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It looks like some folks in British Columbia are aiming to give purveyors of Kobe beef a run for their money. If they have their way, wine-fed Okanagan beef may soon be turning up next to Japan's prime bovine on the menu of high-end steakhouses.
That's right, "wine-fed" cattle -- as in, each cow gets a liter of Okanagan Valley red wine mixed into its feed every day for the last 90 days before it is processed. Yes, it seems strange at first, but when you stop to think about it, red wine and beef are one of the most classic pairings imaginable. What seems even stranger, then, is why didn't someone think of this sooner?
According to the Vancouver Sun (Vancouver is about four hours west of the Okanagan Valley), the genius credit here goes to Janice Ravndahl, a local meat purveyor from the town of Kelowna who also happens to come from five generations of Canadian cattle ranchers.
Oddly, though, Ravndahl's first instinct was to give the cows beer, as she'd seen Gordon Ramsay do with pigs on The F Word. Her brother, however, said no way: beer would cause the cows to bloat. Living in one of British Columbia's premier wine-growing regions, Ravndahl's next logical thought was: vino!
Local gourmet chefs at places like the Mission Hill Winery and the Delta Grand Okanagan resort are raving about the "pre-marinated" beef, which is produced from free-range, hormone-free Angus cattle.
As for the cows themselves, well, if you've only got three months to live, it's hard to judge what's better: a liter of wine a day or, as is the case with their pampered Kobe cousins, regular massages.
In any case, it appears that, come feeding time for Ravndahl's cows, the scene isn't markedly different from your average five o'clock happy hour.
"Once they have [the wine], they're happy to have it again," she told the Sun. "They moo at one another a little more and seem more relaxed. There are a few that lap it up out of the pail. After they've had it for a while, when they see us coming with the pitchers, they don't run, but they come faster than usual."
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7-27-2010 @5:53PM Michael Schmitt said... Such a strange story. If feeding them wine is "pre-marinading" the beef, why can't I just feed them teriyaki sauce and have 'em taste like that? I know, I know... it's just a story...
Oh, and the bloating cows on beer? They belch all the time to get rid of the gas created by the digestion of grass by the bacteria in their stomachs. It's just a story... I shouldn't be taking this too seriously...
There's not such thing as "hormone-free Angus cattle". All cattle have hormones. OK, this is a poorly written story. Why do I bother?
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7-28-2010 @7:02AM Jessica said... Micheal- as a raiser of ruminants, I can tell you for sure, belching or no belching, it is very easy for one to bloat and die, and not a pretty death!
7-28-2010 @8:47AM gonzo said... As a farmers son with a 300 + dairy heard in New Zealand. We had two cows die of bloat in 20 odd years. Both of fresh lucerne. Hows your farming background?
7-28-2010 @1:23PM Dave said... Michael:
All cattle have naturally ocurring hormones but many beef steers have implanted hormones to accelerate growth. They are primarily estrogen based. Not sure what the long term effects are for us males.
7-29-2010 @8:51AM Gary said... Because you care a little bit???
7-28-2010 @9:50AM Fran Amos Cook said... OMG, now I've heard it all. I suppose now when anyone gets near the
cows, not only are they saying Moo, but a lettle addition of . . . . . . .
MOOWEEEEEEE :))
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7-28-2010 @9:55AM Dave said... I lived in Taiwan for four years across the street from a farmer. They would get the pigs drunk a day before and the morning they were taking them to the market/butcher. They would buy several cases of a Budweiser Derived Recipe (although it NEVER came close to tasting like Budweiser) and help the pigs drink about half a case of beer each. Then load them on a stake bed truck. (It took 3-4 men to load em up as they were completely drunk,) then drive down the highway to the market.
I always liked the pork when I lived there and now everyone knows why.
At the time (late 60's-early 70's) Taiwan's pork was the some of the tastiest in the world. (So I was told).
So giving the cows some red wine to liven up their final days makes sense to me.
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7-28-2010 @1:55PM Joebudgie said... Unless you ate the stomachs and their contents raw I really don't think the beer the animals drank on the day of being slaughtered had any effect what-so-ever on the taste of their flesh. Maybe you have been drinking a little too much too often if you think so.
8-04-2010 @8:53PM ando said... They need to go to alcoholics annonymous
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7-28-2010 @1:49PM Benwa said... They do. Except it's called your dinner table!!
7-28-2010 @11:07AM kevin said... This practice seems inhumane to me. We already treat animals horribly in many cases. When will humanity wake up? I have heard fishermen say that it doesn't hurt the fish when you pull the hook out of its mouth. How ridiculous!
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7-28-2010 @3:46PM neesee said... kevin.......Giving them wine is probably the MOST humane thing they do to them. How is a liter of wine being inhumane? Obviously you don't drink alcohol and look down on anyone who enjoys it, even cows. The cows like it and they don't know they are going to be dinner someday, they just enjoy being cows and doing cow stuff. Let em have wine! As for fish, they do not have nerve endings that conduct pain to their fishbrains so no, they do not feel the hook.
7-28-2010 @1:59PM bailoutsos said... Is it really "Okanagan Valley red wine" or "Two Buck Chuck?"
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7-28-2010 @12:06PM r said... the wine passes thru there digestive system and it has no effect on the meat, like feeding them a bottle of tenderizer to tenderize the meat it dont work
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7-28-2010 @12:37PM garry said... michael , cows do bloat and can die from it just like a horse or mule and obviously they mean no added growth hormones that are common this day and time to grow them off faster..... R remember you are what you eat ... and yes what they eat for 90 days will flavor the meat.... any more dumb statements need correcting.? I got to go tend to the cows
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7-28-2010 @3:57PM Evil Jack said... If cows can really die from bloat - how has Rosie O'Donnel managed to avoid that fate for so long - I've heard she drinks beer by the case.
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7-28-2010 @4:09PM Henry said... At first I misread the article. I thought they were writing about wine fed orangutans! Now I bet that would taste out of this world.
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7-28-2010 @5:33PM Melanie said... Our species is so shameful, selfish, arrogant, greedy and disgusting. We do not now or ever need to eat animals and to raise them and feed them wine etc. is so low. May everyone who supports the exploitation of animals have karma come back to bite them. How dare we just eat them because we can, because we like the taste, because we want to. Hope we go extinct and the animals are left alone in peace without barbaric humans dining on them, wearing them, using them for whatever they want because they just damn well want to. And please all you animal exploiters do not bother to give me your justification and do not bother to reply to this but I am sick and tired of your attempting to justify your cruel, heartless, unhealthy, selfish habits. I have heard it all and none of it makes sense. It is just about YOU because you want to. We have all been vegans for years and have lived extremely happy, healthy lives without satisfying our taste buds on dead body parts or anything else that comes from an animal.
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8-12-2010 @4:32PM Kat said... My family has raised cattle, hogs, sheep and goats for meat and milk. We also raised fruits and vegetables. There is nothing wrong with eating a balanced diet which includes both meat, grains, fruits and vegetables. We are all entitled to our personal perferences without having narrow-minded people insult us. Passing bad karma and making hateful comments about those of us who do eat meat is childish and shows a lack of character on your part. Grow up!
7-28-2010 @5:48PM Melanie said... You are one very heartless individual - may you get exactly in another life one day what you have done to animals. Every single one of you who enjoys eating them and this 'wonderful' human who actually witnessed their suffering only to dine on them later - Sick!!!
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