NEW! Thursday nights are all about cheese. Resident cheese expert Jonathan Whitlatch will be offering samples and insight into the different varieties offered in our cheese department. Jonathan is freshly returned from training at the famous Murray Cheese Shop in New York. If you’ve got cheese questions, he’s got answers.

Work in progress. All of the stacks are being built, and balloons are going up, make sure you check out the sale, great wines and amazing prices on these. We got awesome deals, and are passing them on to you.

Stephen Walter
Marketing Manager, Company Shops Market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Stephen Walter, Marketing Manager, Company Shops Market, stephenw@companyshopsmarket.coop

Company Shops Market to Hold First Annual Wine Show

Burlington, NC (Sept 12, 2011) – Wine is a great conversation starter, so Company Shops Market will be a chatty place this October. The cooperative grocery store, located in Downtown Burlington, will hold its first annual Wine Show on October 15. from 1-5 pm. Ticket holders will be able to sample 19 different wines, including classics like Merlot, Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinor Noir, and Reisling.

For $5, customers will have the opportunity to participate in the wine tasting and then buy the wines on sale at discounts of up to 50% off. Ticket holders will also receive a Company Shops Market Wine Show tasting glass. The event will also feature live music and gourmet snacks.

“We want this to be a fun and educational event for Alamance County wine lovers,” said Operations Manager Leila Wolfrum. “We are excited to bring a community wine event to Downtown Burlington, and we want to make Company Shops a wine destination as we go forward.”

The wine show is part of the Company Shops Fall Wine Sale, which offers 19 wines on sale at up to 50% off. In addition, customers who purchase 12 bottles will get a 10% “case discount” on top of the sale prices. The sale lasts from October 5-November 1, 2011.

Company Shops’ wine buyers have found some great deals on wines from around the world, and CSM is passing on the savings to its customers.

The wine selection at Company Shops encompasses wines from all the well known wine-growing regions of the world. The wine sale offers some terrific deals from all over Europe, as well as Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and California. “October is a great time to stock up on wine, with all the big holidays just around the corner. And we are happy to answer any questions you might have about selecting the proper wines for your holiday entertainment,” said Walter Tauber, Company Shops Wine Specialist, a 30 year veteran of the wine industry.

For more information on Company Shops Market and the Wine Sale and Show, check out www.companyshopsmarket.coop.

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India brings to the group a strong early classical background in piano, organ, cello and voice with over 35 years experience on guitar. She was caught up in the Greenwich Village-inspired folk scene of the ’60s, when folk music became her primary musical focus. In the ’70s India sang professionally with Silk’nSteel, an Ohio folk/rock band, and over a ten-year period presented a program called “Ballad Workshop” to local schools in the Dayton-Cincinnati area. Her strong musical influences include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Jackson Browne, Ian & Sylvia, Kate Wolf, Nanci Griffith, and Iris Dement.

Keith, a self-taught banjo picker, is the group’s strong bluegrass influence. He was swept up in the folk revival of the ’60s and ’70s and rapidly migrated toward the bluegrass end of the folk spectrum. In the early ’70s, Keith played banjo in Whetstone, an acoustic folk-rock-grass group in Charlotte. He counts Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, Bill Keith, and Alan Munde as the strongest influences on his self-taught playing style. He has introduced India Cain to some of the genius of Bill Monroe, and further introductions will surely follow.

Benjamin Vineyards:

We are excited to welcome back Benjamin Vineyards, a local winery located near Saxapahaw NC, who will be sampling a selection of their local wines. This local winery is located in Graham, just outside of the Saxapahaw area. “We at Benjamin Vineyards & Winery subscribe to the principles and practices of Sustainable Winegrowing. We base our business on the three guiding principals of sustainability: Environmental Stewardship, Social Equity, and Economical Viability. ” If you are looking for a fun outing, visit the winery. Their Pick Your Own Muscadines season runs now through mid-October, Thursday-Sunday, 12 noon-5pm. They are currently picking Muscadine varieties Ison and Scarlet for $1.25/lb.

Great Lakes Brewing Company:

Try out some great flavors from this sustainably-minded craft brewery. “Great Lakes Brewing Company is a principle-centered, environmentally respectful and socially conscious company committed to crafting fresh, flavorful, high-quality beer and food for the enjoyment of our customers.”

About Timberwood Organics:

Timberwood Organics is a family owned farm located about 17 miles from Company Shops Market Co-op Grocery, in Efland NC. They believe that growing food without the use of chemical pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides is the only way to grow. Their fresh and organic produce and herbs can be found at health food stores, restaurants, and farmers markets in the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Burlington and Durham areas. They also offer a CSA subscription. “Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between grower and consumer with a view to responsibly promote and support local, sustainable agricultural practices for human, environmental and economic benefits.”

Meet Ray Christopher:

“My names Ray Christopher. I’m the owner and operator of Timberwood Organics. We’ve been a certified organic grower since 1992. You just go around and read a couple of the labels and you may become more interested in organic food yourself.”

About Our Process:

“Different crops required different types of nutrients. In our crop rotation we’ll work our legume crops, which are nitrogen fixing. Then we’ll go with heavy feeders after that. We also grow different cover crops mixed in worth our rotation.”

Why Small Local Farms Are Important:

“There should be 200 farms like mine, all over, with people able to stand on their own feet and be able to have a little bit of independence. This is really important for our society, for our state of North Carolina and for our nation. Small Farms. Small Shops. Localized…. Its got to go that way. To big to fail? Bigger is better? I completely disagree with that.”

Why We Are Excited About Company Shops Market:

This allows a lot of farms to take part in produce distribution. It also allows for more people, I hope, and more farms to be able to stand on their own feet (support themselves) and have a marketplace for their products.

Company Shops! Local food for local people.

Thank you to the Elon students at Live Oak Communications for filming this video.

A Message from Company Shops Market Board Member David William with an update on Company Shops Market Co-op and a challenge to make a difference in your community.

Video by Steve & Peyton of Exum Photo

Why Local Food? : Several Elon University professors weigh in on why they choose to buy food grown and raised by area farmers. This video is part of the Telling The Story of Company Shops Market documentary series.

Dr Janet MacFall – Elon University Environmental Science Department
“Locally grown food is usually fresher. It’s usually harvested when its closer to ripeness… I know the people who grow my eggs. I know people who grow the meat that I eat.”

Dr Tony Crider – Elon University Physics Department
“I’m amazed at how much people will spend in the clothes they put on their body and the electronics they put in their pocket, and get the best brand names they can afford. But then they’ll put the absolute cheapest and most disgusting food in their body and think nothing of it. If instead you say that you want treat the people fairly, treat the animals humanly and eat a product that you know what went into the animal… then you want to buy from someone you know. And to do that, you almost always have to do it locally. Ultimately, you have to pay the price. If you don’t pay now, you’ll pay later. Either with your health or with your impact on the environment. I’d prefer to pay now.”

Dr Megan Squire – Elon University Computer Science Department
“Buy food grown by people locally that you know. You can can drive out to their farm if you want to see how its grown. That community feel spills out into the store itself. They’re generally fun and happy places to shop. ”

This video was created by Taylor Shain and Elon University Fall 2010 documentary class with Doug Kass for creating this video.

Thank you for creating this documentary that helps show what the local food community is all about. It’s about enjoying food that is super fresh, tastes great, and is full of nutrients. It’s about making healthy food choice that leave you feeling vibrant and alive. It’s about creating relationships with the people who grow your food, having the opportunity to visit the family farms and see knowledge and care and pride that goes into the foods they produce. Its about connecting with the people in your community and building friendships around a shared passion for good food. ~ Sarah C.

Thank you to all the folks who came out today to volunteer their time. We’ll be back at it tomorrow. Work starts starts at 9 a.m. All equipment will be provided. We just need you. If you can help, please email Sharon Dent at sdent1@triad.rr.com. The co-op will get a beautifully finished floor and you will get the bragging rights to say that you helped make it happen. We’ll supply all materials including nose masks, lunch, music, snacks, water, instruction, etc. Volunteers must be 18 years old or older and sign a waiver before participating.

The city has been busy putting in new plantings all around downtown. Including the new gathering space in front of the store. We now have trees and pretty shrubs! (Photo courtesy of David & Sarah Williams). You can find more photos of the new plantings, appearing everywhere you look downtown, on Burlington Downtown Corp.’s facebook page.

See more construction photos on our Flickr CSM Construction Group Page at : http://www.flickr.com/groups/companyshops

Photo courtesy of David & Sarah Williams

Red Oak Brewery, located in Whitsett, NC, makes their beer specifically for the local community. Red Oak beer is meant to be enjoyed fresh because they brew their beer using centuries old purity laws which means there are no artificial preservatives or harmful additives. Red Oak has been a supporter of Company Shops Market and hopes to sell their product in our store.

This video was created by Erik Keithley from Elon University‘s Fall 2010 documentary class taught by Doug Kass. Thank you for creating this documentary that helps show how choosing locally produced foods (or beer in this case) and also buying those local products from local businesses helps create jobs and keep money within our community.