Glacier Valley CSA Shuts Down

Ugh!

It's a sad day for Alaskan fans of eating local. Today, an e-mail arrived in my inbox letting Glacier Valley Farm customers know that the operation will be shutting down its CSA service effective September 25. The letter follows:

Dear Glacier Valley CSA subscribers,

After much discussion and soul searching we have decided to suspend the CSA portion of Glacier Valley Farm’s operation indefinitely.  The week of September 25th will be our last week of deliveries, and we will cancel all subscriptions after that week.

We are thinking about ways we might be able to offer you storage vegetables into the fall and winter.  We will keep you posted about that, and we will also let you know if we hear of any opportunities to get local produce that might be of interest to you in the future.

Below is a link to two letters, one from Arthur and one from Alison, that outline some of the reasons for our closing, the successes we have had and the problems we have found hard to overcome, some plans for the future, and some of the things you can do to continue to support Alaskan farms and farmers.

We (Alison, Arthur, Dan and Ken) have gotten to know many of you personally over the years and we are grateful for your past support.

With kind regards and many thanks,
The Glacier Valley CSA team.

*Sniff.*

Here's wishing the best to the entire team and much luck on all their future endeavors. It's been a great run and I personally have enjoyed every single box.

Full Circle Farm still offers delivery service to Alaska for folks looking for an alternative. Know of any others? Please share!

Happy eating!

ORSO Jumps into Exciting New Territory with Wine App

Wine is a decidedly old world pleasure--with archeologists tracing the production and consumption of those delicous, fermented grapes back to 8,000 B.C. in Georgia, Iran, and Armenia.

And Ipad applications? Well, those are decidedly new world.

Lucky for food and wine loves in Anchorage, those avante garde taste makers at Orso married old and new world fun by unveiling their new wine application for the Ipad last week.

"Drinking wine should be fun, selecting wine should be fun, we have made it easy to do both," says Michael Hurst, director of marketing for Orso, Glacier Brewhouse, and the latest addition, Wild Fin American Grill in Washington.  "It is a win-win for everyone. I envision this replacing our old-fashioned paper menu in the near future."

The folks at Orso take their wine seriously and constantly update their impressive wine list, striving to offer a wide range of prices and tastes for their guests. It's a living document, one that changes on a weekly basis sometimes as new, exciting wines arrive on the scene or when customer response demands it. The Result? Wine Spectator magazine recently gave Orso an Award of Excellence for their wine list.

Screen shot from the Uncorkd application

Unlike those old-fashioned paper wine lists, the new application allows guests to browse by price, region, name, or vintage. And for those looking for a few helpful suggestions (to impress their date, perhaps?) the Orso wine application even offers food pairing suggestions, taking out a lot of the guess work that might intimidate those new to the wine world. It might even help those who tend to get stuck in wine ruts by suggesting new, unusual wines to go with that Grilled Filet Mignon Cambozola. (Guilty as charged. I've never met a Zinfandel I can pass up as I peruse the wine shelves. There are other grape varietals, you say? Nonesense!)

The app provides diners with a picture of the wine label, wine descriptions, location details, reviews of the wine, price by bottle and glass (if available) and include food recommendations.

Orso has six Ipads currently on hand for guests to use when making their wine choices for the evening. Ipad owners can download the software to their machines and access the free app anywhere. Call ahead, and Orso can have the bottle waiting on your table when you arrive.

For more information about the Orso Wine App or for any questions, contact Michael Hurst at mdhurst@orsoalaska.com or by calling 907-792-3792.

Happy eating!