My husband has an organic herb and vegetable garden of which I use regularly. I love the smell of fresh organic anything, especially herbs. Today, believe it or not, was my first time using fresh oregano. I chopped it and put it in a pasta salad I was making for lunch. I had always used the organic dried crushed stuff, which isn't bad, but a lot can be said about using fresh ingredients for recipes. Fresh tastes better, definitely. I find myself being very conscious of what I and my family eats and drinks lately. Which brings me to the subject of organic and biodynamic wines. Much care and dedication goes into making these types of wines. It takes about 3 years to convert an established vineyard, and strict regulations need to be followed. Both of these methods of viticulture focus on working with nature, along with preserving and enhancing the soil the wine grapes grow in. Cow manure, Yarrow and Chamomile flowers, among other things, are used to enhance the organic matter already in the soil. The theory is natural ingredients in...beautifully balanced wines out. The difference is evidenced in the taste..and my pasta salad definitely tastes better with the fresh oregano. Here are some producers of organic and biodynamic wines. Try them and see if you can taste the difference from conventionally farmed wine grapes:
Napa Valley ~ Grigich (of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 fame) ~ Quintessa
Washington State ~ Pacific Rim
Sonoma ~ De Loch ~ Benziger
Alsace France ~ Zind Humbrecht
By the way I'm feeling very Carrie Bradshaw-ish today, because I'm writing this from my favorite Starbucks. I need to do this more often.
enjoy
I have oregano growing in my pots, too. It's popular in Greek and Spanish dishes, too.
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