A Message From
Helene Beck

As a visionary I take unusual fruit, without much of a market potential, and create exciting and innovative condiments. As founder and principal of La Vigne Organics, and a Certified Organic Grower, the fruit that I grow has an unmistakably fresh flavor. The organic process enhances the flavor. When they taste my sample oranges at the farmer’s market they come back and buy them. My oranges have a sweeter flavor.

About eighteen years ago I decided to make products from the fruit that my husband, Robert, and I grow on our property. With an abundance of persimmons and kumquats I couldn’t see go to waste I began my line of condiments. Thus, in the spirit of preservation, my first product, dried persimmons, was created. The second product was Kumquat Piquant Sauce, a delightfully unique condiment, which is still marketed.

In the Beck home, cookbooks from almost every culture imaginable line the walls of the study. Helene not only owns these books, but is also a voracious reader and uses ideas garnered from these books to create her innovative line of condiments. “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,” she said. That, coupled with a commitment to ecology, has contributed to the development of La Vigne Organic's distinctive line of gourmet foods made entirely from fruits certified organic by CCOF. “I want consumers to remember our label as a symbol of wonderful tastes leading to good health.”

La Vigne Enterprises was founded in 1994, after Helene and Robert moved to North County San Diego to pursue a healthful lifestyle in a beautiful rural area. They converted a neglected avocado farm into an abundant grove, producing fifteen different fruit crops, all of which are one hundred percent organic. Their grove is devoted to less-mainstream fruits, including kumquats, persimmons, cherimoyas, minneolas and blood oranges.

With Helene’s interest in exotic foods and as an organic grower of tree fruits, she found the opportunity to create delicious sauces, conserves and condiments from the fruit. The gourmet condiments Helene has created under the La Vigne label are Kumquat Conserve, Kumquat Piquant Sauce, Kumquat Ginger Syrup, Blood Orange Syrup, Persimmon Salsa, Persimmon Salad Dressing, Persimmon Chipotle and Dried Fuyu Persimmons. La Vigne also produces purees and juices from the kumquat and the persimmon.

Helene believes that with good, fresh food to start with, you can make tasty dishes. The quality of the soil and its nutrients makes a considerable difference in the flavor of the food grown. The Becks use natural fertilizers and traditional organic farming methods to enrich their 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,” said Helene.

“ 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,” Helene commented. “It is my goal to continue to add nutritional value and taste to all our fruits.” She also encourages chefs to seek out the La Vigne organic line, which, she is confident, will contribute special values to their culinary creations.

The diverse food industry constantly changes, demanding ingenuity and new ideas. Helene Beck and La Vigne are setting the world on fire with their fresh fruit and condiments. “I am proud and happy to enjoy two roles, as an organic grower of fine, fresh fruits and also a developer of condiments, purées and dried snacks.