It’s that time of year again! 12 Days, 12 Wines, 12 Pairings!
This year we decided to do simple pairing bites, just little morsels of deliciousness that would pair beautifully with the wines. These are perfect for elegantly serving in hors d’oeuvres spoons. They were also fun to make.
So without further ado, let’s get on to Day 1!
Day 1
Troon Fizzante Metodo Ancestrale, 2020, Applegate Valley, Kubli Bench
We visited Troon earlier this year and I must admit that their sparkling wines had me captivated. We left with this bottle of Troon Fizzante which is perfect for kicking off our 12 Days of Wine Celebration!
This wine is a blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano that are whole-cluster fermented together, then made into sparkling wine in the Ancestrale Method. Ancestrale, well that should clue you in that this is an ancient method. In fact, this method predates Methode Champenoise (the method used to make Champagne).
This is the oldest known method of making sparkling wine. The wine is bottled while it is still fermenting, capturing the carbon dioxide in the bottle, giving you the bubbles. These wines are typically sealed with a crown cap (like old soda bottles or beer).
This wine is delicious, but next year will be different. The blocks they used are being pulled out as they are slowly replanting this vineyard. But never fear, they will be making this wine again, it just may be made with different grapes, Craig says maybe Counoise, or Cinsault or Carignan. Regardless, it will be exciting and you should try to get your hands on a bottle (or maybe a case).
What does it taste like?
The Troon Fizzante is joyful and bright with fruit notes of cherry, strawberry, raspberry & white peach. You can smell the subtle notes of white flowers, red apple peel, wild herbs, orange zest, and rose petals, both fresh and dried!
Troon Fizzante Metodo Ancestral 2020 with aromas and flavors of cherry, strawberry, raspberry, red apple peel, wild herbs, white peach, floral notes, rose petal and dried rose petal.
Proscuitto cups with roasted tomato, oregano, sweet balsamic, and burrata
When I researched the Troon Fizzante I came across a tasting note from Craig Camp of Troon vineyard. He said for him the best pairing with this wine was pizza, which makes sense as this wine is Sangiovese based and Craig professes a love for Lambrusco Secco and pizza.
I had tasted this wine at the vineyard, loved it, and left with a bottle. It seemed the right way to kick off our 12 days of wine celebration, bubbles that are not pretentious! Of course, I wanted to do more than a pizza bite, I mean, we are casual here, but we still try to be a little classy. I created a sort of upscale pizza cup.
Prosciutto pieces are tucked into mini muffin tins to form cups and cook away in the oven until they are crisp and hold their shape. They are filled with a bit of burrata, topped with cherry tomatoes that have been roasted in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then there is a drizzle of balsamic reduction (I bought mine, but you can make your own at home too), and finished with a sprig of fresh oregano (mine is still thriving this time of year in the backyard).
Prosciutto cup filled with burrata, roasted heirloom cherry tomatoes, balsamic drizzle, and fresh oregano
Troon Vineyard
We visited Troon in August. They are located in Southern Oregon in the Applegate Valley and the Vineyards sit on the Kubli Bench. They have been working hard to convert this vineyard to be fully biodynamic and regenerative. It was fascinating learning their processes when we visited. General Manager, Craig Camp took us on a tour of the vineyards including the biodynamic shed and the gardens.
Here’s more on Troon from Crushed Grape Chronicles
Proscuitto cups with roasted tomato, oregano, sweet balsamic, and burrata
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Proscuitto cups with roasted tomato, oregano, sweet balsamic, and burrata. Prosciutto pieces are tucked into mini muffin tins to form cups and cook away in the oven until they are crisp and hold their shape. They are filled with a bit of burrata, topped with cherry tomatoes that have been roasted in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then there is a drizzle of balsamic reduction (I bought mine, but you can make your own at home too), and finished with a sprig of fresh oregano (mine is still thriving this time of year in the backyard).
Ingredients
Prosciutto
cherry or grape tomatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
burrata
balsamic reduction
fresh oregano
Instructions
Mix some cherry or grape tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast at 450° F for 8-10 minutes (their skins will split so you know they are done)
Cut the prosciutto into strips and line the cups of the mini muffin tin with them, overlapping them within each cup.
Bake at 350° F for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are firm and slightly crisp.
Fill the cup with a piece of burrata, top with roasted tomato, drizzle with balsamic reduction, and top with a sprig of fresh oregano.
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Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
I love rosé, rosado, rosato. I loved it before it was cool. I’ll admit, back in my youth, I even loved that rosé that now makes my stomach churn, Sutter Homes. I don’t love it because it’s pink, (I’m not a girl who wears pink…I typically live in black), but despite it being pink. I love the way it calms me and makes me hear the ocean even when it is not near. Not that rosés are all made near the ocean, I just always envision myself on the beach when I drink one. It’s a getaway in a glass. All wine of course is, but rosé or rosato, well, it seems to have an extra edge on that.
So here it is, almost August, and we are still stuck at home, in the heat. Luckily, the #ItalianFWT group, led this month by Lauren of The Swirling Dervish, (what a great name, right?) is taking us on a virtual trip to Italy to explore rosatos of indigenous Italian grapes. Kinda perfect if you ask me.
If you want in on this getaway, you can join us on August 1st at 8am PDT or 11am EDT, on twitter. Just follow #ItalianFWT and join in the conversation. You can look forward to hearing about pink wines from all over Italy from my fellow wine writers! (scroll to the bottom for a list of all the different pieces with links!)
As I mentioned, rosé or rosato, as it is known in Italy, makes me hear the sea. So, it will not surprise you that I chose 2 coastal regions (although when you are in southern Italy, all the regions with the exception of Umbria, are coastal) to choose wines from. Both are made from the indigenous grape montepulciano and both come from the southern part of Italy on the Adriatic coast.
Map of Italy
First let’s talk about this indigenous grape Montepulciano
Montepulciano (the grape) and Vino Nobile de Montepulciano – nope, they are not the same!
I’ve heard of that you might say, but you may be thinking of Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, which is the name of a wine, that is made of sangiovese. Confusing, no? Here’s the scoop.
Vino Nobile de Montepulciano – that would mean “Noble wine of Montepulciano”, Montepulciano being a village in Tuscany. The wine is made of sangiovese, the grape famous for Chianti.
Montepulciano, the grape, is a grape native to the southern part of Italy.
Due to the confusion with this wine and the grape, the folks at Vino Nobile de Montepulciano have opted to just refer to their wine as “Vino Nobile” and it seems to be sticking.
Montepulciano – the grape
Montepulciano is the 3rd most planted grape in Italy. It sits unsurprisingly, behind sangiovese in the top spot and the white grape trebbiano (or as it’s known in France ugni blanc), which is an undistinguished white grape, (at least typically) that is mostly used in making brandy.
It is most widely planted in the region of Abruzzo, but is also widely found in Marche, Molise, and Puglia. All four of these regions sit in a row down the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is a late ripening grape, which is what keeps it in the south, further north than Marche and you find difficulty ripening it. It is a deep colored grape that imparts great tannins and can age.
Montepulciano as a rosato
With these deeply colored skins, you would be unsurprised to find that the rosatos are deeply colored also. Now many people can get snooty about their rosé and want it in that ballet slipper pink or onion skin color of Provençal rosé, but I love the variety of shades. Rosé or rosato, is a color of wine, just like red or white, and everything pink does not and should not taste or look the same. These darker pink wines, (like Tavel in France), can carry more flavor and texture than a barely colored rosé, and as such can pair widely with foods.
Our first rosato is from Abruzzo where it is part of its own DOC for rosato.
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC
Abruzzo spans from the mountains of central Italy out to the Adriatic Sea. It sits north of Molise and south of Marche. The ancient tribes of the region long resisted Roman rule, and the rugged landscape kept it isolated for many years.
In 2010 the Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC was established for rosatos from the region. The name means cherry in Italian, and is taken from their deep cherry color.
This is not the easiest wine to pronounce. It is pronounced CHER-rah-ZOO’OH-loh dah-BROO-tsoh
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2019 from Cirellli Collina Biologica
This wine from Francesco Cirelli comes from the Cirelli Farm. I would love to describe it to you, but I think that Francesco on his site does it best.
“The sea is only 8 kilometers away and rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves surround the variegated landscape of the town of Atri in the Abruzzo region where our farmland lies. Nearby, national parks, woods, and badlands, all wonderfully preserved, are waiting to be discovered in the majestic silence that seems to characterize this region of Italy suspended in time and space.”
Francesco Cirelli from his site
This is a farm with olive trees, vineyards, old grains, fruit trees, gardens, and animals. It is certified organic. The property is 22 hectares with 6 of those under vine. They dry farm and produce abut 30,000 bottles annually.
While our particular wine was not, he now makes a line of wines in amphorae. I look forward to an opportunity to taste the Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo made in Terracotta Amphorae.
Tasting the Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
This wine was a deep pink-orange color and was clear. The nose took a moment to open for me, but Michael immediately got bright red fruit, “cherry fruit rollup” he declared! As I dove into it, I found sour cherry, with notes of watermelon, white flowers, and pomegranate. Additional notes of citrus like blood orange and bits of dried herbs popped up. On the palate it was dry with medium body, tannin, and alcohol (it sits at 12% abv). It had high acidity, and pronounced flavors of cranberry, red currant, and a splash of lime, with a long finish. It was tart and vibrant with red fruits bursting forward.
Puglia
The second wine we had is again a rosato of montepulciano, but this one hails from Puglia. Puglia is the heel of the boot in Italy. This wine comes from just inland of the boot’s spur, the National Park of Gargano, that juts out into the Adriatic Sea. Valentina Passalacqua’s vineyard sits just west of the National Park and 20 minutes’ drive south of Lake Lesina that sits on the Adriatic Coast. Her mantra is “Peaceful Living”. Many of the vines on her property are on pergolas, providing shade for the workers as they pick during harvest. She has a wonderful video on her site that I encourage you to visit and watch.
This wine is made from montepulciano grapes from young pergola vineyards. Fermentation is spontaneous in open vats. It is unfiltered and aged 6-8 months in steel. It is 10.5% or 11.5% abv (I found conflicting and could not locate it on the bottle) and is bottled in a one-liter bottle with a crown cap. The label was drawn by her daughter.
“My work has no secrets. Together with my collaborators-artists, I only try to collect what the Earth presents to me and to give it a personal value through art and craftsmanship. My wines are fragments of the soul of the Gargano, the Mountain of the Sun. A white limestone promontory, which extends into the Adriatic Sea with the green silences of the millenary forests of the Umbra Forest and the scents of the Mediterranean scrub of the National Park. We are waiting for you, to give you a taste of this magical reality.”
Valentina Passalacqua from her site
Tasting this rosato from Puglia
This wine had the same vibrant orange pink color but was a bit cloudy as it wasn’t filtered. There was sediment in the bottom. On the nose you were hit first with funk, the kind that I like. Notes of leather and red fruit, sour cherry, and spice. On the palate it was dry with medium tannins, body, and acidity. I think the fact that it was unfiltered made the acidity seem lower. On the palate I got blood orange, red cherry, blackberry, leather, and dried herbs. I think the nose was really integrated, which was why I determined it as funk, and didn’t break it down like I was able to on the palate.
Pairing with foods of the region
I searched for dishes from each of the regions and the one thing that popped up in both was that these are poorer regions, where meat is a luxury. As such, both my dishes are vegetarian, and both have relatively few ingredients
Pallotte cac e ove
My dish from Abruzzo is called Pallotte cac e ove (cheese and egg balls)
The recipe is simple: Mix together ½ cup of breadcrumbs, 1 cup of grated parmesan, salt, minced garlic, pepper, and a pinch of baking soda. Then add in 3 eggs and mix. Roll into balls. You can either fry them now, to enjoy as an appetizer or do as I did, and toss them in the fridge for a bit, then cook them in a pot of fresh tomato sauce for 15 minutes.
Orecchiette from Puglia
The second dish is from Puglia. Puglia is known for its orecchiette pasta, the little hand made pastas whose name means “little ears”. Traditionally this is served with turnip tops or broccoli rabe. We had baby broccoli and cherry tomatoes.
I boiled the pasta and added the baby broccoli to blanche in the last 2 minutes. I drained it reserving some of the cooking water. Then I cooked up some minced garlic in butter and olive oil until it was fragrant, I added a bit of the cooking water then, the orecchiette and broccoli, some grated parmesan, juice of a lemon, chili flakes, the sliced cherry tomatoes and lemon zest.
Each of the dishes went well with the food, but each also paired best with the wine from their region.
We also did a cheese plate with orange, herbed mozzarella balls, blackberries, strawberries, pomegranate, rosemary asiago, prosciutto, and almonds. The herbs from the mozzarella balls really paired beautifully, elevating the flavors of the herbs.
So that covers 1 grape. Italy has more than 400 grape varieties allowed in their wines. Guaranteed, a few of those are international varieties, but still… If you count the subvarieties, the total comes to almost 2000. Wonder what varieties the other #ItalianFWT writers got into?
Don’t forget to join us Saturday August 1, 2020 at 11 am Eastern Time (8 am Pacific) on twitter to chat! Just follow #ItalianFWT! We’d love for you to tell us about your favorite Italian rosatos, just remember to add the hashtage #ItalianFWT to be part of the conversation thread!
Do you love pink wines? Well we have written about them before and if you would like to explore…
As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on all of our posts.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Wiens Family Cellars was having a Vertical tasting of their Reflections red blends and we couldn’t go…so we put together a vertical of our own. We had the 2008, 2010 and the 2011. These are of course blends, so they are all a little different, so this a little different from a typical vertical. Typically you would have a single variety of grape or a fairly set blend that you would be comparing from year to year. You would get the differences in the climate and season that affect each year’s harvest. You would also be able to see how the wine ages. We were able to do those things, but the field for comparison was a bit more wide open. Let me take a minute to give you the breakdown on these three vintages.
2008 Reflection is 30% Sangiovese, 28% Barbera, 28% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot with Alcohol 15.1 and Residual sugar .6%
2010 Reflection is 63% Sangiovese, 14% Cabernet, 14% Syrah, 9% Zinfandel with 14.5 Alcohol and .5 % residual sugar.
So as you can see this blend is Sangiovese based, but that’s about where the similarities end. This makes for a brilliantly exciting tasting! At the winery they are doing “Reflections of the Decades” and they are tasting 6 of these wines, 2006-2011. We somehow can’t find the 2009 so I must have already enjoyed it! At the winery they are doing a decade theme starting with the 60’s for the 2006. I perused their pairings and then went back to the suggestions with the wines. We picked up some Spanish meats and cheeses (yes I know, I could have picked up Italian!). We did a tasting upon opening and then let them breathe for a bit and tasted each with the meats and cheeses. For the pairings we went a little out of order and cooked them for each course. I know it sounds tough, but…we have Trader Joes. So here’s the run down for the pairings:
2010 Reflection with a goat cheese and basil pizza, to which we added a little sage and thyme.
2008 Reflection with Eggplant Parmesan
2011 Reflection with meat lasagna and a spinach salad.
Then we had chocolate cake for dessert and tasted it with all 3.
We found that the wines opened up quite a bit over the course of the evening. I had e-mailed the winery to ask decanting recommendations. Bob was kind enough to get back to me and suggested decanting the 2010 and 2011 straight down into a decanter on the counter top to add as much oxygen as possible. For the 2008 he suggested carefully pouring it down the side of a tilted decanter to give it some space to gently open up. Thanks Bob! Unfortunately, I do not yet own a nice decanter. So…we took the advice the best that we could. We opened up the 2008 and gently poured into glasses and let it air. The other two we got the aerator out and poured them through to add oxygen. On to the tasting!
It’s always a joy to walk into a tasting room, for a wine tasting, be warmly welcomed and find that you have someone pouring for you that loves to talk about his or her winery and obviously loves the wines. Such was the case when we arrived early on a Friday morning to the Chapin Family Vineyards tasting room. We were the first to arrive that morning and as we walked in Leroy greeted us and offered us a spot at the tasting bar.
The Chapin Family Vineyard is the furthest Winery and Vineyard on Rancho California Road. Located next to Doffo, the winery property is filled with palm trees, the owner Steve’s first love.
While they do not grow grapes for white wines here at this point, they do work with a winery in Marche, Italy where they import their Passerina white wine. This wine has a golden color and is dry with mineral notes as well as floral notes, apricot and peach with a small hint of spice.
As we tasted the 2009 Syrah, Leroy filled us in on the history of the winery. The Chapin Family (Steve’s parents) bough the property here and the property across the street where Doffo now stands in 1980. It was 15 years later as they watched vineyards pop up all over the valley when they decided to plant some grapes. They now grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Montepulciano, Petite Verdot and Viognier. (Yes I know Viognier is a white wine and I said they didn’t grow those. They only grow enough Viognier to add to their red blends). The Montepulciano is scattered throughout the vineyard. You will notice blue tags on vines indicating that is it is this variety. The Syrah borders the vineyards.
As we tasted the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is delicious with fruit and chocolate, decidedly low tannins and very approachable, Leroy filled us in on vineyard techniques. They use a single cordon method here to intensify the flavors. Leroy asked us to think of the vine as the trunk, as it grows it sends out a branch, which in double cordon growing would spread out to the opposite side of the original trunk. Here they clip that branch working only with the trunk itself. They do all hand picking here and carefully destem all fruit.
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was 75% Cabernet, 10% Petite Verdot for some color (inking they call this) and 15% Zin for zing. This is lighter and leaner than the 2009 and slightly less complex. 2008 was a wet year with less sun on the grapes and the grapes were juicier and less intense. They think of this wine as a more Bordeaux style wine.
The 2010 Merlot had just been release a month before and was still young but you can see the potential. This is only the 2nd Merlot they have done. It is spicy with red fruit and cedar, medium tannins and a little mocha. This wine was made from sourced fruit, as they do not yet grow Merlot.
Their 2010 Zinfandel is medium bodied with bright spice and light tannins. You get big fruit up front, no heat (which is great for a Zin) and it has a shorter finish.
The 2009 Chapin Family Summit is a Cabernet based blend with Montepulciano and Merlot. There is a lovely little bit of barnyard on the nose and a slight herbal quality. The tannins are deeper and the wine has tartness.
While we were there, two wine club members arrived and Leroy set them up with a glass of wine out on the patio. They carry Boars Head products in their deli and they picked something out and he plated it for them and took it to them on the patio. Now that is service! So many places have a deli and you end up eating out of a plastic container. Leroy wants you to enjoy your experience, so he takes great care of the people who come in. They offer to do your tasting on the patio if you prefer.
We next tasted the Marche Rosso, which they bring in from Marche Italy. A blend of 80% Montepulciano and 20% Syrah, is an example of the style of Montepulciano that they hope to produce. It had spice and leather and wet earth on the nose and quite and a bit of depth. The tannins were tangy and the wine leaves your mouth watering for more. There was also good tartness on the sides of my tongue.
The last wine we tasted was a Late Harvest Zin Tawny Port, put in port barrels in the sun and do them in a solera style. You get caramel, but it is not too sweet. With deep fragrances of hazelnut and brown sugar this was hot on my nose as it is fortified, but was not hot on the palate. This is one of the more approachable ports I have had.
Chapin Family Vineyards a great place for a tasting or just a glass of wine. Leroy makes you feel pampered making sure that you are comfortable and having a great experience. The afternoon before the entire patio was filled, so word must be out. If you are in Temecula Wine Country, don’t miss stopping here.
The Cougar Property is in the midst of lots of change with construction surrounding the winery, but they are still open and happy to take care of guests in the tasting room.
The winery is owned and operated by Rick and Jennifer Buffington. 17 years ago while in Texas the Buffington’s began making wine. They later moved to Seattle and continued making wine in Washington and labeled under the Cougar Mountain Winery label named after Cougar Mountain in Belleview Washington. After moving to southern California they eventually purchased the winery property in Temecula planting Sangiovese, Aglianico, Montepulciano and Vermentino. At La Vigna e Destra they also have Primitivo, Arneis, Malvasia Bianca and Pinot Grigio. They are making estate wines as well as some wines with purchased grapes that they do not grow. They do beautiful Italian wines.
Cougar construction
The last time we were here we did not taste but drove up to see the winery. It was a large metal warehouse that held their winery and tasting room. Situated on an a hillside on the De Portola Wine Trail they have a great view. Since our last visit they have begun their expansion. They are siding the current building as well as building out for a new tasting room. Upon entering the building you are greeted by the life size cougar sculpture and then the tasting bar to your right.
Cougar tasting room
The warehouse is segmented by barrel racks, with one section for public tastings, a separate section with tables for club members and music on the weekends and then of course their production facilities. There was a steel drum artist playing the day we were there and while we couldn’t see them (they were in the member area playing) we could enjoy the music as it filled the building. We found a place at the tasting bar next to the free coffee and Dani set us up with our tasting.
We began with the 2011 Vermentino. This was a dry wine, a little dusty on the palate with a little effervescence. You get lime, light minerals and lime leaf. It is a refreshing white that leaves your palate clean. I am a Vermentino lover and I enjoyed this wine. They actually use this for a white sangria base as well as for bloody mary’s here in the tasting room.
We continued with the 2010 Miscuglio de Circulo, which is a blend created by their wine club members. This blend was a light red blend that would make a great summer wine. It had pepper on its long lasting finish.
The 2009 Estate Bella Rossi is a blend of 25% each Aglianico, Primativo, Sangiovese and Montepulciano. You get pepper on the palate but the nose is light and fruity with a medium mouth feel.
The 2009 Aglianico had pepper, eucalyptus and mint on the nose. The cool mouth feel accentuated the mint taste. There was a little underlying metallic rusty taste that was not unattractive. Medium tannins hit the top of my teeth. This was considerably lighter than the Kenneth Volk Aglianico that we had. I have tasted very few of this varietal and this was a new interpretation of this grape for me.
On to the 2008 Montepulciano which they have called “The Full Monte”. This red had big smooth tannins. This was filled with strawberries and had a little heat on the finish.
I finished off with some of their mulled wine. It was beautifully done with the spices not overcooked (my home mulled wine making experience did not turn out so well). The spice on the nose was perfect and the warm wine filled my mouth with gorgeous warm fruit. It was really lovely.
This winery is old school and the owners are hands on. We saw Jennifer in the tasting room, picking up bottles for the wine club members area.
I look forward to returning to see the new tasting room when construction is complete. Check out the blog on their website to see the construction updates! The new tasting room will have beautiful views as well as views into the winery itself. They also have tours and classes available by appointment.
