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BlueBook Jan '09

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Vallerga's Market Newsletter

“I go out walkin’…after mid-night…”—a great Patsy Cline song. It should be my theme song. When I get to the Produce Market just after midnight, I go walkin’, searching for the best produce I can find.

Sometimes, when I search for a specialty or exotic item, the first place I look is Bay Area Herbs and Specialties (meet the sales team in the photo below). For about 20 years now, Bay Area Herbs and Specialties have been supplying Vallerga’s with the finest specialty produce available. It is there I find freshly bunched herbs, including locally grown fresh basil; many kinds of baby greens and baby mixed greens; edible flowers of every kind; luscious strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries; sprouts for sandwiches and salads; heirloom tomatoes; meyer lemons; exotic wild mushrooms of all kinds; Italian, Japanese and specialty eggplant; pearl onions; cippolini; sweet organic mini-tomatoes of every kind; and other hard to find specialty items.Here is an example of how Vallerga’s works with Bay AreaHerbs and Specialties.

I often call Glenn Sears (center in the photo)—or he calls me—to find out what fresh strawberries (or blueberries) are coming the next morning that I may be interested in. Glenn has vast knowledge and experience with the different varieties of strawberries, and over the years has developed a great relationship with many of the best strawberry growers both locally and in Southern California. As a result, I am aware of what brand and variety of strawberry will be there before they even get there. This helps me to pin down the best quality for this item for my midnight-on market search. At my request, Glenn will call his growers and nail down a guaranteed price for the following week, which will allow us to advertise them at a lower price. This results in the best quality at the best price.

Bay Area Herbs and Specialties brings in fresh gourmet produce from all over the world. Sometimes we find star fruit from Taiwan, white asparagus from Peru, berries from New Zealand, cherries from British Columbia, fresh herbs from Israel and Colombia, baby squashes from Guatemala, and chanterelle mushrooms from Serbia.

I am in constant communication with the sales team there. Sometimes my Bluetooth headset alerts me on the way to the market that something very special just arrived. That is when I go walkin’ after midnight right to Bay Area Herbs and Specialties first before stopping anywhere else, to check it out in person, and buy the item before they are all sold to another buyer. Then we bring them back to you in Napa.