In this issue

• Halloumi Cheese
• Drizzle in Style
• 2008 Harvest Report
• Red wine — Take to heart
• Community Events

Make way for Bread!

Next time you’re looking for the perfect bread to complement your meal, try Nugget’s Pugliese Bread, a hand-shaped torpedo loaf made with buttermilk and extra-virgin olive oil. Hearth baked to perfection, this delightful bread is also available with Kalamata olives. For another fresh-baked treat, try our signature Sourdough Demi-Batards and Baguettes.

Bogel Phantom

Bogel's benchmark wine, the Phantom red blend, is one of the most anticipated releases each year. A classic field blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Mourvedre, the Phantom shows aromas of sweet black fruits and a rich palate of black raspberry, mocha and cassis notes. Let the wine breathe an extra hour to show off the many layers of fruit.

It’s Pronounced
Ah-sigh-ee

Acai is an antioxidant-rich berry of the Acaizeiro Palm tree that grows in the Brazilian Amazon Region and is considered to be one of the top “superfoods” in the world. Wild-harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, Acai tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Try Tahiti Trader’s Organic Acai Max Juice for a tasty dose of this healthful berry.

Community Events:

September 20th
Hot Chili and Cool Cars Street Fair Rocklin CA

Now in its 15th year, this Pacific Street fair is organized by the Rocklin Chamber of Commerce. This all-day, free event (10am to 4pm) features live entertainment, a chili cook-off, classic cars, booths, food vendors, arts, activities for kids and more, sponsored in part by Nugget. For more information, please visit www.rocklinchamber.com.

October 3rd
Best of the Barrel 2008 - Davis CA

Come to the Davis Nugget Market at 1414 E. Covell Blvd. for this year's Best of the Barrel wine and food celebration, benefiting the Davis Art Center. From 5pm to 8pm, attendees are invited to enjoy a spectacular array of outstanding food and fabulous wines in support of the Davis Art Center's commitment to promote the appreciation of visual and performing arts. Tickets go for $35 per person and are available from both Davis Nugget Markets (1414 E. Covell Blvd., 530-750-3800 and 409 Mace Blvd. 530-753-6690) and the Davis Art Center (1919 F St., 530-756-4100).

To find out about other events in your community visit our events page.

Download this week’s ad here (1.2MB PDF).

Fresh to Market
Sept. 18, 2008
Volume 2, Issue 19

We hope you enjoyed reading this issue of Fresh to Market. Fresh to Market is a free, bi-weekly email publication of Nugget Market, Inc.

Wine Country Food

Wine country foods, in general, are diverse and can apply to just about any growing region in the world. Here in California, it is most often thought of as coming from Sonoma and the Napa Valley. Having been a winery chef for 8 years in Yolo County though, I was able to identify the beautiful foods that grow in our region and couple them with our delightful wines. Our featured recipes are named after two of our favorite growing regions in Western Yolo County.

– Rachael Levine, Executive Chef, Nugget Markets

Featured Recipes:

Baked Capay Valley Tomatoes

Hungry Hollow Lamb London Broil

Great for Grilling: Halloumi Cheese

This hand-molded goat and sheep's milk cheese from Cyprus, Greece doesn't easily melt, so it’s great for grilling. Either skewer it or place directly on the griddle. Halloumi’s unique texture may surprise you — some say it reminds them of chicken.

Drizzle in Style

These elegant Italian-style dispenser bottles from Amici come with controlled-flow, stainless steel bottle pourers. Use them for dispensing olive oil and vinegar, for drizzling your favorite salad dressings, or as soap dispensers.

2008 Harvest Report

In talking to winemakers and vineyard managers from Sonoma to the Sierra Foothills, we have learned that it has been another challenging harvest — so far. With the white varietals coming in now and the red varietals to follow soon, the yields are lower than normal in some areas, but normal to above normal in others. In general, the quality looks very good. Due to some severe frost in some areas in April, a couple of heat spikes early and relatively lower rainfall, the fruit set was lower in many areas. After set, we have had fairly consistent conditions that have allowed the different varietals to ripen on schedule in a normal cycle.

As with any vintage the quality and quantity varies from region to region and even vineyard to vineyard. Even with the challenges, it looks to be another good year for the California wine grape harvest! – Hank Beal, Director of Adult Beverage

Heath Notes with Dr. Liz

Red wine — Take to heart

In Mediterranean countries such as France where folks eat diets that contain ample amounts of fat, it might seem improbable that the population has a lower overall risk for heart disease than does the population of the United States. Sometimes referred to as the "French Paradox," the heart health of the French can partly be credited to their red wine intake at meals.

According to research, red wine helps boost heart health in several ways:

• Made from grapes and then fermented with the skins, red wine is rich in flavanols. These compounds found in grape skins act as powerful antioxidants, which protect the bad carrier of cholesterol LDL from damaging artery walls, thus lowering heart disease risk. (Note: white wine, fermented without the grape skins, is lower in antioxidant levels.)
• Other compounds such as quercitin found in grape skins also protect the heart by keeping blood substances called platelets from becoming “sticky,” thus lowering the risk of artery-clogging blood clots.
• Alcohol in wine (and other alcoholic beverages such as beer and distilled spirits) also appears to protect heart health by boosting the amount of HDL — the carrier of cholesterol that lowers heart disease risk.

Word to the wise:

• Before you take drinking wine to heart, know that wine’s benefits come from moderate consumption primarily at meals. Moderation is 1 drink or less daily for women and 2 or fewer drinks for men (1 drink = 5 ounces of wine).
• Also, for some people regular alcohol use may increase cancer risk, especially breast cancer for women. And heavy drinking increases the risk of various diseases such as stroke and should be avoided completely by pregnant women as it leads to birth defects.

—Liz Applegate, Ph.D.