Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:31:56 -0800
Subject: [PV-Friends] December newsletter

	Perennial Vintners	In this issue:
		▪ One more week Winter farmers mkt
		▪ Recipes
		▪ Website updates
Newsletter -- December-2008		▪ New pond
(Click here to view in HTML on website)		▪ New outlet - Cafe Nola
http://www.PerennialVintners.com/		▪ Happy holidays & It's Good To Wine

(Click on any image below to go to website with more information/larger image/etc.)

▪ One more week Winter farmers market
We've been at the Bainbridge Indoor Winter Farmers Market this entire season, and are very glad for it! We've had many folks come by to chat and to buy wine. From my admittedly limited view, people are buying local products even though the economy may make any purchasing difficult. (We were at the market last year, but sales were not as good.) We are thrilled to see people exercising such good judgment <grin!> We hope to see you at the Farmers Market this final weekend of the 2008 season, Sat. 20-Dec @ Eagle Harbor church, corner of Winslow and Madison.

▪ Recipes
For being a winery that makes big deal about how our wines go sooo well with particular foods, we've been negligent by not providing some good examples. We've finally gotten a start in this direction...

From Beth:
Mike and I met while we were students at The Evergreen State College, where people were passionate about eating organic, healthy, local foods long before it became a national trend. Class potlucks were always interesting--14 loaves of zucchini bread and something unidentifiable with alfalfa sprouts in it. I started to rebel and brought chocolate mousse to every potluck I was invited to. It was amazing to see how fast the mousse would disappear in a room full of health-conscious students! Here's one of my favorite (and very easy) recipes for chocolate mousse, which is a perfect companion to our Ichigo.

This and other recipes, can be found at the website on the new recipes page.

▪ Website updates
In late October while crossing my fingers and praying the dry weather would stick around just a little bit longer, I managed to find some time to do some website updates. (I've also done a bunch more today.) If you haven't been to our website in the last couple of months, you might find it fun to poke around it a bit. We've been included in several newspaper and magazine articles, I've uploaded several new panorama photos (including one in the winery itself), and made many other small updates including the new recipes page. If you're taking a snow day and relaxing at the computer, here's a chance for some enlightenment and entertainment.

▪ New pond

Something we've been wanting for several years now, is a stormwater catchment pond. This doesn't sound very exciting, but it is another small step towards sustainability and contributes to the overall health of our planet. We've dug a big hole at the highest corner of the property, where surface rainwater from the tree farm area above us runs down. We've plumbed the downspouts from our roof under the driveway and out to the pond. So we'll be catching rainwater that would otherwise be sluicing down the hillside, eroding our driveway and uselessly flooding downstream. We will use this water in the summer months for irrigation -- up 'til now we've used expensive city water. Best yet, as the pond is at the top of the property, we hope we'll have enough gravity pressure so that we won't need to run a pump. More details on the website at pond photos.

▪ New outlet - Cafe Nola
Our favorite restaurant to go out to when we want to splurge is undoubtedly Cafe Nola on Bainbridge. The food is always wonderful, and the service is fantastic, yet it's amazingly kid-friendly for such a fine dining establishment. Although the wine list is not extensive, they've managed to have a wide selection so it's easy to find something to match all their meals, and to suit most any taste. We are really honored that they feel our wine is of high enough quality to serve with their excellent meals. (You'll see us on the menu in a few weeks when they next revise it.)

▪ Happy holidays & It's Good To Wine
And of course we wish you the best of the holiday season. We hope you get to spend time with the people whom you care the most about. We encourage you to make time to just enjoy a meal friends, family and wine.

Although by federal law we are not allowed to make any health claims on a label, we can say so on our websites and newsletters -- there have been many studies in the last few years that show moderate wine consumption does contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The Family Wineries Of WA in conjunction with the WA Health Foundation has published a pamphlet entitled It's Good To Wine A Little. In plain English it briefly discusses published papers and studies discussing how wine components can positively affect brain, heart and kidney functioning, and may help reduce the risk of cancer, stroke and viral infection. Drop by our Farmers Market table (or the winery) to pick up a copy -- or visit the Family Wineries website, and use the Contact Us page to request a copy.