Oh So Excited

Finally! The time has come for my annual installment of "I don't play favorites, but...". Yep, the next vintage of Boushey Red Wine is almost ready to be released! I love the intense, earthy tones that I always find in Boushey wines, and find that they are so lovely to pair with food. In the 2007 vintage, the composition is more similar to the 2005 than the 2006 vintage, with merlot being the more prominent varietal. The blend is 53% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 7% cabernet franc. Yum!

Also in the upcoming releases come two wines from the Red Mountain AVA: the 2007 Red Mountain Red Wine (which will be in the club shipment with the Boushey) and the 2007 Red Mountain Merlot (an extra special treat that club members will be able to purchase). Both of these wines come from Red Mountain Vineyard. The Red Mountain Red is 62% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot and 13% cabernet franc, while the Red Mountain Merlot is 100% merlot.

In preparation for the release, I am planning a Bordeaux inspired menu with recipes to go with the wines. I haven't totally decided on what to do yet, but am going to start playing around with Sauce Bordelaise recipes, lamb dishes and possibly cassoulet. If anyone has a recipe that I must try, please pass it along!

Napa, Day 2

Day Two
We started the day with a tour of the Seguin Moreau Cooperage at 8 am. After being in our hotel rooms for less than ten hours, I was expecting to be really tired, but this was a great way to wake up. For those of you who made it to the Seattle wine club party in 2008, these are the same guys who did barrel toasting demonstrations for us that night. The whole room smelled like baking bread (actually toasting oak) and I really wanted a marshmallow to roast over a smoldering barrel.


Above is the room where the barrel construction takes place. Through a process of applied heat and moisture, the barrels are shaped into form. Below, Charlie talks toast.
After the barrels are put together and toasted to perfection, they go on to be tested, tested again, fitted with new bands, sanded and hit with a laser. With less than 20 guys working, they average 50 barrels per day. Chris (our tour guide of sorts) said that if they have a big order, they can make it up to 100 barrels, and during really busy times, they'll be around 150. That's a lot of handmade barrels!

VISIT TWO, DAY TWO: Grgich Hills. I wanted the group to come here to learn a bit about the history of the valley, but I think we all gained so much more than that. Sure, we learned about Mike Grgich, the judgement of 1976 where Chateau Montelena Chardonnay beat out all the Burgundy whites, and the progression to 70,000 cases from there. However, we also learned about biodynamic farming (to which Pam said, "you're doing what with the cows what?") and how a big time winery can still seem small and humble.
The barrel room wasn't quite as shiny as some of the others we saw on our trip, but they sure did have an impressive racking system. That's me below, checking out the balance of all these full barrels.

John led us on a great tour, tasted us on some fun wines (we all like the Chardonnay for some reason...), and after this, we started to worry about where all of our purchases were going to fit in the van.

After Grgich, we took John's recommendation and stopped at Taylor's Refresher for lunch. Getting there just before the high school kids, we snagged a picnic table in the sun (yea!) and all enjoyed burgers and sweet potato fries.

VISIT THREE: HALL, Rutherford. We finally left the St. Helena Highway and crossed over to the Silverado Trail. By this point in time, the sun was out, and we were loving it. We carefully followed HALL's directions up one of the steepest, windiest roads our rental van had ever seen and found ourselves at the beautiful estate overlooking the valley.

We were greeted with Sauvignon Blanc and left to soak in the views before getting a tour of the surrounding vineyards and the amazing production and storage facility.
The caves dug into the hillside are completely constructed with bricks from former Austrian palaces, laid by a team from Austria who specialize in cave design. All the way through the property and into the back of the caves were beautiful pieces of art, highlighted by the sculpture below. Made to look like the root system of a grape vine, this huge piece hung over a table for 32 (I counted after feeling so small at our one end of the table). What are all those sparkles? Oh, just 1500 Swarovski crystals. We tasted three cabs, and were all impressed by the warmth and hospitality that we felt during our visit.

VISIT THREE: Paraduxx

By this point in time, the sun had overtaken our moods and we were all overjoyed to be able to sit and do our tasting on the porch of Paraduxx's small, clean, tasting room. I swear, I am going to make this my house someday...

We tasted just a bit of wine while visiting Paraduxx. Three different vintages of their zinfandel based blends, a syrah-grenache blend and their sister winery's pinot noir, all with cheeses along side. We were a happy group.

What did I learn here? You can be a huge winery (or group of wineries) and still have a small, intimate tasting experience.For a lasting image of the trip...one of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen.

Oh, Napa!

This past week, a group of us left the cold temperatures of Washington state and headed south to Napa for a little educational field trip. I personally have not been to Napa in at least six years (except for a conference, where I got to hang out in the Napa Marriott), and was very excited to see what all the fuss was about. Here's how the trip went, and all of the fun things I learned:

Day One:

We land at the Napa airport just before noon, then head to lunch at Oakville Grocery. Such a cool shop with great food. However, this was one of the three rainy days per year in Napa so we got to eat in the van.

VISIT ONE: Benessere Vineyards in St. Helena

This is a pretty small winery (by Napa standards) that specializes in Italian varietals. We got to try some fun library sangioveses, dating back to 1998, and a very good muscat frizzante. We really enjoyed ducking out of the rain and touring their production facility. Here, I learned that it is possible to stay small and family owned in Napa.
VISIT TWO: Vineyard 29 on the St. Helena Highway

This was a special stop, made possible by our buddies at Cordon (thanks, Ken!). As our tour guide reminded us several times, they generally are never open for tours, so we were all made to feel very fortunate for our time at Vineyard 29. This is a winery that predominately sells just to their mailing list, and has some spectacular single vineyard wines. The one exception is a wine named "Cru" that sells just to restaurants. There is almost the same amount of Cru produced as our entire product line. Above are some impressive oak fermenters that are part of their gravity-flow (they use an elevator) system of vinification.

Down in the caves of Vineyard 29, we were able to meet their Director of Winemaking, Keith Emerson, who was great to listen to. Their winemaker is Philipe Melka, who has projects across the globe, including one with Long Shadows in Washington. Apparently, he has the ability to control a bit of the winemaking from his phone - how crazy is that!?! Below, Charlie sips Aida Cabernet in the library. I'm not able to pinpoint my main lesson from Vineyard 29, other than anything is possible, including winemaking via cell phone.

VISIT THREE: This was a non-tasting visit. We stopped by the gift shop at the Culinary Institute of America. My knuckles were white from attempting to keep my credit card in my pocket. How beautiful is this building?

Oddly enough, I don't have pictures from the remainder of the day. We visited Alpha Omega in the Rutherford AVA, also right on Highway 29. Coincidentally, they use Michel Roland (also a Long Shadows winemaker) as their consulting winemaker. I bought a lovely Chardonnay as a gift to my mom for puppy-sitting while I was gone. This is a winery that has only been around for about three years, but makes a ton of wine and pretty much sells it all direct. Pretty wild...

We had dinner at Bottega in Yountville. I wish that I could list everything that we ate, but that would take forever. My favorites were my hubbard squash tortelli and the "polenta under glass" appetizer that we shared. This was a beautiful restaurant where we procrastinated before going back out into the rain. Nedra and I spied on Michael Chiarello a bit while he worked in the kitchen before we finally braved the weather to go to the hotel.

I'm going to have to do Day 2 in just a bit, before I overload blogspot with my posts...

Happy New Year!

10 things I'm looking forward to in 2010:

1 - Fidelitas turns 10 in 2010! No better way to celebrate than with 10 great events.

2 - Getting married! Ben and I are making it official in June 2010 (this is not one of the 10 events).

3 - An opportunity to thank everyone who has been faithful, loyal and true to Fidelitas in our 10 years as a winery.

4 - Red Mountain: We have four Red Mountain AVA wines being released with our 2007 reds. And, while our vines won't be ready this year, I love watching their progress in our estate vineyard on the mountain.

5 - My new home. We've been here for four months now, and it really feels like home. Now I just have to start construction on a wine cellar somewhere...

6 - Parties at the tasting room: our 2nd Feast of St. Fidelis, the End of Harvest Celebration and a few more fun surprises to be announced.

7 - Parties away from the tasting room in some fun, exciting venues. Again, more to be announced.

8 - Friends, family and wine club members. I can tell that I'll have plenty of all three in 2010.

9 - My health. I'm a firm believer in red wine having health benefits.

10 - The wines! I already mentioned the four Red Mountain wines, but we have some awesome releases coming up that I am so excited about. Also, with the scores we received last year, I'm pretty sure the only place to go is up!

Red Wine Appetizers, Part Three

I really can't believe it's taken me this long to get all of these recipes posted. I apologize...we hosted the party, then came Thanksgiving, then I travelled to Red Mountain for 11 days the day after Thanksgiving. I just got back last night, and was so happy to see my puppy and my house again!

So finally, the ending portion of recipes for a party that pair well with red wines.

(I also just realized that I forgot to add the "why it works" segment to the recipes posted last week. I've amended those recipes with added pairing points.)

Asian BBQ Chicken Skewers

makes about 30 skewers

Try with the 2007 Fidelitas Malbec
INGREDIENTS
for the sauce
1 c hoisin
½ c sweet chile sauce (Mae Ploy is my favorite)
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs water
2 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
for the skewers
4” bamboo skewers (about 30)
3 lbs chicken tenders, cut into small chunks
2 tbs vegetable oil
¼ tsp each: cardamom, cinnamon, ground ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper
DIRECTIONS

Soak the bamboo skewers in a shallow baking dish filled with water.
In a blender, combine all ingredients for the bbq sauce. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a small saucepan. Simmer the sauce until it has thickened. This part can be made a day in advance. Slowly reheat before serving.
Preheat the oven broiler. In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil with the cardamom, cinnamon and ground ginger. Add the chicken tenders, season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Thread the chicken onto skewers, about three per skewer. Arrange the skewers on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil. Broil the chicken until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes, turning once.
Remove the skewers from the oven. Brush them liberally with the bbq sauce before transferring to a serving platter. Serve with additional sauce for dipping.

WHY IT WORKS: The Fidelitas Malbec is another wine that is nothing but fun to pair with food. I think that it more closely resembles a French Malbec (vs. those from South America) in that it has ripe fruit and full flavor, perfectly balanced by spice and a medium-full body. The tannins are not overwhelming and the acids are in balance, making this a great food wine. I chose chicken skewers for two obvious reasons - they are easy to make and are a great finger food. I chose an Asian BBQ sauce to compliment the ripe fruit (pluminess in the wine and pluminess in the hoisin) and the exotic spice notes (I really get some pungent cardamom and clove the aromas of the wine).

Chocolate Bark with Walnuts and Cherries
INGREDIENTS
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
2 cups walnut halves, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
DIRECTIONS
Melt the chocolate according to package directions.
Once melted, stir in the walnuts and cherries and coat with the chocolate.
Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then freeze for at least 10 minutes. Remove from the freezer, break (or cut) into chunks and serve.
WHY IT WORKS: I personally am not a red wine and chocolate fan. There are so many things wrong in the basic wine/chocolate pairing that will ruin both a good glass of wine and a nice piece of chocolate. However, I think that there are a few pairings that can work in this arena. Bittersweet chocolate is definitely the best option. I doesn't have the sweetness that can make a wine taste sour like some other chocolates. Adding walnuts adds a tannic component while the cherries are a nice compliment to the ripe fruit in most red wines. These little chocolate chunks, along with those dates I mentioned earlier, were two of the easiest things to make and brought in the most compliments. Funny how that works sometimes...

Red Wine Appetizers, Part Two

First, I apologize for the huge delay between appetizer posts. Thanksgiving and my trip to Red Mountain got in the way. So, on to the recipes: I have a few to start with now and promise the remaining recipes soon.
The biggest hit of the night was the easiest to make. Take small-medium sized, pitted California dates and cut a small slit vertically to open them up. Cut a small piece of parmigiano-regiano to fit inside of the date. Wrap very thin slice of prosciutto (we used about a third of a piece per date) around the date and secure with a toothpick. Bake at 450 for about 10-15 minutes, turning once. Serve hot. One of Ben's friends popped this into his mouth and proclaimed, "I think this is the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Sliders with Caramelized Red Onions, Gruyere and Arugula
makes 24 sliders
Try with Fidelitas eight Red Wine
INGREDIENTS
3 red onions, sliced
3 lbs ground beef (80/20)
2 tbs dijon mustard
3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
6 tbs olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
6 oz gruyere, cut into squares
arugula
24 small dinner rolls (we used the Hawaiian rolls, which were actually great with these)
DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, heat 2 tbs olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the red onion and slowly cook until caramelized (about 30 minutes).
Prepare a bbq to medium-high heat. In a large bowl, gently mix the beef, mustard, thyme, garlic and 3 tbs of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Shape into 24 patties, about 1 ½ - 2 inches in diameter.
Brush the grill with additional olive oil. In batches, cook the sliders on the bbq, for about 5 minutes on each side, or until desired doneness. Reserve in a warmer or low-heat oven. Toast dinner rolls on either the grill or under a broiler.
To assemble, place a slider on each roll, top with a piece of gruyere, then the caramelized onions and finish with a few leaves of arugula.
We did put out a few condiment dishes with ketchup and good mustard, but people seemed to be pleased with the sliders just as they were…
WHY IT WORKS: I've said it before, and I'll say it again - beef and cab just work. It's a matter of the fats complimenting (and calming) the tannins in the wine. However, I do get tired of fiddling with different steaks, etc, so wanted to try something new. The sliders are made with a fattier ground beef that not only helps to hold it all together, but also tastes soooo good with a young cabernet sauvignon, such as the eight red. The thyme and arugula compliment those earthy and peppery notes, while the gruyere and caramelized onions layer on richer elements to go with the dark fruit of the wine. And - sliders are so fun for parties. They were definitely the first thing to disappear from the table.

Eggplant and Bell Pepper Bruschetta
Try with the Fidelitas Red Mountain Cabernet Franc
INGREDIENTS
2 tbs olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
1 globe eggplant, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 baguette, sliced
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the red onion and cook until soft, then add the eggplant. Cook the eggplant for about 10 minutes, then add the peppers. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the peppers become soft. Add the cardamom, thyme and fennel, then the red wine vinegar. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
Toast the baguette slices under the broiler. Assemble on a platter and top each slice with a heaping amount of the eggplant and pepper mixture.
If I were to do this recipe again, I think that I would add a bit of chevre to each slice of baguette before placing under the broiler - I think it would add a little something special to the dish.
WHY IT WORKS: I really wanted a vegetarian dish to serve, and since the cabernet franc doesn't have those demanding tannins, this was a natural selection. I mentioned in my post earlier about cabernet franc that the earthy, spicy notes are great for peppers and spice. The eggplant added a nice, earthy component and the hint of fennel really brought out a similar note in the wine. The splash of red wine vinegar is key, lifting the flavors of the dish, but also elevating the acid level to meet the bright flavors of the wine.

Red Wine Appetizers, Part One

Ben and I hosted a housewarming party last Saturday night in our new home. Knowing that people tend to drink red wine more on these crummy fall/winter evenings, I wanted to have appetizers on hand that are more red wine friendly, versus the white wine apps that are often so popular. I decided that, while I was at it, I might as well tailor the recipes to the newest wine club releases, coming out this next weekend. I'll get into the specifics of the recipes soon, but wanted to share the final menu:

spiced nut mix

prosciutto wrapped dates, stuffed with parmigiano-reggiano

red wine friendly cheese plate: english stilton, petit basque, vermont cheddar

eggplant and bell pepper crostini

paired with 2007 Red Mountain Cabernet Franc

asian bbq chicken skewers

paired with 2007 Columbia Valley Malbec

beef sliders with gruyere, arugula and carmelized red onions

paired with 2007 eight Red Wine

cherry, walnut, chocolate bark

Everything turned out great! I broke a few of my rules. I few of my dishes included cheese, which I hoped to not to and compete with the cheese plate itself (but who really minds a little extra cheese?). A few things were not able to be done entirely in advance. For example, we were able to make and form the sliders ahead of time, but my dear friend Erin got stuck actually cooking the mini-burgers as guests were arriving. Beyond that, I'm very happy with the way everything turned out. I'll share recipes soon.

My pre-party helpers: Dara, myself and Erin