Being involved with food for so long, I receive many solicitations from organizations requesting my participation in fundraisers.  Due to time constraints, I can only do a few.

One of my favorites is the Slow Food Movement. In 1998, a friend in the wine business brought me the “Slow Food Manifesto,” a proclamation of passion from Italy.

In 1986, on the eve of the opening of a McDonald’s at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome, a member of the Italian Gastronomic Association, Arcigola, was offended by the introduction of low-quality American fast food in one of the world’s gastronomic capitals.

In response, the International Movement for the Defense of, and the Right to, Pleasure, was formed. We know it now as Slow Food International.

Other countries were quick to follow.

In 1989, at the Opera Comique in Paris, food lovers from many countries endorsed the Slow Food Manifesto:

Our century…invented the machine, and then took it as its life model.

We are enslaved by speed, and have succumbed to the corrupting virus [of the] Fast Life, which … forces us to eat Fast Foods…A firm defense of quiet, material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.  May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow enjoyment preserve us from the … mistake of frenzy for efficiency.

The manifesto recommends starting at the table, rediscovering the sensual quality of slow bites of flavor and savory regional cooking. It proclaims that real culture is defined by developing taste rather than demeaning it.

We have a Slow Food group close to home, in Ann Arbor. We are all guilty of forgetting the pleasure of time, how it feels to slow down.

Take time when you shop. Prowl the produce section at Hiller’s, and plan your evening meal from the bounty of our local harvest. Look for Made in Michigan shelf tags and create meals from locally produced delights.

Share your family’s heritage as it relates to food traditions. Learn your ancestry through the flavors that have endured. Search for favorite family recipes and recreate them for your family.

We will all benefit from living life instead of rushing through it.

– Rick Halberg, Hiller’s Director of Culinary Services

Autumn is a time when wine distributors host holiday trade shows for retail wine buyers. At these extravagant, overblown affairs, hundreds of wines are displayed and thousands of small portions poured – all for a milling, sniffing, sipping, spitting and pontificating crowd of restaurant sommeliers, party store owners, supermarket buyers, writers and uncategorized others.

People say they wish they had my job all the time, but the truth is that attending trade shows can be daunting.

After all, wines reveal themselves best and most enjoyably through contemplation and careful consideration. The ritualistic three- to five-second look, swirl, smell, slosh, spit, score process can’t be rushed. Nevertheless, there are so many wines to be evaluated, so we endure the trade show circuit, trying an awful lot of bad wine along the way so you won’t have to.

Of course, there is a lot of good wine out there, too, and this is the time of year when I look at the big picture: What’s hot? Who are the rising stars? What is trending down?  And, where are the best values?

Right now, you’ll get the best value out of wines from Chile and Argentina. Their well-made wines at all price points are clean, fresh, varietally correct and well-balanced, with bright fruit and zippy acidity.

For a white, try Argentine Torrontes – lovely floral and stone fruit aromas and a refreshing, palate-cleansing finish. For a red, Argentina’s Malbec and Chile’s Carmenere are the signature varieties but excellent Cabernet, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are easy to find.  Some brands I like: Cono Sur, Maipe, Ventisquero, Terra Andina, and Morande.

On the domestic side you cannot beat wines from Washington for value and distinctiveness. We recently devoted an edition of Jim Hiller’s Wine Club to Pacific Northwest wines.

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Columbia Crest, Red Diamond, Hogue, Covey Run, Chateau Ste Michelle and Snoqualmie offer outstanding depth of flavor and solid, honest value.

- Eric Novak, Hiller’s Wine Buyer