News and Views From High Above Dry Creek Valley

Writing about organic and sustainable farming can be awful gloom and doom-y sometimes.  But not today.  In my last post, you may recall (or maybe not), I was lamenting the likely appointment of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to the position of Secretary of Agriculture.  Vilsack has been an ardent supporter of Monsanto Corporation, genetically modified crops and corn-based biofuel production.  He has also been nicknamed “The Satan of Seedsavers.”

I am very proud to write that his nomination has officially been withdrawn.  WOO HOO!!! Vilsack, apparently, did not comment on why he was sacked but sources at the Obama transition headquarters reported “a flood of calls and emails” from organic consumers opposing Vilsack’s nomination.

This is great news but it can’t stop there.  Although signing petitions and writing emails is great and all, we can do more.  A lot more.  And the very cool thing is that creating real change may be easier and more enjoyable than you think.  It’s really pretty simple.  Corporations such as Monsanto and the “farming” practices they support are fueled by one thing – money.  If we, the consumer, stop giving them money then they will cease to exist.

VOTE WITH YOUR FORK.

Instead of loading up on mega-farmed meat and produce shipped in from God-knows-where to Safeway, why not shop at a local store for local meat and produce from local farms and dairies?

Or, better yet, go straight to the source.  These days nearly every city and town has at least one Farmer’s Market where you can not only get the best and freshest stuff but you can actually interact with the nice ladies and gentlemen who planted and harvested those fine artichokes and peas.

Or try Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  In a CSA program the consumer signs up for weekly boxes of local veggies, meat and dairy to be delivered or picked up at a set location.  It’s extremely easy – check out www.localharvest.org to find CSAs in your area.

Just think – along with signing those petitions you can make a HUGE statement and help make the world a better, happier, healthier place simply by eating better, happier and healthier food.  How cool is that?!?

And when you’re roasting that fine local lamb with the potatoes from the organic guy just outside of town I would highly recommend sipping on a fine wine made from organically grown, sustainably farmed grapes.

The 2004 Michel-Schlumberger cabernet sauvignon leaps to mind…

The hillsides here at Michel Schlumberger have been covered in a shroud of fog the past few mornings.  Driving to the winery is when I do my best thinking and I liken it to shaking off the cobwebs of sleep and getting into the groove of work.  In this case, it was the bounce back from a long holiday weekend of fun and plenty of eating (and drinking a bit too). It is easy to forget that Michel-Schlumberger is only 15 miles or so from the coast and that this layer of moisture and gray will soon be replaced by bright blue skies and sunshine aplenty. 

Returning to work is not as big an ordeal as it might be in other industries or at other wineries for that matter. This time of year especially, we all pitch in and come together as a company. Whether it’s helping decorate the winery or stepping in and doing a VIP tasting in the salon, we all work to make the Estate feel like home. Later in the week we are throwing our annual Holiday Party for staff and it’s always a good time.  We have a gift exchange and break out some older vintages.  Jayme and his wife Bethany are coming in from Boston. Bethany is a wickedly funny comedian and we’re all going to go see her show at Caffeine in the City on Dec 6th.  Part of what makes working at a small company so nice are the close ties and friendships you develop.  Even though it’s foggy out and I can hardly see the road in front of me I know that I’m headed back to a place that feels like home.

Jay Kell

Here’s a strange thing.  President elect Obama’s leading pick for the position of Secretary of Agriculture is former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack.  This guy is a long time and close friend of Monsanto.  He was voted Governor of the Year by the nation’s biggest biotechnology group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization.  He has also been referred to as “The Satan of Seedsavers.”

Anyway, I did a lot of reading on this guy and I was getting all fired up and wondering what the heck Obama was thinking and then I started writing this post…

And then I lost my motivation.  It’s raining lightly here now.  I love the rainy season.  Most of the folks here at Michel-Schlumberger are taking the day for the ong weekend Holiday festivities.  The garlic in the garden has sprouted.

It’s hard for me to rant on a day like this.

So instead, I would like to simply wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Drive safe and try to be nice to everyone.  Take the food seriously but not the relatives.  And have a glass of two of really nice wine.

Peace,

Tony

Remember when you were a kid at the table on Thanksgiving Day and you just let the cranberry sauce platter keep passing you by (that gelatinous stuff that sliced like beet colored congealed gravy and wiggled)?
Things have changed-now YOU’RE the adult who cooks Thanksgiving Dinner or at least contributes to it. You can make any kind of turkey sauce you want! Wait for it: It doesn’t even have to be cranberry. It’s true.
Fruit and Meat. They are 2 wonderful food items that really do great things for each other. I didn’t know this as a kid-but as a wine drinking adult who loves to concoct new and better twists on old classics in order to pair them with well….. more wines..I’ve seen the light! For instance, I soak my favorite Turkish Chicken in dried fruit and water overnight, I make apple compote for my pork loin, and I even use marmalade or jam on certain duck dishes. As mentioned in preceding blogs-fruity meat items are often incredibly good with pinot. If they are heavier meats-they can also be amazing with the right Syrah (and yes-ours is the right kind of Syrah).

Maggie-one of our blog followers, mentioned in an earlier post a delicious sounding tangerine cranberry sauce with port. I’m sold-but the question is: which one do I make this year? Will everyone like it?

What are your favorite twists on the old classics? Are your efforts to improve mediocre (and just plain bad sometimes lets be honest) holiday foods unanimously applauded or simply subjected to the suspicious and squinchy eyed inspection by the old school family members who ask ‘why you can’t just be normal for godsake and go open up a can of the real stuff already……? ‘

I am a wine salesman. I travel the countryside of life chatting with folks about Michel-Schlumberger Cabernet. I dine at the finest restaurants. It is a wonderful life. Sometimes, in the middle of a weary day, I look forward to home cooking – my own. To execute this escape from the wine wars, I book myself into an aging motel room with a kitchenette at the edge of some hinterland village. Before checking in, I shop for simple ingredients at a local store and buy a newspaper – a real one. On-line news can be two dimensional after too many road days. I enjoy re-reading a newsy paragraph after shaking a real page a few times. My dad used to read his paper the same way. Habits, I think, can be genetically transferable. Bet you can’t shake the page you are reading now.  

Somewhere around 6 P M. on a recent Tuesday, high in the Colorado highlands, my dinner became toast. Inattention at any altitude can lead to remorse. Smoke poured out of the oven door. Fire alarms bleeted overhead. There was, indeed, a fire in the hole. It’s out now. So am I. After a nasty clean up of hearth and pot, hungry Jer headed to the diner at the edge of town before looking for another room. I ordered wine. We don’t serve wine, the cook told me. I ask, “why not?” No one ever orders it. Hmmm. I went outside and pulled a sample of Cabernet from the car trunk. A wine salesman can have a lonely night or two far from home, but rarely has a day without a glass of wine.

 Back at the counter, I sat the bottle down with authority, scanned the dining room, and appreciated the silence. No one was in the place except me and the “chef”. I ask if I could enjoy a glass with him while I waited for my mushroom burger. “Gotta keep it in a paper cup,” he suggested. Good. That’s good. I was gleeful and asked, “Is it illegal to have wine in here?” It wasn’t. Not if I was selling it and offering it to the proprietor. I asked for another paper cup, poured us both wine, waited for my burger, and knew that I was in the perfect place at that moment in my life. Wine and Jer can have higher life moments, but I doubt it.

Jerry Craven

There have recently been untold columns on which wine to pair with the Thanksgiving feast.  It seemed that immediately after Halloween, all media outlets, from the monthly food magazines to the morning talk shows, began to pick up the story…which by the way, is generally the same story every year.  This is not one of those posts.  I promise.  But just to get it out of the way.  Find a bottle of Michel-Schlumberger Pinot Blanc and a bottle Cabernet, preferably aged.  

Being the resident wine geek, I am naturally chosen to decide which wines to purchase.  If your family is anything like mine, you’ll have to be a bit strategic about how, when and what wine to pour.  You have great uncle Johnny, who will suck down every last drop of the best wine but won’t touch the plonk you bought especially for him. Allow me to introduce Aunt Jane who fills her wine glass straight up to the rim and gingerly sips.  Then there’s cousin Jimbo who doesn’t drink wine except when all other choices are gone and then it becomes his sole mission to cause like effect with the vino.  With these ends, we drink a lot of box wine.  It’s best when slightly chilled so we sometimes keep it outside.  We have terminology to define the stages of volume in the box.  When it’s too low, we must resort to removing the bag from the box and  ”milking the bladder” and when it’s almost gone, desperate times are called for.   ”Piercing the bladder” is the only way to savor that last drop.  I’ve learned the hard way that when the best bottle of the night is finally revealed there is precious little to go around.  Here are a couple of tips to keep everyone happy:

1.  Volume is good.  Bring copious amounts of mediocre wine to keep your less discerning relatives at bay.
2. The upstairs bathroom is the perfect hiding place unless you’ve used it the year before.
3.  Reveal the secret stash only to your wine conscious relations. They will appreciate your discretion.  They too fear cousin Jimbo and great uncle Johnny.
4.  Always have a corkscrew in your coat pocket. 
5.  Imbibe normally and then casually avail yourself to the upstairs bath.
6.  Return to the table and enjoy! 

Now some of you may claim that all at the table will enjoy a taste of the good stuff, which would not be untrue.  So…set aside one bottle and allow all to taste.  Open the bottle with great flair (they’ll be amazed you didn’t have to use the rabbit eared corkscrew), tell them of the vintage, the blend and then share with them the last time you were at the winery and what a nice conversation you had with the winemaker about the influence of organic viticulture on wine quality.  I imagine that by this time they’ll have already had their tiny schluck and will have moved either back to the box or perhaps (and by perhaps I mean always) to something a little stronger. 

Thanksgiving is a time to share, but only in moderation and with good sense.  Looking forward to your Thanksgiving stories!!

Jay Kell

Congratulations to everyone who survived the elections.  This year it seemed like all sorts of very controversial things were up for vote across the nation, from gay marriage to medicinal marijuana to giving farmed chickens some extra leg room.  But here’s one you might have missed in all the excitement.  Voters in Lake County California elected a local rancher to the Board of Supervisors, and this particular guy is expected to tip the board’s majority toward repealing a county ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  Proponents of the ban argue that it would protect organic farmers from potential contamination by GMO crops, which they also say have not been proven safe to consume.  Supporters of GMOs argue that there is no proof that the modified crops are harmful and a ban would hurt farmers economically.

If you haven’t lived in an area where this issue has reared its ugly head then you probably don’t see what all the fuss is about.  If you have voted on the GMO issue in the past then you’ve probably witnessed the incredible money, time and effort spent by both sides pushing their agendas.  Believe me, this issue is HUGE.

Several years ago Sonoma County took a GMO ban to the voters.  And lost.  At the time this issue was of particular interest to me as I was running a small organic farm (Sonoma Heritage Farms) in the county.  My great friend (and bass player in the band) Jason Saling and I grew all sorts of delectable veggies and sold them at a local Farmer’s Market as well as supplying around a dozen local folks with weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) food baskets.  From our point of view, GMO crops were a direct threat to our crops.  And to our health.

But the people producing these GMOs have a different point of view.  Mega-corporations Dow and Monsanto, for example, claim they are being vilified by a few paranoid extremists. They claim to be “developing products and technologies to feed a starving world.”  That sounds very nice and altruistic and all that but — wait just a minute… Dow and Monsanto are CORPORATIONS, not NON-PROFITS.  By it’s own admission, Monsanto (producer of the herbicide Roundup, by the way) currently invests over $2.6 million per day to develop and bring new products to market.  Are they spending all that money because they have an intense desire to save the world?  What do you think their shareholders would say about that as a business model?    I’m not necessarily saying that wealth is evil and we should all go off the grid and join hands and sing songs and share the world in peace.  I’m simply saying that Monsanto and Dow, like any other corporation, are in it for the money.  And when I go to their web sites and see read the rhetoric and see the shiny pictures of well-fed smiling farmers all over the world it makes me feel a bit sick.

But here’s the bottom line.  This issue is extremely complex, involving very complicated arguments in subjects as diverse as genetics, agriculture, food safety, economics, and, of course, politics.  If you are seriously interested in learning more then I highly recommend checking out The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both by author Michael Pollen.  These are very readable and entertaining books on how and what we grow and eat.  If you don’t have the time or desire to do the research then I would urge you to consider one simple question with regard to the issue:

Who do you trust more to make a sound judgement on the issue of GMOs – your friend and neighbor the local organic farmer or Monsanto Corporation?

I talk quite a bit about our vineyards each day, educating our customers about how we farm these benchlands on western edge of Dry Creek. One of the most interesting things going on here is block specific farming.  We have roughly 80 acres under vine and we’d be crazy if we tried to manage those acres in the same way.  So we split them up into small subsections, called blocks. A block can be just a quarter of an acre as is the case with some of our Pinot Noir, or it can be as large as 2 acres. We have 65 different ones in all and growing 15 varietals, each block has its own unique requirements.  

One thing is for sure: Benchlands have some of the most diverse soil types, sun exposures, and elevation differences of any vineyard type.  Our job is maximize the benefits of each block while minimizing any deficiancies.  The best way to get a feel for what we do is to walk the hillsides. We offer a Green Tour where we go for an extended hike through the vineyard and actually taste out at a picnic bench high above the rolling hills west of the winery.  It can be a little strenuous and you’ll certainly be glad when we get to the top and taste the 2006 La Brume Chardonnay. 

Benchland farming is about farming diverse parcels. As our vineyard ages, we are now starting to find special block and produce “block designate” wines that showcase some of that diversity and uniqueness.  As with our Deux Terres and Coteaux Sauvages, we are showcasing Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Viognier.  It’s exciting to see some of these varietals break out of the blend!

Jay Kell

I was hanging out in Venice Beach this week at the quintessential Abbot Kinney restaurant, Joe’s and drinking some of our Pinot Noir.  Here’s what we ate:

Braised Lamb Shank, White Ban & Date Puree, Red Dandelion Greens, Vanilla Herb Oil, Reduction of Braising Jus
Pan-Roasted Atlantic Salmon, Ragout of Roasted Pumpkin, Chestnut, Maitake Mushroom, Grilled Scallion, Allspice Emulsion, Ginger Gastrique

Hungry yet?

While drinking, and talking, and eating and generally enjoying the low-key elegance and ambiance I decided to make this wine my Thanksgiving star.

…yeah, yeah, pinot noir is soo yummy and fruity and light…….. Stop.

Michel-Schlumberger Pinot Noir is of the breed of Pinot that does not simply play the part of a dried cherry or strawberry. It has earthiness, body while remaining delicate, and baking spices along with of course: red fruit. What does this mean? It means it is multi-faceted and can pair with pretty much anything on your table.

My plan for Pinot friendly Thanksgiving dinner foods:

~ Rosemary brine for the turkey
~ Cranberry chutney
~ Good ol’ mashed potatoes (I used the red ones)
~ Scratch the creamy lumpy gravy and bring on the wine ‘jous’
~ Roasted mushrooms
~ Haricot verte (baby French green beans)
~ Candied lavendar (either in salad or with cheeses before dinner)

And you?  What are your plans this year?