08/27/2026
This week, we celebrated the bounty of our culinary gardener with a special luncheon featuring Aaron Keefer, our master gardner, and Chef Elliot Bell from in St. Helena. The two once worked together as a chef-and-gardner team at the French Laundry. Today, they manage Charlie’s Garden at Spring Mountain Vineyard, where they carefully plant and harvest specialty produce for Charlie’s restaurant.
Chef Elliot cooked the meal en plein air, with the produce moving less than 100 ft from our garden - to the chef - to the table. Their craft was on full display, from heirloom varieties selected by Keefer, to Bell’s flawless (and delicious) ex*****on of flavor combinations. Blistered peppers, roasted summer squash, nasturtium pesto, marinated cucumbers, and the tastiest kale salad ever, topped with lemon zest from our orchard. Each course was served with Spring Mountain Vineyard w**es, including our 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, 2024 Chardonnay, 2022 Chateau Chevalier Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 2022 Resurrection. Such a treat!
Visit our blog for the full story - https://www.springmountainvineyard.com/chronicles/farm-to-table
**elunch **eandfood