160

Degrees in Fahrenheit that compost piles can achieve as bacteria and other microorganisms breakdown plant matter such as straw, willow bark, and chamomile into nutrient-rich natural fertilizer. Compost is especially important in biodynamic viticulture, where it is made into “teas” and other preparations that enrich the soil and enliven photosynthesis.

#MeToo?

“Perhaps the nearest I come to gluttony is with wine. As often as possible, when a really beautiful bottle is before me, I drink all of it I can, even when I know that I have had more than I want physically. That is gluttonous.
But I think to myself, when again will I have this taste upon my tongue? Where else in the world is there just such a wine as this, with just this bouquet, at just this heat, in just this crystal cup? And when again will I be alive to it as I am this very minute, sitting here on the green hillside above the sea, or here in this dim, murmuring, richly odorous restaurant, or here in this fisherman’s café on the wharf? More, more I think—all of it to the last exquisite drop, for there is no satiety for me, nor ever has been in such drinking.”

**—M.F.K. Fischer, An Alphabet for Gourmets, 1949.
Fisher lived in the Sonoma Valley for much of her life.**

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