You’ve heard of grain-fed beef and grass-fed beef. How about wine-fed beef?

Janice Ravndahl and Darrel Timm of Sezmu Meats of Kelowna provide a “cow-sized” glass of wine a day to each of their animals for 90 days prior to slaughter.

The resulting meat is more tender and flavourful. It’s redder and it even smells fresher, says Ravndahl.

Their animals are finished at Bill Freding’s Southern Plus Feedlots in Oliver.

Ravndahl says they got the idea for producing wine-fed beef from Chef Gordon Ramsay’s show, except that he feeds his pigs beer before slaughtering them.

She says they use cull wine purchased at a lower price from wineries because they’re not happy with the quality, and a litre a day is poured on each cow’s feed.

They began by using their homemade wine and raising wine-fed beef for themselves, but it was so good they decided they’d market it.

Gillian Watt, a business mentor from Thompson Rivers University, has helped facilitate connections between Sezmu Meats and Southern Plus Feedlots, and local chefs.

A tasting for members of the Okanagan Chefs’ Association was held recently and the chefs chose their beef above all others, in a blind tasting, says Ravndahl.

Cabana Bar and Grille Chef James DeLong says it appears on a new menu they’ve just unveiled and he’s enthusiastic about the marbling and flavour. “It’s among the best I’ve ever worked with.”

It’s also available at restaurants such as Duffer’s Le Plateau, Quails’ Gate’s Old Vines, Mission Hill’s Terrace and Gray Monk’s Grapevine.

On the retail side, Cook’s Meats in Westbank carries it, and Johnny’s in Rutland is making pepperoni and smokies from it.

Watt says it’s a healthier product, with no hormones or antibiotics used in the feed.

As well, it’s important that consumers support local businesses, she says. Money spent on products from outside the region leaves the Okanagan instead of re-circulating in the local economy, she points out. That means everyone wins with local products.

The closer to home people buy, the smaller the carbon footprint, as well, she notes.

Plus, instead of the cows being moved about 20 times, they simply go from feedlot to processor to table.

It’s called a value chain and it results in improved products and service, with everyone in that value chain working together to provide products that consumers want.

An agri-food value chain is a partnership between producers, processors and marketers created to improve quality, increase efficiencies or develop and market differentiated products to make all partners more profitable.

The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. has embarked on a new initiative for those interested in moving from a commodity-based marketing system to a value-driven one.

The idea is to encourage the agri-food industry to become more competitive. Coaching services and group sessions are available to help get a value chain started in agriculture.

For more information, go to: www.iafbc.ca/valuechains.htm.

jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com