Sustainable Sunday: South Stage Cellars

When visiting House Alive! a few months ago, we dropped in on a local landmark that houses the South State Cellars' wine tasting room. What we ended up with was a chance to support winemakers who practice sustainability, make good wine, and support local business!

Built in 1865, the then private residence of Patrick Ryan has been host to more local businesses than any other building in town. Currently it is the home of South Stage Cellars, a vineyard-based tasting room and wine garden. We sat in the old-world style tasting room and talked with the others there while sampling a series of award-winning wines, and eventually walked away with a bottle of their 2009 Early Muscat, sold on the promise from the woman in the tasting room that it served both as a delightful dessert wine as well as an aromatic white. It felt like a big claim to me and so was intrigued. I was impressed with the quaint, cozy feel of the tasting room along with the rows of medals and awards that lined the wall behind the bar. The 2008 incarnation of the Early Muscat won Best of Show at the 2009 World of Wine Festival.

We were also excited to see how committed South Stage is to supporting the local economy and community. The grapes come from owners Don and Traute Moore’s vineyard, Quail Run, a local 300 acre operation that utilizes no insecticides and utilizes cover crops as a means to enrich the soils. We noted that there were several events aimed at locals providing discounts and entertainment. Our friend Coenraad had been there just the night before performing at a local’s night.

Some weeks later we decided to give our southern belle a try. A pale straw color, I expected something touted as a potential dessert wine to be more syrupy, but it seemed more like an aromatic in the glass. The nose consisted of honey and a tropical fruitiness that we were initially unable to identify along with hints of clove. I found the taste to be powerfully sweet on the tongue with a slight sparkling texture and a lightly bitter finish, almost like grapefruit. Jason noted that he found a “zing” at the top of his palette that was just as much texture as it was flavor. After exploring this further we decided that this was the tropical fruit we’d gotten on the nose – guava. The whole experience was threaded with the light spiciness of clove that carried through from start to finish.

We decided that the claim that this wine could be either a dessert wine or enjoyed by the glass with food stood up to the test. The Early Muscat provided more than enough complexity and crispness to drink chilled with a citrusy piece of fish or a mild Thai curry. However, its bold sweetness and bitterness would make it an excellent complement to dark chocolate or summer fruits. I definitely enjoyed this versatile wine and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sweet wine with a kick.

Sustainable Sunday: Corvallis Hydroponics and Organics

If you read the lovely post we got from guest blogger Stephanie "Working Homemaker" Duckett, you would have noticed a new business mentioned that provides for gardeners here in Linn and Benton Counties - Corvallis Hydroponic and Organics. Out on Philomath Blvd., the store promises "a one stop shop where they [gardeners] can purchase all the needed supplies to successfully start and maintain their gardens."

Stephanie was excited about this place because it was where she found vermiculite for her square foot garden. I am excited about its wide variety of items aimed at helping people grow quality organic produce at their own homes. I also enjoy that the company aims to educate people about hydroponics - the science of gardening without soil.

Though hydroponics often gets a bad rap because of its association with growing marijuana (we make no judgments either way), it can be an excellent choice for people living in cities because it does not require that people have soil in their yards. Hydroponics can be done indoors, on rooftops, in empty lots, and in places where the soil has been too polluted for growing veggies. The folks at Corvallis Hydroponic and Organics also make note that despite the fact that it seems hydroponics would use more water, that it takes about 10% of the water in traditional gardening. They also argue that one can yield the same amount of produce in 1/5 the space.

I feel a hydroponic experiment coming on...

Sustainable Sunday: Youth Garden Project

Starting off, if you are reading this (and of course, if you are reading this you are reading this) please know that if you have a favorite business dedicated to sustainability please write in so we can highlight them!!! Our hope here is that we can cover businesses all over as opposed to those in Oregon and Utah. We know there are places out there in Chicago, and New York, and Europe, and anywhere else you might be checking in from!!!

This week we wanted to touch on a Utah nonprofit that is near and dear to the heart. The Youth Garden Project is dedicated to the cultivation of personal growth, self responsibility, and and community awareness in young people through the understanding and practice of organic gardening. Deep in the heart of Moab, UT, YGP is tucked up against the high school grounds (go red devils!), and offers a series of programs and events meant to teach children about health and sustainability.

Most of the staff are Americorps volunteers - young adults learning about themselves while putting on events such as a multi-week summer camp with weekly themes such as superheroes, recycled fashion show, and putting on a play. During the school year they offer after school programs and host field trips. They also host after school clubs.

YGP also does community events not aimed at children. They host workshops such as chicken coop tours, canning, baking bread, and bee keeping. Over the summer a bi-weekly weed and feed program provides a free meal to community members who come and help out for a couple of hours. Every Saturday you can find them pedaling their amazing veggies, pastries, jams and other items at the local farmers' market that they host. They also bring in local chefs to put on fund-raising dinners with locally-sourced food.

When I lived in Moab I was very privileged to be able to work with the incredible people over at YGP. If you are ever in Moab stop in to see the geodesic dome, earthbag walls, veggies, and incredible people!

Sustainable Sunday: Regenerative Design Institute

This week we will be featuring the Regenerative Design Institute, a permaculture demonstration farm and experiential education center in Bolinas, CA. If you were paying attention to earlier posts (and we don't judge you if you were not), you would have noted that this is where Jason has trundled off to for a 6 month internship.

Founded in 2005 by Penny Livingston and James Stark on the property of Commonweal Garden, RDI is dedicated to showing people a better way to live on our planet. They believe that not only can people live sustainably, but they can improve the planet rather than keeping it as is. This is done through the principles of permaculture. For those of you who scratch your head every time we mention permaculture, let this be your basic primer. Permaculture is a design system for human interaction with the earth. This includes everything from agriculture to waste management, water systems to how humans relate to one another. In short, it is a way of life driven by an understanding of natural ecosystems that posits developing strong connectivity within a system makes it even stronger.

RDI offers a series of courses that include permaculture design, regenerative design and nature awareness, ecology of leadership, and reskilling (learning ancient and primitive technologies). They do this within the demonstrative context of their 7-acre farm which includes orchards, livestock, gardens, natural buildings, and a greenhouse. Participants in the courses are able to see first hand the principles of permaculture at work, while hearing lectures from some of the top permaculture experts in the world. For example, a lecture on livestock leads to observation of the ranging chickens providing pest control in the garden. This allows the chickens to gain nutrients for producing better eggs, while the plants are pest-free and get valuable nitrogen from chicken manure. Participants can watch the systems in action, and become inspired to create their own permaculture designs.

So where does Jason come in? As example of how permaculture stretches even into human interaction, RDI 'hires' groups of work traders (monikered 'farm homies') who offer farm labor in exchange for knowledge through permaculture immersion. In the short month that J has been at RDI he's milked goats, plastered buildings, hauled rocks, germinated seeds, planted crops, pruned trees, managed the gravity-fed water system, and learned to make cheese (whew!). He has found it a lot of fun with an amazing community, meaningful work, and great learning opportunities. He now understands how much it takes to run a farm, and the intricacies of permaculture require trial and error and a willingness to make mistakes. As Penny would say, "permaculture is not rocket science. It's a lot more complicated." One might argue this a fair assertion seeing as it's taken 3 billion years to develop natural ecosystems, and permaculture has been alive and kicking a short 30.

The next 5 months for J are full of promise, including remodeling the greenhouse, perfecting the composting systems, and waiting for the rains to cease so spring planting can commence (not to mention lots of yummy food to eat all summer). We hope to hear more about this great place and the things J is doing down on the farm with the homies.

Sustainable Sunday: Denison Farms

As stated earlier in this blog, we've been aiming to eat local and seasonal foods. I wanted to highlight a business today that has made that possible without making us crazy on a diet of potatoes and onions - Denison Farms. Every Saturday I enjoy a walk through the winter market and purchase veggies at their farm stand.

Denison is a 20-acre operation North of Corvallis that grows over 100 varieties of organic fruits and vegetables. Currently I have purchased their leeks, carrots, kale, and beets, and find them reasonably priced and very tasty. Currently their farm stand offers other items such as braising greens, fennel, and chard as well as recipes suggesting ways to use the things they are growing.

They don't just sell through their farm stand. They also offer a 26-week CSA with a payment plan and multiple pickup locations. If you don't know what at CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Farms need a lot of capital to get running, and taking part in a CSA is a great way to help farmers get going while scoring large amounts of seasonal veggies every week. Denison also includes recipes in their CSA box to teach buyers how to use less familiar vegetables.

Denison is exactly the kind of business we love here at Semi-Urban Homesteader - local, family-owned, organic, sustainable, and high-quality. If you are in the area come by the winter market next week and see what I mean!

Sustainable Sunday: Afton Field Farm

We want to profile an amazing business that Jason visited this week - Afton Field Farm. While chatting about local sustainable agriculture with a pal from Corvallis Brewing Supply, Jason learned that Tyler and Alicia Jones of Afton Field Farm followed in the practice of one of Jason's agricultural heroes, Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farms. Jason and I both read about Salatin and his "grass farming" ways in Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Jason learned that Tyler had apprenticed with Salatin and was eager to see the sustainable farming guru's methods put into practice in real life.

Afton Field Farm is self-described as "a pasture-based, beyond organic, multi-generational family farm in Corvallis, Oregon." Their website boasts a wide variety of meats and other animal products including beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and turkey. Customers can make purchases right at the farm, at local farmers' markets, or in a myriad of regional and local restaurants and grocers.

The Jones' are very welcoming of visitors, having an open farm policy Monday-Saturday. All they ask is that people give a call before arrival so they they know someone is coming. Jason sent them an email and was invited to come by on Wednesday afternoon.

Happy pig out on the farm (picture from Alicia's blog)

Jason found the Jones' very friendly. They offered him a view of the farm from up on top of a hill and were apologetic that winter is a slow time with less to observe. Jason enjoyed seeing the pigs who were hanging out near the orchard. He also saw the laying hens in the coop, and the 'fleet' of eggmobiles in the field housing the broilers. He was able to see their new slaughter house where they prepare chickens for sale.

Jason found the experience to be inspiring and exciting. Not only did he get to meet an incredibly cool young couple who share our ideals, but also walked away with pork chops, bacon, a roast, and plans to return for eggs at $4.00/doz. The best part of his experience was being able to actually see the innovative methods that he'd only until then read about.

We are currently thawing the roast for dinner tonight, and will update you with a review.

I was really excited to be able to check out Alicia's blog, describing how a city girl brings her own style and thought to the farming experience.