Green Options

Where can you buy healthy fresh food in your neighborhood? Where are the grocery stores and farmer’s markets, how is the quality of food that is there, and which food options do you actually have access to? Are there nearby food banks or community gardens? Can you grow your own food? What local food choices are available to you in your community?

I took this photo in the meat section of my neighborhood grocery store earlier this week.

I’m feeling a little guilty about my posting last week, When Life Gives You Raspberries, Add Vodka. No guilt on the idea of blending raspberries and vodka, it’s just I recommended “cheap vodka” as an ingredient for the Raspberry Cordial recipe. Shame on me. There’s no point in praising the glories of local, organic raspberries and then regress to mixing them with no name, no good sustainable karma vodka just to save a buck.

Turns out I have better options, thanks to the burgeoning rise of “micro-distilleries.” Over 100 of these small, independent, locally owned distilleries can be found across the county and continue to pop up at the rate of ten to twenty a year. Turns out one of these sits just north of my farm in Madison, Wisconsin: Yahara Bay Distillers, making small batches of vodka, white rum and other spirits using local ingredients from family-run farms ideally within 100 miles.

“A year ago I couldn’t spell distillery, now I’m making the stuff,” confesses owner Nick Quint with a smile. Unlike wineries and breweries, small micro-distilleries can get up and running with a much lower investment and learning curve. “Folks are drinking less but drinking better and they want to be aware of what they’re drinking, and that’s where local spirits fit in. People want to slow down and consciously enjoy a quality cocktail.”

I’m convinced. But just to set me permanently straight on why I shouldn’t fall for cheap vodka again, Quint offers these three reasons to seek out micro-distilleries:

Rumor has it the first hard frost will arrive in Wisconsin sometime tonight. We quickly pulled in our tomatoes, peppers, basil and the last bucket of raspberries. After another busy summer on our farm, I’m ready for the frost, the fall, the feeling of relief that life will slow down a bit. It’s the perfect time for a grateful toast in thanks for the abundant harvest as Mr. Snow

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360, Square One, Purus, Sunshine, Fourteen, UK5, Ocean, CapRock, Prairie, Crop, and Rain. Not all household names when thinking about a vodka martini- yet.

While organic and biodynamic wines have been around for decades, organic and sustainable spirits have just started to come on board.

Despite all the talk of the fight against global warming, the major driving factor behind US consumers’ appetite for green products is health, according to research published by Mintel.

The report, entitled Green Living, researches the factors involved in environmentally friendly purchasing decisions and establishes a firm connection between health concerns and green food products. Green food sales are experiencing massive growth, Mintel says. The research house predicts the natural food and drink products market to be worth $19.6 billion this year, compared to $11.9 billion last year.

One factor in the growth is the ever increasing sophistication by producers who go to great lengths to innovate product development procedures. In the next few years, the alcoholic beverages branch might be one to watch. Mintel singles this area out as a new growth sector. A clear example of an alcohol company “going green” is McCormick Distillery’s recent launch of a new luxurious brand called 360 Vodka.