"The event starts with the food," says Amy Ludwick of Grapevine Catering Company. The Guerneville-based, husband and wife outfit specializes in rustic Wine Country food with a Southern influence. "We're from North Carolina and Grapevine was built with our heritage in mind...that, and a Wine Country influence. "Chris and I started it together nine years ago, but he did all of the work!" Amy Jokes. Chris was the chef de cuisine at The Girl and the Goucho. They closed their doors and later opened Girl and the Fig in Sonoma. And Grapevine really started on a whim, rather naturally. Amy says, "Our philosolphy is farm to table— we create menus that are seasonal and as local as possible."
"We are a small, boutique company. We don't take on thousands of wedding. We want to control the quality of the food and service. Our clients are local {Petuluma and Sonoma}, and mostly from San Francisco, New York and Chicago." Grapevine also offers gourmet wedding favors and gifts that are hand-crafted using the finest natural ingredients. "We vow to provide our clients with event favors and/or gifts that are of excellent quality, have value, and truly say thank you to your guests." From jams, seasoned nuts and honey varietals, each favor has the option of purchasing a personalized label with the couple's name, wedding date and a choice of label style. 
What inspires you about living in Wine Country when it comes to farm fresh food and dining? This area is such a treasure trove of ingredients. I can aquire almost any ingredient that I need to produce and execute our menus. The Wine Country is also very inspirational for it's beauty. I have the pleasure of working everyday in a place where people visit and vacation all the time.
How can you tailor a couple's menu to reflect the Wine Country? Using seasonal and local produce is the first step in creating a Wine Country themed menu. I love it when a couple wants to design their menu based on what is ready to be picked the week of their wedding. I can speak directly to farmers and they will deliver it fresh to our kitchen. Nothing tastes better then freshly picked produce that is ripe and ready to eat. Full of flavor and just delicious!
What should a couple keep in mind when creating a menu for an autumn wedding? Keep in mind that some ingredients may cross over from summer into autumn. September and the beginning of October is so much fun for produce.
What is the most creative menu you've worked on lately? Some creative twists on menu ideas we have done are mini hamburgers with fries served with mini milk shake shots; Cherry Jubilee Station—this bride loved cherries jubilee and wanted the flambé' action; Classic NY favorites as hors d'oeuvres like mini reuben sandwiches, bagel chips with smoked salmon and pigs in a Bbanket and mini grilled cheeses with shots of tomato soup; Paella Station with homemade Chorizo was fun and an authentic Southern Italian menu. The bride was a chef so she worked directly with me on her vision and menu. This one was a lot of fun to cook.
Any fun ideas for food stations? Action/Food Stations are so much fun for the client and the guests attending. A few of our favorites:
Risotto Station: Large Parmesan wheel cut out to make a bowl filled with freshly cooked risotto. Guests can select from an array of accoutrements to make their own version of risotto. Guests just love it. P
Regionally Themed Menus: We have some great menus that are based on regions. For example having a Wine Country station, a Southern station, Spanish station, Midwest Station, Asian Station, Tuscan Station. The list can go on and on.
Dessert Station: Mini desserts, mini milk shakes, mini cookies and shots of hot chocolate, s‘mores station, pie bars, sundae bars. The possibilities are endless on what a couple can do for a food station or for that their wedding menu. Just have fun with it
If you could have anyone cook you dinner and dine with you, tell us who and what’s on the menu? Chef Jan Birnbaum of Epic Roast House in San Francisco. We will have pork and duck on the menu. I had the pleasure of working for Jan at his Calistoga restaurant Catahoula for a couple of years and was really inspired by his creative cuisine as well as the southern influence that he incorporates into the food.
In three words...Grapevine Catering is....Local, Seasonal, Delicious
Grapevine Catering Company is a member of The Collection Event Studio. Shop Grapevine Wedding Favors here.
{Photography by Julie Mikos, Ken Buck, Briana Marie, Maria Aufmuth, Sherman Chu, Bret Cole}
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 5:00AM 
Handwritten notes are the best. And penning a letter to a friend on a hand illustrated, hand painted card is a whole lot of lovely stuffed into one envelope! That's why we simply adore Kate's Paper Goods shop on Etsy. Her style? Whimsical and sweet, cheerful and feminine -- all perfectly painted, printed and packaged up for you.
Succulent note cards are so cute you could frame them! And sunny greetings like "I Think You're Just Swell" are a perfect just because card. But we think Kate's chalkboard tags might be her claim to fame:
Are you in love? These painted chalkboard tags (and the clipboard!) would make great gifts for your bridesmaids, to tie onto a birthday or housewarming gift, or to use as labels at your next shower or party! For all of these and more, shop Kate's Paper Goods here.
