Local Harvest/Vegetarian Wine Dinner October 27, 2008

Every year October 1st is “World Vegetarian Day,” kicking off “Vegetarian Awareness Month.” A more plant-centric diet can be healthier for people and for the planet. Thinking outside "reduce, reuse, recycle" lets us realize that the foods we eat also impact our environment. Raising animals for food in large "factory farming" operations uses vast amounts of natural resources like grain, land, and water. It also produces damaging outputs like water pollution, soil erosion, and "greenhouse gases." A move toward a diet centered on plant foods uses fewer resources and take less of a toll on the environment.

October is also a solidly autumnal month. Summer is definitely waning, but our area farmers are hard at work harvesting the last of the year’s bounty.

This evening we are again celebrating the local produce of Fresh Fork Market. We have paired the dishes with a variety of delicious, affordable, and green wines from Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, Yalumba. Yalumba was the first wine company in the world to receive the 2007 Climate Protection Award from the US EPA. Numerous other awards, like the “International Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice (Australia and New Zealand Silver 2007),” demonstrate Yalumba’s progressive stance on matters green, and further cements its commitment to sustainable winemaking.

Food tourists, grab your passports for a last of the season trip to our local, hard-working farmers. We are thrilled to have carried a number of local foods all summer long at the Grovewood, so we thought this a fitting note to thank our purveyors for a job well done! Join us in a cornucopia celebration with a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Menu from Grovewood’s award-winning kitchen. You won’t miss the meat! A complimentary recipe book of the dishes served (but adapted for the home kitchen) will be presented. All wines will be available to add to your collection at State Minimum Retail Pricing, with case discounts available.

Official Website: http://www.grovewoodtavern.com/wine%20dinner.htm