Featherstone Winery in Vineland is a fascinating example of how producers can work in harmony with the land in a variety of ways. David Johnson is both the winemaker and the grower at Featherstone, and so he oversees the production of his wines through the seasons, from bud to grape to juice to wine. What’s more, he and his wife and business partner, Louise Engel, try to work in harmony with the environment.
They use non-chemical alternatives to herbicides wherever possible and no pesticides at all, favouring the release of pheromones to discourage grape berry beetle for example, and hand-sorting the grapes on a shaker table to combat lady bugs. While not certified organic (only one Ontario winery has gone through the certification process: Frogpond in Niagara on the Lake), Featherstone consciously chooses sustainable, natural solutions to agricultural challenges.
One of the most noticeable instances of this is Louise’s bird control practice. Starlings and other birds descend on the grape vines in huge flocks, and one peck of a bird bill ruins not only the grape, but can expose the whole cluster to fungus and rot. That’s why a winery tour in Niagara in high summer can sound like a trip through a combat zone; the wineries use propane-powered “bangers” to scare the flocks away from their valuable grapes. Louise is a falconer, and her three impressive raptors can be seen circling high above the vines on regular patrol. While they kill very few birds, they provide a natural intimidation factor that keeps the flocks of hungry birds well away from Featherstone territory.
Another example of Featherstone’s symbiotic farming practices is the lambs that wander freely among the rows of grapes. These mammalian lawn mowers keep weeds and grasses to a minimum, reducing the need for chemical or mechanical removal of vegetation. But when they have finished with the ground cover, the lambs really become useful. They turn to the grape leaves. Normally, in cool climate viticulture, human labour is used to thin the grape leaves and allow the sun to get at the grapes and help the ripening process. Much more thorough at leaf removal than humans tend to be (after all, it’s their food!), the lambs leave the still-sour grapes alone and happily munch on the unwanted leaves. Nature has played into this happy relationship; since sheep cannot swallow with their heads tilted above horizontal, they concentrate on the grape leaves from chin height down… exactly the zone in which leaf removal is most effective for the ripening grapes.
Of course, an added bonus (for us, not the lambs) is that when they have fattened on the tender and tasty grape leaves, their meat is sweet and succulent. Featherstone lambs are in high demand among some of Niagara’s most discerning restaurateurs, including Mark Piccone and Stephen Treadwell. Lamb, fattened on Featherstone grape leaves, served with one of Featherstone’s premier red wines is a match made in gastronomic heaven.
Slow Food Pelham is hosting in August an event featuring whole Featherstone lamb slow roasted over Featherstone vine cuttings, with Featherstone wines on offer and a tour of the vineyards with David Johnson. For more information about the Slow Food movement, look at www.slowfood.com and to learn about the Pelham Convivium or to get more information on this event, write to Renée Girard at prima_renee@hotmail.com
Roast Leg of Ontario Lamb
Cut five garlic cloves into slices, and insert the slices into slits made all over the lamb leg. Combine four Tbsp of fresh Rosemary with two Tbsp of Dijon mustard and two Tbsp olive oil and smear the mixture over the lamb. Bake on a meat rack in a 375 degree oven until the internal temperature is 130 degrees for medium rare (allow about 15 minutes per pound). Cover with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with potatoes roasted in the same pan, a summer salad, and a good VQA Meritage or Cabernet.
Showing posts with label Back Issues: 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Back Issues: 2008. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
June 2008: “The Family That Eats Together…”
What simple activity can increase a child’s grades, reduce the likelihood of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, and decrease the incidence of teen obesity and depression? Eating together as a family.
Several studies have clearly shown these results; one from the University of Minnesota even statistically eliminated all possible variables like income, and even how cohesive the family was, and concluded that it’s actually sitting down as a family at mealtimes that was the primary cause of significant improvements in children’s health and wellbeing… especially among girls.
Not surprisingly, the studies found that adolescents eating regular family meals ate more fruit and vegetables, got more calcium, and drank significantly fewer soft drinks. However, the benefits of sitting down to a family meal extend far beyond these, and include reduction in substance, tobacco, and alcohol use and significantly better academic performance and mental health when compared to those eating fewer family meals. And the benefits increased with each additional family meal per week!
Television is the biggest challenge for family meal time. According to the Canadian Pediatric Association, children at age 15 have spent more time in front of a television than in classrooms. And kids aren’t the only offenders. Meals in front of the TV tend to be reheated frozen snacks that are, simply put, health hazards. Television programming is a very poor substitute for the kind of family communication and bonding that takes place around the dinner table.
Accepting the benefits of family mealtime is one thing, doing something about it is quite another. Adolescents have always been difficult to convince that doing things as a family are “cool” and even beneficial. Add the overwhelming distractions available, from part time jobs to sports to video games to computers to cell phones to television and it’s a really hard sell to convince kids that sitting down to a family meal is a useful or enjoyable activity.
Experts in child and adolescent psychology offer some guidelines, but each family will have to formulate its own set of principles (preferably in conference with the kids) that will guide family mealtimes.
o Turn off the television. Agree also to turn off cell phones and let the household phone pick up and take messages. Importantly, the parents have to take the lead here and set an example.
o This is not a time for discussing serious, controversial, or delicate subjects. The meal conversation should be light, fun, and upbeat and the mood supportive and comfortable.
o Get everyone involved in the meal. Where there’s the interest, involve the family in planning the week’s menus, helping with the shopping, and joining in the food preparation. Clean up should also be shared fairly. Eventually, maybe older kids can take a lead role in preparing dinner (and the parents get clean-up duty).
o To begin with, the family meal does not have to be complicated. Even sitting down together for a take-out pizza or (better) a take out meal from one of Pelham’s excellent caterers like Lorenzo’s Fine Foods, Wild Flower, or Whisk and Ladle, constitutes a family meal so long as everyone sits down and eats together.
o Set a goal. Maybe begin with the commitment to sit down together as a family twice a week and discuss increasing the frequency as you all get used to the idea.
o Use the crock pot or slow cooker. Coming home to the smell of a home-cooked meal is a pretty good way to build enthusiasm for a family dinner.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Pulled Pork is a southern dish that has as many “authentic” versions as Chili or BBQ. The name comes from the fact that the slow-cooked pork is so tender it is pulled apart using two forks and served as a delicious, savory mush on a bun!
Pork shoulder (1 to 2 kg)
Two or three onions chopped
500 ml of liquid, made up of any or all of ketchup, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, maple syrup, liquid smoke (recommended), or any marinade. One gourmet I know uses pulled pork to empty his fridge of any leftover liquids from salad dressing to gravy to molé sauce (the latter, a chocolate based sauce from Mexico, he proclaimed a particularly tasty addition.)
In the morning, put the pork, the onions and the 500 ml of liquid in the slow cooker, set it on low, and go to work. At supper time, pull the meat apart with forks and ladle it onto fresh buns from one of Pelham’s bakeries. Traditionally served with cole slaw. A big red wine like a VQA Baco Noir would go well, but Niagara’s Best Blonde Ale is perhaps a better match.
Several studies have clearly shown these results; one from the University of Minnesota even statistically eliminated all possible variables like income, and even how cohesive the family was, and concluded that it’s actually sitting down as a family at mealtimes that was the primary cause of significant improvements in children’s health and wellbeing… especially among girls.
Not surprisingly, the studies found that adolescents eating regular family meals ate more fruit and vegetables, got more calcium, and drank significantly fewer soft drinks. However, the benefits of sitting down to a family meal extend far beyond these, and include reduction in substance, tobacco, and alcohol use and significantly better academic performance and mental health when compared to those eating fewer family meals. And the benefits increased with each additional family meal per week!
Television is the biggest challenge for family meal time. According to the Canadian Pediatric Association, children at age 15 have spent more time in front of a television than in classrooms. And kids aren’t the only offenders. Meals in front of the TV tend to be reheated frozen snacks that are, simply put, health hazards. Television programming is a very poor substitute for the kind of family communication and bonding that takes place around the dinner table.
Accepting the benefits of family mealtime is one thing, doing something about it is quite another. Adolescents have always been difficult to convince that doing things as a family are “cool” and even beneficial. Add the overwhelming distractions available, from part time jobs to sports to video games to computers to cell phones to television and it’s a really hard sell to convince kids that sitting down to a family meal is a useful or enjoyable activity.
Experts in child and adolescent psychology offer some guidelines, but each family will have to formulate its own set of principles (preferably in conference with the kids) that will guide family mealtimes.
o Turn off the television. Agree also to turn off cell phones and let the household phone pick up and take messages. Importantly, the parents have to take the lead here and set an example.
o This is not a time for discussing serious, controversial, or delicate subjects. The meal conversation should be light, fun, and upbeat and the mood supportive and comfortable.
o Get everyone involved in the meal. Where there’s the interest, involve the family in planning the week’s menus, helping with the shopping, and joining in the food preparation. Clean up should also be shared fairly. Eventually, maybe older kids can take a lead role in preparing dinner (and the parents get clean-up duty).
o To begin with, the family meal does not have to be complicated. Even sitting down together for a take-out pizza or (better) a take out meal from one of Pelham’s excellent caterers like Lorenzo’s Fine Foods, Wild Flower, or Whisk and Ladle, constitutes a family meal so long as everyone sits down and eats together.
o Set a goal. Maybe begin with the commitment to sit down together as a family twice a week and discuss increasing the frequency as you all get used to the idea.
o Use the crock pot or slow cooker. Coming home to the smell of a home-cooked meal is a pretty good way to build enthusiasm for a family dinner.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Pulled Pork is a southern dish that has as many “authentic” versions as Chili or BBQ. The name comes from the fact that the slow-cooked pork is so tender it is pulled apart using two forks and served as a delicious, savory mush on a bun!
Pork shoulder (1 to 2 kg)
Two or three onions chopped
500 ml of liquid, made up of any or all of ketchup, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, maple syrup, liquid smoke (recommended), or any marinade. One gourmet I know uses pulled pork to empty his fridge of any leftover liquids from salad dressing to gravy to molé sauce (the latter, a chocolate based sauce from Mexico, he proclaimed a particularly tasty addition.)
In the morning, put the pork, the onions and the 500 ml of liquid in the slow cooker, set it on low, and go to work. At supper time, pull the meat apart with forks and ladle it onto fresh buns from one of Pelham’s bakeries. Traditionally served with cole slaw. A big red wine like a VQA Baco Noir would go well, but Niagara’s Best Blonde Ale is perhaps a better match.
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