From a November 2008 Travel + Leisure article on “Great Hotel Mini-Bars” by Stirling M. Kelso:
“Forget peanuts and M&M’s. We scoured the globe for great in-room treats that really give you a sense of where you are. California: Nana Mae’s heirloom apple juices … are free in-room items at Napa Valley’s Calistoga Ranch.”

Nana Mae's apple juice is proudly served at some of the finest Bay Area establishments, including the Martini House in St. Helena, Cyrus Restaurant, in Healdsburg, the Auberge Resorts and Plumpjack properties.

Nana Mae's may also be found in Bay Area Whole Foods Markets and independent grocers, as well as cafes, restaurants, and fine coffee shops.

The Kollings make their lemonade from fresh-squeezed Meyer lemons. This old-fashioned-style lemonade has a wonderful aroma and delicious balance of sweet and tart flavors.

One of the unique Nana Mae products is organic Indian Chai-Spiced Date/Apple Sauce. The tasty surprise is that they have spiced their sauce with the traditional brew of Chai Baba Chai—without the tea.

Nana Mae’s Organics was honored to be a delegate from the Russian River Convivium of Slow Food to “Terra Madre” in Turin, Italy in 2006, where 1600 food communities from 5 continents met to share experiences and discuss the development of a new concept of agriculture and good, clean and fair food.
 
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Nana Mae's Organics

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Contact: Kendra Kolling
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Phone: 707-829-7359
Fax: 707-829-7356
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  Nana Mae's Organics


Kids in an apple tree with apples in their cheeks. That is what the family looks like who makes Nana Mae’s Organics. Paul and Kendra Kolling and their children all contribute to the family business.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the saying goes, and the Kolling children are the great-grandchildren of Nana Mae, Paul’s late grandmother for whom the juices and sauces are named. Nana Mae loved Gravensteins, which many people consider the perfect apple with its distinctive harmony of sweet and tart, juicy and refreshing. This wonderful flavor is captured in Nana Mae’s Gravenstein juice and sauce.

Paul is a farmer who has taken an unusual approach. He plants, tends and harvests over 400 acres all over apple-famous Sonoma County. The orchards are owned by over 100 landowners and range in size from half an acre to 30 acres, from the northern hills around Cloverdale to the original Luther Burbank orchards in western Sonoma County. To bring out the best in both the orchards and the fruit, Paul has carefully chosen the particular apple varieties most suited to plant in each location. Paul dubs himself a nomadic farmer. “I’m like an Indian going back to his annual harvest areas.”

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Paul has been an organic farmer for almost 30 years, and he practices sustainable agriculture on all the land under his care. These efforts help keep both the historic apple orchards and agricultural diversity alive in Sonoma County. His philosophy can be summed up in a short statement: “I want to encourage the trees to do what they do naturally with as little interference as possible.”

The twenty-five varieties of heirloom apples that Paul dry farms give him a palette similar to a winemaker’s from which to blend, and as with wine, each vintage is unique. The characteristics of the orchards—soils, minerals, sun exposure, weather—also contribute distinctive flavors. There are variations even on one tree. “Apples on the sunny side of the tree may have a different flavor than apples on the shady side of the same tree,” Paul says.

Paul picks these heirloom fruit at their peak, when they are not just ripe but fully mature, which may take a week or two longer on the tree. Knowing when to pick—and being willing to wait—is why Nana Mae’s juices and sauces are so layered with old fashioned flavors.

Kendra explains the family’s dream, “We’re building Nana Mae’s for our children, our community and our future.”

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