Organic Chardonnay and Crab in San Francisco

Tuesday, Dec 7th Starbelly in San Francisco will be boiling pounds of fresh, local Dungeness crab and winemaker Jim Milone will be on hand to help wash it down with some of our Terra Sávia 2009 Organic Chardonnay. 

Event Details:
5-9 pm
Price: $56 per person
Limited to 60 people, reservation recommended.
Menu
fresh duneness crab with drawn butter & remoulade
soft home made milk rolls
ceasar salad & avocado & garlic crutons
boiled potatos & house made smoked sausages
spiced apple cobbler with brown sugar-oat crumble

Image Courtesy of http://www.sfggseafoodco.com

 

Organic Dominican Coffee, MMMMM

Last week we were asked to pour wine at an event put on by Liga Masiva where a great time was had by all. Liga Masiva is similar to a wine club but only with coffee, organic, direct trade coffee from the Dominican Republic. For a very reasonable monthly investment, you get a pound of this fine Dominican production juice delivered to your front door.
We decided to get involved with this company because there is some Dominican blood in the Terra Savia family and we love the idea of promoting sustainable, organic farming in a place where these practices aren't known for being the norm.

From the LigaMasiva.com website:

"Our History"
"Liga Masiva was born high up on a mountain path in the Dominican Republic. Emily, Liga Masiva’s founder, had lived and worked in the DR for many years, a lot of that time with cacao, plantain, and coffee farmers. These farmers were hardworking, innovative, and created amazing products. But the farmers were struggling. Because of the ups and downs of international commodity markets, and the many middlemen taking their cut of profits, a farmer often had to choose between eating and sending his child to school.
So the idea sprouted. What if trade was based on relationships instead of commodity prices? What if Martin in DR could sell his coffee directly to Johanna in New York? What if we could shop at a global farmers’ market?
We started small, connecting a group of organic coffee farmers directly to consumers in the US. We got a great response from farmers and consumers alike. So we started growing bit by bit and bean by bean. Now we’re on track to add some great new products and keep refining our work. Thanks for your support… and stay tuned!"
Check out the website and support the world-wide community of environmentally conscious farmers!
http://www.ligamasiva.com

Organic Winemaking, The Jim Milone Priniciple

Q:  I have a question about the chard that probably only the winemaker can answer. It has the ccof logo on it yet it says it contains sulfites. I think to get ccof there has to be no added sulfites. Is that the case with this wine? I do know you have the suftites warning on there as there are always some sulfites in wine. Maybe you have an idea of  the ppm?

Jim's Answer:

Great question……….. I wish everybody paid this close of attention to things. It is really important that we educate people about the different levels of “organic” and what it really means.

There are so many different labels people are using to sell wine these days…….. sustainable, fish friendly, carbon neutral, organic…..blah,blah,blah. Here is the scoop.

Sustainable really means nothing to me because if you are a farmer of course you should not be trying to destroy your land, you want sustained production. But so does Monsanto and Dow. (I’m starting to get on my soap box) so back to our organic status, There are three basic categories of organic:

1.     California Dept of Food and Ag – Very little oversight, must register with county. (means very little)

2.     Third Party Certifier – Must follow the guidelines and parameters of a registered third party (CCOF). Must have  this to put “made with organic grapes” on the front.

3.     Absolute Organic – Must follow guidelines as above but cannot add sulfur or any additives. Must have this to say “organic wine” on the front.

 

Terra Savia falls into the 2^nd category. I like CCOF because they are reasonable. We can use sulfur but our total sulfur cannot exceed 100ppm.(legal limit is 300ppm) Anyone using good grapes and good winemaking techniques should be able to meet this standard. As well, there is a long list of things we cannot use and I hate to even get started on that list as my conventional winemaker friends and comrades might chase me out of the biz. On a more positive approach I like CCOF because they are local, one of the first and the consumer can go to their website and see just exactly what the parameters are for my winemaking.(this is an important education tool)

A problem I see with the  organic perception of wine is that it all seems to focus on sulfur. There is so much more to it. To me it is more about how we treat the little piece of the planet that we are using to create a product and make a living. The consumer has been schooled to think it’s all about one of the most organic compounds on the planet.(Uh oh I’m getting started again)

Anyway………….. I would love to sit down and talk about all this with you further if you’re interested. The history and discovery of the use of sulfur in wine by the ancient Greeks for instance is a great place to start.

Sorry to babble on so………………hope I answered your question and thanks for asking.

Thanks

Jim

Jim Milone

Winemaker - Director of Sales

 

The Olive Harvest and Crush is Under Way