Notables

Here at Vinotable, we like good wine. We also like good food. Quite often, we like to enjoy them together. There are many people just like us. Perhaps you are one?

Whether it’s a full-blown seven-course winemaker’s dinner or a pannini/pinot pairing on the patio, some of our most enjoyable dining experiences are at wineries, so we’re launching a new feature. On a semi-regular basis, we will highlight an interesting food/wine pairing from a winery dinner or other culinary event.

First up:

Braised Oxtail Shepherd’s Pie with Januik Winery Merlot

The Winery:
Januik Winery, Woodinville, Washington

• Launched in 1999 by Mike Januik after 10 years as head winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle
• Named one of the world’s ten “Masters of Merlot” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine
• Named one of the top wineries of 2011 by Wine &Spirits Magazine

The Chef:
Megan Hartz

• 2004 graduate of Seattle Art Institute’s Culinary Arts Program
• Formerly chef at The Ruins, Seattle’s famed private dining club
• Currently leading the culinary program at Januik Winery
• Creates seven-course Harvest Dinners in the fall and spring, featuring fresh local foods paired with Januik Winery’s finest wines
• Also serves Sunday Suppers at the winery, informal seasonal meals served family-style, with wine tasting preceding dinner

The Pairing:

“Hmm, that’s really tough,” mused Hartz, “but I’d have to go with braised oxtail and a Januik Merlot we served at a Harvest Dinner. I don’t even remember the year, but any vintage would work. Mike makes some of the best Merlots in Washington.”

The Recipe:

“I don’t really work from recipes. Mike had picked a big Merlot from the cellar, so I knew I had to create a dish that would keep up with it. My husband and I had just returned from Barcelona, where we ate a dish similar to this, and it was fabulous. I served it like a shepherd’s pie – braised oxtail, layered with roasted parsnips and onions, and covered with Yukon Gold potatoes. A very rich dish for a great Merlot.”

Oil &Vinegar

I love pre-dinner munching. Although they rarely get a headline role, hors d’oeurves are often some of the most creative parts of a menu. Darling little triangles of spanokopita, juicy bacon-wrapped figs, light and savory cheese soufflés. These make a gorgeous array of goodies.

These are also the most satisfying of the frozen hors d’oeurves offered over the holidays at Costco. I learned a long time ago to say “YES” when someone offers to bring something to dinner, even when that someone is a giant marketing behemoth. If Costco wants to go to all the trouble to make complicated and fussy bites of deliciousness, why would I say no?

But I also learned a long time ago that simplicity delights. I love chunks of warm, crispy baguette dipped in a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The sweetness of the vinegar, the tang of the oil – everything you need, all in one bite.

So I was delighted last week when I stumbled into a little store called Oil & Vinegar. The shop is chock-full of culinary gifts like herbs, mustards, fondue chocolates, flavored pastas, as well as the usual fun array of kitchen gadgets and serving pieces. But what sets it apart is the secret so cleverly hidden in the store’s name.

Oils! And vinegars!

Oil & Vinegar offers a wide array of oils from around the world – olive oils from Tuscany, Morocco, Greece, Spain, France, South Africa; blood orange extra virgin olive oil, bonsecco extra virgin olive oil, oils with basil, truffles, lemon; even a delicious tangy grapeseed oil from a supplier right here in Washington.

The vinegars are just as varied – strawberry balsam, elderflower apple lime, cassis orange, fig balsam. The list is endlessly creative. A table full of samples in the middle of the store allows you to mix and match flavors hitting all corners of your tastebuds. It’s all dispensed from luminous amphoras mounted on a wall spanning the width of the store. You can buy one of the cute containers they sell, and have them fill it with the oils or vinegars of your choice. Or you can bring in your own bottle. Very alluring.

But guess what came home with me? Chocolate balsamic vinegar. Not pomegranate balsam vinegar, not passion fruit balsam, not date balsam crème. Chocolate. It was an amazing taste discovery. By itself it is delicious – a murky cocoa flavor swimming in the intense wine-dark sea of vinegar. Ok, maybe not quite that epic, but it was darn good. The flavor really sang, however, when the staff at Oil & Vinegar handed me a sample of chocolate balsamic vinegar mixed with grapeseed oil. It had a bright, spring-like fruitiness, a sunnier flavor than olive oil, and the cocoa tones blended quietly into the happy combination.

This little shop happens to be in Spokane, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from my home, so I won’t be popping in on the spur of the moment. But I will be back. Oil & Vinegar is a franchise business that originated in the Netherlands. It hasn’t made very deep inroads into the US yet – there are only nine stores here right now – although it’s such a fun concept I imagine we’ll be seeing more soon. Fortunately, they offer some of their more popular items online at http://www.oilandvinegarusa.com/. Worth a visit.

The other side of the world

Nothing lends itself to artful depictions more than a vineyard. Rolling hills, gentle green canopies, plump grapes – magnificent. I love pictures of vineyards and their surrounding environments. In Eastern Washington, we live in the midst of some breathtaking vistas.

But getting out of your comfort zone every once in awhile can lead to whole new outlooks. So I went to Africa. My husband, his brother and our sister-in-law just finished an up-and-down, all-around trip to South Africa and Mozambique. We were visiting a few of our kids – my daughter and nephew – who are adventurous souls, devoting a good chunk of their youth to working with other cultures in a far corner of the world. The Peace Corps brought them both to Africa. Cathy lives in a Zulu village, working with the women and youth there.

 Marty is in Mozambique, leading a massive effort to replant Mount Gorongosa, a wildy rich and diverse ecosystem that has been stripped by poachers and loggers. They have big jobs with huge challenges, and enough optimism and energy to accomplish great things.

And they brought us to South Africa. This is a big country, encompassing vast deserts, towering mountains and a long and beautiful coastline fingering through two different oceans. The Atlantic and the Indian Oceans flow into each other at the Cape of Good Hope, producing cooling breezes that bathe the vineyards and olive orchards spilling down the granite and sandstone slopes at the base of the mountains.

This is one gorgeous piece of the world.

With some gorgeous vineyards

And some gorgeous wines. Here’s the thing about touring a new wine region – I never feel as if I found the best of the best. We had only one day in the Stellenbosch and Paarl regions, and we stopped at only four or five wineries. We had some great wines, some so-so bottles, and at least one that was downright bad.

But we tasted enough intriguing wines in the midst of some of the world’s most beautiful vineyards to make it a memorable day. Our tour included the largest corporate-style wine cooperative in the country,

along with several privately owned, albeit commercially oriented, wineries.

What we missed were the small producers, the hands-on artisan winemakers, the likes of which make up the vast majority of Washington’s 700-plus wineries. South Africa’s industry is centuries older than the New World’s, so the mom-n-pop wineries aren’t so prevalent, but there are certain truths that persist no matter where you make your wine. Number one – you need a great product. And Number two, a marketing twist doesn’t hurt.

Take Fairview. This farm, in the Paarl region, has a long and colorful history dating to the late 17th century. The first wines were made on the farm in 1699. Today, it produces a full menu of varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Viognier, along with big reds like Mourvedre, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and their signature Shiraz. The farm is also one of South Africa’s largest producers of artisanal goat cheeses, all produced from Fairview’s herd of Saanen dairy goats. The tasting fee allows you to taste six different wines, pairing them with a wide array of cheeses. (Notable – White Rock with Apricots, a white-veined blue cheese infused with the sweet fruit. Delicious.)

But the best way to sell wine, to my mind, is to let your customers get a little dirty. We signed on for Waterford Estate’s wine safari, beginning with a tour of the winemaking facility and barrel room, and a taste of the estate’s sparkling wine.

Then we jumped into a Land Rover for a spin through rocky, arid vineyards surrounded by olive trees and craggy sandstone cliffs. Waterford is located in the Blau Klippen Valley. The name means blue stones, and the vineyard’s red clay is speckled with namesake pebbles. 

We stopped near a pond at the base of the Olives Vineyard to kick around the rocks while tasting a delicious Blanc de Noir, blended from Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Grenache and Barbera. Next up was a 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, followed by a toasty, cinnamony Chardonnay that had been aged six months in French oak.

Back in the Land Rover, we moved across the farm to a higher elevation planted to red varieties. Kevin Arnold, Waterford’s winemaker and part owner, crafts smoothly nuanced, velvety reds, big with flavors of spice and plum (2008 Kevin Arnold Shiraz), vanilla-tinged red fruits (2008 Cabernet Sauvignon), and rich tobacco (2007 The Jem, Waterford’s signature blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Shiraz, 5% Mourvedre, 7.5% Malbec and Cabernet Franc, and 2.5% Barbera and Sangiovese).

This was our last stop of the day, and by this time we’d not only pushed our driver deep into overtime, but had begun to focus more on conversation with our wine guides, and the stunning scenery, than on the wines themselves. That’s ok. I’m not a wine critic, just a happy traveler enjoying new views, and I believe that your first spin through a new wine territory should encompass all it has to offer – scenery, people, foods, as well as the wines. I have no way of knowing if the wines we tasted represent the best of Stellenbosch and Paarl, but I'm pretty sure they don't.  I do know that we enjoyed them.  South African wines are worth exploring again. I’ll be looking for them here at home, where I can consider them in a neutral setting. But I’ll be picturing their point of origin at the Cape of Good Hope.

Verjus!

I have a French friend who loves to point out English words that are actually French. Giraffe, par exemple. Garage. Restaurant. Weekend. Oh, wait! That’s an English phrase, but it means the same thing in French. Mon erreur.

And of course, veraison. In English, it rhymes with raisin. In French it rhymes with something else, but I’m not sure how to pronounce it. Segolene has been trying to teach me French for about six years now, but it doesn’t seem to be sticking. C’est la vie.

Sorry. I’m kind of beating this to death, aren’t I?

But back to veraison. It’s the point in a grape vine’s growing season when the little green berries stop growing bigger and the vine throws all its energy into ripening the grapes instead.

Acids transform into sugars.

Color deepens.

Flavor abounds.

It also marks the time when vintners thin their grapes. This is one of the fascinating things about growing wine grapes.  Unlike any other crop in the known world, quantity is not necessarily a good thing. At veraison, grape growers walk up and down the rows of their vineyards plucking off clusters of grapes and throwing them on the ground. Seriously. Can you imagine an Iowa corn farmer tossing half the crop in the dirt? Or an orchardist inviting birds in for an early snack on the cherries, just so we won’t have quite so many on the tree?

Wine growers do it all the time. Growing the perfect wine grape is a careful dance between the sun, the water and the soil’s nutrients. Too much of one can throw the balance way out of proportion. A grape vine can only produce so much nutrition. The idea is to find the sweet spot where the grapes deepen their flavors and sugars to an exquisite intensity. Too many grapes on the vine results in thin and boring flavors, so growers thin the crop just when the vine transitions from growing the grapes to ripening them. It’s been going on for centuries. In fact, they still celebrate veraison at Chateneuf du Pape with a wild and crazy medieval festival. Check it out:

Did you watch until the end? Did you see the crazy jester? Are you glad you did?

But back to veraison. Despite the practice of thinning the vines, growers make their living on how many grapes they sell. Throwing tons of them on the ground just has to hurt. Fortunately, there’s a remedy – verjus!

(Bless me. Thank you.)

But verjus (pronounced vair-zhoo) is nothing to sneeze at. (Sorry. Sometimes the puns just spill out all by themselves.) It’s the juice of those unripened grapes, and it makes a wonderful alternative to anything acidic you might use in sauces or dressings – vinegar, lemon juice, even wine.

Verjus has been produced in the Old World for centuries. Here in the New World, it’s not quite so well established.  David and Patricia Gelles, owners of the famed Klipsun Vineyard on Red Mountain here in Washington, discovered it years ago while on a tour of Australia when they met chef  and cookbook author Maggie Beer, who made prolific use of verjus. They have seen many seasons of varaison-thinned grapes rotting on the ground, and David was intrigued by the possibility of making something worthwhile of them.

Today Klipsun Verjus is marketed at select retailers and wineries across the Northwest, but you can order it directly from Alexander the Grape, a venture between David Gelles and his son Alexander, with the stated goal of “conquering the world of grapes.” (Puns abound, and it’s not all my fault.) It sells for $20 a bottle, which makes it a somewhat pricey alternative to specialty vinegars, but it is definitely worth adding to your kitchen arsenal. Because it originates as a wine grape, the acids complement rather than clash with wines served with food. Alexander’s web site abounds with recipes (stewed fruits, cheese cake, risotto) where verjus fills in as an alternative to lemon juice or vinegar.

But you don’t have to get too complicated to experience this lovely liquid. Try sautéing a pan of chicken breasts in butter and olive oil, then deglazing with verjus, finished with a little sage or thyme and a healthy portion of capers. Marinate chicken breasts in olive oil, verjus and rosemary, then grill. Splash a little directly onto a salad of spring greens, sliced strawberries and candied walnuts. Mix it up with a little mayonnaise, basil, oregano, thyme and garlic for a delicious aioli, perfect as a sandwich spread or a dip for fresh vegetables. Try it anyway you can think of. 

Enjoy your verjus.

Bless you.

Daily Chocolate

Sunshine.  Cool blue water.  Pretty polish. A good read. No shoes.

Why.....yes, that is special! 





Growing good things

One of the joys of living in Eastern Washington is the near-constant opportunity to bring great wines together with fresh foods grown practically right outside your back door. Figuratively speaking, of course. You might recall my feeble attempt at gardening.  If not, here's an update:

This is the PUH-thetic tomato plant I “nurtured” this summer. All appearances aside, it is not a victim of abuse. I have been very faithful about watering it, but it began to wither, branch by branch, almost as soon as it bloomed. Must be some kind of fungus or some such thing. 

But, just as the tag on the plant promised, it did indeed yield fruit in 60 days. Three smallish but lovely tomatoes. (The large one in the background is store-bought. Well, farmer’s market-bought.)

Fortunately, I am surrounded by people who know how to do it right. I live in the most bountiful corner of the great state of Washington, so I will never starve for a lack of fresh, homegrown veggies. I can simply step out my backdoor, climb in my car and head for a nearby winery that is likely to be hosting a winemaker’s dinner. That’s what we did a few weeks ago when we sat down for dinner at Mercer Estates.

(Actually, it’s not quite that easy. There are plenty of winemakers around here vying to serve you dinner, but not every night. Plus, you have to make reservations, and sometimes you have to belong to their wine club. Plan ahead. I’m just sayin’.)

Mercer Estates is owned by two venerable farming families, the Mercers and the Hogues. Our barbecue feast at Mercer was deeelicious. We started with assorted cheeses, and a tour of the winemaking facility and barrel room, led by Mike Hogue. Mike is a veritable treasure chest of wine knowledge. He is a member of the family that founded Hogue Cellars, one of Washington State’s oldest and largest producers. The Hogues sold the operation in 2001, while continuing to grow wine grapes. They also produce a large and lovely crop of apples. The Mercer family has grown a wide variety of vegetables in the Yakima Valley for more than 100 years. They planted their first wine grapes in 1972. When the two clans joined forces, happy things occurred.

Mike is showing us on the map here the locations of the vineyards that produce the grapes for Mercer Estates wines. Many of them come from the Horse Heaven Hills, location of the famed Champoux Vineyard, which was originally owned by the Mercers. The Horse Heavens are also the site of Mercer Estate’s Spice Cabinet Vineyard, which gave birth to the Mourvedre we drank at dinner, a tasty barbecued steak served with signature Hogue and Mercer family dishes. The Mercer carrot salad was tangy with lime juice, cilantro and coriander, and the Hogue apple pie was just as delicious as you would expect from pie made of fruit grown by your host.

I was delighted when a bottle of Mourvedre appeared on our table. Mourvedre is full of flavors of black fruits, pepper and a spicy earthiness. It’s a paradoxical grape on the vine – hungry for hot, sunny days with plenty of wind, but demanding water at the same time. It’s perfect for the Horse Heaven Hills. Spice Cabinet Vineyard captures the southern morning sun, escaping the intense heat of the afternoon, and the winds howling up through the Columbia River Gorge help moderate the climate.

Mercer winemaker David Forsyth says he’s learning the nuances of Mourvedre. Spice Cabinet was planted in 2004, and the 2007 vintage was the first it produced. It was also Forsyth’s first stab at this variety. The wine shows subdued color and richness, so Forsyth builds a long supple mouth feel by holding the tannins low and in balance.

Mourvedre is often blended with Grenache and Syrah, and Mercer’s bottling is a classic combo of 5% Grenache/95% Mourvedre, delivering a subtle layer of fruitiness. Perfect with the steak. But hold on…….what’s this?

Dessert!

 Forsyth is innovating in the winery with Mourvedre, and tasting room manager Jenna Hannan is going one-on-one with him on the menu. S’mores, anyone? Jenna has turned roasting marshmallows into an art form. After the barbecue, guests were invited to grab an oversized marshmallow stuffed with…get ready…caramel!

Along with the caramelly marshmallows came bowls of coconut, almonds, Nutella and the traditional graham crackers and chocolate bars.

And all of it – the savory steaks, tangy salad, and sweet gooey dessert – somehow was complemented by the Mourvedre. It’s a delightful, adaptable and subtle wine.

Only 75 cases of the 2008 Mercer Estates Spice Cabinet Mourvedre were bottled. It’s sold out at the tasting room, but might still be available in select retail outlets. The ’09 will be released in about a year or so at $30. Watch for it – it should be worth the wait.

Terra Blanca Winery

I’ve spent some time sipping wine in old barns, dark basements and converted garages.
Wineries often pop open their first tasting rooms in just about any space they can find/afford. There’s a lot of charm to be found in off-label buildings. They can make you feel like you’re onto something secret and undiscovered. I’ve always found that appealing in a wine.

But there’s also a lot of charm in a fabulous chateau. Beautiful surroundings don’t necessarily make the wine taste better, of course, but they can certainly make me feel glamorous, and I’ve always found that appealing in a winery. Of course, I also like good wine in a winery. And I’m really happy when I stumble into good wine served in a beautiful chateau.

So let me introduce you to Terra Blanca Winery and Estate Vineyard.

This is one boffo tasting room,

with an alluring Mediterranean appeal,

 and some stunning views.

That’s the back side of the Horse Heaven Hills in the background, across the valley from Red Mountain, where Terra Blanca is planted. This tiny little AVA (Washington’s smallest) produces some huge wines, as I’ve mentioned before. Terra Blanca’s wines have attracted a loyal following and many awards. The massive manse grabs a lot of attention, but the real story is in the vineyard. Owner and winemaker Keith Pilgrim has planted more than 60 different varieties or clones that aren’t found anywhere else in the state. He’s searching for the best his vineyard can produce. Terra Blanca bottles around 32,000 cases a year of distinctive Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chenin Blanc, as well as a premium blend called Onyx. The estate also yields Bordeaux varieties like Malbec, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc, along with a sampling of Sangiovese, Dolcetta and Barberra.

Pilgrim says the Cabernet is spectacular (this is Red Mountain, after all), but he’s also been pleasantly surprised by the intensity of the Marsanne, a grape that usually thrives in cooler climates.

In all Terra Blanca wines, look for what Pilgrim calls the Red Mountain signatures -- a chalkiness on the front of the palate before you taste the tannins on the roof of the mouth; a candied orange flavor, like Grand Marnier; and in Cabernet, a violet perfume opening up into the whole range of black fruits, moving very quickly into black cherry, blackberry and chocolate aromas.

Hungry yet? Wait, there’s more. Pilgrim says he has unearthed a lot of different flavors in various Syrah clones, from wild blueberry and huckleberry, to white pepper, and on to leather, tobacco and bacon fat.

Mmmmm. You had me at bacon fat. And chocolate. All at the same time.  Like this:

(This beautiful confection, created by the magicians at Tee & Cakes in  Boulder, Colorado, has nothing whatsoever to do with Terra Blanca wines, other than it captures in one very real mouthful the flavors Cabernet Sauvignon evokes.  Fun, yes?  But not available at Terra Blanca's tasting room.) 

Instead, you can enjoy complementary tastings of your choice of three wines, or choose a $5 flight (a white flight, Red Mountain reds, Winemaker’s choice, or a Dessert flight). The $5 fee is refundable with a purchase of wine.