Meet the Makers: Z Foods

When Joshua Zeldner joined the family business in 2010, he made a choice that would define his life. "I had recently graduated from college, and was on the hunt for a meaningful career. My parents were tired, and looking at their options around selling the business," he recalls. "My epiphany, after trying out some other career paths after college, was that there was no other career choice that would bring me the same depth of fulfillment as this one: to carry on the legacy my parents had been building for decades."

Within years, Joshua began designing The HIVE—California's largest honey and mead tasting room in Walnut, CA. His father Ishai was diagnosed with a brain tumor as the project took shape. "He knew where we were headed, and his memory and lessons live on in The HIVE," Joshua shares.

Today, behind the honey tasting counter, hangs a memorial to Ishai—"an epic display of his old beekeeping equipment installed on the wall," designed by Joshua's sister, Shoshana. "Every visitor to the HIVE gets a little dose of Ishai in the background."

Shoshana now serves as Director of Brand Strategy. "I am honored to build upon the brand and legacy that our parents started alongside my brother, Josh," she says.

In the late 1980s, when the business was based in Winters, California—a small town that produced much of the country's fruit and nuts—the honey fruit spreads were born. "We contacted an apricot farmer to see if there was a way we could use dried apricots in a spread," Amina recalls. "The tart-sweet dried apricot blended perfectly with the crème brûlée sweetness of Yellow Star Thistle honey and a new product line was born!"

Their innovation didn't go unnoticed. "In 1992, we won 'Best Spread' from the Specialty Food Association and from the National Honey Board!" Amina shares. The signature Apricot-Cherry blend came later, "finding that some clientele couldn't decide on just one…the Apricot-Cherry Honey Fruit Spread was born!"

The story begins with love—Ishai Zeldner's love for bees. As his wife and co-founder Amina Harris (affectionately known as the "Queen Bee") recalls, Ishai "spent several years on and off as the accidental beekeeper at a kibbutz in Israel. He learned to love honey and developed a profound love and respect for bees."

After three years in Israel, Ishai packed up the family van and drove cross-country to UC Davis to study apiculture. That passion led him to spend a summer at a commercial beekeeping operation in Northern California. "This is where he really fell in love with honey - Yellow Star Thistle honey to be exact!" Amina remembers. "He returned to Davis at the end of the season and began giving away jars of California Yellow Star Thistle. Eventually he realized he couldn't afford to do this any longer and Moon Shine Trading Company was born" in 1979.

In 1981, Amina made her own cross-country journey from Buffalo to Winters, bringing her entrepreneurial spirit with her. She had managed her own soft sculpture business, Loopieland, and worked with the Lexington Food Coop in Buffalo. These experiences shaped Moon Shine Trading's brand identity—including the hand-cut fabric decorations that adorned the lids of their first honey jars and the beautifully illustrated newsletters that positioned the company as a premier gourmet food business.

The couple married in 1982. In 1983, the year they welcomed daughter Shoshana, they also rented their first warehouse space—a 1,500-square-foot barn in downtown Winters. Son Joshua followed in 1986.

Like winemakers who speak of terroir—that magical combination of soil, climate, and place—the Zeldners understand that their spreads capture something elemental about California.

"I think that the terroir of the products really shines through in our honey fruit spreads," Shoshana explains. "You can taste California's central valley - the earth, the air, the rains and the bounty of the trees and blossoms. There are few products that really exude this essence of place."

With just three ingredients—California Yellow Star Thistle Honey, California Blenheim apricots, and Montmorency Cherries—the spread achieves something remarkable. "The fruit becomes amplified with the honey. It's a perfect harmony between the three ingredients and the result is something that keeps bring you back, spoonful after spoonful," Shoshana says.

For Joshua, maintaining quality means obsessive attention to sourcing. "We are always on the lookout for dried Blenheim apricots that meet our criteria. They need to have been picked early to preserve the critical tartness. They need to be dried to the perfect moisture content. And they need to hold their characteristic bright orange color, even after they are ground into our product," he explains.

The choice of Yellow Star Thistle honey is deeply intentional. "We feel that using Yellow Star Thistle honey for this product is important on a number of levels, particularly the way it calls the product back to our roots, since Star Thistle is the first honey my dad fell in love with to start our company in 1979," Joshua says.

The process itself is meticulous: fruit is ground into pulp, mixed with honey, and just before bottling, a small amount of finely crystallized 'seed' honey is added "that encourages the whole batch to crystallize with tiny, creamy crystals, maintaining a uniform and lasting texture."

For Shoshana, the holiday season holds special meaning. "For me, the holiday season is about slowing down and spending time with loved ones. It's about celebrating what we have together - as family and friends."

The spreads even star in their holiday traditions. During Hanukkah, their mother makes latkes, but the Zeldners put their own spin on the traditional topping. "We are Jewish and it just so happens that our Apricot Cherry Honey Fruit spread plays an important role in our childhood celebration of Hanukkah," Shoshana shares. "Each year, our mom makes some of the best latkes (fried potato pancakes). It is traditional to put sour cream and applesauce on top. But of course, we grew up putting our Honey Fruit Spreads and a dollop of sour cream on top. It's a decadent topping that pairs perfectly with the crisp potato pancake and tang of the sour cream."

It's this spirit of celebration—of gathering, sharing, and creating meaningful moments—that inspired our Perfect Spread gift set. Like the Zeldners' holiday table, it brings together California's finest ingredients to help you slow down and savor time with the people you love.

To make latkes at home, see our CEO Rémi Cohen's family recipe, and simply swap the applesauce for the Honey Fruit Spread for an extra special touch.

At Domaine Carneros, we know that bees are essential to the vineyard ecosystem, pollinating the cover crops that enrich our soils. There's a beautiful symmetry in pairing wine—born of sun, soil, and the work of pollinators—with honey spreads that capture the same California landscape.

Our 2022 Avant-Garde Pinot Noir, with its juicy black cherry, red raspberry, warm oak, and cinnamon, finds its perfect match in the Apricot-Cherry Honey Spread's tart-sweet profile

Bring this beloved pairing home with The Perfect Spread—our thoughtfully curated charcuterie gift set, featuring:

• 2022 Avant-Garde Pinot Noir - The vanguard of the vintage, sourced from all six Domaine Carneros vineyards, fermented in small open-topped tanks and aged for 8 months in specially selected Burgundian French oak barrels
• Z Specialty Food Apricot-Cherry Honey Spread - The same small-batch spread we serve at our visitors center
• Journeyman French-style saucisson sec salumi from Sonoma
• Rustic Bakery flatbread bites with olive oil and sel gris
• Family-farmed, California-grown garlic-stuffed olives
• Complete seven-piece bamboo cheese board set with cheese knives, mini bowls, and spoons

Beautifully gift wrapped and ready for gifting—epicurean essentials for creating those moments worth slowing down for.