By Helene Beck

As founder and principal of La Vigne Enterprises, Inc., I want consumers to remember my label as a symbol of wonderful tastes leading to good health. I have merged a long-time interest in multi-cultural cuisine with a passion for nutrition and a lifetime of gourmet cooking into La Vigne products. That, coupled with a commitment to ecology, has contributed to the development of La Vigne's distinctive line of gourmet foods made entirely from fruits certified organic by CCOF and biodynamic by the prestigious DEMETER Association.

La Vigne Enterprises was founded in 1994, after my husband Robert and I abandoned Los Angeles to pursue a more healthful lifestyle in a beautiful rural area in north San Diego County. We converted a neglected avocado farm into an abundant grove, producing 15 different fruit crops, all of which are 100 percent organic and biodynamic. Our grove is devoted to less-mainstream fruits, including kumquats, persimmons, cherimoyas, minneolas and blood oranges.

With my interest in unusual foods and as an organic grower of tree fruits, I found the opportunity to create delicious sauces, conserves and condiments from our fruit. These products carry on the enterprise of our ancestors, who got the most from their crops. The gourmet condiments I have created under the La Vigne label are Kumquat Conserve, Kumquat Piquant Sauce, Crispy and Chewy Kumquats, Persimmon Salsa, Persimmon Chipotle and Dried Fuyu Persimmons. La Vigne also produces purees and powders from the kumquat and the persimmon.

I believe that with good, fresh food to start with, you can make good, tasty dishes. The quality of the soil and its nutrients makes a great difference in the flavor of the food grown. Robert and I use natural fertilizers and traditional organic farming methods to enrich our land. It gives me a great feeling of accomplishment when I hear that our fruit - even though it may look like others - has a quality and taste that leads consumers not only to want more but to experiment with new textures and tastes.

One of my goals is to expand the use of the unusual fruits I grow so they will be sought after in the United States as much as more common fruits like bananas or raspberries. Fuyu persimmons, for instance, are second in sweetness to dates and were long used in a purée in Japan as a sweetener before sugar was introduced. Fuyus stand alone when eaten fresh and when used as an ingredient. Fuyus add the moisture, texture and color that bananas would add to a cake. Blood oranges, on the other hand, long used in Italian dishes, can be used to make wonderful sorbets. People are becoming aware that good food is their best medicine, and I feel I can help in a small way through my farming practices. It is my goal to continue to add nutritional value and taste to all our fruits and have chefs seek out our organic line to contribute special values to culinary creations. The growing of fine fruits gives great satisfaction, as I see the results of being in touch with the earth, air and water.

The food industry constantly changes and demands new ideas. It combines ingenuity, diversity, recipe development and great job opportunities. The numerous food shows draw people from around the world looking for innovative products and exciting ideas to expand an ever-growing market. This industry involves many people, including those in recipe development, chefs, food photographers, cookbook authors, food chemists, magazine designers and advertisers, packagers, labelers, growers, processors, distributors and truckers. As part of this extensive team, I am proud and happy to have two roles, as an organic grower of fine, fresh fruits and also a developer of condiments, purées and dried snacks.

Fruits used for La Vigne products are grown in our own Organic and Biodynamic grove located just east of Fallbrook ,near the world famous Avocado groves of North County San Diego. All of our fruits are bio-dynamically grown and are certified by both Demeter Assoc. and CCOF.

California Certified Organic Farmers Certification: Certified Grower since 1994

CCOF is a non-profit, democratically organized membership association of organic farmers, processors, handlers, retailers and supporters of the organic industry. It is the largest statewide organization of organic interests in the U.S., and the primary certification and trade association for the California organic industry. CCOF awards certifications to organic growers, processors, handlers, and retailers who demonstrate compliance with CCOF's strict standards and those required by the California Organic Foods Act of 1990.

For more information on CCOF, visit http://www.ccof.org

Demeter Certified Biodynamic:

The ideal Biodynamic farm is an individually unique ecosystem, self-sufficient with respect to the cycle of substances it requires. It maintains and builds soil fertility through the use of farm-produced manures and composts, a balanced crop rotation, and the application of the Biodynamic preparations, which regulate the composting process and stimulate the life activity of the soil and plant. A certified Biodynamic farm meets all organic standards. There is no use of chemically synthesized fertilized, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fumigants; no hormones, antibiotics, growth regulators, GMOs, or slaughter by-products.

For more information on the Demeter Association, Inc., visit http://www.demeter-usa.org