While Heck does not tote the “organic” label they do use practices that drastically reduce the need for synthetic chemicals. Their most commonly used chemical is sulfur dioxide, which inhibits oxidation and growth of microbes that can spoil wine. This is used as a preservative, ensuring the wine is in peak condition when it reaches the customer. Heck Estates reduces the need for chemicals by developing and encouraging the growth and health of the natural ecosystem. Predatory insects and birds keep pests at a manageable level. Sustainable grape growing provides much of the benefits of organic farming, with less risk and at a lower cost of labor.

In addition, Heck wineries employ many other sustainable practices. Some key elements include: using cover crops on all vineyards to control erosion, enhancing soils with decaying organic material and nutrition, and re-using materials instead of disposal. Open land is retained in its natural state to maintain biodiversity. Only land where vines are located is fenced, leaving property open for migration of wildlife. On 125 acres of vineyards, all water needs are met by using reclaimed processed water. Use of subsurface drainage collects rainwater for all irrigation and frost control needs for approximately 120 acres, meaning no well water is used. Heck wineries have been recognized by the state of California’s EPA with waste reduction awards each year since 2003. Heck wineries utilize night time harvesting which reduces energy needs for cooling the grape juice. All of these practices, amongst others, are why Heck wineries are a leader in sustainable wine growing in Sonoma County.

Valley of the Moon is a Sonoma County Green Business. This means they have been certified by the Sonoma County Green Business Program. In order, for a business to become certified they must meet requirements in energy, water, waste, and pollution prevention. This accomplishment is both beneficial for the winery and Sonoma County. Businesses that partake in this program are demonstrating their commitment to reducing negative impacts on the environment and improving on Business As Usual practices.

Heck Wineries uses the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices Self-Assessment Workbook. This book provides a foundation of sustainable practices that can be implemented as applicable to each winery. Wineries can use provided tools to asses their own sustainability. Chapters include: viticulture, soil management, vineyard water management, pest management, wince quilting, ecosystem management, energy efficiency, winery water conservation and quality material handling, solid waste reduction and management, environmentally preferred purchasing, human resources, neighbors and community, and air quality. This diverse set of perspectives allows wineries to self-evaluate and grow in areas where they might be lacking. It also, provides a resource for wineries that allow them to learn about new and innovative practices.

Valley of the Moon and Heck Estates have done a tremendous job in providing a great product through sustainable practices. The 2010 Rosato Di Sangiovese is a vibrant red cherry and cranberry fruit character wine. The Rosato gets its brilliant color from an overnight soak of the crushed grapes on the skin. This wine is wonderful as an aperitif or paired with fruit and mild cheeses. The perfect wine for a romantic evening, setting the mood for a wonderful Valentine’s Day and month of February.

One of the great things about being a Produce Department Manager for Oliver's is that I have the freedom follow my passion and trust my judgment in sourcing the best fruits and vegetables for our store.  I'm proud that our quality is second to none.

Our Roots are in Produce...Steve Maass' Story, owner & founder

In 1972 my wife, Ruth Maass and I, began selling produce of the back of a truck in San Francisco, CA. I converted an old Coca-Cola truck into a mobile fruit stand which became a retail phenomenon every summer at Taraval and Dewey streets. The stand was so successful that I hired valets to park cars and the stand was featured on “Eye on San Francisco” and “Good Morning America.”
 

My commitment to quality and value still inspires our produce departments, which we consider the foundation of our company’s success.

I started working at Oliver’s 8 years ago as the Deli Department Manager in the Cotati store.  I am currently the Food Service Coordinator and have been in this position for 3 years.  I made a life changing decision when I came to Oliver’s.  I was a single mom raising two young boys and working a ton of hours to make ends meet.  Getting a job with a regular structured work week was very appealing to me, because I felt as though I was missing too much of the important years and events in my children’s lives, due to work.  I made the best decision for my family and have never looked back.

Here at Oliver’s I wear many hats too (Michael said it first).  I coordinate the Food Service for the Deli Department.  I oversee all 3 delis, but mostly the Stony Point store, as it is the home to our Commissary Kitchen where a good portion of the delicious Oliver’s food is made from scratch daily for the other two stores.  In addition to the food service, I organize and manage the transportation & warehousing for the company, and all of the large specialty packaging buying.

As I said earlier, my family is very important to me; and it doubled in 2007 when I re-connected with my high school sweetheart and we got married.  With that union, I added two girls and another boy to the mix.  We truly are a modern day “Brady Bunch.”

Life’s events allowed me to resume a passion of mine that I let slip away…cooking and feeding the ones I love.  I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen and boy have I been busy feeding my bunch—7 people with likes and dislikes—now that’s a challenge.  Oliver’s is my shopping place when it comes to feeding my family.  You can find everything you need in one stop; whether it is specialty ingredients for an exotic recipe, fresh produce from local vendors or good wine because all those kids are driving you crazy.

I can’t finish without mentioning how awesome it is to work in such a cool place with such great food.  Every day I get to meet people just like me, or not like me at all, but they all come here for the same reason…to feed themselves or their families. I have met so many customers, that I now know on a personal basis, because they like shopping here as much as I do.  

I have learned so much about food and the importance of eating well in the  8 years here at Oliver’s than I ever did  at the other place.  Oliver’s isn’t just a job—it’s an experience!

Another way the idea of "Real Food, Real People" affects my business is our commitment to consistently providing knowledgeable and compassionate service to our customers that are shopping for supplements and body care products. At Oliver's Supplement and Body Care departments you can talk to real people that are experienced, caring and knowledgeable about the products we sell.  When it comes to people's health and well-being, there's no substitute for the personal service we provide at Oliver's.  Oliver's Markets, Real Food, Real People.

Straus currently practices many sustainable methods including: organic certification of their land and animals, methane gas capture, not using GMO products, proper waste management, and packaging their products in reusable containers.

Straus became an organic farm in the 90’s. Straus commitment to producing the best product possible has led to implementation of “green” practices (including organic certification requirements). No hormones or antibiotics are used, and when needed, cows are treated with homeopathic methods. No herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers have been used on the farm since the 1980’s. Natural pest control and solar powered bug zappers are used to eliminate pest from cows at different stages. No Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or Growth Hormones are used in the feeding of Straus cows.  All of these practices create a healthier cow, which in turn produces a healthier dairy product.

Methane gas capture is helping Straus reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and power the farm. Methane is a powerful GHG, approximately 21 times more detrimental then Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Cattle are a major methane contributor around the world. As the demand for beef and dairy products increase, the amount of methane produced from cattle also increase. In 2004, Straus launched its methane capture system. This system generates over 300,000 kWh a year of electricity, equivalent to what would have cost $40,000. Recent upgrades now allow this system to produce more energy than the dairy uses, which allow Straus to sell energy back to the utility company. Remaining solids are used as fertilizer on the farm, ensuring the land remains full of needed nutrients. Ancillary benefits include the reduction of odor and fly population.

Straus has worked hard to creatively use common bi-products of farming processes and decrease waste. Most notably, the water used to clean the barns is channeled to holding ponds where methane is captured and the remaining solids and sludge are spread across the fields. These nutrient rich items increase the fertility of the land, in turn, increasing the vegetation, which feeds the animals. Additionally, proper disposal of farm equipment means it is not rusting on the land and reusable parts are removed before the equipment is recycled.

Straus delivers milk in reusable glass containers. Recycling is great, but re-using is even better. Glass containers can be brought back to the store where purchased for a $1.50 refund. These containers are shipped back to Straus where they are cleaned and re-used. Each glass bottle is re-used an average of eight times. Almost 95% of bottles are returned. This drastically reduces the need for new glass bottles, as well as saving the energy needed to recycle the glass.

These practices, among others, are why Oliver’s has chosen Straus yogurt as January’s Green Item of the Month. For more information on Straus’ accomplishments check out their website: Straus Family Creamery

I wear many hats in our company. I manage our reusable bag program which has saved thousands of paper and plastic bags from reaching our landfills. I coordinate our quarterly Family Values Flyer that features hundreds of items at everyday prices that can’t be beat. I’ve even been a delegate for Oliver’s and have met with our State Legislators to help pass laws that protect our food supply. Overall I feel that Oliver’s allows me to be a part of the solution to our planet’s problems.
 

Offering our customers Natural Foods at great prices is something I’m very, very passionate about. When people choose to buy Natural and Organic Foods they are saving our precious planet from the harmful effects of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics. Buying organic products also protects the biodiversity of our planet and shields us from the unknown effects of genetically modified organisms.
 

As a parent it’s also important that Oliver’s be able to offer affordable, nutritious snacks and quick meals for those of us on the go. Amy’s, Clif Kids, Cascadian Frozen Fruits and Veggies, and Clover Organic Milk are just some of the items we use in our home. And of course we only use local eggs from Rock Island for our morning Egg Burritos.
 

But most importantly working at Oliver’s is fun—I really have a great time here. Our staff and customers always put a smile on my face. Tom and Steve are great people to work for, and it’s their generosity and vision that has contributed to the success of Oliver’s. I can be outspoken at times, but in this company we’re encouraged to be ourselves and speaking truth to power is a part of who I am.
 

Real Food. Real People. It’s the truth.

One particular category that offers a large selection of highest quality meat is our ground meat program. All our ground meats meet our core standards and beliefs. We achieve this by procuring meats from the finest producers available that share the same values. Antibiotic and Hormone Free, Minimally Processed, Residue Free, Cage Free, Free Range, Grade A, Grass Fed and USDA Choice or Higher. 

At Oliver's all of our ground meats are ground in house by our skilled Meat Cutters every day and may be ground up to 4 times per day. All meats are ground from trim generated by our daily cutting of Carcass and Primal cuts. At no time do we purchase trimmings or prepared coarse ground chubs for our Oliver's Meats.

The ground meats done in house:

• Oliver's Choice Ground Chuck and Ground Sirloin
• Hicks Valley Grass Fed Ground Chuck and Ground Round
• Diestel Ground Turkey Dark Meat and Turkey Breast
• Rocky Jr. Ground Chicken
• Prairie Fresh 100% Natural Ground Pork
• Superior Ground Lamb
• Superior Farms Ground Veal

Since the recent card skimming incident at Lucky's, we here at Oliver's Market have spent the aftermath revisiting our security measures, to ensure that we are keeping our customer's information safe.

Card skimming can take many forms but essentially involves attaching a device that will intercept and store information such as credit/debit card numbers and PINs. The device can then be physically retrieved, or as was the case with Lucky's Supermarkets, the information can be transmitted wirelessly to the thieves.  The important thing to take away here, is that the perpetrators need physical access to the machine at some point in time. In this instance, the skimmers targeted Self-Service Checkout machines, because they were relatively unattended/unmonitored.

Several years ago, Oliver's, changed the way that we processed electronic payments. The old system involved a standalone computer that processed the transaction, and communicated with the appropriate entities.  This was a security risk because the electronic payment information was stored on that machine, and someone with physical access could potentially remove the hard drive to access that info.  The system that we switched to does not store any information locally, and transmits it directly to a processing service that has its own security measures.  The benefit to this is that someone could steal our entire register system, and would get nothing, because there is no record of personal information there to steal.

Secondly, the ability to implement these schemes requires physical access to the machine, whether it be a computer, a pin pad, or ATM .  At Oliver's we limit access to, and monitor computers that drive the transaction at the register and the "controller" machines that compile the information from each individual register.  We also work on a relatively small scale, meaning that in terms of people that maintain the machines, there are only four.  Myself, and three other individuals from an outside company.  They are all known by face and name by our front-end staff, decreasing the possibility that someone gain the access necessary by posing as someone authorized to work on those machines.

The other vulnerability, is the pin pads where you can swipe your card and enter your PIN.  It would be very difficult (though admittedly, not impossible) for someone to install a device without gaining the attention of our employees, who since the Lucky's incident are undergoing training to recognize and report any possible attempts at tampering.  The pinpad technology used at Lucky's was Verifone Everest, which offered no tampering protection.  Our pinpads, have three different levels of encryption as the data is being sent to payment processing.  If someone were to try and open the pinpads, the unit will lock up, display a tampering warning, and delete the encryption keys so they cannot be stolen and used elsewhere.

There is one more security risk, and while out of our control to protect against, I feel is worth passing on to you. Some card issuers are now offering "smart" credit cards that allow you to "tap" your card against a terminal (pin pad, ATM, gas station pump, etc.) instead of swiping or inserting the card in some kind of slot.  The problem with this convenience, is that it works because of an embedded RFID device (like the tracking chips available for pets).  This means that someone with a reader device can be standing near you and read that information.  And unfortunately, payment cards are not the only things that contain this technology.  Some states (though currently not California) issue enhanced ID Cards/Driver's Licenses that contain RFID tags.  Some of the newer passports are also embedded with these devices.  If you are unsure, you can contact the issuer to find out if your card has this, and in some cases, request a card that does not.

There is one more way to protect yourself, and that is to purchase a RFID blocking sleeve.  This is a small envelope that you slide your card or document into and effectively blocks the radio waves.  There are a number of companies that sell these products online.

Unfortunately, no matter how secure, any system can be compromised. The only sure way to guarantee that your electronic payment card information is not at risk, is to not have one.

We do take our customer's security seriously, and are always looking at ways that we can safeguard against those that wish harm.

Please send any comments to:  Michael Johnston

This weekend we celebrated our second annual cookie party at my mom's house.  It's a new tradition I have started to continue her cookie-baking legacy.  On Sunday, the women in my family gathered at Mom's house for a full day of baking, laughing and mimosa-drinking.  This newly-founded custom includes each of us picking our favorite cookie recipe, bringing the ingredients and sharing the bounty.  This year we chose to make Gingerbread, Double Chocolate Mint, Peanut Butter Kisses and Sugar Cookies.  Though we are new at this, we learned to make the sugar and gingerbread doughs ahead of time to avoid sitting on the couch for hours waiting for the dough to chill.  On the day of, we only had to make the Kisses and Chocolate Mint cookies, and then roll out, bake and decorate the others. 
    

The PB Kisses were my contribution to the party, and wouldn't you know, they were also the only ones to fall apart after baking.  This was probably my fault and avoidable.  I didn't want the peanut butter to stick to the measuring cup, so I eyeballed it.  It also didn't help that the only measuring spoons were heart-shaped, making exact measurements pretty impossible.  Note to self for next year; invest in a baking scale and some quality baking sheets (the bottom of my cookies burned).  In the end, they tasted okay but weren't very pretty.  I was better at decorating the gingerbread men and sugar cookies so that is how I spent the rest of the day.
    

After last year's abnormally-shaped angels and reindeer, we learned to use plastic wrap between the rolling pin and dough when rolling the cookies.  We made an icing from powdered sugar and milk, added food coloring, and used small sandwich bags in place of piping bags.  We cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and filled it with the icing.  This was my favorite part thanks to the lack of rules.  You can decorate cookies however you want and it is pretty hard to mess up.  Plus, when you do, you just eat the cookie and no one is the wiser.
 

    I look forward to this new holiday tradition enduring for years to come.  At the end of our baking extravaganza, the memories we made weren't about the peanut butter cookies falling apart or the lack of baking sheets - they were about the handing down of family skills and recipes and about creating joy with the people I love.

Recipes:

Peanut Butter Kiss

Double Chocolate Mint

Just recently, Dry Creek received an award from The Leadership Institute of Economy and Ecology for their Leadership in Sustainability. There are many reasons Dry Creek received this award, including their commitment to considering the 3 E’s of sustainability (Environment, Economy, Social Equity), in the decisions they make.

Dry Creek’s movement away from “typical American style of farming, which relies on chemicals as the solution to specific vineyard problems” towards “a more earth-friendly approach called integrated crop management”, which emulates the natural cycle and issue management of mother earth, was a paradigm shift guiding them on their journey of sustainability.

Cover crops such as clover and bell beans are used to rebuild depleted soils with nutrients, while minimizing the use of fertilizers. Once cover crops have fully matured they are tilled back into the earth adding additional nourishment to the land. Blending of seed type allows flowering at different times of the year, providing a more consistent cover, while also providing year around habitat for predators of pest.

Raptor perches serve the winery and the diversity of the environment. Redtail hawks and barn owls have adopted these shaded perches as their homes, regulating the gopher and rodent populations on the vineyard. This alleviates the need for chemical deterrents.

Deficit irrigation: water needs on different areas of the vineyard are measured and water according to specific needs. This allows the adjustment of irrigation, which mitigates overwatering and helps optimize fruit quality.

Riparian habitat management: removal of non-native plant species, and planting and promotion of native species, benefits many facets of the vineyard. These acts increase bio-diversity of the land, which in turn helps diminish non-native pest species.

All these actions and more lead to a better environment and community for all. We would like to thank Dry Creek for their commitment to sustainability and leaving a better future for the next generations.