Category: Food & Wine

Diversification Farmer of the Year

Dairy farmers Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore were struggling to make a profit when prices slumped, so they decided to cut out the middleman and sell their milk directly to the public.

The Crickmores were the first UK farmers to install a vending machine selling raw milk at the farmgate.

They have built a loyal customer base – it’s not unusual for customers to embark on round trips of more than 100 miles to buy milk from the farm.

But they haven’t stopped there. Jonny has diversified into making milk, cheese and butter from their cows’ raw milk.

Jonny consulted French cheese expert Ivan Larcher to ask him how to make Brie to rival the French. He travelled to eastern France and imported a herd of Montbeliarde cows, whose milk is renowned for making outstanding cheese.

Source: FW Awards 2017: Diversification Farmer of the Year – Farmers Weekly

Post office workers grow vegetables, breed chickens on Paris rooftop “farm”

PARIS (Reuters) – An urban agriculture initiative to make Paris more environmentally sustainable, mainly through farming on the capital’s rooftops, has been such a success that the mayor is unveiling a new round of projects this week.Rooftop farming has boomed in the past years from New York to Tokyo via London and Paris [ . . . ]

More: Post office workers grow vegetables, breed chickens on Paris rooftop “farm”

Why Bordeaux Is The New Tuscany For Every Maltese Person Who Loves Wine 

If you’re one of the many Maltese people who visits Italy almost every year, you’d be happy to know there’s now a new destination to add to your list: Bordeaux. And because it’s not in Italy, it could give you a much-needed break from Tuscany, Sicily, or wherever else you usually venture to for good food and wine in the countryside [ . .  .]

More at: Why Bordeaux Is The New Tuscany For Every Maltese Person Who Loves Wine – Lovin Malta

Wine Snobbery a Reflection of Ourselves

wine snobbery
“Only a numpty”

Funny how people make the news when something needs to be promoted.British celebrity chef Marco Pierre White made headlines recently by claiming that only a “numpty” would be buying English wine. This occurred – almost inevitably – at the same time as he was opening a new restaurant. [ . . . ] More at: Wine Snobbery a Reflection of Ourselves | Wine News & Features

10 Things You Should Know About French Wine

pouring the wine
1. How to decipher the label

Most French wine bottles emphasize the region or appellation where they were produced ahead of the grape varieties they were made from on the label. For example, a wine called “Chablis” is a Chardonnay, but it bears the name of the appellation in France where it is made. Centuries ago, the average person didn’t know much about the different grape varieties used to make wine, but they did know that wines from different areas tasted differently. So, when you look at a French wine label, the first thing to note is the region or appellation where the wine was made–this is the best way to determine which grapes are in the bottle [ . . . ]

Read More: 10 Things You Should Know About French Wine | Washingtonian