KOOKOOLAN FARMS
A small, diversified family farm in Yamhill, Oregon, committed to organic farming practices, rotational grazing, grass-based animal husbandry, humane animal handling practices, and producing the healthiest, best-tasting, premium poultry in Oregon.
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Kookoolan World Meadery
NEW! RELEASED NOV 16, 2011: "Vin de Noix" or Green Walnut Wine. $28 for 375 ml. 17.5% alcohol.
buy it online, we ship almost anywhere!
Meadmaker Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor is something of a dabbler and a "mead anthropologist." I've been making mead as a homebrewer for more than 15 years, and am smitten with the idea that mead is this common, joyous, ancient thread shared by all cultures and societies all over the earth, each with our own spin on wines made from honey. Grape juice mixed with honey, called pyment, is a time-honored tradition in many countries, and here in Oregon's wine country you can count on pinot noir pyments coming from Kookoolan. A “melomel” is mead made with any combination of honey and any kind of fruit juice, where the fruit juice is not just a flavoring after the fact but is part of the fermentable must; apples, cherries, and apricots are three of the most popular blends. Nobody knows the archaic words “sack” mead or “sack” wine anymore (meaning strong alcohol and sugar): these are sherry-style, or liqueur-style, or dessert-wine styles which are closest to my favorite meads. Chartreuse and Drambuie liqueurs are the closest products to my preferred style. The Polish make a mead that includes rosehips and rose petals. Many European meads are aged for five years or more in oak barrels, and Kookoolan World Meadery will definitely be producing a straight-up, oak-aged mead. The Ethiopians make a wonderful mead that uses fragrant hot peppers. The Azteks made something similar to mead using agave nectar and the fruit of the prickly pear cactus (which I have made in the past when I lived in Arizona, and that was really good too). The Picts, a particular tribe in Scotland, made a mead with heather blossoms; heather bitters the nectar much as hops do for beer, but in addition a wild fungus grows on the heather blossoms that produces a slightly psychotropic effect on the drinker. Queen Elizabeth’s favorite mead used bay leaves, thyme, rose petals, and lemon balm. I also have visions of a Japanese-inspired cherry-blossom-infused mead that might be in the neighborhood of plum wine, and would go well with Asian foods.
We also brew REAL Kombucha tea. If you've experienced the commercial kombuchas sold as soft drinks, then you are familiar with the way-too-sour, way-too-sweet, way-too-vinegary compromise required to legally sell kombucha as a soft drink. Natural, Real Kombucha is gently alcoholic at 1.5% alcohol. However, in the United States, soft drinks must contain 0.5% or less alcohol by volume. Anyone who has had an opened bottle of wine spoil in their kitchen knows that if you leave alcohol exposed to the air, the alcohol with chemically react with the oxygen, converting some of the alcohol to acetic acid (which is vinegar). By extending the kombucha "fermentation" to 30 days or more, the alcohol is removed from the kombucha by converting it to vinegar. The resulting brew has its sugar and acid out of balance, requiring the addition of more sugar; and has nasty vinegar off-flavors which need to be masked by the addition of aromatics such as fruit and herbal essences. Believe it or not, some commercial kombuchas are also pasteurized for shelf stability, killing off all the probiotic cultures! Available now at Kookoolan Farms farmstore in Yamhill; at Mainbrew Beer and Homebrew Supply in Hillsboro, at People's Co-Op Grocery in Southeast Portland, and at Harvest Fresh Grocery in McMinnville. More retail locations soon! At our farmstore a 22-oz bottle is $4, or case of 12 for $44.
Our Real Kombucha is fresh, tart, sweet, and vibrantly alive with probiotics, like kombucha is supposed to be. Everyone says it's the best kombucha they've ever tasted. Come and let us pour you a sample in our tasting room! -- we're open anytime by appointment, just call (503) 730-7535 or email kookoolan@gmail.com!
Vin de Noix is an ancient, traditional French aperitif or dessert wine made by steeping the unripe walnutBy Dec 10 2011 this link will be true:
fruits in a combination of red wine and brandy. Our version is made with red wine from Montinore Estates:
the grapes are certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic. Christian Brothers brandy used at one
part per five parts of wine. Certified organic cane sugar, organic vanilla beans, orange peel, and cloves
are also added. All is macerated and allowed to steep and blend for about four months, then solids
strained out and the wine bottled. The result is smooth, mellow, aromatic, rich dark mahogany in color,
and unlike anything modern. We have it available in our farmstore starting today. You can ask for it at
the Hillsdale Farmer's Market on Sunday Nov 20 (10am to 2pm). The market is held in the Riecke
Elementary School parking lot, and school rules do not allow alcohol on the grade school campus even
during non-school hours. Therefore the wine will not be out for general sale, but rather "behind the
counter" for you to ask for.
buy it online, we ship almost anywhere!
Meadmaker Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor is something of a dabbler and a "mead anthropologist." I've been making mead as a homebrewer for more than 15 years, and am smitten with the idea that mead is this common, joyous, ancient thread shared by all cultures and societies all over the earth, each with our own spin on wines made from honey. Grape juice mixed with honey, called pyment, is a time-honored tradition in many countries, and here in Oregon's wine country you can count on pinot noir pyments coming from Kookoolan. A “melomel” is mead made with any combination of honey and any kind of fruit juice, where the fruit juice is not just a flavoring after the fact but is part of the fermentable must; apples, cherries, and apricots are three of the most popular blends. Nobody knows the archaic words “sack” mead or “sack” wine anymore (meaning strong alcohol and sugar): these are sherry-style, or liqueur-style, or dessert-wine styles which are closest to my favorite meads. Chartreuse and Drambuie liqueurs are the closest products to my preferred style. The Polish make a mead that includes rosehips and rose petals. Many European meads are aged for five years or more in oak barrels, and Kookoolan World Meadery will definitely be producing a straight-up, oak-aged mead. The Ethiopians make a wonderful mead that uses fragrant hot peppers. The Azteks made something similar to mead using agave nectar and the fruit of the prickly pear cactus (which I have made in the past when I lived in Arizona, and that was really good too). The Picts, a particular tribe in Scotland, made a mead with heather blossoms; heather bitters the nectar much as hops do for beer, but in addition a wild fungus grows on the heather blossoms that produces a slightly psychotropic effect on the drinker. Queen Elizabeth’s favorite mead used bay leaves, thyme, rose petals, and lemon balm. I also have visions of a Japanese-inspired cherry-blossom-infused mead that might be in the neighborhood of plum wine, and would go well with Asian foods.
We also brew REAL Kombucha tea. If you've experienced the commercial kombuchas sold as soft drinks, then you are familiar with the way-too-sour, way-too-sweet, way-too-vinegary compromise required to legally sell kombucha as a soft drink. Natural, Real Kombucha is gently alcoholic at 1.5% alcohol. However, in the United States, soft drinks must contain 0.5% or less alcohol by volume. Anyone who has had an opened bottle of wine spoil in their kitchen knows that if you leave alcohol exposed to the air, the alcohol with chemically react with the oxygen, converting some of the alcohol to acetic acid (which is vinegar). By extending the kombucha "fermentation" to 30 days or more, the alcohol is removed from the kombucha by converting it to vinegar. The resulting brew has its sugar and acid out of balance, requiring the addition of more sugar; and has nasty vinegar off-flavors which need to be masked by the addition of aromatics such as fruit and herbal essences. Believe it or not, some commercial kombuchas are also pasteurized for shelf stability, killing off all the probiotic cultures! Available now at Kookoolan Farms farmstore in Yamhill; at Mainbrew Beer and Homebrew Supply in Hillsboro, at People's Co-Op Grocery in Southeast Portland, and at Harvest Fresh Grocery in McMinnville. More retail locations soon! At our farmstore a 22-oz bottle is $4, or case of 12 for $44.
Our Real Kombucha is fresh, tart, sweet, and vibrantly alive with probiotics, like kombucha is supposed to be. Everyone says it's the best kombucha they've ever tasted. Come and let us pour you a sample in our tasting room! -- we're open anytime by appointment, just call (503) 730-7535 or email kookoolan@gmail.com!
