The teenage child of two tech executives has been reported missing in California, according to authorities.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr founder Caterina Fake, was reported missing by Fake on Monday. Mint’s pronouns are they/them.
Fake told police she last saw Mint around 10 p.m. Monday at their home in Bolinas, a coastal city roughly 30 miles from San Francisco. According to police, Fake realized the next morning that Mint was not at home, and discovered a note indicating Mint had left with a suitcase at some point late in the night or early in the morning.
The sheriff’s office says it is unclear how Mint left the area, as they did not have access to a vehicle or phone. Police said Fake and Mint also share a home in San Francisco, and Fake indicated that Mint may have left for the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.
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“At this time, we have no information to believe that Mint was taken against their will. The sheriff’s office is considering Mint a voluntary-missing juvenile, who is ‘at-risk’ due to a reported previous threat of suicide,” the sheriff’s office said in the news release.
The sheriff’s office said it is working in collaboration with the San Francisco Police Department and that detectives from both agencies have attempted to find Mint, but have been unable to locate them.
Anyone with information related to the whereabouts of Mint are asked to call the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at 415-479-2311 or email tips@marinsheriff.org.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
For International Sauvignon Blanc Day, look to the Golden State for bottles that are both splurges and bargains, but all very tasty.
Sauvignon Blanc has firm footing in California
Producers
Everyone knows California for its Cabernet Sauvignons, but did you know about its other Sauvignon?
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The grape’s spiritual home may be in France (Bordeaux, Loire Valley), but it’s fasting finding footing in the Golden State. Sauvignon Blanc was first planted in California in the Livermore Valley in the 19th century and today is the fourth leading white grape variety in the state, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy group for the Californian wine industry. After being at a plateau for several years, California producers crushed 160,834 tons of the grape in 2023, a 22.7% increase from 2022, and representing an all-time high since 1990, when the data were first reported.
The 2023 edition of the Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the U.S. Wine Industry Reportreported Sauvignon Blanc was the only variety that did not experience a downward trend, instead, increasing in growth by 1.5%.Shanken’s IMPACT Databank, a wine and spirits industry monitor, reported sales of wine made from the zesty grape rose 1.2 percent to 16.6 million cases in 2022.
Having some FOMO because you’re still drinking from elsewhere? Fear not! Here are a few bottles to get you started on International Sauvignon Day.
Arkenstone Estate Reserve 2017, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. This estate reservewas well worth the trouble I had opening it, chipping away at its wax seal with tools usually used for household repairs. But, once accomplished, it was a deep, rich, opulent wine of honied yellow fruits, savory and uplifted by an herbal undertone. Wild and exotic and very intriguing.
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Arkenstone Estate 2020, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. Considerably easier to open than its wax-topped older sister, but also not as savvy. But this wine will grow into itself. Right now, it’s open and pleasant (like most little sisters), with 6% Sémillon playing nice with the Sauvignon. Straight forward, well balanced, technically well made. Farmed organically.
Brandlin, Mount Veeder 2021, Napa Valley. Ages 11 months in French oak, but doesn’t taste it! A lean version that paired will with smoked shrimp. A generous fruit profile—tropical and pleasing; sophisticated and nuanced. New World vibe, and a danceable beat.
Chalk Hill 2022, Chalk Hill AVA, Russian River Valley (Sonoma). This is a plush, creamy, tropical-inflected New World style with ripe and lush fruit—guava, melon. A winning bottle for those don’t care for the greener styles. Estate bottled.
Cliff Lede 2022, Napa Valley. Lively and carrying the typical zesty SauvyB markers, but this has the roundness from a bit of Sémillon blended in, giving it more of an Old World vine than new. The grapes were sourced from their estate vineyards in Calistoga, Stags Leap District, and Carneros—all known for their elegance and quality—plus grapes sourced from an old-vine vineyard in East Rutherford and another in Calistoga that provided old vine Sémillon. All that is to say, it’s really a perfect blending of Old and New World: nuanced, fresh, a bit deeper and some of that floral, tropical fruit component.
Cormorant2021, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma. A pretty, creamy, yellow-fruited wine that will please people who do not care for the greener versions, though this does have a lime edge to keep things interesting. Ripe, medium bodied, enjoy this on its own or with roasted branzino or sauced fish.
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“Sauvy B” is on the A-List of whites from California
Producers
Fiddlehead Cellars La Presa Vineyard 2022, Los Olivos District (Santa Barbara). Warm, creaming and nutty, tropical inflected with sweeter rips, lush juicy fruits, particularly melon. Tangy, zesty and snappy!
Groth Vineyards & Winery2022, Oakville, Napa Valley. This estate-bottled wine is another successful Sauvignon-driven (89%) blend with Sémillon, this one delivering a freshly picked citrus fruit bowl: pink grapefruit, Clementines and Meyer lemon, along with a basket of stone fruit—nectarine and peaches. Throw in some white florals and a hint of earthy Celtic salt and you’ve got a wine that will satisfy everyone at the table. Despite everything going on in this wine, it is balanced and direct.
Quintessa, “Illumination” 2016. A blend of Napa (64%) and Sonoma county vineyards, this is a bottle from an esteemed producer better known for its Cabs, but that has delivered an exceptional and complex Sauvy B. There’s that New World style tropical fruit vibe of melon and guava, but also ripe peach and, beeswax and a mineral streak that drives it forward and keeps the fruit from getting too blousy. Intriguing and full of layers that keep evolving.
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Silver Puffs 2020, California (Napa). Great affordable Tuesday-night wine, on the round and ripe tropical-fruit spectrum with peaches and melons, no aggressive greenness. This is a zesty, pleasant sip names for a California wildflower; grapes sourced from the Miller Ranch vineyard.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Aveta” 2021, Napa Valley. Named for the Gaelic water goddess, this gives plenty of grapefruit, roasted pineapple and other tropical fruits. A bit lactic—you can taste and feel the roundness of the lees—it is pleasing in every way. Round, juicy and full.
The Paring2021, California. Another smooth, round bottle in with plenty of pineapple, mango. Not sweet-fruited, but ripe and full without losing its balance of fruit, acid and alcohol. Delicious.
There are plenty of big strawberries from California as Mother’s Day approaches–a holiday that often sees higher consumption of the popular berry. “The strawberries are looking fabulous,” says Steve Johnston of G.W. Palmer & Co. Inc. “The heavy rains of the 2022-2023 rainy season in California have really helped the ground and that’s making for a beautiful bumper crop in California.”
On top of that, growing conditions in the state for strawberries have been ideal with occasional rains but also sunny days and cool nights. “This has made a perfect combination for a great big berry. The size and condition are strong right now–you couldn’t have better quality going into the Mother’s Day pull,” says Johnston, adding that the size in some cases adds up to an eight-count 1 lb. pack of berries.
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Changing regions In terms of growing regions, Oxnard is winding down its production at the moment with several shippers starting to divert product to processors because the market is so low–the size of the fruit has given shippers more than anticipated. That leaves Santa Maria and Salinas-Watsonville as the primary production areas right now. “The quality is good from Oxnard but there’s just so much coming in from those other regions that people want to switch to the new area,” says Johnston.
While demand is strong, it is coming up against that oversupply of strawberries which means it may be a tough year market-wise. “For the next six weeks, there’s going to be an oversupply and they’d better promote, promote, promote,” says Johnston.
One of the upsides though of the large-sized fruit is that labor is readily accessible for growers. “There’s such a bountiful crop that some pickers are making $30+/hour. It’s just easy picking on small plants,” says Johnston. “The pickers will tell you where the good strawberries are.”
For more information: Steve Johnston G.W. Palmer & Co., Inc. Tel: +1 (831) 753-6578 sjohnston@gwpalmer.net http://www.gwpalmer.net/
Hub International Ltd. acquired Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services Inc.
Merriwether & Williams has locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, The firm provides contractor development abd bonding programs, aligned risk management and special project consulting, and insurance brokerage services.
President & CEO Ingrid Merriwether and the Merriwether & Williams team will join Hub Central & Northern California. Merriwether will become president of Hub Aligned Risk Management Services. Merriwether & Williams will be referred to as Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services Inc., a Hub International company.
Chicago, Illinois-based Hub is an insurance broker and financial services firm providing risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services.
For more information:
