FEATURED FARM

Featured Restaurant and Farm: Carpe Vino and Four Tines Farm
10 Years Strong: Tried, True and Something New

For the last 10 years, pastry chef Courtney McDonald and executive chef Eric Alexander have brought the essence of the farm-to-fork movement to Placer County through the acclaimed restaurant, Carpe Vino, and they plan to continue doing so with their newest venture: Four Tines Farm.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this season, Carpe Vino is known for its distinguished fine dining and wine service. The husband-and-wife team behind its success is well known within the community, having picked their produce for Carpe Vino at the Auburn Farmers’ Market every Saturday for the past decade. Now ready to join the PlacerGROWN producer lineup, the couple has decided to open a farm stand of their own, complete with orchards, thriving vegetable gardens, and livestock.

What do you love most about living and working in Placer County?
In our eyes, this community is like a family. Everyone comes together to share their homegrown produce and truly exemplify the crop-to-tabletop way of life. We love doing our part by incorporating local food into Carpe Vino’s seasonal menu. It adds a personal, organic touch to the restaurant that is both recognized and valued.

 
What do you appreciate about the PlacerGROWN community?
The support we receive from farmers, business owners, and residents is remarkable. We’re all focused on the same goal, which is to better the lives of our neighbors throughout Placer County with healthy and sustainable food choices that come right from our own community.

 
What led you to opening the Four Tines Farm stand?
Because we enjoy sharing the abundance of delicious, locally sourced produce Placer County has to offer in our recipes, it felt natural to go a step further by providing produce to the public as well. With our new farm stand, we are excited to give back to the community that we love.

What seasonal produce will be available at Four Tines Farm?
As we kick-off the spring/summer season, you’ll find a fresh selection of rhubarb, fava beans, peony and sweet pea flower bouquets, and garden plant starters. We will continue offering new additions as the season changes, including olallieberries, cherries, plums, apricots, and much more.

 
What do you hope to be remembered for within the local community?
We want to bring people together and enjoy the local abundance of farm fresh produce by sharing high quality PlacerGROWN food. From our efforts with the farm stand and our work in the restaurant, we want to leave a legacy that reinforces the farm fresh movement.

Located at the family ranch on 9140 Mount Vernon Road in Auburn, the homegrown produce will be available to the community every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning on Mother’s Day, May 8th. The seasonal farm stand will remain open until the season ends in January 2017.

 
To stay in the loop on the farm stand’s latest produce, follow Four Tines Farm on Facebook and visit the Four Tines Farm website. For more details on PlacerGROWN farmers’ markets, visit PlacerGROWN.org/farmers-markets.