranch produces complementary blends
The lushest and most scenic of our region, Martin Ranch Winery is the Garden of Eden of wineries. Complete with its own pond, vegetable garden and acres of vineyards, the winery is tucked among the green hills which surround them.
Like their award-winning wines, Therese...
Luxury retreat in the foothills of Gilroy
Tucked away at the end of South County’s wine trail against the Santa Cruz mountains, this is the personal residence of a renowned local custom home builder. The privacy and serenity of this 1.67-acre property are matched only by the home’s incredible finish work...
Boredom busters
It’s the final stretch of summer break and school is starting up soon, but the season is not over yet.
Though summer camps are coming to a close and the children are bored at home, there’s still plenty do right here in the South Valley...












