Winemakers R Us

IN 2008, three servers at Daniel's Broiler - Bellevue, Bryan Schwietzer, Menno Groenhout, and Robert Wallace, and a former Daniel's bartender, Kelly Ehley, crushed some Syrah and Cabernet grapes in Kelly's garage, and made three barrels of wine.

After 18 months in oak barrels and 6 months in the bottle, it was time to pop the cork last week. The wine turned out great!

With blackberry and black cherry flavors, a hint of chocolate and an elegant finish, these four amateur wine makers managed to produce 800 bottles of excellent wine. Two of them are certified Sommeliers — Bryan and Robert — so maybe it's not overly surprising. And all of them know a lot about wine. Menno said, "We tried to make a wine you can drink on its own or with different kinds of food and I think we've crafted a very nice blend with lots of fruit, great balance, and a silky finish."

They've since crushed and barrelled two more batches of wine. We can't wait to taste them when they're ready.

We have the most amazing group of people working at Daniel's Broiler — passionate, experienced, knowledgeable, and full of life. If you're looking for a dining experience to exceed your expectations, our team members are the best in the Northwest.

Read more of our winemakers' story here: http://www.omnivorecellars.com/

Food Lifeline: A Worthy Cause

DANIEL'S BROILER (in Bellevue and Lake Union) and Chandler's Crabhouse have been contributing to an admirable program known as Food Lifeline, which helps feed hungry people with food that would otherwise be wasted. It's an environmentally and socially responsible alternative to sending perfectly good food to landfills. We hope other businesses join us in participating in this worthy charity.

Food Lifeline links food sources and hungry people by encouraging the food industry to donate unmarketable but nutritional and edible food it would otherwise discard. Food Lifeline rescues millions of pounds of food each year.

Locally, restaurants and caterers contribute prepared food through Food Lifeline's innovative "Seattle's Table" program, and fresh produce is collected from produce wholesalers and retailers through their "Produce for the People" program. Local grocery retailers also donate a variety of things: meat, dairy, fresh produce and baked goods through Food Lifeline's "Grocery Rescue" program.

Last year, Food Lifeline secured more than 24 million pounds of food – the equivalent of nearly 19 million meals – to feed hungry families and individuals throughout Western Washington. Food Lifeline provides food to 675,000 people through their network of nearly 300 emergency feeding programs including food banks, hot meal programs and shelters.

The efficiency of this charitable organization is very high. Ninety-five cents of every dollar they receive goes directly to procuring and distributing food to hungry people.

The food blogger, Tom Douglas, has this on his web site: "Love to eat? Then why not share your passion for food by helping Tom Douglas’ favorite charity: Food Lifeline? For the past 30 years, their mission has been to end hunger in Western Washington."

Please encourage others you know in the food industry to join Food Lifeline. Let's all work to reduce waste and help end hunger. For more information: http://foodlifeline.org/

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