Petaluma winery series highlights Latino culture

Entering a stone cave, guests walked 500 feet through aging barrels — roughly 250 of them — to the tasting room of Petaluma’s Keller Estate.

Upstairs they were met with a cooking demonstration, replete with grills, a tortilla press and plenty of masa (corn flour).

The first in a series of events to highlight Latino culture, “The Mighty Tortilla” in mid-April offered a glimpse into how to cook home-made tortillas. It was a prelude to a three-course lunch with Mexican dishes paired with Keller wines.

The series, which unfolds through October, includes: “The Mighty Tortilla,” July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 8; “Flamenco on the Plaza,” June 29; and “Día de Muertos Fiesta,” Oct. 19.

“With this series we want to share the diversity and richness of the Latin culture and the many expressions of art, food and a good life,” explained vintner Ana Keller.

As for the hands-on cooking demonstration, Keller said, “There’s nothing like touching and doing to understand a process. So many times, we buy a bag of tortillas and eat them mindlessly. By making high-quality tortillas, touching the dough, you not only appreciate the process, but the tortilla itself.”

Homemade tortillas

Leading the cooking demonstration, Keller Estate Events Manager Claudia Little mixed masa, water and a pinch of salt to create the tortilla dough.

Vineyard guests gathered around Little, who is well-versed in the culinary art of making Mexican food, as she pressed the tortillas and then cooked them.

“I’ve been making tortillas with my mom for 50 years,” Little said. “Tortillas are simple, but you can see I have a lot of equipment on the table. Tortillas should be easy, but I have tips and tricks for making them better.”

In the lunch that followed, Ana Keller talked about how many Mexican dishes are an ideal match for wine. She pointed out that the Ceviche Tostada, which features fresh Mahi Mahi, marinated in lime juice with other fresh ingredients, mirrors the crisp flavors and citrus notes in the Keller Estate’s Oro de Plata Chardonnay.

“Mexican cuisine is very diverse and often times can be very spicy,” she said. “I think people have gravitated to other drinks such as beer as their cleansing choice. But many moles and ceviches have subtle flavors that are magical with wine.”

Deborah Weinstein, a guest from Los Gatos, said she was particularly fond of the ceviche and chardonnay duo.

“It’s a very different chardonnay because it’s not aged in oak and the ceviche really plays well with the bright citrus in the wine,” Weinstein said. “That was also prepared with the blue corn tortillas, which I love.”

The Collection Room

A stone’s throw from the tasting room is a place coined the Collection Room and it’s where lunch was served.

This spot offers a rotating display of vintage cars that date back anywhere from 1900 to 1960. About a dozen cars lined the room, providing a kind of frame to the tables that stand in the middle of the room. One of the most notable cars was a black 1910 Ford Model-T.

Keller said her father — the late Arturo Keller who founded the winery — was a car collector. Born and raised in Mexico City, he was 18 years old when he was mesmerized by the Pan America Race.

After the 2,178-mile north-south Mexican section of the Pan-American Highway was completed in 1950, a nine-stage, five-day race across the country was organized by the government to attract international business. The 1950 race ran almost entirely along the new roadway.

Keller told guests her father’s backstory, his journey from cars to wine, in-between dishes.

Following his passion, Arturo created a factory in Mexico City in 1958. He produced car seats and supplied them to the top five automakers operating in Mexico and in the United States: General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, and Nissan.

Coming to America in the late 1970s, Arturo settled on what is now Keller Estate in 1983.

With its rolling vineyards, this sprawling 600-acre parcel is nestled in the Petaluma GAP American Viticultural Area AVA. He planted the first vineyard in 1989 and started producing wine in 2000.

Here, Keller said, her father enjoyed wine and cars in equal measure.

“Dad loved elegance, grace and style,” she added. “He said cars age well here (like wine) because there’s not too much humidity.”

The vintner said she’s reminded of his presence constantly on their “piece of paradise.”

Welcoming vibe

There’s a warmth in this culture, one of sharing with family and friends, Weinstein said.

She said she felt like part of the Keller family for a day, basking in a beautiful setting with the wisteria outside the dining area in full bloom.

“Ana Keller was so very welcoming and told us great stories about her father,” she said, referring to the race car enthusiast turned car collector.

Little, Keller’s events manager, encouraged guests to tell others about the upcoming events in the winery’s featured series – “The Mighty Tortilla,” “Flamenco on the Plaza” and “Dia de Los Muertos.” (kellerestate.com)

Due to popular demand, the winery is duplicating “The Mighty Tortilla” with these three additional events: Sundays 1 to 3 p.m. on July 14, Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. The price is $125 per person.

For those who prefer dance to cooking, “Flamenco on the Plaza” will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 29, $95 per person.

There will be a guitar performance followed by flamenco dancing, coupled with Keller Estate wines and a Spanish-inspired grazing board.

And for the sentimental looking for a heart-warming experience, the “Dia de Los Muertos Fiesta“ will take place 3 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, with price to be determined.

A tribute to life, this tradition celebrates the departed. The winery plans to build a community altar by sharing framed pictures of loved ones and offerings. Keller Estate wines will be served with traditional bites.

“We know people say we’re a hidden gem,” Little said, “but we don’t want to be too hidden because diamonds die in the dark.”

You can reach wine writer Peg Melnik at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @pegmelnik.