The April 2011 Newsletter

Cooking For Zero Waste

Cooking for Solutions 2011 is going to be an event that is

What does Zero Waste mean?

The goal is to divert as much waste from the landfill as possible. Please help the Monterey
Bay Aquarium achieve this by participating and doing your part. The two main components of Zero
Waste are, first - using recyclable and compostable materials, and then - ensuring those materials are
disposed of properly.

What does Zero Waste mean for you as a chef or vendor?

All of the service ware that the guests will be using will be compostable, including all the
plates, napkins and cutlery.

You will be able to recycle and/or compost packaging materials, food scraps and containers.

You can start now by utilizing “The Right Materials”

Reusable plastic bins and containers are preferred

Reusable or recyclable cardboard boxes allow for easy reuse or disposal

No polystyrene coolers or ice chests please

Then on the night it will be all about “The Right Disposal”

In addition to roving folks who will be able to help you identify what is and isn’t recyclable
or compostable, recycle stations will be available at your station during setup and breakdown, and
compost bins will be available throughout the evening.

Please recycle all of your glass, aluminum, plastic, including stretchy plastic wrap and
reuse or recycle your cardboard boxes

Put all food scraps including meat and fish into the compost bins

Ensure any other staff or station helpers know about the goal and do their part too

Think twice before placing anything in the “landfill” bin

Help Cooking for Solutions become an even more sustainable event – be Zero Waste!

Hopland Passport - Last Chance to Purchase Tickets Online!

Links to WINERIES Terra Savia Brutocao Cellars Campovida Cesar Toxqui Cellars Graziano Family of Wines Jaxon Keys Winery Jeriko Estate McDowell Valley Vineyards McFadden Vineyards McNab Ridge Winery Milano Winery Nelson Family Vineyards Parducci Wine Cellars Patianna Vineyards Rack & Riddle Saracina Vineyards Weibel Family Vineyards Destination Hopland Toll Free 800-564-2582 P.O. Box 578 Hopland, CA 95449 Mailing List Don't miss out on this year's Hopland Passport on Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st. Online Ticket Sales End on Thursday April 28th, at 12 pm- Buy your ticket today! Buy your ticket online today for $35. Tickets can be purchased after Thursday at any participating winery for $45. Hopland Passport wineries are rolling out the barrels and will be offering delicious food pairings. Here is a preview just a few: Join us at Saracina Vineyards along with Executive Chef Janelle Weaver of world renowned Kuleto Estate Winery of St. Helena and Peter Michael Winery of Calistoga. She will be enticing us with delectable items including Smoked Chicken & Porcini Crepes, Grilled Hangar Steak Tartines, & more! Weibel Family Vineyards & Winery will be at their new tasting room located in downtown Hopland & will be providing critically acclaimed treats by Chef Sarah Picollo of Fork Catering. Weibel will also be offering new releases-2009 Mendocino Chardonnay, 2010 Redwood Valley Sauvignon Blanc & 2010 Mendocino Orange Muscat. For the first time, wines from Parducci Wine Cellars will be served at Real Goods. They will be pouring several of their 90+ score wines along with food by favorite local chef Tamara Frey. She will be serving grilled local, organic beef with aioli on crostini, local goat cheese on a crostini with sun dried tomato garnish, as well as smoked salmon mousse. The Dirt Floor Band will be playing from noon to 4:00 pm on the Pavilion lawn at Real Goods on Saturday. Also new to Hopland Passport this year is Cesar Toxqui Cellars, who recently opened a tasting room in downtown Hopland.  Cesar and his family invite participants to stop by and taste his hand-crafted, small-batch artisan Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Heirloom wines, all of which are produced using sustainable, traditional methods. Campovida will be serving Mendocino Farms wine, harvested olive oil, honey & appetizers prepared by Branches. They have a talented musical line-up including local artists Les Boek & friends as well as local vocal artist, Mara Montiel. Ken Boek, Campovida's Voice of Nature, will be offering tours of the famous organic gardens throughout both days of the event starting at 11:30am.

Contact Information: PO BOX 578, Hopland, CA 95449 | 800.564.2582

Happy Earth Day!

Being eco-minded people let alone organic wine and olive oil producers, it would be wrong to not post anything on Earth Day.  With the probable exception of Amazon tribes, nobody's perfect when it comes to environmental preservation; all we can do is our best and are proud to be part of the earth friendly farming movement which is only gaining new followers and practitioners each day.

Keep up the good work friends...

Our Garden, Greenhouse, and Facility in Hopland

 

What Are the Regulations for Organic Winemaking?

Organic winemaking is much more about what you don't do in the winemaking process. With good reason, there are fairly strict regulations on what you can and can't add for flavor, color, preservation, filtering, body, tannins, ect.  
Here are a few of those regulations, for the complete list, click here.

• Sulfur dioxide (Sulfites)—for use only in wine labeled “made with organic grapes,” Provided, That, total sulfite concentration does not exceed 100 ppm.
•  Magnesium sulfate, nonsynthetic sources only.
• Yeast—nonsynthetic, growth on petrochemical substrate and sulfite waste liquor is prohibited (Autolysate; Bakers; Brewers; Nutritional; and Smoked—nonsynthetic smoke flavoring process must be documented).
• Egg white lysozyme (CAS # 9001– 63–2)
• Enzymes—must be derived from edible, nontoxic plants, nonpathogenic fungi, or nonpathogenic bacteria.

Click here for more information

A Taste of Hawaii in Hopland this Spring

Join us for this Spring’s Hopland Passport, April 30^th and May 1^st.  Terra Savia will celebrate Hawaiian style including the soulful Island grooves of the wonderful Hawaiian band, Hui Arago.  We will be cooking up some Island fare to entice your appetites; we might even add SPAM to the menu for added authenticity.  
Experience the wonderful Mendocino springtime sun in the relaxed setting of Hopland.  Wineries will roll out the red carpet for you. Come and taste delicious wines paired with old familiar dishes and a new food discovery or two.

As an incentive to join us and our Island festiveness, we're offering 25% off all purchases made at the winery to anyone wearing any sort of Hawaiian threads; this includes hula skirts, aloha shirts, or those fancy Hawaiian Chief Headdresses.

Meritage Is Number 1!

We just received this notice from the Meritage Alliance yesterday regarding the sales of Meritage and other red wine blends overtaking Pinot Noir as the fastest growing wine in popularity. What's interesting is it mentions the sales of Pinot Noir being influenced by the movie Sideways. It never ceases to amaze how that movie had such a profound effect on the wine industry.

"Healdsburg, CA, Wednesday, April 6, 2011—Step aside Pinot Noir.

Meritage and other blended wines were the fastest growing wine
category in 2010, according to research by Symphony IRI Group, which
studies domestic table wine sales at major U.S. food and drug stores
for Wines & Vines Magazine.
       Sales of Meritage and other blended red wines were up 14% in 2010,
bypassing Pinot Noir for the first time since the release of the 2004
cult movie Sideways, which had a dramatic impact on the demand for
Pinot Noir nationwide.  Pinot sales are still on the rise, up 11% in
2010, the survey showed.

  “Meritage wines and blended wines in general have been making
great gains in popularity over the last few years,” said Kim Stare
Wallace, Vice President at Dry Creek Vineyard and Chairman of The
Meritage Alliance, the not-for-profit marketing organization that
owns the Meritage trademark.  “Over the last couple of decades, the
wine industry basically focused on promoting specific varietals, but
the centuries-old tradition of blending wines is making a comeback.
Meritage wines are more complex, age better and are a better match
for many different foods, plus they’re more approachable when
they’re young,” Wallace explained.  “They truly are the highest
form of the winemaker’s art.” "

Read more...

Meritage Alliance Website
The Meritage Association