Why I like email marketing

     Marketing is a lot like fishing. You put out a tasty lure and hope to get a bite now and then. A lot of the time it’s like ice fishing; a cold and lonely proposition. But once in a while, it’s like sitting in a quaint little row boat on a sunny day, with a good book, a good beverage and water so clear you can see the fish swimming near the lure. Once in a while, the fishing is even better than the catching.

     A recent email from a past metaphorical fishing trip with an old friend:

Hi,

I see on your website you are out of black currant vinegar. Whenever you get it in I would like 12 bottles of black currant and 12 bottles of cherry vinegar. I think my sister-in-law wants me to pick up a case of vinegar for her as well and I believe that she'll be wanting 4 bottles of strawberry and 20 bottles of cherry but I will confirm this with her and let you know. 

I have purchased vinegar from you the past two summers.

Sincerely,

Marlene

Austin, Texas

     I didn’t have to do any fishing with Marlene. She suggested the trip, 48 bottles worth, and that’s even better.

     Then there’s the recent exchange with a well-known Chicago chef. I don’t know how he heard about Leatherwood Vinegary but chances are he was out fishing (letting his fingers do the walking on the computer keyboard) for some authentic ingredients for his new restaurant. He initiated a conversation at 4:29 p.m. and it extended into the evening.

Hello,
 My name is John [famous chef from Chicago] and I will be the chef at the forthcoming [soon to be famous eatery] opening in Lincoln Park (Chicago) later this summer. I would love to know if you have any wholesale distribution in the Chicago area. I would love to try some of your vinegars.
 Thanks,
 John [famous chef from Chicago]
 [Soon to be famous] Tavern & Inn

     We haven’t expanded our distribution into the Chicago area though it is decidedly a marvelous idea. I’m sure there are dozens of gourmet shops and delis that would do a bang-up job of selling authentic artisan vinegar. But, not yet. When we sell wholesale, we normally require purchase of a case (24 bottles) to make a eye-catching display in a new venue. At this point, I didn’t know if John [famous Chicago chef] wanted to use the vinegar in his cuisine or sell it from a shelf.

Hi John,
Sorry, no distribution to the Chicago area but if you'd like to order vinegar in quantity, I'm sure we could figure something out.
Nancy
Leatherwood Vinegary

     A mere dozen minutes passed between his first “send” and the following message.

Hi Nancy,
Thanks for the speedy reply!  What would be sufficient quantity and how could I go about sampling your vinegars?
 Thanks,
 John [Famous-Chicago-Chef]

     We’ve found that we sell much more vinegar when people have a chance to taste it. In the past we have sent small tasting lures to potentially large fish but…well…actually…I thought this would just be a flash in the pan so why not enjoy the dance and offer a taste of Minnesota instead of trying to cash in on a big fish.

Hi John,
 It would be so nice to be able to do some kind of virtual tasting experience for you. But...well...let me just assure you that in ten years of having people taste our vinegars, the only ones that weren't impressed were vinegar haters...er...ya...it wasn't that they didn't like our vinegar, they just didn't like vinegar. But, our youngest taster was about 8 months old and the oldest in the 90s and most love it. The fruit flavors hold the flavor of the fruits from which they are made. The herbals speak loudly of their herbal infusions.

 Normally we require a wholesale purchase of a case (24 bottles) which are priced at 65 % of retail. Since you're considering using the vinegar in your menu (is that right or is your query for retail sales?), and I assume emphasizing the local (domestic) nature of the product, we would be willing to reduce the requirement to six bottles. We ship via [a fast and dependable delivery service] in the five-state area and Chicago is included in this area. We can ship 6 bottles for about $14 though we would need your zip code to determine an exact amount.

 If you'd like to look at our current inventory on our website (www.leatherwoodvinegary.com) and choose six, send a check and we'll ship them. If you'd like recommendations, let me know.

 Nancy

     It was 11:08 p.m. and John was still on the line.

Hi Nancy,
Thanks for the helpful info.  I love your excitement about the vinegars…makes me more excited to taste and use them!  We would be utilizing them for foodservice, not retail as well.  My zip  code is 60605, although the restaurant's is different and I'm honestly not exactly sure what it is at the moment.  Here are my six to choose from…and please steer me in a different direction if you suggest something I haven't picked since you know these much better than I do).
 Apple
Chokecherry (mainly because I have no idea what that is and I'm intrigued)
 Plum
 Anise Hyssop in Rhubarb
French Tarragon in Grape
 Thyme in Peach

Can you send me a total and I will send you a check?  Thank you!
 John [Chicago’s finest]

     I, however, had gone to bed and didn’t get his message til the next morning. I checked with Ron and though John’s selections looked good, we only had one bottle of Anise Hyssop left and if he wanted it in any quantity, we wouldn’t be able to accommodate him until we’d made more.

Hi John,
 Your choices look like good ones. Chokecherry is a tall shrub that grows wild in this area. It has clusters of small dark cherries that are very tart. They're most often used in jelly or syrup (if the jelly maker isn't successful in getting it to gel, which happens often enough). Of course wine makers like to use them, too.

 I'd like to swap out the Anise Hyssop in Rhubarb for Basil in either Rhubarb or Tomato. As a chef you know how wonderful basil is in anything with tomatoes. Basil in Rhubarb is a very "local" thing while Basil in Tomato is a delightful twist on using basil with tomatoes. The tomato wine isn't much to write home about but when it's been converted to vinegar and infused with basil, well, it's pretty special. What do you think? (Oh, and Ron says there's only one Anise Hyssop left and if you decided to use it regularly, you'd soon be out and we may not have any more for a while. The Anise Hyssop herb is off to a slow start in this rainy spring/summer we're having.)

 So, your total for three fruit vinegars at 65% of retail ($7.80 each) and three herbal vinegars ($9.75 each) plus $12.47 for shipping equals $65.12. Be sure to include the address to which you would like it shipped.

 Thank you!
 Nancy

     Though up late the night before, John was awake early and thinking about vinegar again by 8:59 a.m.

Hi Nancy,
Thank you for the guidance.. I'm actually curious about both of those vinegars you suggested.. Should I swap out something else for one of them? Either way, I'll defer to you.

The address of the restaurant is [on a lovely avenue in Chicago].  Is there any way to pay online or do I have to send a check?

 Thanks,
 John [Famous and ambitious Chicago chef]

     I’d already led poor John down a winding path so what did I have to lose?

Ooohhh...I would think you'd want to try the French Tarragon and the Thyme. For only the cost of the vinegar and 40 cents additional for shipping, you could get 7 bottles. Oh, and then there's the Scarborough Fair that has a great story. The lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel's song is from an old old poem of impossible love.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
 Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Remember me to the one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Sewn without seams or fine needlework,
If she would be a true love of mine.

Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Where never spring water or rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
 

And on it goes for several more verses in which she responds with impossible tasks for him to do if he wants to be her lover again. Our Scarborough Fair vinegar is in mixed fruit, which in this case is a blend of apple and rhubarb. The four herbs combined with these two fruit flavors create a totally new party on the taste buds with no impossible tasks whatsoever.

But now I'm just making your job of choosing vinegar more difficult! Sorry. Eight bottles, perhaps?
Nancy

      Five minutes after my discretionary digression, John had made a decision.

You sang to me via email.. Sold.  Eight it is!

 Is there any online payment available or no?
Thanks,
 John

Yay!
 Sorry, no, no online payment option. I keep meaning to arrange something. But checks and cash still work for us.
 Nancy

Ok, no problem.. Can you send me an updated total and I will put a check in the mail today?
Thanks,
John

A few days later, John’s check arrived and the eight bottles were on their way. I sent him an email so he’d know they were coming.

Hi John,
No song today. How about a movie: "You've got mail!" Well, at any rate, your vinegar is on its way  : )
Nancy

Harvesting grapes 2011

Hilary picked the white grapes two weeks ago. They were at peak sweetness and ready to roll. Last night, Ron picked half of the Concords. Frost nipped the upper leaves of the vines clinging to the trellis and recent winds have cleared them out. Exposed to the dry air, some of the grapes were beginning to move toward raisins. That’s not a problem for our process since raisins are actually sweeter than grapes. But, hornets seek out the liquid in grapes, especially when there’s a lack of rain. They’ll suck out the juice and leave empty skins. Now that is a problem.


Ron clipped the grape clusters from the vines just as the sun set. All of the daytime bugs had already clocked out and gone home. We sat down to watch “Big Bang Theory” and while Sheldon rolled the dice to make decisions in his daily life, to free up brain space for loftier thoughts, we hand de-stemmed 21 pounds of grapes.

A larger enterprise would use a mechanized de-stemmer but our small operation allows for hand separation of inferior grapes, sticks and stems. I’ve heard that winery standards allow one Asian beetle per bushel of fruit. I guarantee, there are no orange dotted beetles in our grapes.

I just finished harvesting the other half of the Concords. Neither a less than gentle breeze nor a sudden burst of rain could lessen my pleasure in this moment all of those early spring days of pruning and summer days of weeding and wondering work to produce. The entire growing season stretches to this day of physical exertion in breaking of the grape clusters’ natural joints of separation or using my favorite old clippers to cut then drop the clusters on the growing pile in a five-gallon bucket. My senses are tuned to the job. I even notice the glimmer of a multitude of grapes simultaneously reflecting my hand in their individual highlights.

I can’t help but plan for next year’s harvest. We’ll move the Frontenacs that have spent the summer in the soft ground of the garden. They’ll fill the newly landscaped south-facing slope in front of the vinegary. Perhaps we’ll add even more. And then there are those new sweet cherries to try. And maybe a few more apple trees.

Spring is on its way

Ron's headed for the Twin Cities today to spear head some marketing efforts with the Whole Farm Co-op. It's wintery and cold but it won't be long and we'll have more icicle dripping days and water running in rivulets. With all this snow, it's going to be a wet spring.

As spring heads this way, I want to send out a reminder that Leatherwood Vinegary will be featured on Pioneer Public Television's "Prairie Yard and Garden" on March 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Jason Davis has called and plans to stop in to tape a segment for his "On the Road" show. We'll let you know when to watch for that.

Spring means horticultural events. Ron and I will be displaying our vinegar and offering sessions at:
The Todd County Horticultural Event, March 13 in Long Prairie at the Baptist Church.
The East Ottertail Horticulture Day, March 20 in Perham at the high school.
The West Ottertail Horticulture Day, March 27 in Underwood at the school.

My book about the vinegary should be coming out in March, too. More on that as we get closer to the publishing date.

Edible Flowers

Walking a tour group through the garden yesterday, I noticed the yellow water iris are blooming. I probably wouldn’t have noticed them if I hadn’t been pointing out the useful plants in the landscape. Sometimes we’re just too busy to stop and smell the flowers. When we do, we might consider that they’re also edible. Not all of them, of course, so it’s important to know which ones are and which ones aren’t.

A friend once mistakenly served her family tulip bulbs. Her mother-in-law had given her a bag of bulbs and onions. She didn’t know the difference and saved the onions to plant in the fall and served the tulips in the Swiss steak. They suffered no ill effects other than missing out on the blooms the next spring.

The flowers of many herbs are edible and that fact should be fairly obvious since many of them are made into teas. Think chamomile, hyssop, bee balm and mints, just to name a few.
Marigolds, carnations, Johnny Jump-ups, violets, bachelor’s buttons, nasturtiums and clover are common flowers that are edible.

Marigolds add their golden color when sprinkled on soups, pasta and rice dishes. They taste spicy to peppery depending on the variety and can be used to jazz up herb butters, salads and scrambled eggs.

Johnny Jump-ups have a mild wintergreen flavor and look lovely sprinkled in salads, adorning frosted cakes or accompanying soft cheeses in appetizers.

Violet flowers and leaves are both edible as are nasturtium’s. Violets can be compared to spinach and nasturtiums sport a peppery flavor. We had a limited supply of nasturtium vinegar a couple of years ago. Blossoms added to those bottles made them extra special.

Carnations, clover and bachelor’s buttons all have sweet petals and can be used accordingly. The bases or bud ends of these flowers are often bitter so separate the petals from the base before using.

Be sure to use flowers that are free of pesticides or other contaminants. Wash as you would any other food.

Eating flowers is a trend that comes and goes. It’s back, now, so don’t be surprised if your entré in a favorite restaurant is garnished with flowers. Brighten up your home cooking, too, and surprise your family.

Fresh rhubarb pie

Move over Pie Princess Savannah; Lady Vinegar just made a fresh rhubarb pie!

I may have robbed the rhubarb cradle with the stalks only four to eight inches high. But, rhubarb isn't fussy that way since it's useable if it's above the ground. No need to wait for it to ripen, turn color or the seeds (what seeds?) to turn brown. I gathered a small amount for a small pie. I cut the leaves and left them in the rhubarb patch but left the root end on to trim carefully once they were washed. I cut the 3/8" to 1/2" diameter stalks into 1/2 inch pieces and then made the crust.

With 3 1/2 cups of rhubarb, I made an 8 inch pie. Below is the recipe for the filling, and yes, I did put vinegar in it:

3 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grape wine vinegar.

The phone rang while I was in the middle of mixing the filling. Hilary had news of her last day of classes at MCAD and her request for us to come get her stuff the next day. The summer job issue is still up in the air so she may, or may not, be home for the summer.

While I was talking with her, Ron stopped home from his trip to Alexandria to get building materials for the potato farm and some for the new wooden stairs to the loft above his wood shop. He poked his head in the door to tell me what he was up to, but Mr. Pie Lover didn't notice what I was making.

The pie is in the oven and the aroma is beginning to waft through the house. Ron will notice when he stops home for lunch. But no sampling until dinner.

Ta da! The first pie of the season!

And now it's October

It was spring. Now it's fall. Things at Leatherwood Vinegary go just that quickly! We planted. We reaped. We're making wine and vinegar.

If it only were really that simple! Yes, we planted but it wasn't a good growing season. Too cool and wet in the spring. Then hot and dry. Now as frost is nearing, we have plenty of moisture and great growing conditions, but time is running out.

In a normal growing season the cherries, plums and apples blossom in succession. The rhubarb comes next, then the grapes blossom. All of that happened except the grapes were really late in leafing out. Because of the cold wet weather when the plums and cherries were blossoming, they didn't set on well. In fact, we had no cherries and only enough plums for fresh eating. Some of the apple trees are heavy with fruit while others only have one or two. This isn't a problem since off years help break the moth cycle and give the trees a rest. Last year's grape crop was glorious. This year we had four, yes four, clusters.

When our crop is poor we're especially appreciative of those who have and share a bountiful harvest. Conditions vary throughout the area and the crop isn't consistently good or bad. We're using the abundant rhubarb and apples that we have along with plums and grapes from others in the area. No cherries so there'll be a dearth of cherry vinegar next year.

We've had lovely herbs so have abundant herbal vinegars. Ron bottled a generous amount of French tarragon vinegar. The garlic is infusing now as well as an experimental batch of catnip (it's stimulating for cats but calming for humans). We dug the horseradish just a couple of days ago so we'll taste the first horseradish vinegar in a couple of weeks.

Tour groups have been wonderful this summer and continue coming as we move into cooler weather. We've enjoyed sharing the vinegary and gardens with mystery tour groups, veterans' reunions, girlfriend groups, families, couples and individuals. Amity came from North Carolina to write a story for AAA Living magazine. Jeff and Inese came to celebrate their fifth anniversary. An opera singer from Australia stopped in on his trip around the world.

We cooked another vinegar themed dinner for a school fundraiser, hosted a large family gathering, and Ron has shared his wine making expertise with classes. We've also learned from our visitors and now know how to grow bigger onions (hoe the soil away from the bulb and let it sit on top of the ground), better garlic ( mulch with six inches of leaves and top with plastic to winter over), jucier tomatoes (trench between rows and fill the trenches with water, let it seep in, repeat).

Now with winter on its way, the plan is to write a book about our experiences as the first vinegar proprietors in Minnesota, and perhaps update this blog more faithfully. But first I want to transplant the strawberry bed, plant the garlic and shallots, make some beet pickles, get two bushels of tomatoes from a generous person who has an abundant crop, make tomato wine and vinegar.......and so on it goes.