We were blessed with great weather to sit outside at Montgomery Place Orchards in Red Hook NY listening to “the king of fermentation”, Sandor Katz, speak with wisdom and wit not only about the benefits of eating fermented foods but also abouttheir history, chemistry, biology and most importantly how easy and fun they are to prepare. He reminded us that many of our most delectable foods are actually fermented including cheeses, olives, chocolate, bread, and of course pickles and sauerkraut. Then we all got up to make sauerkraut. We chopped cabbage and other veggies, squished them together in big bowls with our clean hands (no anti bacterial soap here!) in order to draw out the liquid and then put them in jars to wait for the bacteria “our ancestors and co-evolutionary partners” to work their magic. As the waiting began we were treated to a talk about apple cider from the folks at Annandale Cidery and ended our visit with a tasting of their hard cider. My jar of sauerkraut sits on the counter in my kitchen and I taste it every few days, as Sandor suggested, till it tastes perfect to me. Then into the fridge it goes or down to the root cellar (if I had one) to keep through the winter. I’m now happily hooked on ferments and plan to make more at home. Thanks to all who made this day happen!
2012 Broc Cellars Carignan Sonoma County, California
2013 Domaine de Fenouillet VDP Vaucluse Southern Rhone, France
2012 Darting Durkheimer Nonnengarten Pfalz, Germany
2012 Eric Chevalier Muscadet Cotes de Grand Lieu
In addition, local cheeses, bread and some special charcuterie items prepared by Chef John Kowalski were a perfect foil for the wines. Everyone was thrilled with the evening’s informal gathering and tasting. Please join us next time as we plan to have more events with the Kingston Wine Company.
