By Renee B. Allen

Photos by Analiese Paik

Although Sunset Meadow Vineyards has a long list of numerous awards for outstanding wines produced in the scenic Litchfield Hills of the Western Connecticut Highlands, it is one of their most recent accolades in which owner and winemaker George Motel III takes the greatest pride. Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England named Sunset Meadow Vineyards New England’s Best Family Winery in 2010 after only having been open for two years. Mr. Motel attributes this honor to the efforts of his staff. Respected by both his employees and his peers, our August Connecticut Corker George Motel plays a prominent role in the Connecticut farm winery industry by virtue of both his wine and his wisdom.

George Motel is more than a winemaker or a vineyard owner. He is more than a businessman. George Motel is a visionary. One of his visions materialized in 1995 when he serendipitously drove by the property in Goshen that is now home to Sunset Meadow Vineyards. The vision? Running a farm. Although firmly entrenched in a corporate lifestyle, Motel was not a total stranger to farming, having had a friend with a dairy farm as a child growing up in Seymour, Connecticut. The beautiful piece of property that caught his attention had been a dairy farm in the 1970s. And so Mr. Motel worked his day job and then worked the land at night and on weekends raising beef cattle and providing hay to dairy and horse farmers. It was Grace Nome, President of the Connecticut Specialty Food Association for 26 years, who initially put the bug in Mr. Motel’s ear about growing grapes on his property. Motel was intrigued but not convinced. The very night of Ms. Nome’s prescient suggestion, Mr. Motel returned home from a hard day of corporate work to find a bull in the middle of his driveway. The cattle had broken out and were scattered around the property. Clad in his business suit, Motel spent the evening trying to lure the escaped herd with a pail of grain and a special cattle call in an attempt to restore order. Bovine intervention. It was time for a change.

Motel enlisted the help of Dr. Richard Kiyomoto, a member of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and a well-known advisor to Connecticut grape growers. Dr. Kiyomoto advised Motel to test his site with vines. In 2001, the first grape, cabernet franc, was planted at Sunset Meadow Vineyards (SMV), with chardonnay following closely behind. Motel planted 1,400 vines that first year, choosing seyval blanc, Cayuga and St. Croix, in addition to the chardonnay and cabernet franc. These were followed the next year by another 1,300 vines of vidal blanc, chambourcin, lemberger, riesling, and more chardonnay and cabernet franc. Year three saw the addition of Frontenac, landot and merlot, as well as even more chardonnay and cabernet franc into the sandy loam soil. People were beginning to take notice. An active member of his community through his volunteer basketball coaching, Motel was known around town to the other parents. One year at a New Year’s Eve party, a woman spotted him across the room and sought him out to ask him a question. “Are you the guy planting all those grapes?” she queried. Motel affirmed he was indeed that guy. “Nothing but hay grows in Goshen!” she insisted. 30 acres and 14,000 grape vines later, Motel begs to differ. He still owns more acres that he wants to plant and, with an eye toward the future, he has leased additional acreage nearby. It has gotten to the point where local farmers are approaching him with offers to lease their land.

The transition from cattle to grapes has been a successful one for Motel. A longtime lover of wine, Motel is a big believer in the health benefits associated with drinking it. The merging of his passions for both farming and wine has been a dream come true for him. Having early on determined that the quality of the wine could best be controlled by making the wine himself, Motel enrolled in the UC Davis Enology program. George, his wife Judy and son George IV do everything from growing and harvesting to bottling and selling. “I want to control the whole process.” George explains. “I want to know what’s in the wine.” What is in the wine are Motel’s own estate grown grapes, for the most part. It is Motel’s goal for his wine to comprise 100% estate grown grapes in two years, and he is very close to that goal now. In addition to controlling the process, Motel derives another benefit from doing the winemaking himself. A former musician, Motel views the winery as an opportunity to express himself. “The winemaking aspect of this business allows for some creative expression, expression you don’t get in the business world or in other aspects of the wine business.”

As part of creating a healthy environment in which to grow his grapes, sustainable farming methods are utilized and surrounding natural wildlife encouraged. The property is home to many birds including hawks, eagles, bats and owls for which the Motels maintain nesting boxes. No pesticides are used on the vines. If necessary, Japanese Beetles, the only real insect pests in the vineyard, are hand removed. Motel allows the vine canopy to grow higher than he might otherwise because the beetles eat from the top down. He has determined that this is an acceptable sacrifice. Herbicides are used in only the rarest of circumstances and when they are, it is usually a home grade Roundup. Mr. Motel keeps a close personal eye on what transpires on his property. On any given evening or weekend, Motel might be found either walking the vineyards with rescue dog Churchill by his side, or traversing the many acres of grapes on his ATV.

Motel’s commitment to exceptional quality is carried over from the fields to the winery where he employs such methods as racking instead of fining to slowly precipitate out the unwanted solids in the wine. Racking, George believes, better maintains the integrity of the wine. This integrity is preserved by the finest quality cork closures, while also allowing the consumer the traditional uncorking experience. The building that houses the fermentation tanks, barrels and bottling equipment has no air conditioning but is designed to stay cold all year long by use of a louver system. Hot water is instantaneous, heated only when needed, which is both energy efficient and responsible to the environment.

As a visionary, Motel has a keen eye for the bigger picture. He knows that, although the quality of his wines is paramount, there is more required to run his business successfully. The Motels make hospitality and the consumer’s overall experience at their winery priorities. Opened for business in 2008, the spacious tasting room with indoor and outdoor seating, wine-related gifts and friendly staff members enhance visitors’ experiences. The Motels’ attention to detail and customer satisfaction is clearly paying off. 95% of SMV’s total wine sales is attributable to tasting room traffic. In another effort to increase wine sales while facilitating customer convenience, Motel has just added an online shopping cart allowing customers to purchase wine directly from the SMV website. With 13 wines from which to choose, it may be hard settling on just one. I asked Motel which wine is his favorite. “I make all of our wines as if they’re my favorite. Having said that, my passion has always been dry red wine so I guess I enjoy our dry reds the most.”

Farm-to-table wine dinners provide another way of introducing consumers to SMV wines. I recently had the opportunity of participating in the “Sunset in July” Farm to Table Wine Dinner at Sunset Meadow Vineyards which included SMV wine paired with food prepared by the Litchfield Saltwater Grille, as well as a tour of the winery. A bout of uncooperative weather forced the festivities indoors. Luckily, SMV is equipped to house an event of this nature inside their tasting room. The long, family style banquet tables used for outdoor gatherings were abandoned in favor of more intimate seating indoors, with only one elongated table set up for a large party that had arrived together. Conversation was possible between neighboring tables and guests had ample opportunity to mingle at both the raw bar and the tasting bar. The food was sourced from local, sustainable and organic farms and each course was specially paired with SMV wine. The pairings were all successful but the two that stood out for me were the SMV Riesling paired with miniature New England lobster salad rolls, and Cayuga White mated with Connecticut oysters. (More detailed wine tasting notes follow this article.) One of the highlights of the evening was a tour of the winery led by Mr. Motel. Not only were guests allowed a peek into the inner workings of SMV complete with informative and entertaining narration by Mr. Motel, we were treated to a taste of SMV Twisted Red, a cabernet sauvignon blend, straight from the barrel.

[Mr. Motel has consented to WINE publishing video footage of the winery tour conducted inside Sunset Meadow Vineyards the evening of the "Sunset in July" wine dinner. WINE would like to thank Mr. Motel for allowing its readership this exclusive opportunity to gain insight into the workings of a first rate farm winery in a more personal and animated way. The footage is presented below in two parts.]

When he is not pruning vines or bottling wines, Mr. Motel spends time in his official capacity as Vice President of the Connecticut Vineyard & Winery Association working to further the interests of the Connecticut farm wine industry as a whole. This includes keeping a watchful eye on the industry, working on beneficial legislation, and doing marketing and promotional events. Motel was involved in the recent passage of the legislation authorizing the sale of Connecticut wines at farmers’ markets and is working to get legislation passed that would allow Connecticut farm wineries a second festival each year. They are currently limited to just one, The Connecticut Wine Festival. Mr. Motel is Chairman of this Festival, an annual event promoting The Connecticut Wine Trail that saw more than 8,000 participants over the course of the last weekend in July this year.

So what is George Motel’s vision for the future? Organic grape growing, for one thing. Practically unheard of in Connecticut due to the challenging climate, Motel has targeted a block of his St. Croix grapes to grow organically. One year into the project, things appear to be going well. “We are encouraged by the early progress and results but remain cautiously optimistic,” reports Motel. What else is in SMV’s future? He’s not ready to reveal all just yet. But George Motel has a way of making his visions come true. I suggest we keep watching.

Sunset Meadow Vineyards is open Sunday, Monday & Thursday from 11-5 and Friday & Saturday from 11-6.
599 Old Middle Street, Goshen, CT 06756
860-201-4654

http://www.sunsetmeadowvineyards.com/

Wines to Uncork

• Cayuga White 2010 – Exceptionally crisp and thirst-quenching, this dry expression of the Cayuga grape is acidic and well-balanced with the perfect hint of citrus and stone fruits.
• Merlot – Soft and unassuming, this Bordeaux style merlot flaunts red berries with undercurrents of anise and a velvety smooth finish.
• St. Croix – Smokey, sexy, dry and quite quaffable. I have yet to find a St. Croix I prefer more.
• Twisted Red – A dry, big-bodied blend in the style of Bordeaux with dark red fruit flavors and a touch of spice.
• Rosé – An elegant rosé in the style of Provence, luscious red fruits just barely peek through this delightfully dry salmon-pink beauty.
• Pyrrha’s Passion – This beautifully bottled wine is a sweeter expression of the St. Croix grape perfect for accompanying desserts. Slightly nutty and hinting of caramel, the wine’s complexity is reminiscent of port.
• Midnight Ice – This intoxicatingly aromatic ice wine boasts bold fruit aromas and flavors, especially honeydew melon and lychee. It has a honey-like viscosity on the tongue and is richly layered. Limited.

Renee B. Allen, Founder and Director of the Wine Institute of New England (WINE) and a Certified Specialist of Wine, is a regular monthly contributor on the topic of local and sustainable wines. “Connecticut Corkers”  features wineries, winemakers, and wine events throughout the state, with an emphasis on wine education and appreciation.

There are only two ways I know of to get an organic peach grown in Fairfield County, Connecticut (or anywhere else in the state for that matter). One is to have a CSA share in The Hickories, which only distributes their precious orchard fruit to shareholders. The other is to be lucky enough to hit the stand at Warrup’s Farm on a peach picking day. Those days are right now.

I visited the farm stand late last week with my son and a friend and we were all disappointed to not find peaches. We killed some time walking around the fields, admiring the basil, tomatoes (lots of them!), and other late summer vegetables thriving in the hot, sun-drenched fields. We secretly hoped someone would show up at the stand with peaches. My friend soon spotted an intern and gave me the high sign. I was delighted to also see farmer Bill Hill since he was sure to give us the scoop. “Not for a few days” he said when asked about peach availability, “then we’ll have them at the stand for $2 a pound. There aren’t enough for our CSA families.” Our collective disappointment must have been palpable, because he took pity and offered to let us pick a few ripe peaches off the trees in the orchard (PYO is closed this year).

After a short walk to the orchard, we began jumping up to reach the lowest hanging limbs that appeared to bear ripe fruit, hoping for a prize. All the while we were competing with every sweet, orchard fruit-loving insect.  “We don’t touch them” said Hill, referring to the no spray, no hand picking of bugs stance they take with the peaches. “They’re not beautiful” he cautioned. While that was true for a handful of them, we did manage to pick quite a few gorgeous ones that would be ready for eating after a few days of counter top ripening. Extensive surgery would be required on the ones that insects had beaten us to. At $2 a pound, the extra work seemed more than worth it. We returned to the farm stand to weigh our peaches and other produce, fill out purchase tickets, and add our payments to the jar.

During the ride home my son suggested we use our precious peach cargo to make ice cream. Knowing these would probably be the only local, organic peaches we’d find, it seeded a fitting way to prepare them for enjoyment during the last fleeting weeks of summer. After a few days’ ripening, they were perfect. Ever the frugal and shortcut cook, I searched for an appropriate peach ice cream recipe online and found one from Every Day with Rachael Ray that required no eggs and no custard cooking. Tonight after dinner, two little heads watched intently over our Cuisinart ice cream maker as it churned the thick and peachy mixture until it was frozen thick. Enjoying local, organic peach ice cream on a hot and stormy August evening, we felt lucky indeed.

Whether you eat them out of hand or make them into jam or ice cream, Warrup’s peaches are delicious and healthy. Organic vegetables available at the stand include newly harvested garlic, a wide variety of heirloom and other tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and cabbage. The farm stand is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11-5 through the first frost. The farm is also open seasonally for pumpkins and cut your own Christmas trees. Maple sugar demonstrations are typically held the first three weekends in March from 11-5. It’s best to visit Warrup’s website for posted schedules or call 203-938-9403 to plan your visit.

Warrup’s Farm announced a summer/fall CSA Program last year and it quickly filled up with 30 families.  Please click here to add your name to the waiting list for 2012.

Warrup’s Farm is located on John Read Road in Redding, CT, 1.2 miles north of Redding Center, off Route 107.

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The next best thing to local organic peaches: The CT EcoPeach

Citizens for Easton (CFE) will be holding the third annual Easton Farm Tour on Saturday, August 13, from 10am to 2pm.  This free, self-guided tour of Easton farms begins at the Easton Firehouse Green, One Center Road, Easton, where visitors will sign in and receive a  map and pass to guide you to the participating farms.  This year’s participants are Aspetuck Valley Apple Barn, Buttonwood Farm, Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens, Gray Friesian Farm, J&L Orchids, Lion Hill Farm, Maple Row Growers, Maple Row Tree Farm, Pee-Wee Horse Farm, Sherwood Farm, Silverman’s Farm, and Sport Hill Farm.

Bring your coolers to load up at the farms!

Sport Hill Farm will be holding a blowout sale of their sweet corn. Do you buy corn in the winter? Cut the kernels off these fresh cobs instead and freeze them yourself. It’s an easy way to eat local all year long and support our farms. It’s Tomatopalooza at the farm too and you know what that means- tomato sauce, tomato jam, grilled tomatoes, frozen tomatoes for the winter. Enjoy complimentary tastings of Peace Tree Desserts Cajeta Caramel sauces made with CT goat’s milk plus gluten free cookies and watermelon mango soup from GreenGourmettoGo. While you shop, your kids can be kept busy learning how to harvest seeds from sunflower seed heads.

To highlight this community collaboration, Citizens For Easton will be joined by other Easton organizations with informational booths on the Green where guests can enjoy a photographed history of Easton’s barns and learn what farming was like 100 years from the Easton Historical Society; visit with members of the Easton Garden Club, creators of the Easton Farm Map – “Easton is a Farmers’ Market”; and learn how the Aspetuck Land Trust is a friend to agriculture and devoted to preserving open space and natural resources in Easton, Fairfield, Weston and Westport.

Last year we enjoyed food and entertainment on the Green, provided by mobile wood-fired caterer by Skinny Pines and The Easton Banjo Society. They’ll be back this year and I encourage you to try one of the pizzas made with topping from local farms. The “Sport Hill Farm” pizza was a winner last year.

Jean Puchalski, co-chair of the Easton Farm Tour said  “This is truly a community event in celebration of Easton farms. Come have lunch, listen to music and learn where your food comes from.”

For more information please visit http://citizensforeaston.wordpress.com/the-2011-easton-farm-tour/ or contact Jean Puchalski or Lori Cochran at farmtour@personalcyberspace.com or loricochran@hotmail.com

Citizens for Easton (CFE) vigorously pursues, supports, and encourages efforts that preserve Easton’s scenic, rural, agrarian and small town characteristics.

By Elizabeth Keyser

When my husband’s family gathered to celebrate his birthday recently and I discovered that we had two baskets of strawberries from the West and East coasts, I thought a strawberry taste test could be a fun activity for all of us. The kids could practice observing and describing. The adults might find new things to think about. And I could see if Local = Better.

My 13-year-old niece Julia and I set the judging criteria and made the scorecards. We’d have to blind taste test them to avoid any prejudice. After the family spent an afternoon at the beach, we gathered on the front porch and got down to business.

I led the group through examining Strawberry “A” and Strawberry “B,” and each of us wrote our impressions on the scorecards. Then I revealed the baskets. The plastic container of Strawberry “A” was from  a large-scale organic brand shipped from California.  The cardboard container of “B” was from a small organic farm in Connecticut.

These are the compiled findings of our panel of 8 tasters ranging from 8 to 78 years old who tested two batches of strawberries. The berries that everyone wanted to eat right then were the sweet “A”s from California.

	Strawberry “A”	Strawberry “B”
Size	Bigger	Shorter, plump
Shape	Tall, cone-shaped	Shorter, Heart-shaped
Color	Darker red, duller	Bright, shiny red
Smell	Fruity	No smell/ greener aroma.
Squeeze Test	Firm	Soft, squishy
Taste	Sweet	Juicy, not much flavor.
Texture	Somewhat hard, seedy	Slightly mushy
Other Comments	“I want another!” “I am not full!”	“Not as good; bland.” “I am still not full!”

But what about texture? We started talking about the firm texture required of a berry to be shipped across the country. Many of us preferred the softer, smoother texture of the local strawberry. The Connecticut strawberry’s smaller shape, and bright, shiny, fresh-looking color made them look like they’d taste better. Truth is, we were surprised they didn’t taste better. Then we thought about all the rain we’d had in June. The rain had diluted their sweet “strawberry-ness.” I was reminded that the best “local” strawberries I’ve ever had were picked in my garden a couple years back on a hot June day and eaten right away, while still warm from the sun.  From my personal experience with berries on my property, it seems that those to be eaten right away, are best picked 2 to 3 days after the last rain — if the ripeness of the fruit and the weather permit.  In this taste-test, we discovered that rather than  eating them straight-up, these Connecticut berries would lend themselves to being drizzled with honey, or cooked into a sweet pie or a savory compote.

Was one “better”?  No.  Maybe.  Depends. They were different from one another. The decision to buy berries from California or Connecticut is based on many factors. I prefer to eat berries that have been grown close to where I live. I want to know how they were raised. I want to support local farms that grow a variety of crops, rather than those that specialize in a mono-culture.  California grows the majority of the strawberries grown in the United States. Let me add that from age 10 to 15 I lived in California, and have a great fondess for the state. I remember the glory of early spring when the bakeries on State Street in Santa Barbara were filled with luscious strawberry pies.

Our taste-test brought up many topics of discussion – craft vs. industrial farming; California’s dry spring weather vs. Connecticut’s variable and sometimes wet spring weather; and how much we don’t know about varieties of strawberries and how they are raised.

After our family taste-test, we agreed, most of all, that the taste-test was fun. As strawberry season comes to a close, we’ll go on to taste-test cherries, raspberries, peaches and more.  And maybe I should add another category to my scorecard: weather conditions. What categories would you add?

Looking for a little something special to do this 4th of July? I recommend a s’mores party, local food style of course, with some help from Peace Tree Desserts. It’s  a fun dessert  for a crowd after a barbecue. Roast the marshmallows until golden, place them on graham crackers, add chocolate, top with a second graham cracker, let it melt a bit, and you’ve got quite a treat.

Each Peace Tree Desserts S’mores kit (serves 6) includes housemade graham crackers featuring Red Bee honey and Wild Hive Farm’s organic whole wheat flour, strawberry marshmallows made with local strawberries, and Taza’s organic stone-ground vanilla bean chocolate.

How to Order:

Simply place your order online from Peace Tree’s web store, and then email Robyn Eads of Peace Tree Desserts at peacetreedesserts@gmail.com letting her know that you will be picking up your order. Pick up is available 10am-5pm, Friday-Saturday of this week at Collyer Catering, 37 Saugatuck Avenue in Westport. All 4th of July orders must be placed by Thursday, June 30th.

All other online orders (those without an email designating an in-store pick up request) will be shipped via Fedex ground.

Where to Buy:

Available at retail exclusively at the Double L Farm Market, Post Road, Westport on Friday, July 1 through Monday, July 4. The Double L Farm Market is located at 730 Post Road E., Westport and is open 7 days a week from 10-6. 203-984-9165.

Peace Tree Desserts will also have their line of Cajeta Caramel sauces  available for sale at the Double L Farm Market and Collyer Catering. In the second half of the s’mores party video below, guests also enjoyed dipping apples into cajeta fondue fireside. Strawberries and blueberries would make an excellent choice this 4th of July, giving you a red white and blue dessert!

Peace Tree Desserts S’mores Party Video. Get inspired!

Mike Geller is the founder and owner of Mike’s Organic Delivery, a farm-to-home delivery service which serves Greenwich, Stamford and Darien, CT and parts of Westchester County. Mike took a few minutes off from picking up and delivering farm-fresh food to answer a few questions about his business. Thanks Mike!

Mike’s Organic Delivery. Farm Fresh. Local. Delivered.

Q. How did you arrive at the business concept of direct online sales and delivery of fresh food from local farms to Greenwich consumers’ doors?

I think it is so important to do something that you are passionate about, believe in, and can completely commit to. Having spent my whole life in the lower Fairfield County area, and having worked on farms, been a lifelong gardener, outdoorsman, cook, event planner etc., I saw a way to combine what I loved with what was in demand……fresh, clean, local food. There are many farms around, but with the frenetic pace of life, school pick ups, work, and everything else, people have a hard time getting access to all of this great food. My business takes all of the leg work out of putting great local food on your table.

Q. What foods are included in your basket and what is the minimum order size?

The contents of the basket change dramatically over the course of the year. Every week I include anywhere from 8-14 different fruits and vegetables, depending upon what is in season. Throughout the summer you get everything from apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries and more to 100 kinds of tomatoes, 60 kinds of peppers, leeks, eggplant, corn, and probably 100 other things. The variety of what we can grow in this part of the country is incredible!

The minimum order for the site is $50.

Q. What are some of the seasonal fruits and vegetables now available from the farms you source your produce from?

This past week we had Empire apples, strawberries, heirloom lettuces, garlic scapes (AMAZING), cilantro, mint, English peas, Magda/yellow/ Bush Baby zucchini, spinach, curly leaf kale and basil.

Q. Please name a few of the farms whose products you carry:

I carry vegetables and fruits from Hepworth Farms in Marlboro, NY, eggs and honey from Pine Hill Farm in Sharon, CT, chicken from Gray Horse Farm in Clinton Corners, grass-fed beef from Stuart Family Farm in Bridgewater, CT, and cheese from Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, NY. I work with about 10 farms and they all have their specialties, whether it’s raising free range heritage pastured pigs, or growing incredible Certified Organic veggies. Farmers are like artists, some are great…..some are Picasso.

Every farm I work with is within 75 Miles of Greenwich, as local as you can get!

Q. Which communities do you serve?

In Connecticut I deliver to  Greenwich, Stamford and Darien. In New York I deliver to Rye, Harrison, Rye Brook, Port Chester, Byram, Scarsdale, Bedford, Chappaqua and Armonk. People call all the time from other towns and I always do my best to work it out for them….everyone deserves great food!

Heirloom tomatoes waiting to be packed in customers' orders. Photo c/o Mike's Organic Delivery

Q. Do you source exclusively from organic or sustainable local farms?

All of the farms I work with are either Certified Organic or best practice/sustainable. I do not work with any conventional farms. Animals are raised without hormones, antibiotics or confinement, fruits and veggies are not sprayed with carcinogenic sprays. It is good food grown the right way, period.

Q. What is the procedure for ordering and how often do you make deliveries? Does someone need to be home to accept the delivery?

Ordering is as easy as organic apple pie! You just go to my website, www.mikesorganicdelivery.com, and add items to your cart like on Amazon or any other site. You check out, enter your info, pay with a credit card on our secure system, and you’re done. Orders are taken all week and have to be in by Friday PM for a delivery the following week (usually Tues, Wed or Thurs). The site is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Deliveries are made once a week and a delivery window is emailed to you the Sunday before you get your delivery. I encourage people to be home for their deliveries so we can talk about all the awesome produce and I can give them little cooking tips, but if they aren’t they can just leave a cooler with an ice pack by the door and I load all of the veggies in there for them……Convenience is the name of the game.

Q. What types of customers do you attract and what are some of your top sellers?

I would say that 95% of my clients are moms, many of them young moms with their first children. They want something that is healthy for them and their kids, takes some of the burden off of them as far as shopping, sitting in the car, check out lines, and brings the freshest produce around right to their door!

The best part of my job is getting to watch in awe as a 3-year-old snacks down for the first time on English peas and cherry tomatoes. It’s amazing how many more fruits and veggies children will eat when they actually taste like something. I have about 100 moms who can attest to that!
The Veggie/Fruit Basket is the most popular item; everyone loves it. Behind that I would say: grass-fed rib eye steaks, raw cow’s milk  blue cheese (aged 60 days), raw local honey, farm-fresh blue Aracauna eggs (INCREDIBLE) and Italian sausages – people love them!

Q. Do you have institutional clients too?

I work with several companies in Greenwich and deliver cases of fruit to them for their employees to eat at work. It’s an awesome thing to do for their workers and it supports small, local farms in the process, a win all around! I have a few companies who have ordered every week for the last 10 months!

Q. What value added do you provide to the consumer?

There are loads of things I do to make the Mike’s Organic Delivery experience one that is positive and enduring. From little things like removing my sneakers before I set foot in the house to deliver, to customizing a list of recipes every week for what people have in their baskets, speaking at seminars and being available at any time for my clients.

I have also spoken to over 500 children at 5 different schools in the Greenwich area about the importance of local, sustainable farming. Kids really seem to understand how important this movement is and I have fielded some unbelievably insightful questions from 9 years olds. Then they get free apples from “Farmer Mike”.

It is important to me that we all do what we can to help move the local food movement forward and I believe I am a good ambassador for the wonderful farmers whose food so many people now get to enjoy through my service.

Q. Fuel costs certainly consume a large part of your budget when gas prices rise. Are you passing these costs along to your consumers?

A. I have not raised my delivery prices since I started the business one year ago. It has remained a flat $10 no matter how much you order. It works for me and people like that it is simple and straight forward.

Q. Are you open all year?

12 months a year! I only close the business for a total of 3 weeks the entire year and you can still place your orders while we are closed, the site is open 365 days per year!

To learn more about Mike’s Organic Delivery, please visit their website, www.mikesorganicdelivery.com.

By Renee B.  Allen

I admit, I have been known to knock on wood to avoid tempting fate, and have even caught myself stepping over a crack in the sidewalk on occasion, but the last time I read my horoscope was in junior high school and it was for a lark. So how could I possibly buy into the philosophy behind biodynamic wines?

I first heard about biodynamics while studying for the Certified Specialist of Wine exam. It was afforded one paragraph right after organics and sustainability. I confess to snickering ever so slightly when I got to the sentence about phases of the moon and alignment of the planets. I was confident that, should a question arise regarding biodynamics, I would have no trouble remembering which theory it was and that I need not know any more about it.

“I did not hide my skepticism of what I termed these “quasi-religious” practices. He was nonplussed. I was impressed.”

Many weeks later, I happened to see a wine denoted as being biodynamic on a wine menu at my favorite oyster bar. It was a Sauvignon Blanc and I was in the mood for one, so I ordered it. I was very pleasantly surprised. The taste of mangos and melons married on my tongue and flowed through my mouth in perfect harmony, leaving nothing but an echo of their fresh, lively flavor for an aftertaste. I had a similarly pleasing experience with a biodynamic pinot grigio the next week. The floodgates opened. I attended a local “Taste of” and perused the wine tables. One table of Italian wines caught my attention. Upon tasting a couple of the wines there, I was inclined to sample the rest. After knocking back the final wine, I was receptive to hearing more about them. The national sales manager who had been pouring was all too happy to tell me about the biodynamic methods used in growing the grapes and making the wine. I did not hide my skepticism of what I termed these “quasi-religious” practices. He was nonplussed. I was impressed.

I wanted to know more. I knew the original movement was begun in 1924 when a group of farmers sought the help of Austrian philosopher and spiritual scientist, Rudoph Steiner. The farmers wanted to learn how to grow grapes without depleting the earth of its nutrients through the use of agrochemicals. But where did biodynamics stand now, 86 years later? My search brought me to a book on biodynamics by one of today’s leading advocates and an avid practitioner of the method, Nicolas Joly. Mr. Joly’s vineyard, Coulee de Serrant, is held in extremely high regard by wine experts. I was on the precipice of conversion.

Knowing I had been on a biodynamic wine kick for weeks, a colleague contacted me with a request for a list of my favorites. He had a friend with a self-diagnosed allergy to the sulfites in wine and suggested he try biodynamic wine. This was turning into quite the miracle wine! I told my friend that, while the “spiritual science” techniques practiced in biodynamic agriculture did not in and of themselves render these wines any safer to drink for anyone with sulfite allergies, the fact that biodynamics demand organic vinification and vitification processes would indeed produce a lower sulfite wine. Although sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process and will be found in all wines to some degree, organic winemakers do not add any additional sulfur dioxide (SO2) to the wine. SO2 is often added to prevent browning caused by oxidation and to prevent microbial spoilage.

So, was I ready to permanently suspend my disbelief and jump on the biodynamic bandwagon? No, that was not in the stars. But I now have a better understanding of the principles behind biodynamics, and a greater appreciation for the many benefits biodynamic agriculture has to offer. Not least among these benefits is the organic methods employed, which not only serve to maintain a healthier ecology, but have the added bonus of producing wines that are truer representations of their terroir. I am no longer snickering.

Reprinted with permission from www.wineinstituteofnewengland.com

Renee B. Allen, Founder and Director of the Wine Institute of New England (WINE) and a Certified Specialist of Wine, is a regular monthly contributor on the topic of local and sustainable wines. “Connecticut Corkers” will feature wineries, winemakers, and wine events throughout the state, with an emphasis on wine education and appreciation. Don’t miss Renee’s first column about Jones Winery, this year’s host farm for the 11th Annual Celebration of Connecticut Farms in September. Jones Winery’s tasting room is open Friday-Sunday from 11-5.

Back in April I profiled Ryan Fibiger, a recent graduate of Fleisher’s Grass Fed and Organic Meats’ whole animal butchery program, in the post The New, Old-Fashioned Butcher. Ryan recently shared with me that he’s all set up to open his retailer butcher shop in Saugatuck Center during the first week of September. If you swing by the property for a peek, you’ll notice a restaurant being built out a few doors down. Offering outdoor seating and catering to the local lunch crowd, the restaurant will, according to Ryan’s, “be very complimentary” to what he’s doing. Wow! A snout-to-tail restaurant in Fairfield County. I see an outdoor pig roast coming!

You won’t have to wait until the shop opens to get a taste of Ryan’s organic and pasture-raised beef, lamb and poultry products. He’s starting a meat CSA very soon and will offer a variety of options – fresh or in cryo for freezing – to suit different consumers. This is the perfect opportunity to go in with a few friends on a whole animal or buy into a share. No fighting over single cuts now! We’ll release details as soon as the program goes live.

Ryan held his first private butchering demo last month and shared that “It was fantastic. We expected 30-40 guests and had 80-90 show up.” Pork in the Raw, a pig butchering demo he plans to hold in his raw retail space before construction begins, could be on the calendar by month’s end. Space will be limited so be sure to follow us on Facebook to get the news first.  Ryan also plans to do demos at local farm-to-table restaurants and those could possibly be by invitation only. I’ll be sure to let you know when he opens up his email list.

By Analiese Paik

Well, it’s about time. How many years have we watched the site adjacent to Home Depot that once was home to the Handy & Harman metals-processing factory being remediated and negotiated over in preparation for the construction of a Whole Foods Market? I think my son was in the toddler truck phase because we’d park and watch the huge vacuums on the back of hazardous waste management trucks suck up the contaminated ground water to clean it up off site. He’s now reading The Hardy Boys.

Let’s shake off the wait with a party. Pack your $10 coupon flyer and head over on Friday, June 3, for the opening day festivities which begin at 8:30 am with a bread breaking ceremony. Be sure to make your way to the Cooking Fairfield department located smack in the middle of the bulk aisle at 11:30 or 5:00 for cooking demos with James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, and  founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave, Michel Nischan. At both 1:00 and 6:15 Nischan will be signing his latest cookbook, Sustainably Delicious, which includes seasonal recipes from and inspired by his restaurant, the Dressing Room, in Westport.

Today I was treated, along with many others from the local media, to lunch from the Whole Foods food truck and an insider’s tour of the store. There are many wonderful surprises here that will delight you. I call them my Top 10 Reasons to Love Whole Foods Market Fairfield. Here they are:

1) 5% of opening day sales benefit Michel’s Nischan’s Wholesome Wave foundation, an organization succeeding in making fresh fruit and vegetables both accessible and affordable to underserved populations throughout the nation. This is a fantastic opportunity to give generously which costs you nothing.

2) Three full-time food educators dedicated to teaching shoppers about healthy eating: Cooking Coach Michelle Ryan, located in the bulk aisle at the Cooking Fairfield in-store cooking department, the first of its kind in the area; Healthy Eating Specialist Jill McKinnesss located across from Cooking Fairfield in the bulk aisle, who is dedicated to helping guide shoppers with special dietary needs to appropriate products; and Culinary Demo Specialist Jeffrey Sherman who will be stationed throughout the store demonstrating a wide variety of products and holding adult and children’s cooking classes.

3) The first Whole Foods Market in the Northeast to have partnered with Amanda Hesser’s social media food hub, Food 52, to “create online resources for people to get back in the kitchen cooking” according to Hesser. Hesser spoke at today’s event about the rich online experience available to registered users on the Food 52 site her team built for the Whole Foods Market Fairifeld community, http://fairfield.wholefoodsmarketcooking.com, which goes live on Friday morning. Users will be able to continue to interact with Cooking Coach Michelle Ryan, but they’ll also have the opportunity to dialog and share recipes and food intelligence with others. Every two weeks Whole Foods Market Fairfield will hold a recipe contest on the site, and winners will receive gift certificates or win store merchandise.

4) More bulk items than any other store (think varieties of rice and beans you’ve never heard of, but taste great).

5) Fresh mozzarella made in-store from Hudson Valley milk curd each Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

6) Farmstand Fishery, an outdoor fish market that cuts your seafood to order.

7) Local (tri-state area) and sustainably raised meat, poultry, and seafood. Meat carries a 5 Step Animal Welfare Rating seal from the Global Animal Partnership and wild seafood carries a green, yellow or red sustainability rating created by partners Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

8) The Whole Foods Market food truck which will be making regular and pop-up stops in town, including the Greenfield Hill farmers’ market, where they will demo recipes made with food from farm vendors.

9) An upcoming farm-to-table prepared foods program (details TBA).

10) Did I mention the free adult and kids’ cooking classes? Okay, how about the vegan salad bar?

Big Bonus: All 365 Everyday Value products are GMO free and many other products carry the Non-GMO Project Verified seal, the sole organization providing independent verification of testing of GM contamination in products in the U.S. and Canada.

The Whole Foods Market food truck, to my knowledge the first food truck in Fairfield County, will be offering tastings and vending in Fairfield until mid-June, then will make its way to other Whole Foods Markets and the neighborhoods they serve in Fairfield County. Follow our Tweets for  the food truck’s daily locations (@GreenFoodGal) around town, including the Greenfield Hill Farmers’ Market on Hillside Road.

Amanda Hesser will hold a signing of her latest book, The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century, on June 11 while Cooking Coach Michelle Ryan demonstrates a recipe from the cookbook. Be sure to pick up June and July in-store event calendars on opening day so you can mark your calendar.

Whole Foods Market Fairfield will open its doors to the community on Friday, June 3, 2011 at 8:30 am. Located at 350 Grasmere Avenue, this will be the grocer’s 8^th store in Connecticut. To celebrate opening day, Whole Foods Market will offer storewide tastings, vendor sampling, special sale items, cooking demonstrations, gift bags and more. Read the full press release.

The Fairfield farmers’ market at the Promenade at the Brick Walk, located at  1189-1215 Post Road between the Jos. A. Bank and Trek stores, opens for the season on Saturday, June 4, 2011. The market is open every Sat. from 9-12 through October and guests can shop for locally grown and produced food and other goods then run errands at the Brick Walk shops.

Some of the vendors mentioned in this video will not be participating in the market this year so please refer to the 2011 vendor list below. Personally, I think Farmer John should wear a shirt and hat in this year’s video. What do you think?

2011 Market Vendors

OXEN HILL FARM (organic)

RED BEE HONEY

ORONOQUE FARMS

STELLA WHITTLE (Pickles)

CHAPLIN FARMS

RONGORONGO (Cards)

GOAT MILK SOAPS

COOKING TEENS/CAROL DANNHAUSER

EAGLEWOOD FARMS

NOTHING BUT… (award-winning granola)

MITCHELL FARMS