Posted in Farms & Gardens, Produce, Producer Profile, tagged Beck Grove, California, Coke Farm, Full Belly Farm, organic, Produce, Riverdog Farm, T&D Willey Farm, Veritable Vegetable on November 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Team at Full Belly Farm
As many of you know, the local produce season is winding down and we’re seeing a lot less variety coming in from the fields. Like much of the country, we look to California for fruits and vegetables when our own region cannot sustainably supply them. (more…)
Posted in Farms & Gardens, Food Science, Produce, tagged companion planting, crop rotation, farming, Ferdinando Zanusso, food, intercropping, Mario Zanusso, organic, soil, soil test, sustainable agriculture, terroir on May 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Seedlings at Red Fire Farm
At Formaggio Kitchen, serious consideration is given to the impact of the land or terroir on each bottle of wine, wheel of cheese and bar of chocolate — for familiarity with soil and its composition yields a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Earth and our food. Many of our biodynamic and natural wine producers emphasize the importance of soil composition as it relates to the health of the vineyard as well as to the expression of the wine. I Clivi winemakers, Ferdinando Zanusso and Mario Zanusso, produce, “as ‘transparent’ a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences.” (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Travelogues, Wine, tagged biodynamic, Chardonnay, Domaine du Traginer, Domaine Vigne du Maynes, Gamay, Jean-François Deu, Jo Landron, Julien Guillot, Lo Spaventapasseri, Millésime Bio, Muscadet, organic, terroir, Wine, winemakers on February 2, 2012 | 1 Comment »
During a short stint from January 23rd to 25th, I had the opportunity to once again attend Millésime Bio, an annual organic wine exposition in Montpellier, France. It not only proved to be an exciting and challenging experience with my struggling French but offered me a closer view into the diverse world of wine. A wide range of regions, traditions, styles and levels of quality were represented at the show. My goal this year was to further develop an appreciation for these differences and find language to capture them for my colleagues and our customers. For example, organic, biodynamic, and even no-sulfur added wines can be made quite conventionally through machine harvesting and high yields, with poor terroir, additives and invasive cellar techniques. For me, it is an ongoing effort to understand and be able to explain the differences between industrial, conventional, artisanal, natural, and heirloom even within the categories of organic, biodynamic and no-sulfur added wine. It takes tasting, re-tasting, traveling, and speaking directly with producers to be able to speak to these qualitative differences and really comprehend who is doing the work to make great wines. With this mission in mind, I reconnected with many of my favorite growers – and discovered new ones too. Here are some of the highlights! (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, Wine, tagged Aubry Fils, biodynamic, bubbly, Champagne, Domaine des Vignes du Maynes, Ferdinando Zanusso, Henri Billiot, I Clivi, Mario Zanusso, organic, Philippe Aubry, Pierre Aubry, Ribolla, spumante, Wine on December 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
South End wine buyer, Julie Cappellano, and Cambridge wine buyer, Gemma Iannoni, offer their top picks for bubbly to celebrate the holidays and ring in the New Year! Their selections subscribe to our philosophy of selecting authentic, terroir-driven wines from producers using organic, sustainable, or biodynamic viticultural practices. (more…)
Posted in Farms & Gardens, Produce, Producer Profile, United States, tagged barley, eating locally, eggs, farm, farms, flour, food, grains, hops, local farms, locavore, Maine farms, Massachusetts farms, organic, Produce, Red Fire Farm, Rockville Market Farm, sod, Sparrow Arc Farm, sustainable, Vermont farms, wheatberries on August 6, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Harvesting at Rockville Market Farm*
The cheese counter at Formaggio Kitchen is pasted with articles, vintage cheese labels, stickers, helpful tips and lovely old pictures from our early days in business. All are interesting to peruse, but one sticker in particular always resonates with me as I pass it daily – a small, hardly noticeable, green sticker right at the entrance to the counter. It reads, “No Farms, No Food.” This statement may seem obvious, but in a time where triple-washed, packaged, pre-cut and peeled vegetables are the norm, it is difficult to remember that everything we eat was grown by farmers in wide spaces, deep in the dirt. By maintaining close relationships with the farmers that produce our food, the gap from field to consumer is ultimately closed and enormous benefits are immediately apparent. Not only is it now possible to know the exact date of harvest, but we can discuss the pest management techniques used on the farm, inquire about the diet of livestock and poultry, and even know the farmer’s most recommended crop of the week. With this in mind, Formaggio Kitchen aims to be an equally transparent connection between our customers and farmers. We are happy to talk at length about the practices of each farm and alert customers as to when we receive produce from each grower. Recommending the perfect fruit or vegetable comes naturally when we are so highly tuned into what is happening on the fields! In that spirit, here is an in-depth look at some of our favorite farms and growers in the New England area. (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Producer Profile, Wine, tagged Chianti, Chianti Colli Senesi, food, Giovanna Tiezzi, Italy, organic, Pacina, Sangiovese, Stefano Borsa, terroir, Wine, winemakers, yeasts on July 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Recently, we were thrilled to welcome Giovanna Tiezzi and Stefano Borsa to our shop. Giovanna and Stefano are the dedicated growers behind Pacina wine and they stopped by our Cambridge shop on a rare visit to the United States to taste out their ’07 Chianti Colli Senesi and speak to folks about what distinguishes them from other viticoltori in their region.
Where is Pacina?
Located about twenty-five minutes east of Siena in the Chianti district of Colli Senesi, Pacina is an old convent, dating to circa 900AD. The land where the convent is located is rich in wine history insofar as Pāca was the Etruscan god of the grape harvest, the equivalent of the Roman god, Bacchus, or the Greek god, Dionysius. For centuries, wine has been made in this region.
Flash forward to 2011: Pacina serves as a home to Giovanna Tiezzi and Stefano Borsa, along with their children, Maria and Carlo. Giovanna took over the estate that was bought by her great-grandparents. Today, she and Stefano cultivate a wide range of produce – from cereals, to fruit, to vegetables, to extra virgin olive oil. Giovanna and Stefano are, however, probably best known for their wine. As with everything they produce, it is organic. (more…)
Buy cheese online.
|
