Page 175 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

sanctuary for them – and you.”
Calling Charlie’s Acres an animal shelter
is a little like calling foie gras chopped
liver. It’s more an all-inclusive luxury retire-
ment home for 150 very lucky farm ani-
mals. They’re pampered by at least 75
caretakers, mostly volunteers. Every resi-
dent has a name – and staffers are eager
to make introductions.
“Meeting animals is a form of wellness,”
Ord said. “We’ve pretty much got all of Old
MacDonald’s Farm here. They’re pleased to
meet you.”
Along with Gilbert, I met Petunia the pig
and her highfalutin’ cousin Minnie, a Hun-
garian wooly pig. There was Chico the
goat, Hombre the turkey, Seymour the
Rooster, Honey the Jersey cow and Ben-
jamin, her big baby boy.

When it rains, they pour

An atmospheric river targeted Sonoma
during the final days of my wellness cam-
paign, so I moved my game indoors: a
morning of olive oil tasting and afternoon
“high” tea offered by a Sonoma cannabis
tour operator.
I’ve done olive oil tasting before. The
Olive Press takes the experience to a whole
new level. The official tasting guide prom-
ises tastes of four award-winning extra vir-
gin olive oils. On the morning I visited, it
was that – and much more.
I learned that olives are fruit – and that
all the fruit that goes into The Olive Press
is grown within 150 miles of the mill, much
of it on their 40-acre orchard. The olives

Opposite and Top: Charlie’s Acres Farm
Animal Sanctuary. Right: Happy Travelers
“High” Tea Experience.

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