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Archive for the ‘Tablas Creek’ Category

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: What to Eat with the 2010 Tablas Creek Rose and the 2008 Hammersky Estate Grown Zinfandel

09 Nov

Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve done a proper CorkPopper post, especially a CorkPopper Dinner post, and I’m not going to even try to pretend I have a legitimate excuse.  I’ve just gotten out of the habit of writing every day – something I plan to remedy.  Promise.

In any event, I did manage to prepare a CorkPopper Dinner over the weekend for my best childhood friend’s brother, DM (who also happens to be one half of the team working on totally rebranding this here website – stay tuned!), and his fantastic girlfriend (who also happens to be an amazing baker/pastry chef), KC.

Though my regular readers know that I ordinarily start with a wine and design a recipe around its flavor profile, I must admit that for the first course of this dinner I started with the protein.  Before you scream, “Blasphemy!”, however, please allow me to explain.  DM’s family owns a “fish camp” up on the Northern California coast in an area well-known for its red abalone diving.  Now, I grew up eating fresh abalone that Pop would gather during our summers on the boat, but, due in part to overfishing and in part to a foot disease that wiped out a significant portion Southern California’s abalone population, there has been a moratorium on diving for abalone in Southern California for well over a decade.  When DM and KC found out how much I love abalone, they offered to bring me some – an offer I obviously couldn’t pass up, as it has literally been years since I had any.

Growing up, my favorite preparation for abalone were what Pop called “ab rolls” – thin abalone steaks pounded with a tenderizer, soaked in milk, dipped in egg, dredged in breadcrumbs, rolled around Monterey Jack cheese and an Ortega chile and roasted on the grill….. yum.  I was curious to try something a little different for this CorkPopper Dinner, however, which brings me to the recipe for Pan-Fried Abalone with Lemon-Caper Sauce.  I elected to pair this dish with the 2010 Tablas Creek Rose because the dry but fruity and bright wine is an excellent foil for both the slight sweetness of the abalone meat and the briny capers.

Pan-Fried Abalone with Lemon Caper Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

-       4 abalone steaks, each approximately ½ thick

-       1 pint whole milk

-       1 egg

-       ½ cup panko breadcrumbs

-       Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

-       2 tablespoons olive oil

-       2 lemon wedges

-       3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

-       1 tablespoon capers, rinsed

-       ¼ cup dry white (or rose!) wine

-       Juice of ½ lemon

Preparation

Lightly pound the abalone steaks until tender but not so much they fall apart.  Soak the pounded steaks in the milk.  Crack the egg in a small bowl and beat lightly.  Place the panko in another small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Dip each steak in the egg and dredge it in the panko, then allow to rest on a plate for about 10 minutes.

Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and 1 tablespoon butter.  Add the abalone steaks and cook about 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Squeeze the lemon wedges over the steaks before removing them to a paper towel-covered plate while you prepare the sauce.

Quickly wipe the same pan with a clean, dry paper towel and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Once melted, add the capers and sauté about 2-3 minutes.  Add the wine and lemon juice and continue to cook until reduced slightly.

Place a steak on each of four plates and spoon some sauce over each.  Serve immediately.

Though the weather in Southern California has been all over the map in the last couple of weeks, I’m definitely finding myself in an Autumn kind of mood, craving hot apple cider, braised meats, and red wines.  As such, I elected to focus on a completely different wine from a completely different winery for the night’s main course.  The 2008 Hammersky Estate Zinfandel is everything the Tablas Creek Rose is not – dark and earthy and a wine that just screams for a cool Autumn evening and a big meaty meal.  My solution?  Wild Mushroom-Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Mushroom Reduction – a big hit even though I learned that neither DM nor KC are fans of mushrooms!

Wild Mushroom-Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Mushroom Reduction

Serves 4 (with plenty for leftovers!)

Ingredients for the Lamb

-       1 bunch fresh spinach (you can also substitute chard, if desired), roughly chopped

-       Extra virgin olive oil

-       1 tablespoon unsalted butter

-       5-6 large shallots, finely minced (about 1 cup)

-       1 pound mixed wild mushrooms (e.g., portabella, shiitake, crimini, morel, chanterelle), stemmed and finely minced

-       1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (or ½ cup purchased breadcrumbs)

-       1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced

-       1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely minced

-       Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

-       1 egg, lightly beaten

-       1 5- to 6-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied and trimmed of extra fat (ask your butcher)

-       3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preparation for the Lamb

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet.  Add the spinach (or chard) and sauté until soft.  Remove the greens from the skillet and set aside.

Add the butter and about 3-4 more tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the shallots and sauté until translucent but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, stir, and cover.  Allow to cook until mushrooms are soft, stirring regularly, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove the mushrooms from the heat, stir in the greens, and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, rosemary, and thyme.  Stir in the cooled mushroom mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper before stirring in the beaten egg.

Lay 4 6- to 8-inch lengths of kitchen twine out on a cutting board.  They should be parallel to each other and about 2 inches apart (depending on how wide your lamb leg is).  Lay out the butterflied leg of lamb on top of the twine with the ends of the twine showing along the edges that will be rolled.  Season the surface of the lamb generously with salt and pepper, then spread the mushroom mixture all over the top of the lamb.  Take one side of the lamb and begin rolling it like a roll of wrapping paper toward the other end.  Secure the roll using the twine, tying it tight enough to make the roll as compact as possible without squeezing out all the yumminess inside.

Season the outside of the rolled up lamb with more salt and pepper and then rub with the Dijon mustard.

Roast on a rack in a large roasting pan for approximately 1 hour, until cooked to 135 degrees for medium rare.  Be sure to turn the lamb over about halfway through the cooking process and allow to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing into 1-inch slices.  Serve over your favorite mashed starch (I did mashed garnet yams) and drizzle with a generous amount of sauce (recipe below).

Ingredients for Sauce

-       3 tablespoons butter, divided

-       1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

-       1 large celery stalk, roughly chopped

-       1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

-       1 cup mushroom trimmings (peels and stems)

-       1 teaspoon tomato paste

-       3 sprigs fresh thyme

-       1 bottle dry red wine (I used an inexpensive Zinfandel to compliment the wine I planned to pour with dinner)

-       2 cups low sodium beef stock (plus more to taste)

-       Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation for the Sauce

In a medium sauce pot, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.  Add the carrot, celery and onion (this trio is known as a mirepoix) and sweat over medium heat until slightly softened but not browned.  Add the mushroom trimmings and continue to stir until the mushrooms have also softened, about 7 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and thyme and stir another 2 minutes or so before adding the wine.  Bring to a boil to cook off the alcohol then add 2 cups of the beef stock.  Bring to a boil again and then turn the heat down and simmer until reduced by about half, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.  If your sauce becomes too thick or too salty, you can always thin it out with a little more beef stock.

Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to squeeze out as much flavor as possible.  Rinse the sauce pot and return the sauce to it.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and finish just before serving by whisking in the remaining tablespoon butter (this is what gives French sauces their lovely glistening look).

Cheers and enjoy!!

 
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Posted in 3.5 Corked Forks, 3.5 corks popped, 4 Corked Forks, 4 Corks Popped, 4 Forks, 4.5 Forks, California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Food Porn, HammerSky, Paso Robles, Rose, Tablas Creek, recipes, red wine

 

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: What to Eat with the 2010 Tablas Creek Vermentino

13 Sep

Tablas Creek

Tablas Creek, located in the westernmost reaches of the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) along California’s Central Coast and formed as a partnership between a well-known wine importer and Chateau de Beaucastel, a famous estate in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area of France’s Rhone Appellation d’origine Controlee (“AOC”), boasts a broad range of fantastic wines made from mostly Rhone varietals.  With BabySo fast asleep in his stroller, JSo, LoSo and I sidled up to the bar as Cindy, our guide, poured us two glasses (JSo was our designated driver for the day) of the first wine of the day, the 2010 Vermentino ($27/bottle).  Though Vermentino (also known as “Rolle”) can be found in Southern France, it is most widely recognized as an Italian varietal, making it feel like a bit of an oddity among Tablas Creek’s decidedly Franco-centric tasting list.*

2010 Tablas Creek Vermentino

Crisp and cool, this wine was a welcome initial offering on a warm, sunny day, with a nose and palate dominated by citrus zest and limestone but with more acidity and fruit (passionfruit?) on the tongue than would be presented by its Italian cousin, the Pinot Grigio.  Though this wine intrigued me in a way I still cannot pinpoint, I was initially reluctant to purchase a bottle for a CorkPopper Dinner because I couldn’t immediately identify what I would cook with it.  As our tasting wore on, however, I kept wanting to return to the Vermentino, a sign, as LoSo pointed out, that I should probably just get a bottle anyway.  How funny, then, that it is precisely this wine that ended up inspiring my first Paso Robles CorkPopper Dinner – Lemon Risotto with Summer Squash, Zucchini and Seared Scallops.**

Lemon and scallops are, of course, an obvious pairing with a wine that presents as much citrus and mineral as the 2010 Tablas Creek Vermentino.  But it is the slight sweetness of the squash and zucchini, which temper the tartness of the wine, and the creaminess of the risotto, which compliments the wine’s acidity, that really make this pairing sing.  Best yet, with scallops purchased from the local fish market*** and summer squash and zucchini perfectly in season, it is a meal that just screams for a warm summer evening on California’s Central Coast.  Done and done.
Lemon Risotto with Summer Squash, Zucchini and Seared Scallops

Serves 6

Ingredients
7 cups well-seasoned chicken broth, as needed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 pound yellow summer squash, diced into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 pound zucchini, halved and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
8 large diver scallops
Freshly ground pepper and sea salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
Zest of 1 lemon (about 2-3 teaspoons)
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Parsley

Lemon Risotto with Summer Squash, Zucchini and Seared Scallops

Preparation

Warm the chicken broth in a medium pot over low heat.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until it begins to ripple but before it smokes.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant and translucent, about 6 minutes.  Add the rice and continue to stir until the grains begin to make a crackling sound.  Add the wine and stir until the liquid is almost fully absorbed.  Turn the heat down to medium, add the squash and zucchini, and stir to combine.  Begin adding the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb each 1/2 cup before adding more.  You want the broth to just barely cover the rice each time and for the mixture to gently bubble.  Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to stand there stirring the risotto the entire time.  Just give it a stir every couple of minutes to ensure that the heat and liquid are being evenly distributed among the rice grains.

While your risotto is bubbling away, pat the scallops dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat, again until it ripples but before it smokes.  Add the scallops and sear about 2 minutes on each side until they have a nice caramel colored crust but are just barely cooked through in the center.  Cut the scallops into quarters and set aside.

After about 25-30 minutes, your rice should be tender all the way through but still slightly al dente.  Add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the cheese and stir to melt.  Add the scallop pieces and stir gently to combine.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice to taste.  You want it to taste fresh but not tart, so add the juice slowly, tasting as you go.  Your risotto should be creamy and should spread out when ladled into a large bowl rather than stand in a mound.  Serve immediately.

Cheers!

* Unlike France’s AOC rules, the AVA rules in the United States do not dictate which grape varieties may be grown in any given region, giving vineyard owners the freedom to plant whichever grape varieties they believe will grow best in their vineyards’ particular soil and climate.

** This recipe was adapted from a New York Times recipe for Lemon Risotto with Summer Squash.

*** I got my scallops from the nice folks down at Giovanni’s Fish Market on the Morro Bay Embarcadero.  Look for the brown building with the line down the block of people waiting for either fish n’ chips or barbequed local oysters.

 
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Posted in 3.5 corks popped, 4.5 Corked Forks, 4.5 Forks, California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Food Porn, Paso Robles, Tablas Creek, Vermentino, recipes, white wine, wine pairing

 

The CorkPopper LocaPour Project: A Day in the Paso Robles AVA

08 Sep

It was after noon before LoSo, JSo, and I had managed to shower, dress, and wrangle 9-week old BabySo…..

BabySo (aka "Tiburon" because he's like a shark and always wants to be on the move)

And puppies Penne and Guido (who granted me permission to use their real names, provided I informed my readers that they are NOT Whippets but Italian Greyhounds)…..

Penne and Guido

The car loaded with our six souls and enough accoutrement to survive a natural disaster, we hit the road, heading northwest along the Pacific Coast Highway from our home base in Morro Bay…..

Picturesque but chilly Morro Bay

We turned east at Old Creek Road, one of those gorgeous old California roads that winds variously through oak stands and rolling hills, before hitting Highway 46W, our entree into Paso Robles wine country.  Though Morro Bay was  downright chilly on our departure, nestled under its standard mid-summer blanket of fog, the temperature rose steadily as we ventured inland, eventually arriving at a pleasant and sunny (thanks to the steady breeze) 84 degrees.

Located about 90 minutes north of Santa Barbara and just inland from California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles first became known for its hot springs, which the local Native Americans visited regularly.  When the Spanish missionaries began slowly working their way north from Mexico in the late 1600s, Paso Robles became a regular rest stop along the Camino Real.  It was these missionaries, in fact, who likely first introduced grape vines to the area as a way to produce the sacramental wine necessary for the missions established along the route.  Commercial wine production began in earnest in the late 1800s, though it was not until the late 20th century that the region’s true potential began to be realized.  Indeed, during the 1990s alone, the number of wineries in in the area nearly doubled, and today, there are over 180 wineries in and around Paso Robles.

Denner Tasting Room

The diverse microclimates and soils of the Paso Robles AVA make it suitable for the production of a vast array of varietals, and, indeed, according to the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, over 40 different grape varieties are currently grown by its members.  It is the Rhone varietals (Carignan, Cinsault, Counoise, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Petite Sirah, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier, among others), along with Zinfandel, that, in my opinion, truly shine in this area.

Enter the first winery of  our little excursion – Denner.

Former Coloradan and USC booster, Ron Denner, purchased the over 150 acres upon which Denner Vineyards now sits in 1998 and has since planted it with many of Rhone’s most famous varietals.  The tasting room is a modern architectural gem whose sloped roof echos the vineyards gently sloping hills.  With its 2007 vintage came a number of accolades, including scores in the mid-90s for several of Denner’s wines from both the Wine Advocate (Robert Parker) and Wine Spectator.  Though well-deserved, this attention also brought increased demand, and Denner has recently found it necessary (or at least desirable) to require appointments for tastings.  LoSo, a Denner Vineyards club member, was aware of this requirement and had scheduled a 1pm appointment for us – perfect timing for a picnic and some wine.

Denner Picnic Area

I laid out our picnic of prosciutto, salami, cheeses, olives, and marinated mushrooms and artichokes, and the lovely Denner staff brought out our glasses for our first tasting, a crisp and tropical 2010 Viognier ($34/bottle).  While not generally my favorite white grape varietal (it can be too floral for me), Denner’s is a pretty great expression and a very enjoyable sipper, though it didn’t necessarily inspire me to cook anything.

Next was the 2010 Theresa ($32/bottle), a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Viognier with distinctive notes of stone fruit and honeysuckle and a finish that lasted for days.  I was intrigued by this wine and, though I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it made me want to cook, I couldn’t help but snag a bottle because it was just too unique (and too much of an interesting culinary challenge) to pass up.

HammerSky Tasting Room

Transitioning from the whites, we next tasted the 2010 Rose ($20/bottle), a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise and Carignan, a pleasant Summer sipper, especially on a day like the one we were enjoying, though not especially inspirational.

Though Denner produces a number of big reds, including single varietal Mourvedre, Syrah, Zinfandel and Grenache and several blends, the only reds they were tasting the day we visited were two vintages (2006 and 2009) of their Ditch Digger, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise.  Earning 90 points from both Robert Parker and Wine Spectator, the 2006 vintage was my favorite of the two, as the powerful berry and pepper notes had mellowed (as compared to the 2009 vintage), allowing the mineral and herb characteristics to come through and provide a more exceptional balance.

Our tasting and picnic at Denner complete, we headed further up Vineyard Drive to our next stop, HammerSky.  A relatively new winery for the area, the HammerSky tasting room actually just opened in March 2011.  The property also boasts an adorable farm house, which can be rented out, as it was during our visit by a wedding party preparing for their nuptials the following day.  Where Denner champions the Rhone varietals, HammerSky focuses on mostly Bordeaux grapes (plus Zinfandel), and we tasted our way through five different reds, my favorites being two single varietals – a big 2008 Zinfandel Estate Reserve ($39/bottle) and a wonderfully balanced 2008 “Red Handed” Merlot.  Though my tastes these days tend more toward the Rhone varietals, HammerSky is definitely making some nice wines from the Bordeaux grapes and is worth a visit.

HammerSky Inn

With the afternoon beginning to wind down, we headed further up Vineyard Drive to our last stop of the day, Tablas Creek, a winery that not only embraces the Rhone varietals but was, in fact, founded as a partnership between the Perrin family (of Chateau de Beaucastel in Rhone’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape region) and importer Robert Haas.  Its original cuttings were imported directly from Chateau de Beaucastel’s vines in France in the early 1990s (and have since been cultivated at Tablas Creek’s own grapevine nursery) and have been producing some of the best Rhone-style wines outside of France.

As we tasted through an amazing number of Tablas Creek’s available wines, including several not even on the day’s tasting list, our guide, Cindy, peppered us with fantastic little tidbits of information about the winery and its history, including the story of how a winery focused on Rhone varietals ended up with Vermentino, an Italian white.  It turns out that when the folks at Chateau de Beaucastel sent over the original cuttings, they snuck in some Vermentino, believing that it would do exceptionally well in the Tablas Creek soil and climate.  It turns out they were right, and the 2010 Vermentino ($27/bottle) turned out to be my favorite white wine of the day (and the inspiration for a delicious CorkPopper Dinner that weekend – stay tuned!).  Fruitier than its Italian cousins, the Tablas Creek Vermentino had, as Cindy put it, a tart and sassy personality that I just found intriguing.

Tablas Creek

Also unexpectedly delicious was the 2010 Tablas Creek Rose ($27/bottle), a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise, that JSo, not a huge Rose fan, declared her favorite Rose ever.  Light cranberry in color with refreshing notes of watermelon and Rainier cherry, this is definitely a Rose worth trying and will undoubtedly make an excellent pairing for an Indian Summer meal.

Finally, though we tasted both the 2004 and 2008 Esprit de Beaucastel reds, blends of Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah and Counoise, all three of us preferred the younger vintage, which, not surprisingly, was named one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 Wines of 2010 and earned 94 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.  Ripe with notes of cherries, tobacco and spice, the 2008 Esprit de Beaucastel establishes why Rhone-style blends are truly my favorites right now, and I simply cannot wait to open up another bottle.

With our palates pleased and a tired baby, we headed back south toward Morro Bay, stopping first in Cayucos for a nice dinner at Hoppe’s Garden Bistro.  And though, with babies and dogs in tow, it was not my usual wine tasting trip, it was fabulous nonetheless, due, in no small part, to the company.  I can only hope that your next trip to Paso Robles will be as enjoyable as mine.

Cheers!

 
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Posted in California, CorkPopper LocaPour Project, Denner, HammerSky, Paso Robles, Tablas Creek