Name: Filet Mignon with blackberry Pinot Noir sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 tbs oil (neutral or olive); 2 bacon wrapped Filet Mignons; ½ pint of fresh blackberries; ¼ cup Pinot Noir; 1 small shallot (finely chopped); 2 tbs butter

Willamette Valley Oregon

BBQ and a Titan from Bells Up

Jun 23, 2021

Bells Up

They identify as “Micro-boutique and un-domaine”. Bells Up Winery was born from leaving stress behind and blowing their own horn!

The name comes from a term in classical music composition as a note for French Horns. When it says “bells up” it means to play with gusto, with the bell of the horn up to allow the music to be heard.

That’s an allegory for how Dave and Sarah feel about their winery.

We tasted two of their wines, the Bells Up 2020 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains AVA and the Bells Up 2020 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley Paired with a backyard feast for Memorial Day.

Celebrate Memorial Day with Bells Up Winery

Today we move on to the…

Bells Up 2018 Titan Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley.

Let’s first address the name. Titan refers to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major(all of their wines are named for Musical pieces)

This piece was considered unusually grand and ambitious for the time, by a young composer. Perhaps this mimics this wine, Dave coming into the Willamette Valley where Pinot Noir is revered and jumping in with both feet in a bold way when he was so new to the industry.

This symphony evoked the heroic ideals of the day for Mahler and was originally called “Titan: a symphonic poem”. The title alluded to a popular novel where the protagonist uses only his inner strength to defend against evil.

The wine is their flagship Pinot Noir. It is a blend of 3 Pinot Noir clones from 2 different sites.

The largest part of this wine is the Pommard clone of Pinot Noir and is from 10 year old vines in the Chehalem Mountain AVA. The vineyard sits at 800 feet and has wind-blown loess soils that give this wine bright fruit notes.

Then there are two clones 115, 777, grown in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA with vines that are 18 years old. The elevation here is between 460-520 feet and the soils here are Willakenzie. The oldest soils in the Willamette valley, the Willakenzie soils come from marine sediment from when this part of Oregon was a seabed.

The soils are well drained and the roots have to work hard to find water, which creates a spiciness and structure in the wines. The structure and tannins need time to integrate and will help the wine age.

The 2018 growing season was consistently warm and dry with cool nights, which adds to the structure and balance of this wine.

While this bottle was delicious, it will continue to get more delicious as it ages in the bottle. Get more than one bottle and taste it on its journey. It will be maturing for the next 7 or so years.

The details:

41% Pommard, Chehalem Mountains AVA

29.3% 115 clone & 29.3% 777 clone, both from Yamhill-Carlton AVA

Harvested October 4^th, 2018, aged 12 months in 38% New French Oak. Bottled in December of 2019 and released Sept 2020.

111 cases produced – 13.7% abv – $40 SRP

Bells Up 2018 Titan Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

What to pair with a Titan?

Michael decided we should pair BBQ with this Titan Pinot Noir and set out to pick up a Feast for us. I was mid studying for a Wine Certification and cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. He ordered from Famous Dave’s and returned with a feast that all we had to do was plate it and open the bottle!

We headed to the rooftop deck to enjoy, St. Louis-Style Spareribs, BBQ Chicken, Texas Beef Brisket, Georgia Chopped Pork, Burnt ends (my favorite), Sweetwater Catfish, Garlic Red-skinned mashed potatoes, creamy coleslaw, Firecracker Green Beans and Corn Bread Muffins.

The 2018 Titan Pinot Noir from Bells Up had notes of red cherry, raspberry, cooked fruit, cola, nutmeg, forest floor, & tobacco on the nose. In my mouth it was more like cranberry, red cherry and candied fruit with a bit of baking spice.

Michael mentioned getting a bit of cherry Jolly Rancher, and the wine did have a juiciness about it.

It blended beautifully with the fruit and spice notes in the BBQ.

With full tummy’s and the rest of the bottle of wine, we headed downstairs to watch out beloved Vegas Golden Knight play a bit of Hockey. (We are still in the playoffs, feel free to send some love the VGKs way!)

Do you need some of this?

If you are interested in getting of a bottle of the Titan or any of the Bells Up Wines, head to their website for the details at http://bellsupwinery.com/ Then you can reach out to place your order by phone at 503.537.1328 or email [email protected].

More on the Willamette Valley by Crushed Grape Chronicles

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Robin Bell Renken I have always loved people’s stories. I spent a career in Theatre helping to tell stories, as a Stage Manager. Daily enabling artists to freely and safely tell stories through their art. Then I fell in love with wine. There are so many details, so many nuances, not just in the glass, but in the vineyard, the region and the people. As I met winemakers and vineyard owners and even the people in the tasting room excited to pour me a glass and tell me the story of this wine, I knew these were stories I wanted to share. I completed my study and became a Certified Specialist of Wine and continue learning daily as I meet and interview people in this industry.

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.

Kill Hill Pinot Noir – struggling vines making concentrated wine from Lenné Estate

Jun 2, 2021

Steve Lutz didn’t start out planning to be a winemaker. Wine found him.

He grew up in Colorado and planned to be a lawyer. In college at the University of Oregon, he had his first real experience with wine. He applied to law school and worked for a bit for an oil company, but always came back to that wine. Learning about wine was his calling. He packed up and moved to Napa.

He worked at Beringer, Franciscan, Inglenook, and Merryvale in the tasting rooms and cellar for a decade. Needing a change (and likely having that entrepreneurial spirit) he opened a pizza place in Santa Rosa. It was then that he met his wife Karen.

Four years in he sold the pizza place and he and Karen spent a year in England. Then returned to Oregon where Steve went back to work in the wine industry. That entrepreneurial urge was still there, and they started looking for a property where they could build a house and start a vineyard.

The origin of the name Lenné Estate

“People often ask about the French origins of Lenné. Then, I tell them it was born from a chicken farm west of London, England, in the small town of Wokingham.”

The Estate is named, in a fashion after Steve’s father-in-law. Karen’s father Lenny, passed away shortly before they purchased the property. It’s a much more complicated story than it initially sounds.

Originally the winery was to be named Nashgrove Lane, after the Lane that passed by Lenny’s chicken farm. Then one day Steve was looking at a photo of Lenny, it is the profile shot that you see now as a sketch on the label, “Lenny,” he thought, no “Lenné”! As he says he “French-fried” the name. He could not wait to tell Karen when she came home.

Karen was not as enthusiastic as he had anticipated. Her father was a difficult man and they had not had the best of relationships. But, he had stowed away some money that upon his death became an unexpected inheritance for her and her two siblings. It was that inheritance that allowed them to purchase the property in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. It took some time, but Steve convinced her, and today the bottles of Lenné bear a sketch of Lenny’s likeness.

Lenné Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir

This wine is the smallest production wine that they make at Lenné Estate, sourced from the highest elevation block with the poorest of the poor soils on the site. When we talk about poor soils, these are soils that make the vines dig deep to find nutrients. The name Kill Hill is because many vines don’t make it. The mortality rate on this block is the highest on the estate. In the first year, they lost 30% of the vines.

Luckily this mortality rate is only for the vines, although early on there is a story of Steve rolling their tractor on this steep section of vineyard. I guess there are multiple meanings here.

These vines are clones Dijon clones 114 and 667. You’ll find here in Oregon, that Pinot Noir clones are blended to build out the complexity of a wine in the same way that they blend Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Pinot is a transparent grape that shows off the place it is planted so a variety of Pinot Noir clones allows a winemaker a bit of room to play.

Lenne Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir and pairings

Steve notes that the Dijon 114 is all about red fruit with bright acidity and the 667 is more structured and intense.

The grapes coming from these tortured vines tend to be small, which gives you a greater skin to juice ratio when making wine. They are also very concentrated. You might think of Pinot Noir as a light to medium-bodied wine. Here at Lenné Estate and especially here on Kill Hill, they tend to have a bit more body.

My notes:

The 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir hit my nose with dusty cocoa powder, then black cherry, raspberry, and blackberry. There was a bit of bramble, a whiff of fresh eucalyptus leaves on a tree, wet stone, and a bit of steaming coffee. Behind that was a bit of cedar then savory notes and a bit of tobacco.

In my mouth, I found black cherry and blackberry with more of those mocha notes.

125 Cases Produced – 14.1% abv – $60 SRP

Finding a Pairing for the Lenné Estate Kill Hill Pinot Noir

The winery noted “blackberry, raspberry, and mocha” in the aromas and flavors of the 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir, so I ran with that as I composed my recipes.

Pinot Noir is often subjugated to lighter meats, chicken, pork, and fish. I knew this wine would have more body than a typical Pinot Noir, so we went with beef, but kept it light doing a bacon-wrapped filet, then doing a pan sauce with a bit of the wine and blackberries.

For our side, I wanted to play on the coffee notes in the wine. We roasted carrots in salt and coffee…well, coffee, and coffee grounds (reduce reuse recycle people!).

We finished with a super simple salad of spring greens and sliced almonds that I dressed with olive oil, balsamic reduction, salt, and pepper.

Did the pairings work with the Kill Hill Pinot Noir?

Hell to the Yeah! These were not complicated dishes, but they stayed true to the notes in the wine and the pairing was delicious.

The coffee salt-roasted carrots had this great sweetness that worked with the wine and the coffee notes blended the food and wine seamlessly. The Pinot has enough acid to cut through the fat in the bacon on the filet. The savory notes in the wine elevated the beef and then the berry notes in the sauce bringing it all together

We finished the evening with some store-bought brownies, that also were wonderful with the wine.

We also had an unexpected dinner guest.

Lenne Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir with pairings

Lenné Estate produces between 1500-2000 cases annually. The poor soils give the wine concentrated flavors. The wines see around 35% new French Oak and are filtered before bottling.

Their wines are available primarily through their website and in their tasting room. As you can see these wines are not available in huge quantities. They are special wines and worth seeking out. When you have one, you have something special in your hand.

You can visit their website https://www.lenneestate.com/contact to schedule a tasting. They are typically open from Thursday to Monday. They also have vineyard tours and as the world opens up again, they will likely be back to doing some seminars and other events that you can find on their site. You can also reach them in the tasting room at 503.956.2256.

They are located at 18760 NE Laughlin Road, Yamhill, OR 97148

Not too long ago we tasted the Lenné Estate 2018 Scarlett’s Reserve Chardonnay. It was a beautiful wine. You can read more about that at

Lenné Estate – Poor Soil, Hardworking Grapes and a Beautiful Reserve Chardonnay

More on Oregon Wines from Crushed Grape Chronicles

Filet Mignon with blackberry Pinot Noir sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Filet mignon is a decadent meal, but it's worth a splurge. We did a blackberry Pinot Noir pan sauce to drizzle over the filets and make this a perfect pairing with an Oregon Pinot Noir from Lenne Estate.

Ingredients

2 tbs oil (neutral or olive)
2 bacon wrapped Filet Mignons
½ pint of fresh blackberries
¼ cup Pinot Noir
1 small shallot (finely chopped)
2 tbs butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425° F
Put the blackberries in a blender and puree
Pour the berries into a fine-mesh sieve. Press through to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and save the juice for your sauce
Heat a rod iron skillet over high heat.
Add 2 tbs of oil and swirl to coat
Sear the filets for 3 minutes per side.
Do a quick spin to sear the bacon, (think of rolling a tire around your pan)
Place in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes to finish cooking
Remove the steaks from the pan and let rest under tented aluminum foil for 5 minutes, while you make the sauce
Pour all but 1 tbs of the oil from the pan, but keep all the crunchy bits that will add flavor to your sauce.
Return the pan to medium-high heat
Add the shallots and the wine to deglaze the pan stirring up the crusty bits in the bottom
Reduce by half (3 minutes)
Add the blackberry juice/puree reduce slightly
Turn the heat to low and whisk in 2 tbs of cold butter
Serve over the rested filets and garnish with fresh blackberries

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 463Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 83mgSodium 311mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 5gSugar 5gProtein 17g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Salt and coffee roasted carrots

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Roasted carrots get an earthy update, roasted in salt and coffee. This recipe is great for reusing coffee grounds! The carrots are roasted, buried in a combination of coarse salt and coffee grounds. The mixture also makes for a fun presentation, the carrots on top of the coffee and salt, looking as if they were just pulled from the dirt.

These went beautifully with the Lenne Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir, which had notes of coffee also.

Ingredients

6 carrots, remove the green (use that for pesto)
1/3 cup of coffee grounds
¼ cup of course salt
2 tbs Olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Toss the carrots in olive oil
Mix the salt and coffee (grounds) in a small bowl
Place the carrots in a glass dish side by side
Cover with the salt and coffee mixture
Roast the carrots for 15 minutes
Reduce the heat to 275 and continue to roast for another 35 to 45 minutes
Spoon the coffee mixture onto a dish and plate the carrots on top

Notes

I did not save enough coffee grounds for my recipe. No worries, I just added some freshly ground coffee to fill it out.

I also am decaf these days, so my coffee (and grounds) were decaffeinated. It does not affect the flavor.

I happened to have some pink Himalayan salt pebbles that I used. I also added some freshly ground salt and some Pinot Noir salt I happened to have. You can do this with almost any kind of salt, but I do think the coarser, the better.

And don't forget to save those carrot greens! While this is in the oven you have plenty of time to whip up a carrot top pesto!

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 168Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 0mgSodium 14228mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 4gSugar 5gProtein 1g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Lenné Estate – Poor Soil, Hardworking Grapes and a Beautiful Reserve Chardonnay

May 27, 2021

Poor soils – great wine

Steve Lutz is extremely proud of the soil in his Lenné Estate vineyard. He brags that his vineyard has the poorest soil in Yamhill County. Vines here must work hard and prove themselves to survive.

The Lenné Estate Vineyard covers 20.9 acres of steep hillside with Peavine series soils. This soil is ancient marine sediment and lacking in nutrients so the vines have to dig deep to survive. They don’t always make it, but those that do, well they make some tasty grapes. Small and concentrated these grapes turn into delicious wine.

Steve Lutz of Lenné Estate (photo courtesy Lenné Estate )

The Lenné Estate Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA

Located on the East side of the horseshoe that is the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, the vineyard sits between 420-575 feet in elevation. After founding Lenné Estate in 2000, Steve planted the first vines here in 2001. They produce between 1500 and 2000 cases each year.

The style here is mostly minimalist, with the goal to showcase the site with the fruit, letting it develop in bottle.

We received 2 wines from Lenné Estate, one of which was a Chardonnay and we felt it was appropriate to share with you today, which happens to be Chardonnay Day! Now you may have seen some posts earlier about Chardonnay Day, but the official day is not a “date” it is set as the Thursday before Memorial Day in the US. Oh, and it is still Oregon Wine Month! So…

The steep vineyard at Lenné Estate (photo courtesy Lenné Estate)

Lenné Estate 2018 Scarlett’s Reserve Chardonnay

This is only the 2^nd vintage for the Lenné Estate Scarlett’s Reserve Chardonnay. It ages 9 months in oak puncheons then does an additional 8 months “sur lie” in Stainless Steel. That “sur lie” aging gives a creaminess to the wine and a bit of bread or brioche on the nose added to the underlying notes of pear, apple, and something tart and tropical.

The wine is clean, bright, and elegant. Not flashy, but casually poised, and authentic, like a baby grand played in a cabin.

They are primarily a Pinot house, the Chardonnay in the vineyard is just a few rows on the edges. Several rows were planted in the eastern part of the vineyard in 2005 and then more grafted on the eastern side in 2015.

*This wine was received as a media sample. All opinions remain our own.

Vineyard map Lenné Estate (courtesy Lenné Estate)

Lenné Estate 2018 Scarlett's Reserve Chardonnay

Pairing Aromatic Compounds

As I looked for a pairing for this Chardonnay, I wanted to play on the apples on the nose and tie in saffron.

*Geek break: Carotenoids, aldehydes, and terpenes are volatile compounds that give saffron its aroma.

Chardonnay and apples have carotenoids also, so these things work together well.

Baked Basmati Rice with Apple and Saffron

We made a side dish of basmati rice with apples and saffron. This bakes in the oven adding crispy bits and amping up the aromas of the apple and saffron. This dish makes quite a bit! We had rice for days, so luckily it was really delicious. The apples and saffron paired beautifully with the wine. (the recipe is at the bottom)

Sea bass on white beans, cherry tomatoes, and spinach

For our main course, we splurged on sea bass, which pairs well with a crisp white wine. The Lenné Estate Chardonnay was crisp, but it also had some depth from that “sur lie” aging that seemed to call for something a little richer.

We plated our sea bass on a mixture of white beans, cherry tomatoes, and spinach cooked in chicken stock, with fresh thyme and a splash of lemon. The beans gave just the right weight to the dish and worked beautifully with the creamy notes in the Chardonnay.

We did a dessert pairing also. Well, not everything can pair perfectly. Sadly the sweetness of the dessert made the wine too acidic. (Keep in mind, it is the food that changes the wine, not the other way around. You should also make sure the wine is sweeter than the food, to avoid the wine being perceived as too acidic).

Nonetheless, this dessert did pick up on all the notes from the dinner and the wine, it stays thematically in line, just don’t sip the wine while you enjoy it.

Stuffed apples with rabri

This recipe by Tarla Dalai played to both the apple and saffron that I wanted and they are beautiful. Apples are cored and cooked in a simple syrup with saffron, stuffed with a sweetened mixture of cottage cheese (or paneer) and pistachios, and served on a lake of rabri, a North Indian sweet of milk sugar and saffron.

This evokes the flavors of this Lenné Estate Chardonnay, with the tartness of the apples and the richness of the rabri.

Want to know more about Lenné Estate?

Feel like you want to know more about Lenné Estate and its wines? No worries, we look forward to sharing more of this winery’s story with you soon, as we taste the Lenné Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir.

Until then, you can visit their website at https://www.lenneestate.com to order wines and learn more about them. If you happen to be in the Willamette Valley and want to visit, you will find details on reserving a tasting and their current hours here.

It’s Oregon Wine Month!

We did not drink nearly enough Oregon Wine this month, there are so many amazing wines in Oregon to enjoy! Check out what is still happening in the Willamette Valley to celebrate, as well as what is happening beyond in the rest of Oregon at the Oregon Wine Board Site! (check out their #PourItForward campaign on Instagram & Twitter, where you can find videos of Winemakers paying it forward, tasting and describing another winemaker’s wine!)

10 servings

Baked Basmati Rice with Apple and Saffron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This dish beautifully combines tart apple and apricot with the aromas of the fragrant basmati rice and saffron. Sliced almonds and chopped pistachios add crunch. This cooks briefly on the stove, but most of the time is in the oven, where the rice will crisp up on the edges adding another texture to the dish.

It is based on a recipe from FoodandWine.

Ingredients

¼ tsp saffron threads
¼ cup warm water
7 tbs unsalted butter
1 medium white onion
2 cloves of garlic
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
2 green onions
1/3 cup of sliced almonds
1/3 cup pistachios
8-10 apricots
1 Granny Smith apple
¼ tsp Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Finely chop the onion
Mince the garlic
Slice the green onions thinly (only the white parts)
Quarter the dried apricots
Set aside
Preheat the oven to 375°F
Crumble saffron into ¼ cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes
Heat a large skillet
Melt 4 tbs butter
Cook the onions and garlic on med heat for about 7 minutes
Stir in the cinnamon
Add the rice & stir to coat
Add the chicken stock
Add the saffron & its liquid
Season with salt
Bring to a boil
Transfer to a 9 x 13 glass baking dish
Cover with foil and Bake for 45 minutes
When the rice is done, set aside with its foil still on to cool slightly
Core the apple and slice it into 1-inch pieces, leaving the peel on. (I know this seems big, but trust me it works in the final dish)
Melt 3 tbs of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat
Add the green onions and cook for 30 seconds
Add the almonds, pistachios, and apricots and cook for 2 minutes. The apricots will just be starting to brown.
Add the apple and cook just for 1 minute until it is warm.
Stir this into the rice in the baking dish, scraping down the sides where the rice has browned.
Place in a large bowl and serve family-style.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10 servings

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 231Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 24mgSodium 275mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 2gSugar 7gProtein 6g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

2 servings

Sea bass on white beans, cherry tomatoes and spinach

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This recipe marries the freshness of the fish with the warm savoriness of the beans. It is quick and easy to make. We went with 2 larger sea bass fillets, but you could easily cut these in half and serve 4.

This paired beautifully with an Oregon Chardonnay from Lenne Estate.

It is based on a recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

2 (8-oz.) sustainable skinless sea bass fillets
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2/3 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 (15-oz.) can unsalted white beans (Great Northern White, Cannellini or Navy Beans any will do), rinsed and drained
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Heat a non-stick skillet big enough to hold your fillets of seabass over medium-high heat.
Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper
Add 1 tbs of olive oil to the skillet and swirl to coat
Add the fish cooking 3 minutes per side
Remove the fish and tent with foil to keep warm
Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in the skillet again over medium-high heat
Add the sliced garlic and cook until golden brown, stirring often (about 1 minute)
Add the thyme and tomatoes and cook for 1-minute stirring often
Add the chicken stock and beans and bring to a simmer.
Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring until it wilts.
Squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper
Plate the beans in the bottom of a serving dish, and serve with the seabass on top
Garnish with extra sliced cherry tomatoes and fresh thyme

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 428Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 18gCholesterol 31mgSodium 607mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 9gSugar 4gProtein 26g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

4 servings

Stuffed Apples with Rabri

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Sweet rabri (a milk sweet from Northern India) makes the bed for these saffron poached apples with a sweet filling of paneer and pistachios. These are the perfect balance of tart and sweet, crisp and creamy. This is based on a recipe from Tarla Dalal.

Ingredients

4 small apples
1 2/3 cup sugar (divided)
1 cup water
10 saffron strands (divided)
¼ cup crumbled paneer (or cottage cheese)
¼ cup chopped pistachios
2 tbs powdered sugar
2 2/3 cups of milk

Instructions

Dissolve 5 saffron strands in 1 tbs of water
Combine sugar and 1 cup of water in a deep pan, mix and boil stirring constantly
Add the saffron mixture and mix
Pull off the heat
Core the apples
Add the apples to the syrup and mix well
Simmer 5-6 minutes till apples are soft, turning twice
Remove and drain apples
Mix the paneer or cottage cheese with the pistachios and powdered sugar
Divide the filling into 4 portions and stuff each apple
Heat the milk in a non-stick pan and simmer stirring constantly until reduced by 1/3
Add the sugar and saffron and mix well.
Simmer 15 min until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is thick and creamy
Just before serving heat the rabri and place the stuffed apples in the mixture and heat
Serve immediately.

Notes

Ideally you would have an apple corer for this job. If, like me, you don't have one (and I couldn't find one at the grocery store!) you can use the old school method my husband taught me that his grandmother used. From the top of the apple make 4 cuts with your paring knife straight down through the apple. Turn the apple over to be sure you can see your cut in the bottom. Push the core out (you might have to check and see if the square is bigger on the top or the bottom, push from the smaller side toward the larger side, if this is the case).

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 574Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 18mgSodium 185mgCarbohydrates 120gFiber 5gSugar 103gProtein 9g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Bells Up

Typically when you see a French horn being played, you see the bell (the horn part where the sound comes from) pointed down and to the side of the musician. Typically also they have their hand and perhaps a cloth in the bell to soften the sound.

Upon occasion, like in Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, the composer will add a note in the music “Pavillons en l’air” or “Schalltricter auf” which means “Bells Up”.

The idea is that the bell of the French Horn at this point is pointed up so that more of the sound is sent straight out to the audience.

At the same time, you can’t keep your hand in the bell here, so the sound is louder and meant for hearty passages!

So why would you name a winery Bells Up?

Dave Specter had played French Horn throughout high school and college. He then went on to become a corporate tax attorney. Yeah, that is as horrible and stressful as it sounds. So, he escaped and turned to something he loved and that was winemaking. It began with making wine in the basement. After working at Henke Winery in Cincinnati and then winning a couple of amateur winemaking competitions he and his wife Sara up and moved to Newberg Oregon, in the Willamette Valley.

Bells Up Winery is Dave’s “Bells Up” moment. He has found what he loves to do and he is doing it loudly and proudly!

It’s also a nod to Bell Road where their winery is located.

Bells Up Winery

The winery is in the Chehalem Mountains AVA where they have a 9-acre estate vineyard, planted to Pinot Noir and Seyval Blanc. Established in 2013 their winery is young. Their first vintage release was Memorial Day 2015 and we are celebrating their 6^th anniversary of releasing wine with a Memorial Day feast! We are also celebrating Oregon Wine Month!

First, let me tell you about the wines

*These wines were received as media samples. All opinions remain our own.

Bells Up 2020 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley

The wine is named for George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. I have fond memories of this piece. (I can hum it to you in its entirety). You perhaps know it as the music from those old United Air Lines commercials. When Gershwin wrote this piece, it was groundbreaking.

He combined jazz with classical music. That clarinet glissando that introduces the piece is unmistakable.

The 2020 Rhapsody Pinot Bland is a new wine for Bells Up. This 100% Pinot Blanc came from a difficult vintage (well, a difficult year all around for all of us). The fruit comes from Plum Hill vineyard in Gaston Oregon.

This vineyard sits on the other side of the Tualatin River from the Chehalem Mountains AVA and these Pinot Blanc vines are 13 years old.

2020 delivered a cool wet June, right at the time of flowering, and meant fewer grapes at harvest. Then there was the fear of smoke taint from the fires, which luckily these grapes were free from.

They found this fruit “Lithe and Lively” and call this a jazzy white (so it is aptly named!). They aged it sur lie in Stainless Steel for 6 months. This adds body to the wine, rounding it out, but it still retains wonderful crispness.

46 cases produced – 12.5% abv – $28.00 SRP

Bells Up 2020 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains AVA

The name of this wine comes from one of Franz Liszt’s 12 Symphonic Poems, a genre that he created. Liszt was originally a performer, he was one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time.

In his middle age, his mistress, the unhappily married Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, convinced him to stop performing and compose full time. He dedicated this piece to her.

The piece is a series of passages which used dissonance for harmonic color.

Hmm… so do we see this reflected in the wine?

We’ve mentioned the difficulties of this season of 2020, we mention the dissonance in the music. We often think of rosé as a cheerful wine.

There is not a lot of depth in a typical rosé it doesn’t sit on the skin very long, it comes out bright-eyed and a bit naïve, not having touched all the difficulties that the skin of the grape endured throughout the year, being made mostly of the juicy protected pulp of the grape. This wine is different.

This wine did a cold soak for 24 hours and then was lightly pressed. This gave the skins time to impart some of the lessons learned over the year to this wine. It is joyful despite adversity, not because it was sheltered from it.

The nose is at first dusty with bright red fruit beneath it as well as bramble, you know, the prickly part of the bushes that create such delicious fruit. It is a blend of light and dark.

So while joyful, this wine has depth and a sense of seriousness to it.

109 cases produced – 13.5 abv – $24 SRP

Bells Up 2020 Prelude Rose of Pinot Noir from Chehalem Mountian AVA

A Memorial Day Celebration

So to pair with the 6^th anniversary of their first release and these two lovely wines, we put together a small feast to enjoy in the backyard with friends. Yes, Memorial Day is a few days away…we celebrated early to bring you ideas for your own backyard pairings!

Halibut sliders with garlic parmesan aioli

So simple. Michael threw these on the grill in some foil and then they were dressed with an aioli sauce of grated parmesan, garlic, and mayo and topped with fresh thyme. (our thyme came from the backyard and Michael picked it as we plated since the plant was only 5 feet from the table!)

These were PERFECT with the Pinot Blanc!

Halibut sliders with garlic parmesan aioli with the Bells Up 2020 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc

Mexican Street Corn

Street corn is new to me! I know, I’m behind the times here. I made a quick sauce of mayo, sour crème, lime zest, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt and pepper.

This is painted onto the corn after it is grilled, then you roll them in crumbled cotija cheese. So good!

With the Pinot Blanc, the cotija cheese was so flavorful!

Watermelon balls with kiwi and basil

With it just being two of us, a whole watermelon is just too much. I picked up one of those tiny watermelons. We made watermelon balls, sliced up a kiwi, and added some fresh basil.

Bahn mi inspired sausage dogs

I was determined not to have plain hotdogs or your typical topping. Michael found brioche buns and grilled up some sausage, we used a honey mustard dressing (stone ground mustard, mayo, and honey).

A smear of the dressing goes in the bottom of the bun, then we added thin ribbons of carrot and cucumber, the sausage, and topped it with more of the mustard mixture and fresh mint. YUM!

I decided it was worth trying this with the Pinot Blanc and was rewarded. The Pinot Blanc brought out the smokiness in the sausage in a wonderful bright way. This was an unusual pairing, interesting and delicious.

Hamburger sliders with bleu cheese and fig jam

I mean really how can you go wrong. The ingredients are all there in the title, juicy little burgers topped while they are hot with bleu cheese and finished with a dollop of fig jam, all sandwiched in a Kings Hawaiian Sweetbread roll. We did do these healthier by using the wheat rolls. LOL

The rosé really made the bleu cheese pop!

Hamburger sliders with bleu cheese and fig jam

Prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe

Simple, sweet, and savory. I find making these almost a meditation in the midst of cooking a bunch of dishes. slice the canteloupe and gracefully wrap each slice with a delicate thin piece of prosciutto.

The savoriness of the prosciutto and the sweetness of the canteloupe made this go well with the rosé

BBQ sliders with purple slaw

I cheated here and picked up BBQ, it was smoky and sweet and delicious. We topped it with slaw from purple cabbage, apple, cucumber, and carrot, with a dressing of mayo, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.

This was stunning with the rosé, the wine picking up on those sweet notes in the bbq sauce.

BBQ with purple slaw of cabbage, apple, cucumber & carrot in a sweet dressing, to pair with the Bells Up 2020 Prelude Rose of Pinot Noir

Salt & Pepper Potato Chips for our Memorial Day Feast

Oh and potato chips. Michael picked up salt and pepper crinkle chips that were the perfect crunch.

I encourage you to find a bottle of these wines, to pair for Memorial Day or any day this summer. Perhaps tune into these pieces of music and see how they pair. I’ll leave you with links.

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic (1976)

Liszt: Les Preludes, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

We look forward to tasting the Bells up 2018 Titan in the not to distance future and sharing with you more about this winery and its story.

Until then, you can find them online at Bells Up Winery.

If you will be in the Willamette Valley and want to book a tasting, you can do that! They are a micro-boutique winery (ie. really small). The best part about that is the personal service. Call and schedule a one on one tasting with Dave himself! You can reach them at 503.537.1328 or email them at [email protected].

It’s Oregon Wine Month!

More on Willamette Valley Wineries from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Sokol Blosser Celebrating 50 years – an inside peek at the family behind this pioneering winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley

May 4, 2021

“I remember that story just slightly differently…”.

A family gathered, reminiscing, telling stories. It’s a joyful place to be, as a guest listening as a family shares their stories, with joy and fondness. It’s especially joyful when the family sharing the stories is one of the pioneers of wine in the Willamette Valley.

I was lucky enough to attend a virtual tasting with the Sokol Blosser family. Susan, Bill, Alex, and Alison (assisted by the wonderful Liz Barret), invited a group of wine writers to taste through 4 of their wines as they shared stories of the history of their winery and celebrated 50 years in the Willamette Valley.

When I first became interested in wine, we planned a trip to the Willamette Valley. Before going, I had picked up the book, “At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life” by Susan Sokol Blosser. She shared both the trials and tribulations of being one of the first handful of winemaking families to plant in what is now such a well-known region. I was completely taken in by her story.

The family at Sokol Blosser, Susan, Alex, Alison and Bill (photo courtesy Sokol Blosser)

The story of Sokol-Blosser

The Sokol-Blosser story begins as Bill says with “Dreamers who loved wine.”

Susan’s father had a cellar and many amazing bottles of Burgundy, that the two were lucky enough to experience. Bill spent a year in France. When the two graduated from Stanford and married, both with liberal arts degrees they had the feeling that they could do anything. What they decided to do was move to Oregon and grow Pinot Noir. They began planting in 1971 in the Dundee Hills, 34 years before the area became its own AVA.

In 1977 they had their first vintage. There was no wine industry in the region at that time. As to sustainability? Well, they were farmers first, so sustainability just seemed common sense. You take care of the land if you want it to produce well, and you avoid chemicals because you are raising kids on this land!

The property they found in the Dundee Hills, was the closest thing to a Burgundian climate in the new world. It was an abandoned prune orchard and they bought it just 2 weeks after the birth of their son Nik.

They got in at the right time for land prices. The family joked that while they would love to buy more property to expand the vineyard now, they are priced out of their own backyard. The Dundee Hills when they started had a handful of growers, today there are close to 65.

Not only did they get in at the right time for land prices, but they were also starting as the local Oregon bean farms were converting to bush beans! This meant a plethora of leftover wire and posts were available for grape trellising!

As they shared vintage photos with us Bill was teased about his beret, which he brought back from France. Susan said he would only take it off to shower or sleep. Bill claims

Bill Blosser in his beret (photo courtesy Sokol-Blosser)

“I had to wear it in the vineyard because the vines demanded it!”

They pushed forward, planting vines, welcoming Alex to the family, building a winery, opening a tasting room (the first in Oregon), gaining international recognition, and then having Alison join the family!

Susan became the President of the winery in 1991 and Bill returned to using his Stanford degree for urban planning.

The 2nd Generation of Sokol Blosser

The children were raised to choose their own path and of course, none of them thought that included working at the family winery. Bill and Susan knew first-hand how tough this business was and wanted their kids to have a life! They had not planned the business as one to hand down, they were just doing their thing. Nik really did escape, and Alex with his BS in Philosophy (don’t laugh it is a Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State) and Alison were determined not to come back.

Nonetheless, the vineyard drew them back in. (Really, where can you find a cooler job?) In 1998 Alex returned, and in 2004 Alison did also. Finally, in 2008 the two took over the daily operations. They joke that their mom always says it took two of them to replace the one of her!

The Historic Accolades and Firsts

But that’s just the short story, of course, they skipped many of the accolades, so I’ll give you a quick list here:

1979 International recognition at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London.
1983 honored by the US Soil and Water Conservation District for Susan’s work with experimental cover crops to control erosion on hillside vineyards.
1996 The first winery to be certified “Salmon-Safe”
1997 joins LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) through Oregon State University
2002 their underground barrel cellar is the first winery building in the country to be LEED-certified and they start to transition to organic farming.
2007 they add solar which provides 1/3 of their total energy needs.
2015 they become B Corp Certified

Of course, there is more. Bill was active in the Development of the Oregon Winegrowers Association, the Oregon Wine Board, the Yamhill County Wineries Association, the International Pinot Noir Festival, and the Yamhill County Tourism board.

Susan led on the environmental front with her work on cover crops and leading the business into the triple bottom line concept of people, planet, and profit.

Okay, you get the idea…they have been leaders in the wine industry in Oregon, a state that leads the nation when it comes to wine industry standards for quality and sustainability.

Alex is now the winemaker, a position he took over in 2013 when their previous winemaker Russ Rosner retired after 15 years with Sokol Blosser. Alex was also involved in the process of submitting the 6 sub-AVAs Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountains, and Ribbon Ridge, beginning in 2002.

Alison is the person guiding the winery strategically. She puts to use her knowledge of PR and marketing. She led our tasting as only a little sister could, sharing photos of Alex asleep in the sandbox as a child and commenting on his numerous baseball analogies. We left feeling like we had been sitting around with the family for a bit of nostalgic storytime, and what a story it is.

Of course, there were also the wines!

As if enjoying the stories of the history of Sokol Blosser, straight from the mouths of the people who lived it was not enough, we were also sent 4 wines from the vineyard. Their Sokol Blosser Bluebird Cuvee Sparkling Wines, the 2018 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, the 2018 Old Vineyard Block Pinot Noir and the 2012 Big Tree Block Pinot Noir. So we were able to taste a bit of the history with them.

(*These wines were received as media samples, but all opinions remain our own)

Sokol Blosser Bluebird Cuvée Sparkling Wine 2018

We toasted with this traditional method sparkling wine at the top of the session. Sokol Blosser has long supported the Prescott Western Bluebird Recovery Project. The Western Bluebird artwork on the label was designed by Jared Tuttle. If you visit Sokol Blosser you might see the 15 bird houses around the property providing shelter and a breeding habitat for these beautiful birds.

The wine is a blend of grapes from Oregon and Washington including Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of course, but also, Müller Thurgau and Riesling as well as a bit of Early Muscat.

Alex told us that the idea is to blend the best of Germany and France and then the Early muscat is added to lift the aromatics (just 2 to 3 %). They like freshness in this wine, with purity of fruit.

The wine is definitely aromatic, those notes of Riesling and Early Muscat giving the sparkling wine fruit notes. We paired this with an early dinner of spring rolls, fried chicken, and mac & cheese (all great pairings for sparkling wine.)

1,000 cases produced, SRP $32

Pairings for the Sokol Blosser Bluebird Cuvee

Sokol Blosser Bluebird Cuvée Sparkling Wine 2018

Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir 2018

This wine is sourced from the 90 acres around the winery in the Dundee Hills, all certified organic. They did a lot of ambient yeast in 2018 because the fruit was so clean. They do punch downs for cap management and ferment in open-top fermenters then press off into barrel for about 16 months.

It is is a blend of Pinot Noir clones including 115, 667, 777, Pommard UCD4, Wadenswil 2A, and Gamay Beaujolais (which is a weird name for a type of Pinot Noir). This saw about 20% New Oak. 2018 was a great vintage with a balanced of ripe fruit, good acid, and good tannins. 2012 was similar.

This wine has notes of black cherry and cranberry and wonderful notes of mushroom and forest floor.

4,798 cases produced, SRP $42.

Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir 2018

Sokol Bosser 2018 Old Vineyard Block Estate Pinot Noir 2018

This 50^th Anniversary wine has a retro label, an ode to the original Sokol Blosser label from the 70s.

The vineyard was replanted on to new rootstock in the mid-90s, due to phylloxera (they were the 2^nd to get it in the region).

After replanting, they looked at the blocks which had been producing stand-alone wines. This the Old Vineyard block which was their first planting. It is a combination of Wadenwil 1A (the Lett clone)& 2A, Pommard and Pinot Droit. Pinot Droit is an upright clone of Pinot Noir. This has a bit more weight and intensity with more color from the Pinot Droit, red fruit from Pommard, and density and spice from the Wadenswil, when it gets ripe.

You’ll find notes of cherry, pomegranate, spice, and leather.

There were just 496 cases made of this wine, and the celebration bottling retails at $60.

Sokol Bosser 2018 Old Vineyard Block Estate Pinot Noir 2018

Sokol Blosser 2012 Big Tree Block Pinot Noir

2012 was like 2018 in that it was an amazing vintage. It was also Alex’s first vintage as winemaker and he didn’t think he would see another like it.

Alex had a baseball analogy (Alison teases him about these analogies, but she also does give him props, that they are all unique, he doesn’t repeat them!)

“The winemaker, he or she, they are the batter and Mother Nature is the pitcher…as a batter, you have to make adjustments every year, because you are never going to see the same pitch twice. And if you see the same pitch, you make the pitcher pay. In a vintage like 2012 and 2018, that’s a pitch we’ve seen before, so you hit it out of the park.”

One sip of this wine…it is complex and you can taste the age, but there are still plenty of fresh primary fruit notes. In 2012 they went without rain for a month. From the end of September, they were dry and could pick whenever they wanted. Alex says it was like being in California! They had the ability in this vintage to ripen the grapes as much as they wanted to, there was no rushing to pick to avoid the rain.

The Big Tree Block is 5.27 acres at 450-500 ft elevation in Jory soil. The clones are 115, 777, and Pommard. Just 300 cases were produced. It spent 17 months in 42% new French oak.

$70 upon release, this library wine now retails at $95, and it is worth every penny. This is a magical wine. Tart cherries, blueberries, baking spice, and those beautiful notes of wet leaves…I savored this glass.

Sokol Blosser 2012 Big Tree Block Pinot Noir

The next 50 years at Sokol Blosser

Now they get ready for the next 50 years. The goal is to keep Sokol Blosser family-owned and operated and that means continuing to make wines that consumers seek out.

Quality and sustainability are at the forefront. Last year they started distributing the Evolution wines in box! These are more sustainable than glass., and they can share this at an accessible price point! Recently, they were recertified by B Corp for the 3^rd time and their score went up 25%. (Congrats!)

They are experimenting with new varieties for them, like Gamay and Sav Blanc, and continue to move forward with their Sparkling wine program.

As they plant they are looking at new rootstocks which will be helpful with climate change. They planted a test block this spring, putting the same Pinot Noir clone on a bunch of different rootstocks that they do not already use, to see how it does. They want to set the next generation up for success as they will deal with more of the effects of climate change than we are currently.

As they slowly reopen they look forward to increasing the quality of the wine/food/hospitality experience. So if you find yourself able to travel, you might consider a trip to the Willamette. Stop in for a glass of sparkling and stay to enjoy the Pinot!

Currently they are open Thursday to Monday 10 am to 4 pm by reservation only. Call ahead or visit the website to see what their current hours are for tastings and if you need a reservation, as these things are changing as things reopen.

Sokol Blosser Winery

5000 NE Sokol Blosser Lane
Dayton, OR 97114 USA
503-864-2282

Sokol Blosser Vineyard Fall 2018 (photo courtesy Sokol Blosser)

More on Oregon wine Country from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Tea smoked tuna and roasted beets with an aromatic plating paired with a Utopia 2017 Pinot Noir

Mar 17, 2021

We received this beautiful Pinot Noir from Utopia Vineyards as a media sample. What to pair with it? Tea and umami are notes that are often present in Pinot Noir, it is also noted for its earthy notes. The tasting notes from the winery mentioned rosemary and spice notes, so I wrapped this all up in a dish that made me excited to get cooking.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Smoked Tuna with Roasted Golden Beets and Rosemary

Rather than salmon, we decided to go a bit bolder with tea smoked tuna. I looked for ahi but was only able to find Yellowfin, which worked beautifully.

I riffed on a recipe by Feasting at Home, for tea-smoked five-spiced salmon, using the Chinese smoking technique she describes. We plated this on a bed of rosemary roasted golden beets.

Utopia 2017 Pinot Noir with Lavender Earl Grey tea smoked Yellowfin Tuna with roasted golden beets with rosemary

It’s easier than you think

I know this dish sounds fancy, and it is! It looks like something they would cook on one of those fancy cooking competition shows! The truth is, this is not hard to do at home. Quite honestly it was easier than most recipes I put together.

You do need a few pieces of equipment: A wok, a metal vegetable steamer, aluminum foil and a set of bowls that you can nest one larger than the other, for individual serving.

The tuna needs to marinate for 30 minutes and while it is doing that, you can get everything else prepped. Start to finish you can do this dinner in less than an hour. Perfect for a romantic dinner!

Tea smoked tuna ingredients with a Utopia 2017 Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir

Start with the marinade

We began with a marinade of garlic, ginger, olive oil, soy sauce, honey, blood orange juice, and zest with some brewed tea. I incorporated my lavender earl grey tea here. All the ingredients mix up quickly in a blender, then go into a zip lock bag with the tuna steaks. This heads to the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or more).

Preparing your wok for smoking

So let’s get to this smoking in the wok. It’s genius. I love smoked foods, but I am not a big griller, so the idea of a smoker for the patio is just not for me. The idea that I could cook tea smoked tuna and other foods on my stove inside, was very appealing.

In this method, you line the bottom of your wok with aluminum foil. I did an 8 x 8 square that was 4 layers thick. This is important to contain the mess and protect your wok.

In the center of the aluminum foil, I placed my mixture of sugar, tea, rice, and spice (I used 2 broken star anise) This should be in a 4-inch diameter pile. On top of that, you place a metal vegetable steamer. You know, the cute little ones with the feet that fold open like a flower. The feet keep the steamer above the tea mixture, you don’t want this touching the bottom of the steamer.

On to the beets

Ingredients for the rosemary roasted golden beets to pair with the Utopia Pinot Noir

Once this is prepped, you can move on to the beets. I like the golden beets because they are beautiful and have a slightly more delicate flavor than red beets. They are also decidedly less messy.

I preheated my oven to 450 degrees F, then scrubbed and sliced the beets into ¼ inch thick rounds on a mandoline. These get tossed with olive oil, fresh chopped rosemary, and salt and pepper. Lay these out on a baking sheet. I used a silicone mat under them for an easy clean-up and to keep them from browning too much. I wanted them soft, not crispy. Before these go in the oven go back and get your tuna ready to smoke.

Making the tea smoked tuna

Pull the tuna out of the marinade and discard the marinade (after having raw fish in it, it’s no longer safe to eat unless you boil it). Blot just the bottom of the tuna and place them in the steamer basket so that they are not touching.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and top with a lid (ideally a glass lid).

Now you can put your beets in the oven for 20 minutes, but set your timer to start checking on them after 15 minutes.

Place the wok on the stove over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. You should start to see puffs of smoke. *Tip: turn your vent on! I did not and was watching and watching and not seeing smoke. After 5 minutes, I turned on the vent, and then I could see the smoke. This caused me to slightly overcook my tuna from where I had originally wanted it.

Once you see the puffs of smoke, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 5 to 8 minutes (5 gets you rarer tuna).

Prepping your plates

While that is cooking, prep your dish for plating. Turn on your kettle with some water to boil. Pull out bowls that you can nest one inside the other for plating. In the larger bottom bowl place sprigs of fresh rosemary and one or two star anise. Place the bowl for your beets and tuna on top in the center.

When your tuna is done smoking, sear it on each side in a rod iron skillet for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.

Pull the beets from the oven and layer them in your bowl, place the tea smoked tuna on top.

*While I did not do this, I would suggest adding a drizzle of sauce to the top of this. A mixture similar to your marinade with a bit of miso, warmed on the stove, that you can drizzle on top. Finish this with some julienned strips of orange zest.

The magic of serving this

To serve, put your hot water in a teapot and gently pour the water into the bottom bowl with the rosemary and anise. This will create lovely aromatic steam which will enhance the dish and add to the wine pairing.

Utopia 2017 Pinot Noir with tea smoked tuna with rosemary and anise scented steam

Additional pairings

With this Pinot Noir, we also enjoyed a cheese plate with camembert macerated with ground clove and five-spice topped with black cherry and rosemary and a dessert of mini-pineapple upside-down cakes topped with the same compote. The cherry and rosemary, as well as the caramelized notes on the pineapple, worked wonderfully with the wine.

About the Utopia 2017 Estate Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge

The Utopia 2017 Estate Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir but from multiple clones (variations on the Pinot Noir variety). This gives winemaker Dan Warnshuis the ability to make a beautiful blended Pinot Noir. You can read more on this wine and winery here.

You can visit Utopia located in Washington’s Willamette Valley, more specifically in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, by booking an appointment on their website https://www.utopiawine.com/visit-us. They also have a cabin on their property, which is perfect for a bit of a getaway!

Lavender and Earl Grey tea smoked yellowfin tuna on roasted golden beets with rosemary plated with steamed aromas of rosemary and star anise

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Stick with me here. This sounds really fancy (and it looks really fancy too), but it is really not difficult! A little marinade, a bit of time with a pretty simple stovetop smoking technique. The fancy steam plating? You can make hot water, right?

You do need a few kitchen items to make this work, a zip lock bag, a wok, aluminum foil, a metal vegetable steamer, a skillet to sear the tuna, and a sheet pan for the zucchini. For the plating, you just need 2 bowls that will fit together, one larger than the other, for the rosemary, star anise, and hot water, under the dish holding your tuna and beets.

Cooking time is 20 minutes, add 30 minutes to marinate the tuna and 10 minutes for it to rest.

I've laid the recipe out to cook the beets and tuna simultaneously.

This is so elegant. The flavors and aromas are spectacular. I think I might be hooked on tea smoking tuna! This will also work on salmon.

We paired this with an Oregon Pinot Noir, from Utopia Vineyard that we received as a sample.

Ingredients

2-3 Yellowfin Tuna steaks
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbs fresh ginger sliced
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs brewed tea
3 tbs honey
¼ cup blood orange juice
1/2 tsp grated blood orange zest
3 tbs rice
2 tbs Lavender and Earl Grey tea leaves
2 tbs sugar
6 whole star anise
2 golden beets slice ¼ inch thick
¼ cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup fresh rosemary
4 large sprigs of fresh rosemary

Instructions

Mix the garlic, ginger, ¼ cup of olive oil, soy sauce, brewed tea, honey, blood orange juice, and zest in a blender until mixed.
Place your tuna in the zip lock bag and pour the marinade in.
Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Prep the wok
Make an 8-inch square of aluminum foil 4 layers thick, place in the bottom of the wok
Mix the sugar, tea, rice, and 2 of the star anise together
Place the mixture in the center of the foil flattening to a 4-inch diameter circle
Place the metal vegetable steamer on top, being sure the bottom does not touch the mixture
Prep the beets
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
Scrub the beets and slice into ¼ thick rounds on a mandolin
Toss with olive oil, chopped, rosemary, salt, and pepper
Place on a baking sheet
Smoke the Tuna Roast the beets
Pull the tuna from the marinade and blot the bottom of the tuna with a paper towel
Place the tuna in the steam basket so they are not touching
Cover the wok with aluminum foil and place the lid on top
Put the beets in the oven for 20 minutes, checking on them after 15
Place the wok on the stove over high heat for 2 -3 minutes (you should see puffs of smoke)
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 8 minutes
Prep your dishes for plating.
Turn on the kettle to boil some water
Pull out your nested bowls for plating
Put two sprigs of rosemary and 2 whole star anise in each of the larger bowls
When your tuna is done smoking, sear each side in a rod iron skillet for about 1 minute
Pull the beets from the oven. Layer them in the bottom of your small bowls. Place the tuna on top.
Place the small bowls in the larger bowls with rosemary and star anise
Pour the boiling water into the larger dish
Enjoy immediately with a delicious Pinot Noir, letting the fragrant steam wash over you and add to the experience

Notes

***I did not have the vent hood on and was watching closely for the smoke. After 5 minutes and no smoke, I turned on the hood, and then I could see the smoke rising. As a result, my tuna was a bit more cooked than I would have liked, but it was still delicious.

*** I left mine smoking for 8 minutes and it was just slightly pink inside. If you would like your tuna steak to be closer to rare, go with 5 minutes.

A sauce might have been nice….

Looking back, I would have made a light sauce to pour on top of this. Use similar ingredients to the marinade and make a sauce on the stove. If you do this, I might suggest adding some miso to it for extra flavor.

Garnishes

I totally meant to top this with small curls or julienned slices of orange zest, but in the fray, I forgot.

More on Utopia!

We also did a pairing with the Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay. You can find that recipe and pairing here!

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay with an aromatic salad and warm cozy pork chops with apples

Mar 10, 2021

When I was looking for a pairing for a beautiful Utopia Chardonnay we received as a sample, I went to a book I have been reading to find the aromas and flavors that would pair.

As of late, I have been diving into François Chartier’s book “Taste Buds and Molecules – The art and science of food and wine”. It’s pretty fascinating. It breaks down scientifically why some pairings are so wonderful, and inspires new creations.

I knew from the wineries tasting notes, that I was likely to find “notes of pineapple, banana, citrus, and white peach”. I cross-referenced this with the notes in the book on Chardonnay as well as my knowledge of what I knew to be good Chardonnay pairings.

This 2017 Utopia Chardonnay from the Ribbon Ridge AVA, was a whole cluster press. It aged in multiple vessels, 20% new French oak, 40% neutral French oak, and 40% stainless steel.

So…do look at this as an oak-aged Chardonnay or a stainless steel chardonnay? Stainless steel would have more anise notes, whereas barrel-aged leans to spice.

I narrowed my list a bit and came up with these potential elements to include:

Yellow apples, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, citrus fruit, dried lavender, dried rosebuds, eucalyptus, fresh figs, ginger, juniper berries, leeks, mint, paprika, parsley, pink grapefruit, quince, rosemary, rosewater, sage, spruce beer, basil.

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay Ribbon Ridge AVA

Well, that’s a pretty diverse list, right? A bit more fine-tuning and we settled on…

Avocado, roasted blood orange, and kumquat salad with a citrus, cardamom, and rosewater dressing

&

Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter & maple

Avocado, roasted blood orange, and kumquat salad with citrus, cardamom, and rosewater dressing

This dish tied in the notes of citrus from the wine and layered in the notes of cardamom and rosewater. The avocado added a bit of fat and creaminess. I will admit that this was my first time working with cardamom and rose water and I am kind of swoony about it! The fragrance of this salad made me a little weepy with joy. Scent memory is a thing, and I was transported back to my mother’s rosebushes. The aromatics were wonderful.

On top of that, the dish is a real stunner. The colors really pop and you get multiple textures.

I chose blood oranges, mostly for the drama. I knew I was going to roast them and I loved the thought of them coming out so dark and dramatic. The juice also lent a lovely deep color to the dressing.

So I sliced the blood orange and kept the ends to juice. The slices got tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted for 15 minutes at 425. In the meantime, I worked on the rest of the dish.

The dressing was a citrus mix of lemon, lime, and blood orange juice, then olive oil, of course, salt, pepper, honey, cardamom, and rose water. The cardamom I had in pods which I crushed with the flat side of a knife and popped out the seeds. Since we were filming, I went the pretty route (although it takes more muscle) and used the mortar and pestle to grind the cardamom seeds. You can easily toss them in a spice grinder or your coffee grinder, just wash it!

I stirred things up in a bowl and as usual, was not happy with the emulsification of the olive oil, so I used my favorite trick and threw it in a jar and shook it!

I sliced up a shallot into thin strips and tossed the shallot and roasted blood oranges (once they had cooled) with ½ of my dressing.

The rest went into the bottom of my salad bowl. I tossed my greens in on top. I used red leaf lettuce and some sliced purple cabbage and mixed them with the dressing. I sliced up my avocado to lay out on top, the blood oranges were next, followed by the shallot and sliced kumquats.

I finished the dish with a sprinkle of sliced almonds and dried rose petals.

With the Utopia Chardoannay, I found that the wine popped the rosewater note. It was bright but not overpowering and balanced well with the salad, amping up the brighter notes, like the kumquats, and blending beautifully with the rest.

Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter & maple

I knew I was going with white meat and chicken can just be so boring…so I pulled out 2 boneless pork chops. Pork and apples are classic, right? This tied in the Yellow apple note.

Cinnamon & maple were other spice notes that I thought might pair with the wine. Apple butter (which is typically high in cinnamon) was slathered on the pork chops after they were seared.

Then the yellow apple slices are cooked in butter with garlic and fresh sage for just a couple of minutes.

The slathered pork chops returned to the pan and the whole thing was drizzled with maple syrup. Then this hits the broiler for 2 minutes to finish it off.

The yellow apple was still a bit firm and was great with this Utopia Chardonnay, the aromatics of the apple, cinnamon, and maple were heavenly. We found the dish pulled out tropical notes in the wine.

Again, a really lovely pairing, and the butter, maple, apple juices in the bottom of the pan? Don’t waste those, they are delicious! Drizzle them over your pork and apples and savor those aromas.

Ingredients for pork chops with yellow apples with Utopia Chardonna

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay pairings Avocado and Roasted Blood Orange with kumquats in a citrus, rosewater and cardamom dressing and Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter, and maple

2017 Utopia Estate Chardonnay

A few details on the wine. The Utopia Vineyard & Winery is located in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, which is one of those Russian Doll AVAs, it sits within the Chehalem Mountain AVA which sits within the larger Willamette Valley AVA.

Utopia is a small producer and they only made 337 cases of this wine. As I mentioned, it is whole cluster pressed and spends 11 months in 20% New French oak, 40% neutral French oak, and 40% stainless steel. It is 13.2% abv and runs $45 a bottle.

We also tasted the Utopia 2017 Estate Pinot Noir watch for the recipe details on our pairing with that wine, coming out soon!

To learn more about Utopia Wines visit our post

Oregon’s Utopia – A bit of vineyard perfection in the Ribbon Ridge AVA

More on Oregon Wines

We collected our stories on a page called Oregon Wine Country. You will find information on the state and some of it’s AVAs as well as wineries we have visited, some interviews with winemakers and more recipes.

Oregon Wine Country on Crushed Grape Chronicles

Avocado, roasted blood orange and kumquat salad with a citrus, cardamom, and rosewater dressing

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This salad is meant to be eyecatching. A bed of greens with purple cabbage to help it pop, topped with creamy avocado, roasted blood orange slices, and tart pops of kumquat are dressed with an aromatic dressing of lemon, lime, and blood orange juice with cardamom, and rosewater. The scent of roses mingling with the citrus is enchanting. The kumquats bring a great pop of acidity and the creaminess of the avocado is a great contrast. It is definitely a show-stopper!

Don't be afraid to mix this recipe up with different citrus, greens, and even spices!

We paired this with a beautiful Oregon Chardonnay from the Ribbon Ridge AVA that was not too oaky and not too sharp. It was just right and sang with the food.

Ingredients

¼ cup + 2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs lime juice
2 tbs blood orange juice
1/8 tsp cardamom
1 1/2 tbs rosewater
1 shallot thinly sliced
1 avocado sliced
1 blood orange
4 oz kumquats
½ head of red leaf lettuce Salad greens
1 cup Purple cabbage
1 tbs Sliced almonds
1 tbs Dried rose petals

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
2. Slice the blood orange into slices. About 4 slices about ¼ inch thick. Keep the rest for juicing
3. Toss the slices in 2 tbs of olive oil, plus a dash of salt and pepper
4. Roast 15 minutes at 425 degrees F
5. Slice shallot into thin slices
6. Slice kumquats into 1/8 inch rounds
7. Mix dressing of the ¼ cup Olive oil, honey, juices of lemon, lime, and orange, cardamom, and rosewater. Put it in a jar and shake it!
8. Take oranges out to cool.
9. Toss cabbage and greens with ½ dressing
10. Toss shallots in ½ the dressing, then add cooled orange slices
11. Top the mixed greens & purple cabbage with shallots, blood orange slices, kumquats, sliced avocado. Finish this off with a sprinkle of sliced almonds & dried rose petals

Notes

*Sidenote on the cardamom. Rather than buying it ground, buy the pods and grind as you need it. This keeps it fresher and more fragrant. You can smash the pods with the flat side of a knife and pull out the seeds, then crush them with a mortar and pestle as I did, or if you have a spice grinder use that. I have read that you can grind them with the pods also, but I didn’t try that. Some recipes call for toasting the pods first, again, I didn’t do that with my first exploration with cardamom.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 229Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 0mgSodium 32mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 8gSugar 11gProtein 4g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter & maple

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Warm but bright these pork chops, slathered in apple butter, drizzled in maple syrup, and cooked with butter, garlic, sage, and yellow apple slices, are fragrant and delicious. Done in 20 minutes and perfect to pair with a Chardonnay.

Ingredients

2 tbs of vegetable oil
2 pork chops (mine were ¾ inch thick & boneless)
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 tbs butter
2 tbs of fresh sage
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbs apple butter
1 yellow apple apple, cored and sliced
2 tbs Maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to Broil
2. Heat a rod iron skillet with the vegetable oil
3. Sear chops 2-3 min on each side (don’t move them around)
4. Reduce the heat and cook for 3 minutes
5. Remove from the pan and tent with foil to keep warm.
6. Into the skillet add the butter, garlic, apple slices, and sage, cook 2 min
7. Spread the pork chops with apple butter
8. Add the pork back to the pan
9. Drizzle with the maple syrup
10. Brown under the broiler 2-3 min
11. Drizzle the butter from the pan over chops.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 906Total Fat 62gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 37gCholesterol 178mgSodium 385mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 5gSugar 36gProtein 41g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Oregon’s Utopia – A bit of vineyard perfection in the Ribbon Ridge AVA

Mar 4, 2021

Utopia. It’s a place of ideal perfection. That’s what Dan Warnshuis thought when he first saw the site on Oregon’s Ribbon Ridge in the Willamette Valley. The site was a horse pasture. It wasn’t even for sale. None-the-less, he walked to the door of the house on the property and knocked. The next thing you know, he had the start of his vineyard, of his own Utopia.

Dan had fallen in love with wine while working in Silicon Valley. His original plan in life was to teach math and science and coach swimming, having completed his degree at Michigan State on a swimming scholarship. But the Universe had a different path.

Out of college, and at home with his parents in the Bay area, he ended up with a job in the Tech field due to a connection of his father’s. It definitely paid better than teaching, so he didn’t look back.

Dan Warnshuis of Utopia (photo courtesy Utopia Wine)

Looking forward, however, there was the pull of wine country. His boss introduced him to some beautiful wines and he began collecting. Then he started doing a bit of import and export with wine, then marketed wines in Napa and did some custom crush work. This was all during the time of Napa’s climb into the spotlight.

By now he had visited Oregon and loved Oregon Pinot. While land prices in Napa were not friendly, in Oregon this wine thing was just getting really going, and land was available and a bit more affordable.

He found his Utopia in 2000. Soil tests followed and then the hard work of planting a vineyard. 16.8 acres of south-facing hills on Ribbon Ridge which at that time was not even its own AVA. (The AVA was established in 2005).

It is the petit nesting doll in the Willamette, contained within the Chehalem Mountains AVA, which itself sits inside the Willamette Valley AVA.

Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge AVAs (Willamette Valley Map courtesy of Willamette Valley Wine Association)

Ribbon Ridge AVA

This, the tiniest of Oregon’s AVAs, spans around 3,500 acres, with about 400 acres planted to vine. For a bit of perspective, it’s about 3 ½ miles long and 1¾ miles wide. It’s set out a little from the Chehalem Mountains, like its own island.

Soil & climate geekiness (scroll by if you want, but I love digging into the dirt!)

This AVA is protected by geographical landmasses on 3 sides, north, south, and west, so it’s warmer and drier than the valley floor.

Soils here are younger and finer sedimentary soils than you find in the regions surrounding them. These silty-clay loam soils are part of the Willakenzie series.

This is primarily marine sediment created through a tectonic upheaval 30 to 40 million years ago. The mountains came up and the sea was pushed back and this strip of land was left behind.

When Dan arrived in 2000 there were only about 7 vineyards in the Ribbon Ridge area, now there are over 40.

Planting and planning a vineyard

Luckily this was pasture land, so there were no trees to pull out. After the soil tests were complete, then the process of selecting the vines and getting them in the ground began.

The region was (and is) known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Rather than limit himself, Dan designed the vineyard to incorporate 12 different Pinot Noir clones. He can vinify each clone separately and then blend which gives him both freedom and control over his Pinot.

They farm sustainably here and became L.I.V.E. certified back in 2008.

Dan is the President of the Ribbon Ridge Winegrowers Association. This year all the members will sign a pledge to go herbicide-free. Eventually, the goal is to have everyone farming organic or biodynamic in Ribbon Ridge.

The Ribbon Ridge AVA has a pretty inspiring statement of principles. Small, but mighty.

A family affair

Dan’s first vintage was in 2005 when he made 97 cases of Pinot Noir. Since then they have increased to 2,500 cases annually from the estate with some additional bottlings with contracted fruit.

His wife Kathy and their daughter Erin round out this family business. Kathy is the “quiet inspiration” behind the brand. Erin worked side by side with her dad during the first harvest in 2005. She continues to expand her wine education and gains experience working on the family wine business.

In 2018 they purchase an additional 36 acres in Ribbon Ridge. The property had a building which they have turned into their winery. They are looking to put in another 15 acres of vineyard here on the new property including they say “some non-typical fruit varietals”. I look forward to hearing more about that!

The new property also boasts a cabin where guests can stay, nestled into the forest of the 37-acre property. The perfect getaway in the woods with all the modern amenities.

*These wines were received as media samples. All opinions are our own.

Onto the wines.

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay

The Utopia Estate Chardonnay is made up of 3 Dijon clones: 76, 95 & 96 that are planted in blocks 12, 13 & 14.

This wine is 100% whole cluster press. It spends 11 months in a mix of 20% new French oak, 40% neutral French oak, and 40% stainless steel.

13.2% abv – 337 cases made – $45 SRP

My notes:

The first thing to hit my nose was lemon pith, then lemon and green apple. There was a hint of salinity and fine notes of chalk.

The wine was soft and light on its feet. We found this opened to more tropical notes. This wine is round with a lovely texture.

Pairings for the 2017 Utopia Estate Chardonnay

Avocado Blood Orange and Kumquat salad with citrus, cardamom and rosewater dressing

With the Chardonnay, we paired a pretty complex, but visually stunning salad of Avocado, roasted blood orange, and kumquats with a dressing with citrus, cardamom, and rosewater.

The salad smelled heavenly, I was transported to my mother’s rose garden. Being new to using rosewater I was worried that it might be overpowering, but it was beautiful.

I found that the wine popped the rosewater note. It was bright but not overpowering and balanced well with the salad, amping up the brighter notes, like the kumquats, and blending beautifully with the rest.

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay with avocado, roasted blood orange and kumquat salad with a citrus, cardamom and rosewater dressing and Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay pairings Avocado and Roasted Blood Orange with kumquats in a citrus, rosewater and cardamom dressing and Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter, and maple

Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter, and maple

Our main dish was Pork chops with yellow apples, sage, apple butter, and maple.

The pork chops were seared in a rod iron skillet, then cooked for just a few minutes. They came out and the apples, butter, garlic, and sage went into the same pan. The pork chops were slathered with apple butter, put back in the pan with the apples drizzled with maple syrup, and broiled for 2 to 3 minutes.

The yellow apple was still a bit firm and was great with the wine, the aromatics of the apple, cinnamon, and maple were heavenly. We found the dish pulled out tropical notes in the wine.

Utopia 2017 Estate Pinot Noir

Here is where the clonal diversity comes into play. The Pinot Noir clones in this wine include: Wadenswil, Pommard 4 & 5, Dijon 115, 777, 667, Swan, Calera, Arcus 2 & 3, & Shea, Wadenswil.

The grapes are 80% destemmed and 20% whole cluster, aged 11 months in 40% new Burgundian oak and 60% previously-filled Burgundian oak.

14.1% abv – 1203 cases made – $48.00 SRP

My notes:

Medium ruby in color, this wine had boysenberry, currant, and fruit punch mix on the nose upon opening. It opened to black cherry and black fruit with notes of green peppercorns, rose petals and potting soil.

Pairing for the Utopia 2017 Estate Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge

A cheese plate to begin

We began with a cheese plate of manchego that I happened to have, some Iberico ham, and a Camembert cheese that I macerated with ground clove and five-spice.

Utopia Pinot Noir with manchego, Iberico ham and camembert macerated with five-spice and clove with a black cherry rosemary compote

Lavender Earl Grey Tea smoked Yellowfin Tuna with roasted golden beets and rosemary

Dinner was Lavender Earl Grey Tea smoked Yellowfin Tuna with roasted golden beets and rosemary.

This dish sounds very fancy (and it is) but it’s not very hard to do. The tuna marinates for 30 minutes in a marinade that includes some brewed tea, ginger, olive oil, garlic, honey, and orange juice.

The smoking takes place on the stove in a wok with a metal vegetable steamer and it steams it for about 10 minutes. Give it a quick sear and then plate it on a bed of the roast golden beets.

We plated this beautiful dish on a bowl of steaming rosemary and star anise, the fragrance enhancing the pairing with the wine. This really set the experience over the top.

Dessert

We finished with mini pineapple upside-down cakes with a black cherry and rosemary compote. The caramelized pineapple, cherries, and rosemary all paired well with the wine. The tartness of the cherries making this dessert pairing work.

Utopia 2017 Pinot Noir with mini pineapple upsidedown cakes with cherry rosemary compote

Here are the links directly to the recipes!

Here’s the link for the Chardonnay pairing recipes!

Utopia 2017 Estate Chardonnay with an aromatic salad and warm cozy pork chops with apples

And the Pinot Noir!

Tea smoked tuna and roasted beets with an aromatic plating paired with a Utopia 2017 Pinot Noir

Visiting Utopia

The Tasting Room at Utopia is currently open daily from 11-6. You can make an appointment on their website at https://www.utopiawine.com/visit-us

Sources and Resources

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout paired with 2 Youngberg Hill – Pinot Noirs

Jan 25, 2021

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout Recipes

I guess we are on a rainbow theme here!

These dishes were for our pairing menu, to go with 2 Pinot Noirs we received as samples from Youngberg Hill.

We did the main course of Baked Rainbow trout. This is a fish that is a little meatier and fattier to stand up to the Pinot. For our side, this rainbow root vegetable gratin, that brings in earthier notes to pair with the Pinot Noir. I know, fish and cheese? It might be a little out of the box, but it worked.

This “Rainbow” was made with beets in red and yellow, sweet potato, and parsnip.

The baked rainbow trout with its distinctive flavor and fat stood up to both of the wines, even the brooding Natasha. The rainbow root vegetable gratin really worked well, much credit should be given to the Gruyere topper for pulling the pairing together. With the blend of 4 vegetables, I found I preferred the parsnips with the Cuvée and the beets with the Natasha. Overall, a very satisfying pairing.

Scroll to the bottom for the recipe cards.

Youngberg Hill

I have a connection with this winery. Years ago, Michael and I ventured to Oregon on our first trip to explore the Willamette Valley. An old friend of mine, Adam, met us and made sure we visited Youngberg Hill, where he and his wife had recently been married. We had a lovely day and I have great memories from visiting the winery.

2016 Youngberg Hill Natasha Pinot Noir

Our notes

This wine had a very integrated nose. It was heavier than the Cuvée with more brambles and bramble fruit. It was lively in my mouth with tartness, like tart blackberry and good acid. Notes of red currant, with bits of smoky vanilla, popped up as I paired it. The finish was lengthy and mouth and gum warming.

This wine is a bit more brooding and earthier than the Cuvée.

2017 Youngberg Hill Cuvée Pinot Noir

Our notes

The nose was full of red fruit with a waft of dustiness then brambles and spice. Baked strawberry came to mind. It was bright in my mouth with med/high acid and light drifty tannins that evaporate. A medium finish that brought up bits of cola.

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

We adapted this recipe for my vegetable with our Pinot Noir pairing. I went earthier choosing a root vegetable gratin, in a rainbow of colors, with red beet, sweet potato, golden beet, and parsnip.

Ingredients

2 red beets
2 golden beets
1 sweet potato
1 parsnip
1 cup of cream
4 oz of grated parmesan
1 tbs+ fresh thyme
1 clove of garlic minced
1 oz of shredded gruyere
Salt & pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Grease a baking dish (2-quart size)
Peel and slice the vegetables thinly into rounds and place them in separate bowls. (How perfect and fancy you want to get depends
on your style. I hand cut these and was not concerned about having them all look the same size, but you could use a cutter to make all of your circles uniform if you chose)
To each bowl add bits of the cream (4 tablespoons each to the beets, 2 tablespoons each to the potato and parsnip you should end
up with about ¼ cup left)
Divide your parmesan in ½ and then divide that into 4 parts and sprinkle this on each of your 4 bowls.
Divide the thyme 4 ways over the 4 bowls.
Stir up each bowl seasoning with salt and pepper and make sure all the slices of vegetables are coated.
In the base of your buttered baking or gratin dish, pour the rest of the cream, add the minced garlic, and ½ of the remaining parmesan.
Now, layer your gratin, start with a bunch of the parsnip (5 or 6 slices) followed by the yellow beet, followed by the sweet potato, and finally the red beet, standing them on edge making rows. Continue until your dish is full. (Feel free to play with your patterns and colors artistically as you see fit).
Top this with a bit of S & P and the rest of the Parm.
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Uncover and top with the gruyere
Bake another 20 minutes. (Cheese should be melted and lightly brown)
Sprinkle with a bit more thyme and serve)

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 419Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 19gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 99mgSodium 705mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 3gSugar 9gProtein 14g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Baked Rainbow Trout

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Salmon & Pinot are so traditional, we stepped just a bit outside the box. The key to red wine with fish is choosing a fatty fish and so we chose rainbow trout. The trout with its distinctive flavor and fat stood up to both of the wines, even the brooding Natasha Pinot Noir from Youngberg Hill.

Ingredients

2 trout (scaled and gutted)
1 lemon
Dill
Green onions (chopped)
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450 F
Rinse the fish and pat dry
Sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper
Add half the dill and green onions inside
Drizzle with Olive oil
Do the same to the other fish
Cut 3 shallow diagonal cuts in the top of each fish
Drizzle olive oil on top of each fish
Stick a ½ lemon slice in each of the cuts.
One last sprinkle of salt and pepper and pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Pop them back under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp up the skin and serve.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 193Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 46mgSodium 192mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 17g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Read the whole piece on our pairing dinner for more details on the wines and this winery

Youngberg Hill – Reminiscing and Making New Memories with 2 Youngberg Hill Pinot Noirs

How to find Youngberg Hill?

The Willamette Valley is a beautiful place to visit and has so much wonderful wine!

You can find Youngberg Hill at 10660 SW Youngberg Hill Road, McMinnville, OR 97128

Tastings are appointment only 10-4 daily, call them at 503-472-2727 or drop them an email at [email protected]

For more information on this region visit

https://www.oregonwine.org/

https://willamettewines.com/

Or check out some of these pieces right here on Crushed Grape Chronicles

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Minted Pea Mash

Jan 21, 2021

Sometimes you look at a plate and it just needs some green. What if you really DON’T feel like a salad? I found a quick and easy recipe for Pea Mash on Sprinkles and Sprouts and updated it adding fresh mint to brighten the dish.

The mint brightens it, making it taste as vivid green as it looks!

Just a reminder, make sure that you rinse your peas with cold water after cooking them to keep them bright green!

We made this ahead and stuck it in the fridge until it was time for dinner and enjoyed the cool temperature of the dish as a contrast to our warm entree. Of course you could feel free to warm it again and serve it that way!

This dish is so quick and easy and I bet it might be a fun way to get the kids to eat their peas!

Minted Pea Mash

Feeds: 4

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 16 oz package of frozen peas
1 clove of garlic (peeled and chopped in half)
1 tbs butter
2 tbs sour cream
1 bunch of fresh mint leaves
Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil
Add the peas and garlic
Return to a boil and boil 2 minutes
Drain the peas and rinse with cold water.
Into your food processor, add the peas and garlic, butter, sour crème and mint.
Process until smooth to your liking.
Season with salt and pepper.

You can serve this hot or cold. We found that with the mint, we enjoyed it cold.

We served this with Roasted Cornish Game Hens with a Savory berry drizzle

And Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

The wine we paired was a 2018 Alloro Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley that we received as a sample.

To learn more about this wine check out our post

Alloro – Stunning Wines from Oregon’s New Laurelwood District AVA

Minted Pea Mash

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Sometimes you look at a plate and it just needs some green. What if you
really DON'T feel like a salad? I found a quick and easy recipe for
Pea Mash on Sprinkles and Sprouts and updated it adding fresh mint to
brighten the dish.

Ingredients

1 16 oz package of frozen peas
1 clove of garlic (peeled and chopped in half)
1 tbs butter
2 tbs sour cream
1 bunch of fresh mint leaves

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil

2. Add the peas and garlic

3. Return to a boil and boil 2 minutes

4. Drain the peas and rinse with cold water.

5. Into your food processor, add the peas and garlic, butter, sour crème and mint.

6. Process until smooth to your liking.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes

You can serve this hot or cold. We found
that with the mint, we enjoyed it cold.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 131Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 12mgSodium 109mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 5gSugar 5gProtein 6g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Alloro Pinot Noir Recipe Pairings

Here you will find all of our wine pairing Recipes

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

This is one of those dishes that you see on pinterest and can’t get out of your head.

Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and
potatoes that were available in the winter.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

This was an elegant dish that we paired with a Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette
Valley. We wanted something that would
not be too heavy, but would match the elegance of this wine. Incorporating Pinot Noir into the dish as
well as adding a savory berry drizzle, help to match notes in the wine and make
this pairing extra delicious.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Moon and Back on Allrecipes. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8938/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/

We adapted the recipe to feed 2 rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments.

Minted Pea Mash

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

Jan 19, 2021

I was looking for a roasted baby potatoes side dish to pair with an Oregon Pinot Noir and was surfing Pinterest for inspiration. It’s the visuals of the food I love. You eat with your eyes, you know what I mean?

I came across this dish and couldn’t get it out of my head.

Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and potatoes that were available in the winter.

This dish was to pair with an Oregon Pinot Noir and the blend of fat of the cheese the roasted potatoes and the different greens and herbs seemed to make this a perfect side dish.

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

Feeds: 4

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil (you will need a little more later for drizzling)
1 lb of baby mixed potatoes
½ lemon juiced and zested
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 cup fresh basil (1/2 of this chopped the remainder whole for garnishing)
½ cup o fresh spinach
½ cup of chopped radicchio (torn and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes)
4 oz of burrata
Salt & Pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
In a baking dish combine the potatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper
Roast for 15 minutes, toss and roast another 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp.
After you have tossed them the first time…
Mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped basil, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.
Take the potatoes out of the oven and place on a serving plate. Break the burrata and place on the plate, garnish with the spinach, radicchio and fresh basil.
Spoon the lemon zest mixture on the burrata
Drizzle the whole plate with EVOO.

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach, and radicchio with lemon - closeup

What to serve this with?

We served this with Roasted Cornish Game Hens with a Savory berry drizzle

And Minted Pea Mash

The wine we paired was a beautiful 2018 Alloro Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley that we received as a sample.

To learn more about this wine visit our post Alloro – Stunning Wines from Oregon’s New Laurelwood District AVA

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This is one of those dishes that you see on pinterest and can’t get out of your head. Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and potatoes that were available in the winter.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil (you will need a little more later for drizzling)
1 lb of baby mixed potatoes
½ lemon juiced and zested
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 cup fresh basil (1/2 of this chopped the remainder whole for garnishing)
½ cup of fresh spinach
½ cup of chopped radicchio (torn and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes)
4 oz of burrata
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

2. In a baking dish combine the potatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper

3. Roast for 15 minutes, toss and roast another 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp.

4. After you have tossed them the first time…

5. Mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped basil, and lemon zest.
Season with salt and pepper.

6. Take the potatoes out of the oven and place on a serving plate. Break the burrata and place on the plate, garnish with the spinach, radicchio and fresh basil.

7. Spoon the lemon zest mixture on the burrata

8. Drizzle the whole plate with EVOO.

Notes

We served this with Roasted Cornish Game Hens with a Savory berry drizzle and Minted Pea Mash. The wine we paired was a 2018 Alloro Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 287Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 22mgSodium 234mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 9g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Alloro Pinot Noir Recipe Pairings

Here you will find all of our wine pairing Recipes

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

This is one of those dishes that you see on pinterest and can’t get out of your head.

Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and
potatoes that were available in the winter.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Moon and Back on Allrecipes. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8938/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/

We adapted the recipe to feed 2 rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments.

Minted Pea Mash

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Alloro – Stunning Wines from Oregon’s New Laurelwood District AVA

Jan 14, 2021

“Alloro”

It’s the Italian word for laurel. When David Nemarnik purchased this now 130-acre site, he named it after the Laurelwood soils found on the site.

He grew up nearby in Portland, making homemade wine in his garage. He searched the area for the right site, testing soils to find the best for growing the Pinot Noir that he loved. When he found this site, it wasn’t even for sale. The owner who lived in Shasta allowed him to dig test pits and agreed to sell him 40 acres in 1999.

They planted the first 20 acres of grapes in 1999. Since then they expanded the property from the initial 40 acres to 130 acres and now have 34 acres of vineyard.

The Russian Doll AVAs of Oregon

Willamette Valley AVA

We mentioned Pinot Noir, so you probably immediately think of Oregon, and beyond that the Willamette Valley AVA. This overarching AVA covers the Northern part of the state from Eugene near its southern border to Portland on its northeastern border. It is defined by the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Coast Range to the West.

This massive AVA is filled with 9 sub-AVAs from North to South they are Tualatin Hills, Laurelwood, Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, McMinnville, Eola-amity Hills, and the Van Duzer Corridor.

Chehalem Mountains AVA

The Chehalem Mountains AVA is the largest sub-AVA in the state, covering over 100 square miles. 20 miles long and 5 miles wide the AVA was established in 2006 and sits within the larger Willamette Valley AVA.

There are around 150 vineyards, many family-owned and averaging just 12.5 acres. It was here that in 1968 Dick Erath first purchased land, he was followed by David Adelsheim, Dick and Nancy Ponzi, and Paul Hart of Adelsheim, Ponzi, and Rex Hill respectively.

But this is not as small as we go. Within the Chehalem Mountains AVA is the Ribbon Ridge AVA that sits on the Northwest end of the Chehalem Mountains and the brand new Laurelwood District AVA which encompasses 33,600 acres on the northeast-facing flank of the Chehalem Mountains.

Laurelwood District AVA

This AVA was just approved in June of 2020! The topography here can reach more than 1,600 feet. This AVA is defined by the Laurelwood soils, windblown loess that came with the Missoula Floods. This AVA was a decade in the works.

Of course, as this was just approved, you will not see this on bottles until 2020 vintages are released.

Alloro Vineyard

Alloro was a part of the push for this new AVA. In 2018 they were part of a group of winemakers who gathered for a blind tasting of Chehalem Mountain wines all from within the Laurelwood AVA. So today, the raised laurel on their label takes on even more meaning.

Their vineyard sits at between 450 and 700 feet and is wind-blown loess (Laurelwood) over basalt.

On the property, in addition to grapes, they raise cattle and sheep. They are LIVE certified (Low Impact Viticulture & Enology). David’s philosophy is to look at the overall health of the farm, minimize inputs, use beneficial insects, and leave natural areas for biodiversity. He looks at the farm as a complete system. The idea is to leave the soil and ecosystem better than when he found it. LIVE is a science-based approach that does not eliminate synthetic products. As he uses beneficial insects, he tries to avoid sulfur which can harm them.

All their wines are estate wines.

David Nemarnik, Vineyard Manager and Proprietor

David Nemarnik loves the land. He helped to build his family’s produce company, in Portland while he was in college. He still heads that company as CEO. Here at the vineyard, he is the proprietor and also the Vineyard Manager. He hired a winemaker to make the wine in 2009. In 2010 Tom Fitzpatrick joined the team and they have a synergy. The team here is small. David, Tom, David Lopez the Vineyard Foreman, Andrew Ward the Cellar Master.

Tom Fitzpatrick, Winemaker

Tom has a master’s in viticulture and enology from UC Davis and has worked in wine all over the world. He began in Washington State, working with a small winery, spent time in New Zealand and Napa, where he worked at Pine Ridge. His Masters Thesis was “Variation in the Phenolic Composition of California Pinot Noir Fruit and Wines: Analysis and Explanation.” (Just the kind of fascinating geeky thing I would love to read!). So Pinot Noir is a grape he has looked at in-depth.

He spent some time in Bourgogne before returning to the US and settling in Oregon. He worked at Hamacher Wines, before coming to Alloro. He is also the Proprietor and Winegrower for Élevée Winegrowers where he studies Terroir.

Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir

This is one of the 3 Pinot Noirs the produce annually.

Medium red-ruby in color

Pronounced nose of red cherry, sweet tobacco, cola, forest floor a slight floral note, and a hint of eucalyptus.

Dry with medium to light tannins and body, medium to high acidity, Pronounced flavors of black plum deep red ripe fruit, spice, cola, and red cherry.

A wine that will age well. This is one of their largest production wines with 1850 cases produced.

100% Pinot Noir – 14.2% abv – SRP $45.00

*This wine was received as a media sample. No other compensation was received. All opinions are our own.*

Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir from the new Laurelwood District AVA

Pairings with the Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir

To pair with this Alloro Pinot Noir, we settled on Roasted Cornish Game Hens with a savory berry drizzle, Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach, and radicchio with lemon and a Minted pea mash.

We ran the gamut with herbs in these dishes; mint in the peas, rosemary in the game hens, basil in the potatoes. The wine paired well with all of these.

It pulled forward the mint in the peas in a lovely soft way, like a mother gently nudging a shy child into a well-deserved spotlight. The acid in the wine played nicely with the fat on the hens and then elevated the berries in the sauce. The lemon zest and acid as well as the savory notes in the roasted potatoes were brightened and accentuated by the wine. Even the bitter notes in the radicchio were elevated and rounded to a perfect level.

Alloro 2018 Chardonnay

This is the one Chardonnay that Alloro makes annually. This is a barrel-fermented Chardonnay that does full malolactic fermentation with Bâtonnage then ages for 11 months in French Oak (20% new). Only 290 cases were produced.

Pronounced nose of Meyer lemon, with notes of mineral, saline, and toasted bread.

On the palate, it is dry and full-bodied with pronounced round flavors of Meyer lemon that sweep over your mouth, making your gums tingle and a long finish.

This is a wine that is as much at home in winter as summer and can pair well with the dishes of either season.

100% Chardonnay – 13.7% abv – SRP $39

*This wine was received as a media sample. No other compensation was received. All opinions are our own.*

Alloro 2018 Chardonnay from Chehalem Mountains Oregon

Pairing the Alloro 2018 Chardonnay

We paired this with a Scottish chowder with potatoes and pollock.

This dish came to us from SunBasket but is a simple and delicious dish to recreate.

With onion, potatoes, paprika, pollock, cream, and bay leaf, this dish is warming and goes beautifully with the wine. The wine pulls forth the richness of the fish and the broth with the paprika playing well with the Meyer lemon notes in the wine. The salinity and minerality of the wine round out the pairing with the dish.

We added a side salad and toasted ciabatta to complete the meal.

Visiting Alloro

In 2019 Alloro broke ground on a new tasting room. The previous tasting room had been converted from an apartment David had built on the property. This new tasting room which just opened in mid-December has an outdoor space, where you can do a reserved tasting. It is set up as a 75-minute experience.

Be aware that this is an outdoor tasting, so you might be exposed to wind and/or rain. They do have heaters but dress warmly. They are working with the best practices to keep everyone safe at this time.

To book your experience you can visit their website or call them at (503)625-1978.

They are located at 22075 SW Lebeau Road Sherwood, Oregon 97140

I look forward to the future when this beautiful facility with a wood-burning oven, demonstration and commercial kitchen, and a barrel room for small events will be able to open fully.

Sources and Resources

More on Oregon wines and Pairings from Crushed Grape Chronicles

Alloro Pinot Noir Recipe Pairings

Here you will find all of our wine pairing Recipes

Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon

This is one of those dishes that you see on pinterest and can’t get out of your head.

Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and
potatoes that were available in the winter.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Moon and Back on Allrecipes. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8938/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/

We adapted the recipe to feed 2 rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments.

Minted Pea Mash

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Willamette Valley

Bells Up

Bells Up 2018 Titan Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley.

What to pair with a Titan?

Do you need some of this?

More on the Willamette Valley by Crushed Grape Chronicles

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The origin of the name Lenné Estate

Lenné Estate 2018 Kill Hill Pinot Noir

Finding a Pairing for the Lenné Estate Kill Hill Pinot Noir

Did the pairings work with the Kill Hill Pinot Noir?

More on Oregon Wines from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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Poor soils – great wine

The Lenné Estate Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA

Lenné Estate 2018 Scarlett’s Reserve Chardonnay

Pairing Aromatic Compounds

Baked Basmati Rice with Apple and Saffron

Sea bass on white beans, cherry tomatoes, and spinach

Stuffed apples with rabri

Want to know more about Lenné Estate?

It’s Oregon Wine Month!

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More on Oregon Wine Country!

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Bells Up

So why would you name a winery Bells Up?

Bells Up Winery

Bells Up 2020 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley

Bells Up 2020 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains AVA

A Memorial Day Celebration

Halibut sliders with garlic parmesan aioli

Mexican Street Corn

Watermelon balls with kiwi and basil

Bahn mi inspired sausage dogs

Hamburger sliders with bleu cheese and fig jam

Prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe

BBQ sliders with purple slaw

It’s Oregon Wine Month!

More on Willamette Valley Wineries from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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The story of Sokol-Blosser

The 2nd Generation of Sokol Blosser

The Historic Accolades and Firsts

Of course, there were also the wines!