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Archive for April, 2011

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: What to Eat with the 2010 Ampelos Cellars Rose of Syrah and 2007 Ampelos Cellars “Lambda” Pinot Noir

22 Apr

Ampelos Cellars is a small family winery in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, the dream project of Peter and Rebecca Work.  Members of the corporate treadmill with hopes of someday owning a winery, the Works bought their first property in the area in 1999.  When a meeting that Peter was supposed to attend in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was fortuitously cancelled, however, the Works realized that life was simply too short and too uncertain to postpone their dreams any longer.  They moved to California for good in January 2002 and set about pursuing their dream full time.

“Ampelos,” of course, is Greek for vine, where all good wine starts, and the Works are particularly focused on the health and well-being of theirs, being the one of the first vineyards in the nation to be certified as sustainable, organic and biodynamic.*

As a Santa Rita Hills winery, Ampelos naturally produces some quality Pinot Noir, but they also plant a fair amount of the Rhone varietals of Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier.  Jade and I had the pleasure of tasting through their entire current releases on our recent trip to the winery, and while we quite enjoyed all of their offerings, our three favorites were the Rose of Syrah (which doesn’t seem to be currently available on the website), the “Lambda” Pinot Noir ($35/bottle), and the “Rho” Pinot Noir ($45/bottle), the first two being the ones we decided to cook around for a CorkPopper Dinner.

I’m sure a number of you are probably scratching your heads, thinking, “Really, Laurel?  Rose??”  Yep.  I am unashamed to say that I have become quite a fan of dry rose in recent years.  Especially when handled by a skilled winemaker and made from a heartier grape like Syrah, it can be perfectly crisp and fruity yet carry a surprising depth that just screams for a warm summer afternoon barbecue.  The Ampelos Rose of Syrah is just such a wine.

The “Lambda” Pinot Noir, on the other hand, is rich, deep, and dark, with lots of ripe dark cherry, baking spice, and fertile earth.  A brooding wine with a long and luxurious finish, this is a Pinot that needs food.  I, of course, am happy to oblige.

4 Corks Popped for both!

I wanted to stick with Ampelos’ Greek theme,** so J and I developed a Greek-inspired menu to pair with these two fantastic wines, starting with a Grilled Calamari Salad and following that up with some Grilled Rack of Lamb over Lemon-Herb-Feta Cous Cous with Basil-Mint Skordalia.

Grilled Calamari Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Grilled Calamari Salad

2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound calamari bodies (you can throw in a few tentacles as well if you’d like)
Baby arugula
Lemon wedges for garnish
Nonstick cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Whisk together in a medium bowl the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Rinse the calamari and slice the bodies down one side so that you’ve got flat “steaks.”  Place the prepared calamari in a large Ziploc bag and add half of the liquid mixture.  Rub to coat all of the calamari.

Place equal amounts of baby arugula on each of four small salad plates.

Spray the grill rack with some nonstick spray (from an arm’s length distance, of course, as it will flare up slightly).  Place the calamari on the grill, turning after about 20 seconds and removing entirely as soon as they have become just opaque (white).

Toss the calamari with the remaining dressing/marinade and place equal amounts of the calamari atop each of the plates of arugula.  Serve with lemon wedges.

4.5 Forks

4 Corked Forks

Grilled Rack of Lamb over Lemon-Herb-Feta Cous Cous with Basil-Mint Skordalia

Serves 4

Ingredients for Lamb
2 8-rib racks of lamb, frenched and trimmed of extra fat
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh oregano, minced
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Grilled Rack of Lamb over Lemon-Herb-Feta Cous Cous with Basil-Mint Skordalia


Preparation for Lamb
Place all of the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, rubbing to cover the meat entirely.  Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (up to 6, if you’ve got the time), turning occasionally.  Remove from the refrigerator about 45 minutes prior to cooking.

Preheat the grill to medium-high.  Grill the lamb, fatty side down for about 7-10 minutes, depending upon how meaty your racks are.  Flip over and grill on the other side for another 5-7 minutes.  Lamb should be served medium-rare, which is when the internal temperature has reached approximately 135 degrees (if you’re using a thermometer) or when it feels the same as your palm just below your thumb does when you poke it with your opposite index finger.

Remove the lamb to a cutting board.  Cover with foil and allow to rest at least 10-15 minutes before slicing.  This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.  Slice meat into individual chops and serve atop Herb-Lemon-Feta Cous Cous along with some Basil-Mint Skordalia and warm pita bread.

Ingredients for Herb-Lemon-Feta Cous Cous
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups dry cous cous
2  3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely minced Italian parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation
Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat.  Add the cous cous and toast until golden brown, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and the salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and then cover and turn the heat off.  Allow to sit approximately 5 minutes and then use a fork to fluff the cous cous.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cous cous and fry lightly until just crispy.  Remove the cous cous to a large bowl and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and Italian parsley.  Stir in the feta and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Ingredients for Basil-Mint Skordalia
1 cup Greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Can be made several hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

4 Forks

3.5 Corked Forks

Cheers and buon appetito!!

* To learn more about what “biodynamic” agriculture means, check out the website of Demeter, the certifying organization.

** The Works were actually married in Greece, have a small bed & breakfast called Ampelos Resort on the island of Folegandros, and label each of their wines with a different Greek letter that they believe represents the wine contained therein.

 
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Posted in 3.5 Corked Forks, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Corks Popped, 4 Forks, 4.5 Forks, Ampelos, California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Food Porn, Pinot Noir, Rose, Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills, Syrah, recipes, red wine

 

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: What to Eat with the 2009 Melville Inox Chardonnay and the 2008 Melville Terraces Pinot Noir

08 Apr

With one fantastic Santa Rita Hills-inspired dinner (designed around two Alma Rosa wines) under our belts, J and I

Melville

marched on to the next winery to inspire a meal – Melville.  Melville is, interestingly enough, one of those wineries about which many of my wine-loving friends have very different views.  I am a fan, of course, and, indeed a club member.  Despite the somewhat steep price point of their catalog and the fact that they don’t seem to submit any of their wines to any of the major wine publications for scoring, I still generally really enjoy what they produce and, naturally, have a lot of really fond memories of my time there over the years, mostly with Pop and SM.  (Melville was often a stop on the mandatory wine tasting excursions Pop and I would take when Pop would make one leg of the drive with me either to or from Berkeley when I was in law school there.)

One particular friend of mine, with a palate I very much respect, however, actively despises Melville’s wines.  Indeed, as he reminded me just today, I could not possibly overstate how much he dislikes Melville.  I’m not sure where the disconnect comes from, but, to be honest, it doesn’t really deter me from liking Melville myself.  That is, in fact, one of the things I love most about wine – that two fairly experienced wine drinkers can have completely differing opinions about a wine, and neither one is necessarily right.  It’s fantastic.  In any event, this particular friend was, as you can imagine, not present the night J and I designed a meal around the 2009 Melville Estate Chardonnay – Clone 76 Inox ($36/bottle) and the 2008 Melville Estate Pinot Noir – Terrace’s ($48/bottle).

Many people I (and probably you) know refuse to drink California Chardonnay, usually on the grounds that it is too “oaky” or “buttery” or “flabby.”  Excessive oak has, in the past, been used on California Chardonnay for two reasons: (1) it was, for a time, fashionable (though it has since fallen decidedly out of fashion, thank goodness); and (2) it helps

Seared Scallops with Shallot Vinaigrette

to mask the flavor of less-than-top-quality fruit.  Quality wine producers in the State have generally backed off the use of new (and therefore more assertive) oak, so if it’s been a few years since you’ve deigned to try a glass of California Chardonnay, now’s the time to give it another chance.  If you still recoil at the slightest hint of vanilla (oak) or popcorn (butter – a flavor caused by malolactic fermentation), try a Chardonnay that was fermented entirely in stainless steel such as the Melville Inox.  While many traditionalists will tell you that such wines lack the structure and depth provided by barrel fermentation, when done right and with the highest quality grapes, I think steel-fermented Chardonnay can be a thing of beauty because it truly allows the grape’s natural characteristics to shine.  Take the 2009 Melville Inox, for example.  It’s sharp and bright with gorgeous notes of meyer lemon and key lime zest balanced by a hint of something floral and a nice chalky minerality on the finish.  Clean and simple, a wine like this needs food that displays a similar respect for the quality of its ingredients.  Enter the following recipe.

Seared Scallops with Shallot Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Ingredients

About 5 ounces quality extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons for searing the scallops
About 2 ounces quality white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 meyer lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large shallot, minced
Mâche*
8 large scallops
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt

Preparation

Whisk together the first five ingredients.  Set aside.

Heat the remaining two tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick) over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle the scallops with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add the scallops to the skillet and sear each of the two flat ends until they’re caramelized, about 3 minutes on each side.  Seared scallops should be just barely cooked through on the inside, so be sure to adjust your cooking time depending on the size of your scallops.

Toss the mache with about half of the vinaigrette and divide among four small salad plates.  Place the scallops atop the greens and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.  Sprinkle with pancetta bits.

3.5 Corks Popped

4 Forks

4 Corked Forks

As for the Pinot Noir, the Terraces is a particularly earthy and spicy wine (as opposed to being super fruit forward)

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Tortellini with Sage and Shallot Cream Sauce and Crispy Pancetta

with lots of savory herbs and pepper, along with juicy red and dark berries and a healthy dose of minerality on thefinish, so I knew I wanted to make something to draw out some more of the wine’s fruit characteristics.  It had alsobeen some time since I had made fresh pasta (one of my all-time favorite foods), so I opted for tortellini stuffed with a mixture of roasted butternut squash, leeks, shallots, and goat cheese.  The creamy texture of the filling coats the mouth, allowing you to enjoy the way the spiciness of the wine interacts with the slight sweetness of the squash even after you’re done chewing.  Topped with a sage and shallot cream sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and crispy pancetta, this is a bold dish for a bold Pinot.


Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Tortellini with Sage and Shallot Cream Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 batch of fresh pasta dough  (recipe here)
1/2 pound butternut squash, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes
1 large leek, white portion only, roughly chopped
3 large shallots, 2 roughly chopped, the other finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Flour for dusting
4 slices of pancetta, about 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (you can substitute half & half or milk)
Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese


Preparation

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  In a large roasting dish, combine the squash, the leek, the roughly chopped shallots, and the thyme.  Drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat everything (approximately 3 tablespoons or so).  Sprinkle with the nutmeg and a pinch each of salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking.  Once soft, allow to cool slightly.  Working in batches, puree the mixture using a food processor or blender.  Transfer the puree to a large bowl and fold in the goat cheese.  Season to taste with additional nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Roll out your pasta dough and, using a sharp knife, cut into approximately 3-inch squares.  Place an approximately teaspoon-sized dollop in the middle of each pasta square.  Take one corner and fold it over the filling toward the opposite corner, creating a triangle.  Press along the edges to seal, taking care to get all the air out.  (Air bubbles are your enemy.)    Then take the two bottoms corners and pinch them together.  Fold the top corner in the opposite direction of the two corners you’ve just pinched together.  And voila!  You have a tortellino.  (Note: If these instructions leave you utterly confused, check out a photo tutorial on how to make tortellini here.)  Place the finished tortellini on parchment paper dusted with flour to prevent sticking.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the pancetta and cook until crispy.  Remove to a plate topped with a paper towel.  Once the pancetta has cooled slightly, break it into little pieces.

Next, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add the finely minced shallot and the sage.  Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and sauté until the shallot is translucent and soft.  Add the wine and cream and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 15-20 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Once you’ve got a rolling boil going, turn the heat down to just where the rolling stops.  Boil the tortellini in batches to avoid crowding.  Remove them from the water using a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the top.  Place the cooked tortellini in the pot with the sauce and stir gently to cover.  Divide the tortellini and sauce among four large pasta bowls and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmiggiano and crispy pancetta bits.

3.5 Corks Popped

4.5 Forks

4 Corked Forks

Cheers and buon appetito!!

* Mache is a delicate green with a slightly sweet (as opposed to bitter) flavor.  If you can’t find mache, try butter lettuce instead and just tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

 
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Posted in 3.5 corks popped, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Forks, 4.5 Forks, California, Chardonnay, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Food Porn, Melville, Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills, fresh pasta, recipes

 

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: What to Eat with the 2009 Alma Rosa Vin Gris and 2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills

06 Apr

For our first CorkPopper Dinner in honor of the wine we tasted on our recent trip to the Santa Rita Hills, J and I opted to start with a couple of our favorite wines* from Alma Rosa and invite one of our favorite couples (and now recent newlyweds!), JW and VG.  It was a chilly February Sunday in Los Angeles, a perfect day to spend in the kitchen cooking up some deliciousness, and everything was going just swimmingly….. until J decided to test out the garbage disposal in his new digs by grinding up a long, fibrous leek leaf.  Oops.

A bottle of Draino and an attempt at plumbing later (he actually took apart all of the pipes under the sink to try to find the clog), we finally had to call in a professional.  Naturally, J’s building manager has “a guy” she prefers to use for plumbing issues in the building, and, when we called him, he said he was unavailable to come help until Tuesday or Wednesday.  That’s right.  In the midst of cooking a multi-course CorkPopper Dinner, we lost the use of the sink (an dishwasher, of course).  Fail.

2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Vin Gris El Jabali Vineyard

Not to be deterred, however, we took a tally of the clean pots, pans, dishes and place settings in J’s cabinets and determined that we could still manage the meal.  It would just mean that his kitchen would look like a veritable war zone, as we could not clean as we went like we ordinarily do.  Ok.  No problem.  The show (or, more appropriately, dinner) must go on.

Our first course was designed around the 2009 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Vin Gris El Jabali Vineyard ($20/bottle).  This, I think I can safely say, is a Rose for those who think they hate Rose.  There is virtually no residual sweetness, yet it is still refreshingly fruity, with a mouthful of wild strawberry, mango and citrus zest, all topped off with just a hint of pepper, the perfect wine to drink with something savory and spicy, such as Thai or Vietnamese cuisine, summer barbeque, or, as we did on this occasion, a spicy seafood dish – Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Chorizo,** to be exact.  The salty heat in this dish is a perfect foil for the bright fruit in this wine.

Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Chorizo

Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Chorizo

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound Mexican-style chorizo (the soft kind, not the Spanish hard version)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups dry white wine
Pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3 pounds mussels***
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Soak the scrubbed mussels in ice cold salted water for at least 30 minutes to allow them to spit out any sand.  Discard any that do not snap (or stay) closed when you tap them lightly on the counter.

Remove the chorizo from its casing and cook over medium-high heat in a large heavy pot or wok.  When the chorizo is just cooked through, add the shallots and sauté until translucent.  Add the tomatoes (and any juice) and the wine.  Bring to a boil and allow to reduce slightly.  Season to taste with salt and pepper then add the mussels.  Cover and allow to steam for about 3-5 minutes or until the mussels pop open, shaking the pot/wok back and forth a couple of times to cover the mussels in the sauce.  Discard any mussels that do not open.  Distribute the mussels and sauce evenly among four large bowls and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve with lots of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

4 Corks Popped

4 Forks

4.5 Corked Forks

2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills

Next up was the 2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills ($32/bottle), which is made from grapes sourced from Alma Rosa’s various estate vineyards (all of which are certified organic).  Though juicy red berries and dried violets are prevalent on first whiff and taste, there is also a sense of something darker and more earthy that lingers on the finish, reminding you of the wine’s connection with its source.  It was this mysterious underlying facet of the wine that I sought to bring out with the following recipe for Pinot-Braised Short Ribs with Wild Mushrooms, which I served over Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes.  Late Winter decadence at its best.****

Pinot-Braised Short Ribs with Wild Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil
4 large bone-in beef short ribs
4 large boneless beef short ribs*****
Flour for dusting

Pinot-Braised Short Ribs with Wild Mushrooms over Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes

4 large shallots, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large leek, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
1/3 pound Chanterelle mushrooms (or other wild mushroom if Chanterelles are out of season/unavailable/too expensive), trimmed
2/3 pound Shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and cut into about 1/4-inch slices
2 bottles inexpensive Pinot Noir or other dry red wine
1 32-ounce box (or equivalent can) low sodium beef broth
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt

Preparation

Heat about 3-4 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot or dutch oven.  Sprinkle the short ribs with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour.  Sear the short ribs on all sides so that they are golden brown but not cooked through.  Remove the short ribs to a plate.

Add the shallots and garlic to the pot and sauté until translucent.  Then add the leeks, carrot and thyme and continue to sauté until the carrots start to get tender but not soft.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor.  Add half of each type of mushroom to the pot and cook until the mushrooms just begin to sweat and wilt.

Next, add the short ribs back into the pot (along with any accumulated juices) and pour in both bottles of wine.  Using one of those fire starters with the trigger (I have no idea what they’re actually called), set the alcohol ablaze.  Note that the flame will be very low and slightly blue in color.  It can be hard to even see in certain light.  Allow the flame to burn out on its own.  If you have more room in your pot, add some of the beef broth.  Otherwise, bring the liquid to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer.  As the liquid reduces, add the beef broth, bringing the liquid back up to a boil each time you add more.  Simmer for at least 2 hours (the longer, the better, although if you plan to let it simmer for 3 or more hours, turn the heat down even lower so that you don’t cook off all the liquid).

You’re close to done when the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  J and I cooked ours on this particular occasion for about 4.5 hours, turning the heat down as low as possible during the last hour.  Remove the meat from the pot and set aside in a bowl.  Using a sieve or mesh strainer of some sort, strain out the solids from the sauce, pressing on them to squeeze out as much of that amazing flavor as possible.  Discard the solids and add the sauce back to the pot.

Heat another 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the remaining mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.  Add the mushrooms to the now-smooth sauce and simmer over medium heat for another 15-20 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick, and the flavors of the mushrooms have melted into the sauce a bit.

Divide the meat between four large bowls, placing it atop some Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes (recipe below).  Spoon a healthy amount of sauce over each portion and enjoy.

Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes (I like Yukon Gold, but Russets are fine), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
6 large shallots, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (substitute half & half or milk if you’d like, although your potatoes won’t be as creamy!)
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the potatoes and boil until tender, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the shallots and sauté until crispy brown, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn.  Set the shallots aside if they finish cooking before the potatoes are ready.

Once the potatoes are tender, strain the water out.  Add the butter and cream to the potatoes and mash with a handheld masher or ricer until they’ve reached your desired consistency.  (I like them fairly smooth but am not averse to a few chunks of potato here and there.)  Season to taste with salt and pepper and then stir in the crispy shallots.  Serve immediately to avoid soggy shallots.

3.5 Corks Popped

4.5 Forks

4 Corked Forks

Cheers and buon appetito!!

* We actually opened a third bottle, but I won’t be talking about it tonight, as we simply served it with some cheese and crackers, and it deserves a real recipe.

** This is my version of a similar dish from one of my favorite restaurants in Venice (California, not Italy), Gjelina on Abbott Kinney.

*** Ask your fishmonger (aka the person behind the fish counter) to pick out only mussels that are closed or that snap shut when tapped.

**** Please note that, as with many a decadent dish, this one is time consuming.  You can probably make it in about 3 hours start to finish, but the results will be far better if you can arrange for a longer cooking time.

***** I know this seems like a lot of meat, but some of it dissolves in the sauce over the long cooking time, so I like to get extra.  Plus, the leftovers are sooooooo goooooood.

 
2 Comments

Posted in 3.5 corks popped, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Corks Popped, 4 Forks, 4.5 Corked Forks, 4.5 Forks, Alma Rosa, California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Food Porn, Pinot Noir, Rose, Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills, recipes, red wine

 

CorkPopper Needs YOU!!

05 Apr

I know what you’re thinking.  I haven’t exactly been keeping up my end of the blogging bargain lately, going sometimes weeks between posts.  Well, I’m working hard on fixing that, but I do promise that there is much exciting content coming your way!

In the meantime, I actually need YOUR help.  Saveur Magazine (one of my absolute favorites, by the way) is launching its Second Annual Best of Food Blog Awards.  Nominations officially opened today, so please, please, please, head on over there and VOTE FOR CORKPOPPER!*

Cheers and many thanks!!

* Be sure to insert the correct url….    http://www.cork-popper.com

 
2 Comments

Posted in Saveur, contest

 

A Different Kind of CorkPopper Dinner…. With Bourbon

05 Apr

CorkPopper may be a blog about creating food inspired by wine, but I’m no one-trick pony.  So, when one of J’s good business school buddies decided that he wanted me to help him prepare a dinner for his birthday where everything on the menu was to be inspired by (and/or include) Bourbon, I jumped at the chance.

Bacon Bourbon Apple Cocktail

Bourbon BBQ Chicken Flatbread

Bourbon Sweet Tea

Salad with Bourbon-Candied Walnuts

Potato and Bourbon-Caramelized Onion Gratin

Steak with Bourbon Sauce

Bourbon Apple Strudel with Bourbon Maple Cream Sauce and Bourbon Whipped Cream

As you can see, this was one of the most decadently outrageous meals we could think up…. and it was a HUGE hit.

Cheers again to you, DS!  Can’t wait to do it again!!

 
2 Comments

Posted in Bourbon, Dinner Party

 

The Santa Rita Hills Are Calling….

02 Apr

Soft rain sprinkled down on us as we loaded the car.  Under normal circumstances, I’d be slightly worried to venture onto a Southern California freeway in the rain (as SoCal residents seem to become even worse drivers in the rain, if that’s even possible), but it wasn’t yet 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, so we were pretty much assured of a wide open road for most of the 150-mile trip from Venice to Buellton.

We picked a good road trip playlist on the iPod and hit the road – the 10 East to the 405 North to the 101 North, blazing the whole way (as much as one can blaze in a Prius, of course).  The tiny Buddha on my dashboard (he’s been with me in every car I’ve ever owned) smiled at us, happy to be on another road trip.  The hills as we drove through Calabasas sparkled an almost Irish green, and the strawberry fields in Camarillo peeked out at us from under their white tarpaulin protective layer, the berries just begging to be picked and slurped up right off the vine.

And then the ocean.  I grew up surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, mind you, but no matter how many times I make the drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, I am always overwhelmed by that first sighting of the water as you leave Ventura on the 101 North.  Vast and sparkling for miles from the light of the sun just peeking through the rain clouds, the view is interrupted only by the Channel Islands and a few oil rigs in the distance.*  I am unashamed to say that the sight still makes me teary-eyed and nostalgic for the days when I made this drive on my way back to college after a weekend or break at home.

Pinot Noir vines along Santa Rosa Road

We continued to wind our way north along the coast, stopping only for a few minutes in Isla Vista** for breakfast burritos at The Cantina, a familiar haunt from my days as a UCSB undergrad.  What better base for a long day of wine tasting, after all, than a stomach full of tortillas, sausage, potatoes and cheese?  Mmmmmm…..

Having sated ourselves for the time being, we hopped back in the car.  We left the ocean behind at Gaviota, heading inland into the rolling hills dotted with solitary oaks, cattle here and there grazing on the lush late winter grasses.  Happy cows, if you will.  J rolled his eyes teasingly at me as I said for the zillionth time how beautiful it all was and how lucky we really are.  Truly.

The Santa Rita Hills AVA stretched out before us as we pulled off the 101 North at Santa Rosa Road, headed to our first stop of the day, Alma Rosa.  The Santa Rita Hills are nestled in the area’s unique transverse mountain range, which lies east-west (rather than north-south like other California ranges), creating something of a baseball mitt to catch the coastal fog that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean each night.  Paired with a long, warm growing season and mineral-rich but rocky soil, Santa Rita Hills has proves itself to be one of the premier regions for growing and producing Pinot Noir, a notoriously finicky grape that thrives in this type of climate.

Alma Rosa Tasting Room

It began to sprinkle again as we drove up the long driveway to Alma Rosa.  Some of you may know the Alma Rosa tasting room from the movie Sideways, back when the winery was known as Sanford.  Following some sort of family dispute, the details of which I am unaware (and don’t care to pry), Richard Sanford, the patriarch of the family, and his wife Thekla began a new label, though the quality of the wine and, indeed, the faces of the staff at the tasting room, have not changed much over time.  Richard Sanford was one of the first to recognize the potential of the Santa Rita Hills region when it came to growing the Burgundian varietals of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, planting the area’s first Pinot Noir vineyard in 1970.  In the decades since, the Sanfords have continued to perfect their Pinot and Chardonnay, as well as venturing into Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.  All of the winery’s vineyards are certified organic, and Alma Rosa is dedicated to sustainability in its agricultural methods and its business generally.  And as an added plus, Chris, the tasting room manager,*** is a chef in his own right and develops recipes for each of Alma Rosa’s wines.  Check some of them out here.  J and I tasted through all of their offerings and took home three for a later CorkPopper Dinner (stay tuned).

Ampelos barrel room

Bacchus the winery dog

Next, we headed west to Lompoc to visit with Peter and Rebecca Work of Ampelos Cellars.  Ampelos has a tasting room in Lompoc’s Wine Ghetto, but I arranged to meet Rebecca at their winery, where we toured their chilly barrel room and did a private tasting of their wines, their wine dog Bacchus napping quietly in the corner.  I didn’t know much about Ampelos before meeting Peter and Rebecca at this year’s Pinot Days, but, as you can see from their website, there’s quite a story behind their venturing into the wine biz.  Though situated in the Pinot Noir-focused Santa Rita Hills, Ampelos produces a fair amount of Rhone varietals as well, including Grenache and Syrah, a compromise on Peter’s behalf to satisfy Rebecca’s Rhone-loving palate.  And while Rebecca and Peter are fairly new to the process of winemaking, they have, under the tutelage of their son, the winemaker at Sea Smoke, learned very quickly to make some pretty fantastic wines, three of which I ordered for an upcoming CorkPopper Dinner (again, stay tuned).  And, like Alma Rosa, the Works are dedicated to sustainability, being one of the first vineyards in the U.S. to be certified as sustainable in practice, organic, and biodynamic.****

Melville

After Ampelos, we headed back east along Highway 246 to Melville, where I had scheduled a library tour andtasting.*****  Our guide, Alvin, took us on a tour of the interior of the facility (it was pouring out; otherwise, our tour would have included some of the vineyard grounds as well) before escorting us upstairs to a private room where we enjoyed several of Melville’s current releases as well as a couple of library wines (which are, as the phrase suggests, not available for purchase) along with some cheese and crackers and a fair amount of great conversation with Alvin.  Though Melville charges $40/person for this kind of treatment, J and I found it to be well worth it.  Indeed, we both agreed that the 2004 library Chardonnay we tasted was one of the best we’d ever had and perhaps worth the $40 all on its own.  Though we could easily have hung around and tasted some more wine downstairs, we wanted to

Melville library wines

try to hit one more place before the end of the day, so I picked up my club shipment (yep, I’m a club member) as well as a couple of extra bottles for a CorkPopper Dinner (you guessed it; stay tuned) and rushed out in the rain to the car.

Our last stop of the day was to be Babcock, which actually shares a driveway with Melville and is situated just up the hill.  Sadly, the Babcock tasting room was still on its Winter schedule, so by the time we ran in (soaking wet, mind you), the staff was already trying to pack up for the night.  Fred, the tasting room manager, did take a bit of pity on us, however, and offered to pour us each a taste of whatever we wanted.  Though I was a little irritated, especially since I had attempted to contact them the week prior, I understood that they just wanted to go home, so we enjoyed our tastes and left them alone.

Double rainbow over Santa Rita Hills

A solid day of tasting behind us, J and I headed over to Buellton to check in to our hotel and take a nap before dinner,a double rainbow signaling a day of tasting well done.  My preferred hotel in the area, the Hadsten House in Solvang, was sold out for the night, so J and I opted to stay at our second standby – the Days Inn in Buellton (which you also might recognize from Sideways).  Though not posh by any means, the Days Inn is convenient and has the added benefit of a bar downstairs for when you want a beer at the end of the night instead of more wine.

For dinner, we opted to continue our mini-Sideways experience and walk down to the Hitching Post for some steaks

Hitching Post II

and more great wine (J is a particular fan of the Hitching Post Highliner).  The Hitching Post, for those of you who have never been, is pretty much your typical steak house with the exception of the fact that in the middle of the dining room is a glass wall where you can see the chefs cooking up your steak on the restaurant’s famous wood-burning grill.  Add to that the “Magic Dust” (aka crack) seasoning they throw on everything, and you’ve got yourself a solid meal to finish off a solid day in the Santa Rita Hills.

This, of course, doesn’t even scratch the surface of what the Santa Rita Hills has to offer.  Indeed, there are literally dozens of wineries in the AVA these days, all of which are well worth trying at one point or another….. I know I plan to.  How about you?

Cheers and happy travels,

* As an aside, one of my good college girlfriends and I used to like to try to convince somewhat less intelligent underclassmen at UCSB that the oil rigs were offshore prisons a la that John Travolta movie, Face/Off.  Believe it or not, it actually worked a time or two.  Classic…

**  For anyone unfamiliar with Isla Vista, it is the mostly-student community next to the University of California at Santa Barbara campus.  Though there has been a fair amount of construction in Isla Vista since I graduated college all those years ago, it still has the familiar smell of stale beer (and, dare I say it, burnt couches) all UCSB grads remember fondly, especially early on a Saturday morning.

*** You might recognize him from Sideways.

**** The idea of being “biodynamic” is still somewhat fuzzy to me, but, from what I understand, it centers around the idea of the vineyard (or farm) being a self-sustaining organism through the use of, among other things, particular agricultural, composting and irrigation practices.  You can read more about it here.

***** You should note that many wineries will offer private tours and tastings, especially smaller wineries.  Just ask.  The worst they can do is say no.

 
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Posted in Alma Rosa, Ampelos, Babcock, California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Hitching Post, Melville, Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills, wine tasting