12 days of Wine Archives | Crushed Grape Chronicles

Bonny Doon 2018 Riesling to Live – Day 12 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Dec 24, 2020

We kicked off this year’s 12 Days of Wine with a story of endings and beginnings and we end in the same way. It has been a tough year, filled with changes, so we end again with joyful bubbles.

These bubbles are made in the Method Champenoise style but made of Riesling. They come to us from Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon.

Endings

It’s been a year of endings and beginnings for Bonny Doon also. After closing the iconic Bonny Doon tasting room in Davenport Ca in December of last year, he announced in January that he had sold Bonny Doon to WarRoom Ventures.

Randall stays as chief winemaker and business partner, but the label will now pare down to just a few of the plethora of wines that Randall used to create.

If you don’t know the name “Randall Grahm” you certainly will recognize some of his labels. He was the original Rhone Ranger and created the brands Big House and Pacific Rim Riesling. He was the king of marketing! Creating witty labels and then having them designed by amazing artists. The back labels are often a litany of clever and philosophical puns.

He was a darling to the media, always available for comment. He’s also a real human and if you find him on Twitter, he shares his views, his day and is always ready to answer comments and engage.

He’s a regular guy! Well, a regular guy who is a little eccentric, a bit of a geek, passionate, philosophical…I could go on. He is a character, but a very approachable character. His newsletters for Bonny Doon were a joy to read, often with many footnotes.

Beginnings

So, no longer is there a tasting room with a Cigare Volant (flying cigar – the French term for a spaceship yes there is a story there, here’s a link), no longer a club for the Dewnsters, or a wide variety of eclectic wines from small vineyards to look forward to receiving. So an ending.

But there is also a beginning. It began a while ago actually, in 2010 when Randall bought a piece of property near San Juan Bautista, which is inland from Monterey Bay. He calls the 400-acre property Popelouchum (it means “paradise” in the Mutsun tongue, the language of the Ohlone people who lived in this area).

Here he is propagating new varieties, looking to create “wines of place”. These grapes are growing in soil that has not seen grapes before. They will try to breed new grapes. He is obsessed with creating wines that are unique and without all the responsibility of running Bonny Doon, I hope that he will have the time to focus on this passion. I don’t know what will come of it, but the prospect is very exciting and I look forward to following his journey.

Bonny Doon 2018 Riesling to Live

This wine comes from the Wirz Vineyard in the Cienega Valley, which is maybe 20 miles southeast of Popelouchum. It is a Riesling, as I mentioned made in the traditional champenoise method and finished with no dosage (no added sugar). The back label “The felicity of the pairing of this wine with Asian or fusion cuisine creates its own raison (or raisin) d’étre, indeed almost Sektual in nature.”

Ah, the puns, “Sekt” is the name for German Sparkling wine and as Germany is known for Riesling…

The Wirz Vineyard vines are old and ungrafted. To circle back even further with our tale, these are some of the very same vines that produced Riesling for Randall’s Pacific Rim Riesling, back in the day. This vineyard sits on a border so 52% of the fruit is from San Benito County and 48% from Monterey County. Dry farmed organically, the fruit is intense with bright acid. It was whole-cluster pressed and does 16 months en tirage (aged on the lees or dead yeast cells in the bottle).

100% Riesling 13.5% abv $35 SRP

(If you want some, Bonny Doon has offered a discount code! Scroll to the bottom of this piece for the link and the code!)

This wine was finished with a crown cap. I had chilled it and jokingly said to Michael “Stand back” as I started to pull the bottle cap off. Much to my surprise, the bottle erupted, covering the table and floor with fizzy juice that I so had wanted in my mouth! Luckily we only lost a bit of the bottle, a good ¾ left to enjoy.

My notes

Notes of citrus, tart yellow apple, and white pepper. Dry with notes of wet stone, lemon, tart yellow fruit, and a bit of apple cider.

What to pair?

Butternut Squash and black bean tostadas

While it wasn’t Asian, it was a style of fusion. We paired it with Butternut Squash and black bean tostadas, topped with pickled onions, and soft-cooked eggs.

It was lovely with the butternut and beans, it pulled up the pickled onion notes and the acid cut through the fat in the soft-cooked eggs.

It was a joyful lunch as I sat in my somewhat sticky (from the bottle eruption) dining room seat with the sun bouncing through the room.

For Dessert? Pavlovas

I have been wanting to make a Pavlova for the longest time. My pandemic binging of Zumbo’s Just Desserts, made me crave doing this even more. I found a stunning recipe for these magical clouds on Pinterest, but the massive, stunning Pavolova would need to rest overnight and I didn’t allow enough time. So…I found a recipe to make slightly smaller Pavlovas.

We topped our 6 inch Pavlova’s with an Apricot crème and then dressed it in berries, sliced dried apricot, and mint.

They were every bit as magical as I had hoped and were the perfect celebratory pairing with this luscious sparkling wine.

You can find the recipe here.

Need a “Riesling to Live”?

When I reached out to Bonny Doon, to let them know that we would be featuring this wine, Christi contacted us to say that they would love to offer our readers a special…

We are happy to offer 20% off (and $10 shipping*) on a purchase of 6 or more bottles of the 2018 Riesling to Live.
Use CODE 12Days at checkout. Not combinable with any other offer.
Offer expires 1/31/2021 or while supplies last.
*Ground shipping to participating states.

Head to the Bonny Doon site to find this before it runs out!

So, Happy Holidays! Go stock up on this! It’s delicious!

Thank you all for joining us on this journey of the 12 Days of Wine 2020. It has been a joy to put together! We wish all of you a wonderful end to this challenging (look how good I was there! That wasn’t the first word that I typed.) year and here is to a much better, much brighter 2021.

If you missed any of our #12DaysofWine2020 posts you can find them all here!

Indeed, here is to Endings and Beginnings!

Happy-holidays from Crushed Grape Chronicles

Sources and Resources

More from Crushed Grape Chronicles on Bonny Doon and Randall Grahm

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.

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal Reserva Rioja 2014 – Day 11 of the 12 days of Wine 2020

Dec 23, 2020

It’s time to do a virtual visit to Spain. This next year, I’m looking forward to being a part of the new #WorldWineTravel group of writers. This first year we will be focusing on Spain. I thought I would get a little head start and make sure we included a Spanish wine in our 12 Days of Wine 2020 celebration. Where better to begin than Rioja?

Rioja

This is undoubtedly the most famous region for red wines in Spain. Rioja is known for its outstanding Tempranillo based wines and produces almost 1 sixth of the countries DO level wine. They became Spain’s first designated DO region in 1925 and were the first region elevated to its Calificada status as a DOCa status in 1991.

Map of Spain with the Region of Rioja highlighted – map via Adobe Stock

The region is in north-central Spain in the Ebro River Valley. Most of the region is within the Province of La Rioja, but some vineyards cross over into the Provinces of Navarra and bits of the Basque Region.

Winemaking dates back 2000 years in Rioja, but it was not until the late nineteenth century when new techniques were introduced to the region and then the French came south trying to escape the grasp of phylloxera and the Bordeaux style of aging became prevalent in the area.

There are 3 regions in Rioja, Rioja Alta which is the furthest west and higher in elevation, Rioja Alavesa which sits north of Rioja Alta and mostly north of the Ebro river that runs through the entire region. Rioja Oriental (or Rioja Baja) sits to the east of the region in a much lower area.

Styles of Rioja

Yes, there is white and rosé made in the area. Viura being the primary white wine. But by far Tempranillo is the star of the area.

Spanish wines are broken into 3 quality levels by aging requirements. Rioja ups the ante on this:

Crianza: Minimum 12 months in barrel and 24 months total aging (up from 6 months in barrel for other Spanish red wines)

Reserva: 12 months in barrel and 36 months total aging (this is the same as other Spanish reds)

Gran Reserva: 24 months in barrel and an additional 36 months in bottle to total 60 months of aging before release. (This is up from the 18 months barrel time for other Spanish reds).

Most are aged in American Oak, although some producers are using French oak. French oak is noted for higher tannins while American oak imparts flavors of vanilla, coconut, and dill. American oak is denser also (a board can weigh twice as much as the same size French oak board)

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal

Perhaps you’ve seen photos of their City of Wine, the centerpiece of which is the spectacular building by Frank O. Gehry that swirls in pink and gold and silver in Elciego. The Spanish do love to dot their landscape with innovative eye-catching architecture and this building is spectacular.

The winery itself has been around since 1858 and is now found in over 110 countries. It is perhaps the most easily found Spanish brand of wine in the world.

This is a winery with a history of high-quality international award-winning wines. Those awards started rolling in, soon after its inception. You can read more about their history and see their spectacular City of Wine here.

In addition to their Rioja wines, they also produce wines from Rueda, Castilla y Leon, and Getariako Txakolina.

But, perhaps their most well-known wine is…

Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva D.O.Ca. Rioja

This is one of the most famous wines of Spain. It is still wrapped in its gold metallic mesh, the Malla originally added to prevent forgery. The cork could not be removed from the bottle without cutting the net.

This one wine can be found in over 100 countries. It has been praised over the years by such legends as Ernest Hemingway and Salvador Dalí.

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal El Ciego (Alava) Rioja 2014 Reserva

Our vintage of this Rioja was 2014. This year the blend was 90% Tempranillo, 7% Graciano, and 3% Mazuelo. Most of the Tempranillo is old-vine (over 50 years old). This wine spends about 2 years in American Oak and then another year rounding in the bottle before release.

Around 4.5 million bottles produced, 14.1% abv SRP $18.99

My wine notes

Medium garnet in color, the nose has a medium intensity with notes of warm berries, spice, pine resin, red plum, black pepper, carob, and light leather.

It is dry with medium tannins and body, with pronounced flavor and high acidity.

Flavors of black cherry, licorice, spice, cranberry, and pomegranate, and a long finish.

Suggested pairings include mild cheeses, ham, poultry, grilled red meat, and roasts. They caution not to pair with anything too spicy. We opted for…

Mojo braised pork tacos with red and white cabbage, pickled red onions, and salsa verde

I did leave out the chile flakes to keep the heat down for pairing with the wine.

The braised pork was cooked and then a marinade of orange & lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, onion, and cumin was added.

We served this with warm corn tortillas and topped it with pickled onions, cabbage, and salsa verde.

This paired great with lunch, pulling forward the fruit notes in the wine and accentuating all the flavors in the food.

Marques de Riscal Rioja paired Our chocolate nests with black cherry ice cream

Chocolate nests with chocolate branches

Okay, the full title is “Chocolate nests with chocolate branches. Pistachio soil, walnut cake soil, and chocolate, anise, cinnamon soil. With quenelles of black cherry ice cream, blackberries, and mint.”

I know, that’s a long title. It’s a bunch of stuff, compiled to make a composed (fancy-schmancy) dessert dish. If you have been following the 12 Days of Wine 2020 you will recognize parts of this dish. Yep, that the black cherry ice cream leftover from the black cherry ice cream sandwiches and the walnut cake soil is from the Hungarian Nut Cake that my mother so loved. Bottom line, I saw a photo on Pinterest and felt the need to recreate the feel of the dish. It was a tiny chocolate nest with a quenelle of ice cream. It was so pretty it looked as if you had just come upon it in the forest. So taking what I had available, I set out to create something similar.

I tempered chocolate (the easy way in the microwave this time), made some nests, piped some branches, and then assembled my dish.

It was delicious and many of the flavors in the dish crossed over to the wine.

checkout the recipe

Well, folks, there is just one day left in our 12 Days of Wine 2020 celebration. Join us tomorrow as we wrap things up and celebrate Christmas Eve!

12 days of wine with Crushed Grape Chronicles Holiday Edition 2020

Sources and Resources

More on Rioja and Tempranillo from 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.

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay – Day 10 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Dec 22, 2020

Earlier this fall I wrote a piece about Youngberg Hill. In 2019 they created Bailey Family Wines. It was a place we had visited years ago with a friend and tasting through the Pinot Noirs they had sent, I got a bit nostalgic. You can read that piece here Youngberg Hill – Reminiscing and Making New Memories with 2 Youngberg Hill Pinot Noirs.

Youngberg Hill is a beautiful property. They have a gorgeous Inn as well as an Event Center set within the vines. With the winery, they have 2 labels. One is the Youngberg Hill label, which those two beautiful Pinot Noirs fall under. The other is the Bailey Family Wine label.

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

Bailey Family Wines

Last year, in 2019 they created Bailey Family Wines. They had worked with their Youngberg Hill label to make the vineyard Organic Certified and are working toward Biodynamics, mostly looking out for the land and the soil and sourcing from other like-minded vineyards.

Bailey Family Wines focuses on exclusive wines from the 23 acres of vines on their Estate Vineyard. Of the 23 acres, 18 are planted to Pinot Noir, 2 ½ to Chardonnay, and 2 ½ to Pinot Gris. So this bottle of Estate Chardonnay is indeed rare.

View of the vineyard at Youngberg Hill – photo courtesy of Youngberg Hill

The Youngberg Hill Inn in Oregon’s Willamette Valley – photo courtesy of Youngberg Hill

Wayne Bailey of Youngberg Hill and Bailey Family Vineyards – photo courtesy of Youngberg Hill

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay

The Aspen block was planted with Pinot Grill in 2006. In 2014 they grafted over ½ of the black to Chardonnay Clones 75, 76, 95, and 548. The block is on Marine sediment and sits at between 500 and 600 feet.

The 2017 vintage was warm with an early bud break and a dry growing season. Then cooler temperatures gave great acidity and mineral notes as well as rich deep fruit at harvest.

This wine was aged for 8 months in neutral oak and they made just 229 cases, which are sold by allocation only.

100% Chardonnay 12.5% abv SRP $85

My notes:

This wine pours a pale lemon and has an intense nose of floral, crushed gravel, citrus leaf, fresh herbs, citrus pith and zest, and Meyer lemon.

It is dry in my mouth with flavors of lemon pith, lemon thyme, and Meyer lemon with lifted floral notes.

I felt like I was standing in a citrus grove with scents of citrus flowers, fruit, leaves, and pith all at once.

This was round but bright. I would luxuriate in this wine for hours.

Roasted Chicken with root vegetables

Michael was on kitchen duty for this one with a meal from Sun Basket. The chicken breast was roasted with lemon juice and lemon zest which paired beautifully with the lemon notes in the wine. The roasted vegetables included golden beets, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. I was concerned about how the Brussels sprouts might pair, but they were lovely.

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay with Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

Youngberg Hill Pinot Noirs paired with rainbow trout and root vegetable gratin bottles in the background

Youngberg Hill Pinots paired with rainbow trout and root vegetable gratin

I think this wine might really sing with a creamy dish, it has great acid to cut through a creme sauce. It would also be great with homemade mac and cheese, like the smoked gouda and white cheddar one I recently made (link) or perhaps with a baked brie. Quite honestly, I think it would have been brilliant with grilled rainbow trout that we enjoyed with the Youngberg Pinot Noirs.

Cannolis with lemon curd crème

Michael bought cannoli molds back on Amazon Prime Day and it was evidently time to try them out. I was at first, an unwilling participant (I have a fear of hot oil). Nonetheless, we put these together and they worked! Most importantly, I came out unscathed by the hot oil! YAY!

We filled them in an unorthodox way with a lemon curd crème, that paired beautifully with the wine.

You can find the recipe here.

Cannolis ready to face the oil!

The finished Cannolis with lemon curd creme

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.

Strawberry Macarons

Dec 20, 2020

Strawberry Mousse filled Macarons

I will admit, I was not ready for this. Pandemic food show bingeing had Michael ready to make macarons. I was not so sure. I’d seen how skeptical Zumbo was when someone tried to make them. Michael, though, was determined. So we set forth to make macarons.

I would love to give credit to the recipe we referenced, but I cannot find it. Suffice to say, I did not just come up with this on my own!

Time: 1 hour 10 Minutes

Yield: 6 people

Strawberry mousse filled macarons (and a blackberry goat cheese chocolate bomb)

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups powdered sugar

1 cup of almond flour

1 tsp salt

3 egg whites (at room temperature)

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla

2 drops of pink gel food coloring (okay…we didn’t have that so we used red, they came out a little pinkish/salmon)

Directions

In a food processor combine the powdered sugar, almond flour and ½ tsp of the salt on low speed. You want this to be extra fine.
Sift the mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl.
In your stand mixer, beat the eggs whites and the remaining salt until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the granulated sugar, mixing until it is incorporated.
Turn the speed up to medium high and beat until stiff peaks form
Add the vanilla
Beat until incorporated.
Add the food coloring and mix just until it is combined.
Take the bowl off the mixer.
Add 1/3 of the sifted flour mixture at a time carefully folding this in.
Continue to carefully fold until the you can make a figure 8 in the batter by dripping the mixture from the spatula, without it breaking.
Put the mixture in a piping bag with a round tip.
We have a silpat cover with circles for macarons, but if you don’t, use parchment on your sheet pan. You can use a small dollop of the mixture in each corner under the paper to hold it down.
Pipe out 1 ½ inch circles (from straight above). Space them an inch apart.
When the sheet is piped, tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times. This releases any air bubbles in the mixture.
Now let them sit for a half hour to an hour. They should feel dry to the touch.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
Bake the macarons for 17 minutes. The feet (that little part at the base) will be well-risen and the macarons will not stick to the paper.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool

Strawberry mousse filling

Ingredients

½ lb of strawberries

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

2 cups of whipping crème

Directions

Remove the stems and slice the strawberries roughly
Put the sugar and the strawberries in a food processor to puree.
Whip the cream in your stand mixer until it forms stiff peaks
Fold in the strawberry puree
Put in a piping bag with a round tip

Assembling the Macarons

Turn one macaron cookie on its head
Pipe a dollop of the mousse
Finish with the other half of the macaron
Et Voila!

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

LaZarre 2017 Central Coast Pinot Noir

This Pinot Noir is made from Edna Valley Fruit from the Jespersen Ranch Vineyard. This vineyard sits just a few miles from the ocean, south of San Luis Obispo. This vineyard gives the Pinot long hang times developing concentrated flavors.

This is 100% Pinot Noir with 15% stem inclusion in the crush. Adam says this stem inclusion gives a slightly gamey note to the wine that will become more complex as it ages.

It does 16 months in oak (40% new), and they made just 273 cases.

We paired these with a LaZarre 2017 Central Coast Pinot Noir. I was skeptical. I thought the cookies might be too light in flavor with the wine or too sweet. Nope, I really enjoyed this. The wine made the strawberry pop!

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

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

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 [...]

Yakima Valley Wines from Eight Bells and Pearl and Stone Co. with Pairings

Yakima Valley AVA – Blends of friendship and history with wines from Eight Bells and Pearl and Stone Co. #WinePW

The Yakima Valley is one of my favorite wine regions. We visited a few years ago and were enamored by the wine and the people. This month I’m leading the intrepid writers of the Wine Pairing Weekend (#WinePW) group on a virtual trip to the Yakima Valley AVA. You can read my preview post here. [...]

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

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

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 [...]

Where's? Linus Sauvignon Blanc, Shaved Vegetable Salad, Goat cheese, green apple and mint crostini, cauliflower risotto and seared scallops and the winemaker Chris Christensen

Where’s Linus? Sauvignon Blanc with a shaved vegetable salad, crostini, and scallops on cauliflower rice risotto #WinePW

Where's Linus? Sauvignon Blanc had me dreaming of spring. I dove into those spring green colors as I set the table. Even the dishes I was pairing with this wine had a lightness to them. A lightness, a brightness, but also a depth. Yes, I am dreaming of spring, of warmer weather, of happier days [...]

LEcole Valentine Day Burgers with Mushroom, Bacon Jam and Blue Cheese

Burgers with blue cheese bacon jam and sauteed mushrooms and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Sometimes you just need a juicy messy burger. We took the opportunity for a Valentine’s Day indulgence, although, really, anytime is a good time for a burger. The Perfect Burgers We start with my go-to recipe for burgers from Bobby Flay. Use an 80/20 blend to keep your burger juicy. Bobby’s recipe is simple, a [...]

Valentin's day Steak with Gorgonzola and L'Ecole Cabernet

Valentine’s Day – Spoil yourself and maybe someone else with 3 delicious pairing menus, 1 for every palate and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Valentine’s Day is a day for Love. We decided to go all-in on our Valentine’s Pairings. I encourage you to celebrate, spoil your partner or a relative or friend that you are sheltering with during the pandemic. Celebrate with your fur baby, with a bit of this steak for your favorite pooch, and pull out [...]

LEcole No. 41 for Valentines Day with steak gorgonzola sauce and polenta

Steak with Gorgonzola and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Sometimes, a delicious Steak is just what you need to spoil yourself or that special someone. This dish is perfect for Valentine's Day with the steak resting in a pool of luscious gorgonzola sauce. Plate it with a salad and some polenta and you've got a perfect romantic meal. We paired it with a beautiful [...]

LEcole No. 41 for Valentines Day with a chocolate berry tart 8

Chocolate tart with forest berries and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This chocolate tart with forest berries is the perfect dessert when you need something that looks really fancy, but is really simple to make. this no-bake tart just needs a little time in the fridge. Start it early in the day then it can chill in the fridge while you cook the rest of your [...]

Bacon jam and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Bacon. I mean, it's an amazing food, right? When I was in college, my best friend would always make me request extra bacon and then give it to her in the cafeteria. It is a testament to my love for her, that I actually let her have it. It was only a few years ago [...]

Cheesy Polenta and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Polenta is a great side dish to substitute for potatoes or another starch. This recipe with parmesan cheese is great to accompany a steak and went beautifully with the Cabernet Sauvignon we had from L'Ecole No. 41 in Washington. Chessy Polenta Polenta is a pretty simple dish. I used Bob's Red Mill Polenta, but I'm [...]

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

Hungarian Nut Cake with Apricot

Dec 20, 2020

Hungarian Nut Cake was my mother’s favorite cake, as her hand-typed recipe below attests. I remember having it often at home growing up and it was her favorite to make for friends birthdays, potlucks, or other gatherings. I have a vision of her carrying this cake out to the picnic table in the yard for a gathering of the enlisted men’s wives when we living in California.

Mom’s typed recipe for her favorite Hungarian Nut Cake. She loved to share this recipe.

Photo of the Enlisted Wives Club in the Yard in California

A gathering of the Enlisted Wives club in the yard. I am sure there was Hungarian Nut Cake served this day.

She loved hosting. She was not fussy, but warm and welcoming. She wanted everyone to feel at ease and at home and part of a community. Being a Navy wife, with kids while your husband was deployed for 8 months was no easy task. She felt duty-bound to look out for the other families in the squadron.

I made some changes to her recipe to make this dish, but it is an homage to my sweet Mother. I cut the recipe to 1/3. Her original made 3 8-inch Hungarian Nut Cakes to layer. I just needed a small bit for my plating, and my plating was just for 2, so even then I had cake left over.

Hungarian Nut Cake

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup of lt. brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup bread crumbs
½ cup sifted flour
2/3 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
2 egg whites

Recipe

Crème the butter, lt. brown sugar and sugar together
Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix completely
Grind the walnuts in a food processor until they are fine.
In a separate bowl sift together the bread crumbs, flour, and baking powder
Add to the butter mixture
Add in the vanilla and milk
Beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl until they have stiff peaks
Fold these into the mixture.
Cover a sheet pan with a silicone pad or parchment.
Spread the mixture out thinly on the pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 325.
Let cool slightly and then cut into 3-inch circles.

Apricot Mousse

Ingredients

1 cup of Apricot puree (recipe below)

1 cup of whipping cream

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of lemon juice

Recipe

Mix the apricot puree, powdered sugar, and lemon juice
Put the mixture through a sieve
Add the whipping cream
Pour into the siphon
Shake 14 times
Add where needed!

Apricot Puree

Ingredients

6 apricots

3 tbs sugar

½ cup of water

Recipe

Cook the apricots with the sugar and water for 20 minutes.
Blend with an immersion blender.
Cool to room temperature

Assembling

Start with a darker colored plate so that you can see the design
Set your pattern (I had a wooden snowflake ornament) in the corner of the dish
Carefully sift a bit of your dusting mixture over the snowflake
Gently remove the snowflake
In the top corner place a round of the Hungarian Nut cake
Top this with the mouse from the siphon
Add a schmear of the coffee butter cream frosting on the side, finish with some crumbled meringue for crunch and carefully place some whole walnuts and the small slices of dried apricot.

My Mom's ceramic Christmas Tree and Hungarian Nut Cake with Apricot Mousse

What about a Wine Pairing?

This paired wonderfully with the Hungarian wine we had. This was a Meinklang h17 Hárslevelü. The wine melded with the butter cream and pulling out the apricot in the dish.

Meinklang Hárslevelü with Hungarian Nut Cake and Apricot Mousse

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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.

Meinklang h17 – Day 8 of the 12 Days of wine 2020

Dec 20, 2020

Today we dive into Meinklang a wine from Hungary. I went to pick up a wine a while back at GaragisteLV and decided to add a bottle while I was there. “What do you have that is interesting,” I asked Eric. He immediately suggested this wine. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized it was from Hungary.

My mother was Hungarian. I guess that makes me ½ Hungarian. My grandparents both immigrated from Budapest. My mother grew up with Hungarian recipes around her, and I remember my Grandmother speaking Hungarian in her final days, returning to her native tongue. So the fact that Eric suggested this wine was a bit of kismet.

It’s the holidays, and while Mom is no longer with us, today I would honor her and my Hungarian heritage. We enjoyed this wine with two of my mother’s favorite Hungarian recipes, Chicken Paprikas and Hungarian Nut Cake.

Meinklang

More than a vineyard or a winery, Meinklang is a family-run mixed farm. In addition to grapes, they grow ancient grains like spelt and farro and have fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, and “meadows of wild herbs and flowers”. They are Demeter Certified Biodynamic.

The 3000-hectare farm is located within the World Heritage Site the National Park Neusiedlersee. They sit to the East of the Neusiedlersee Lake. The vineyard is in Somló southeast of the farm and on the foothills of an extinct volcano, so their soils are basalt and loess and are mineral-rich.

In the map below you can see them as #5 in the light blue of the Balaton Region The Nagy-Somlói region is broken up into 3 small sections that add up to just 533 hectares. The section that is the furthest east is where the vineyard is located.

Map of Hungarian Wine Regions courtesy of Hungarian Wines

Meinklang h17

This wine is from the grape Hárslevelü (harsh-level-oo). It is a white grape whose name means “linden leaf”. This is an aromatic grape although less so when from the tiny Somló region where it has mineral qualities.

This wine is made in an orange style with 2 days of skin contact. It is fermented with wild yeasts, and bottled unfiltered and unfined with no sulfites added.

My notes:

Hazy with no sediment the nose first hits you with honeysuckle. Perhaps that is the linden blossom they speak of. Savory spices and mineral notes follow and then tart yellow apple. As it opens I get richer, riper yellow fruit.

In my mouth, it’s zestier than I anticipated, with bright acid and almost an effervescent feel. I start to notice nutty notes, cider, and perhaps fresh-cut wood. This is the perfect white wine to enjoy by the fire.

Meinklang h17 2017 Hárslevelü from Somló Hungary

Chicken Paprikas

I loved it when my mother would make Chicken Paprikas when I was a child. The kitchen smelled delicious as it simmered away and I loved the dumplings. I made these by the spoonful, but if you want you can make them smaller like the traditional Nokedli. I remember my Mom standing over the pot of boiling salted water with the dough on a cutting board, cutting away pieces and letting them drop into the pot.

This recipe I made with chicken thighs and it cooks in a dutch oven. The dumplings are made on the side and then stirred into the sauce and served with the chicken.

You can see the full recipe here.

This pairing was just comforting. I think Mom would have been proud.

Hungarian Nut Cake, apricot mousse, and crumbled meringue

Okay if you have been following our 12 Days of Wine, you are saying, “Wait, that was Day 1”! Well, you are right. Here’s the deal. I tasted out of order and when I got to that Prosecco I still had Hungarian Nut Cake left that I didn’t want to go to waste, so…

This is a fancy plating of my Mom’s favorite cake. I tried to make a small bit of her coffee buttercream frosting and that was kind of a fail. Oh well. I created an apricot mousse to go with this did a schmear of the failed coffee buttercream, dusted the plate with a combination of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and espresso powder, and garnished with walnuts, crumbled meringue, and sliced dried apricot.

The dessert was a win with the wine, melding with the buttercream, and pulling out the apricot in the dish.

You will find the recipe here.

Okay, I’m warm, fuzzy and nostalgic. I’ll leave you with a shot of my Mother’s ceramic Christmas tree, ‘cause it makes me happy.

My Mom’s ceramic Christmas Tree and Hungarian Nut Cake with Apricot Mousse

Happy Holidays!

Sources & 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.

Rowlee 2018 Single Vineyard Nebbiolo – Day 7 of the 12 Days of Wine

Dec 19, 2020

We visited Rowlee a little over a year ago with a group from the Wine Media Conference This was a post-conference excursion to Orange Australia sponsored by Orange 360. We joined Nicole and James at their cellar door on the vineyard. We gathered on the porch to look out on the vineyard as the sun began to set, tasting through their Pinot Gris, Riesling, and rosé.

Rowlee is in the Orange Region of Australia which is a high altitude region. This 8-hectare vineyard sits at 950 meters above sea level. That’s over 3000 feet. They sit at the foot of Mount Canobolas with ancient volcanic soils.

As we gathered at Rowlee, we sipped wines and enjoyed snacks before a tour of the property.

Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Rose from Rowlee Orange NSW Australia

Our evening began with Pinot Gris, Riesling and Rose from Rowlee

The cellar door at Rowlee is elegant and understated with a patio overlooking the vineyard

Pinot Gris in the spring at Rowlee Orange NSW Australia

October and spring in Australia, the Pinot Gris at Rowlee was just leafing.

Nicole and James had a delicious dinner prepared for us in the tasting room, which paired with their beautiful wines.

We had a tour of the property, and James shared with us some of the fascinating studies and technological advances they have been working on. We then gathered around the table to feast and taste their wines.

2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo

One of the standouts from our tasting and a bottle of wine that we left with, was their 2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo.

They have 2 clones of Nebbiolo and they only make it in the best years. James says they know the Nebbiolo is right when it tastes like a piece of licorice when they taste it on the vine.

2017 was not a great year and it did not have those notes, so they decided to drop the fruit and mulch it back into the soil. They did save a little of the fruit and turned it into Grappa. The 2018 vintage, on the other hand, was spectacular.

My notes

The 2018 Rowlee Nebbiolo has notes of black fruit, red fruit, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco, licorice, and a lovely floral note in the back, like crushed rose petals.

It has great acid and flavors of bramble fruit and red cherry with a long finish.

14% abv 100% Nebbiolo $60 AU SRP

Bleu Cheese Burger with bacon and tomato marmalade

To pair with this beautiful wine, we made burgers with some toppings to tie in the flavors in the wine.

For a while, I have made my burgers by the Bobby Flay method.

First, your meat should be 80% lean. Then you make a ¾ inch patty and make a deep thumbprint in the middle of each patty. This will keep them cooking evenly. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a cast-iron skillet with a bit of canola oil. 3 minutes for the first side then flip and cook 3 minutes on the other side. Then add your cheese, put a lid on it and cook for 1 more minute. The burgers come out medium rare and juicy.

For this burger, we cooked the 2^nd side for 4 minutes and added bacon and bleu cheese. After that, I drizzled with a little balsamic reduction. We also topped it with spinach and a bit of tomato marmalade. This recipe we made a couple of years ago and I still have a jar left. It’s soo good. Maybe I’ll dig that recipe up to share with you later.

Blue Cheese bacon burger with tomato marmalade and the 2018 Rowlee Nebbiolo from NSW Australia

Burger with bacon, blue cheese, balsamic reduction, spinach and tomato marmalade, & fries

The wine with this burger was lovely. Usually eating a burger is a bit messy and drippy, oozing with umami and we pair it with a Syrah or a Cab Franc. This burger was delicious, but the wine made it behave. The wine was elegant, popping the bleu cheese notes and bringing out the tomato in the marmalade. It tamed the bacon, which always wants to be the star of the show. It made this burger ever so civilized. I almost felt like I should be eating it with a knife and fork.

Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs

To tie in the black fruit and cocoa notes in the wine, we made these fancy-schmancy blackberry goat cheese chocolate bombs. While we could have just hand-dipped them, we just bought silicone dome molds and I was dying to use them. So, I learned to temper chocolate (only afterward finding an easier way) and created these delights. We made them in 2 sizes and I kinda prefer the smaller ones that you can pop in your mouth in one bite, even though the larger size looks prettier.

Check out the recipe for all the details!

Sources and Resources

More from Crushed Grape Chronicles on Orange Australia

2 days in Orange? Too little time for this beautiful Australian Region

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.

Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc – Day 6 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Dec 18, 2020

Bourboulenc. You may not have heard of this grape. It quite honestly doesn’t get out much. This is an ancient white grape found in Southern France in Provençe and the Southern Rhône. We find the first mention of this grape in literature from the early 16^th century.

It is perhaps most well known in Languedoc where it is blended into white wines in La Clape. In this marine region, the grape is delicate with finesse and elegance, they note garrigue flowers and mineral notes on the nose.

Hmm…so different from the wine I tasted.

Tablas Creek Vineyard

Tablas Creek Vineyard is located in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles. Tucked in off in the North-Western corner of Paso Robles, this vineyard was a venture between Robert Haas of Vineyard Brands and the Perrin Family of Cháteau du Beaucastel in France’s Rhône Valley.

Together they found this property with limestone soils. It sits at an average of 1,500 feet and the soils are similar to those at Beaucastel. Jason Haas, son of Robert Haas is now the General Manager. If you have seen anything on Tablas Creek, you likely know his face. He is generous with his time and information, and with the Perrins leads Tablas Creek as it continues to move forward always improving their sustainability and continuing to make delicious wines many of which are VERY age-worthy.

Jason Haas at Tablas Creek Vineyard from an Interview we did with him in 2015.

Tablas Creek Winery in the Adelaida AVA in Paso Robles

Tablas Creek Soil

Biodynamics & Regenerative Agriculture in Wine Production, Tablas Creek Vineyards, Paso Robles, Central Coast Wine Country

Tablas Creek Vineyards, Adelaida District, Paso Robles

Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc

The bourboulenc we tasted was from the first vintage of this variety at Tablas Creek Vineyard. I was lucky to get my hands on a bottle of this (or 2, I can’t wait to see how it ages).

Tablas Creek has been working to import all of the Chateauneuf du Pape varieties. This variety is the 4^th most planted white grape in CdP. They imported the cuttings of bourboulenc back in 2003.

It was not released to them until 2014, as field cuttings straight out of the vineyard can have viruses that have to be cleaned up before the cuttings can be released. So they start with 3 years in quarantine and then each clean up adds another 3 years. The team at UC Davis had their work cut out for them with the bourboulenc.

100% Bourboulenc 12.8% abv SRP $30

My tasting notes on the Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc

This wine was medium gold in color with a pronounced nose of baked fruit, chalk, lime zest, nutmeg, nectarine, yellow apple, and pineapple.

Dry with good acid. In my mouth, I got Meyer lemon, so a little less sharp, nutmeg, and roasted pineapple. Jason had mentioned the texture and I got that. It weighed heavier in my mouth, reminding me of an aged Roussanne.

I spoke with Jason Haas earlier this year for a piece on Regenerative Agriculture and snuck in a question about the at that time, newly released Bourboulenc. Here is a bit of what he had to say.

“It’s really a wine that we are working without much of a roadmap because it’s not like at Beaucastel they ever bottled it on its own. Usually, they don’t even have enough to ferment it on its own.
I don’t believe that I’ve ever tasted a 100% Bourboulenc from France. So when we were picking it, we were like, what numbers should we pick it at? I don’t know? What should we do in the cellar? I don’t know, let’s try to do something fairly neutral so that we’re letting it show what it thinks it wants. We ended up with it coming in, and we don’t know if this is because it was the 3^rd leaf, first harvest and there wasn’t a lot of canopy or whether it was something about the way that we trained it, but we’d obviously exposed the clusters to a lot of sun and it came in very golden, so when it came out of the press it was almost orange. We were like “oh, that’s weird”. Sometimes Roussanne is like that and we’re used to not being freaked out about it when it’s Roussanne, but bourboulenc, we hadn’t read in the literature anywhere, that this was potentially something that happened. So “well, let’s see happens as it ferments” and a lot of that color did drop out, but it’s still a deeper gold than we were expecting it to be. And there’s this textural component that feels to me almost like a skin-fermented white. It’s got a richer texture and almost an almondy character to it. But bright acids it’s like citrus and almonds and pretty rich texture. I think it’s really cool. But we don’t know if it’s representative of what’s it’s going to be like moving forward or whether it was a function of the vintage. “
Jason Haas, September 2020

Tablas Creek Vineyard planted the bourboulenc in 2016 and 2019 was the first year they were able to harvest it. They picked 2.15 tons and, as Jason said, the juice came out a very orange color. (click through to see their photo of the juice)

The golden yellow color of the 2019 Tablas Creek Bourboulenc

While much of this orange color dropped out during fermentation, this wine was still a rich golden color when I poured it. It reminded me of an aged Roussanne in color.

This was picked on a night pick and then fermented in Stainless Steel and went into neutral barrels to do its malolactic fermentation.

This wine was popular! They made just 145 cases and set 80 aside for the wine club. They sold the other 65 cases within 6 weeks.

Pairings for Bourboulenc

Baked Coquilles St. Jacques

I looked to the Tablas site for a recommendation for what to pair. I mean this is kind of a new animal. They suggested Baked Coquilles St. Jacques or Mussels Marinière. Hmmm…I went to look up what Coquilles were. They are scallops! Their recipe called for small bay scallops. I only had larger scallops, so we made do. I adjusted the recipe slightly as I just needed enough for Michael and me. Small ramekins each held 3 of my medium to large scallops, they were covered with bread crumbs mixed with parsley and drizzled with melted butter then baked until bubbly.

Ingredients for Baked Coquilles St. Jacque

Baked Coquilles St. Jacque

Pineapple, Cucumber, Avocado Salad

The Tablas Creek tasting notes mentioned pineapple notes with a little mintiness, so I put together a salad of pineapple, cucumber, avocado & mint salad. I thought this acid on the side would be great with the richness of the scallops and might tie in the pineapple, which it did.

Roasted Pineapple with honey and pistachios, pineapple curd filled meringue cups with toasted coconut

I went a little nuts with dessert. Too many cooking shows I guess. Today, I thought, is the day I will learn how to make Meringues! Hmmm… Then I will tackle a fancy plating! Hmmm… Well, it came out delicious if not photogenic.

We made meringue cups with our new silicone molds, then, oh yeah I made pineapple curd. (1^st time making a curd too!). Spears of pineapple were roasted in a sauce of pineapple juice, dark brown sugar, and honey.

To plate it, the roasted pineapple got a drizzle of yogurt, a sprinkle of chopped pistachios, and a bit of fresh mint. The meringue cups sat tilted on a bed of toasted coconut and were filled with the pineapple curd spilling out.

This dessert pulled up all the Pineapple notes in the wine.

See more on this recipe

Roasted pineapple with honey and pistachios, meringue cups filled with pineapple curd.

Want some?

As I mentioned, this wine went fast and is indeed sold out. But…they will be releasing a 2020 Bourboulenc, so get ready to jump on that!

Visit the Tablas Creek site for great information on all the Rhône grape varieties as well as great wines. They also have a pretty fascinating blog.

Sources & Resources

Pavlova with Apricot crème and berries

Ah, Pavlova….they are so pretty. Deliciousness floating on clouds! I was bound and determined to pair one with wine for our 12Days of Wine 2020 Celebration. I fell in love with one on Gather & Feast but this massive, stunning pavlova would be 2 hours in the making and needed to rest overnight in the oven. It was also made to feed 6 and there were just 2 of us. So…I opted for a smaller option, that I found on Enjoying Life Everyday

I used this recipe for my base Pavlovas and then made up my filling

Time: 2 Hours 50 Minutes

Yield: 3 people

6-inch Pavlovas

Ingredients

4 egg whites

1 cup of granulated sugar

½ tsp corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees Fahrenheit
Draw 3 6 inch circles on parchment paper cut to fit your baking sheet.
Turn the paper over (so you can see the ink, but it won’t touch your pavlova)
Beat the egg whites with your stand mixer on high for 1 minute
Keep the mixer on and slowly add the sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon.
Beat for another 8 minutes (it should form stiff peaks)
Take the bowl off of your stand mixer and fold in the cornstarch and vanilla.
Spoon 1/3 of the mixture into each of the 3 circles
With a spoon, make a bowl-shaped dent in the middle.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven (DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!)
Let this cool in the oven for at least 1 hour.

Apricot crème

Ingredients

1 cup of Apricot puree (recipe below)

1 cup of whipping cream

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of lemon juice

For garnish

Strawberries

Blackberries

Fresh mint

Sliced dried apricot

Directions

Mix the apricot puree, powdered sugar, and lemon juice
Put the mixture through a sieve
Whip the whipping crème in a stand mixer until it forms stiff peaks
Fold in the apricot puree

Assembling

In the center of each pavlova, spread the Apricot crème
Garnish with sliced strawberries, blackberries, mint leaves, and sliced dried apricot.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

We paired this glorious specimen with a 2018 Riesling to Live from Bonny Doon vineyards. It is made in the method champenoise with Riesling from Wirz Vineyard in California’s Cienega Valley. I think sparkling wine with a pavlova is a must! There is something in the presentation of this dessert that demands bubbles!

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Valentine’s Day – Spoil yourself and maybe someone else with 3 delicious pairing menus, 1 for every palate and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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Grilled balsamic purple cabbage and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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Fetzer 2019 Gewürztraminer and Thai Red Curry

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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.

Chicken Paprikas paired with Meinklang H17

Dec 17, 2020

Chicken Paprikas

This recipe is based on my Mother’s. She made her dumplings to drop by the spoonful, although many prefer the smaller Nokedli.

What to Pair?

Meinklang h17

This wine is made in an orange style with 2 days of skin contact. It is fermented with wild yeasts, and bottled unfiltered and unfined with no sulfites added.

Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 people

Chicken Paprikas

Ingredients

1 onion chopped

4 tbs butter + 1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs paprika

¼ tsp pepper (I used ground white pepper)

2 tbs salt

4 chicken thighs

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

½ pint of sour crème

Directions

Melt the butter in a dutch oven with the olive oil (I add the olive oil to keep the butter from burning)
Cook the onion in the butter, until soft
Pull the pot off of the heat and add the seasoning (paprika, pepper, salt). This is done off the heat to prevent the paprika heating too quickly which gives it a bitter taste.
Add the add the chicken and put this back on the heat to cook for 10 minutes to brown the chicken.
Add the chicken stock (this should almost cover the chicken)
Cover and simmer for 40 minutes over low heat
While that is simmering, make the dumplings

Ingredients for the dumplings

2 eggs

2 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup of water

Directions

Mix the eggs and flour together with a pinch of salt.
Add water to get to the correct consistency.
Drop by spoonfuls into boiling salted water. Cook 10 minutes and drain.

*alternatively, you can put the dough on a cutting board and cut it into thinner slices to drop right into the pot. (I find this much easier than using a grater)

Assembling

Remove the chicken from the pot
Add the sour creme to the sauce in the pot and whisk. (If it needs additional thickening you can add sifted flour, just be sure to cook it through)
Add the dumplings and toss them to coat.
You can choose how to plate this. I put it into individual gratin dishes with the chicken on the bottom, then covered it with my sauce and dumpling mixture.
Finish it off with a sprinkle of paprika.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Hungarian Chicken Paprikas and the Meinklang h17 Wine

We paired this dish with a Hungarian wine of Hárslevelü from Somló, Hungary. From the Meinklang farm, this was wine in the Orange style (white wine that is left on the skins like a red wine).

The wine was rich and delicious and paired well with this dish. The spices elevated by the wine.

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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.

Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs

Dec 17, 2020

Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs

Whew! That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?

I was looking to pair with an Australian Nebbiolo and Goat Cheese and Blackberry…well that with chocolate would just do the trick.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and tracked it down to Crumb Top Baking

https://www.crumbtopbaking.com/frozen-blackberry-goat-cheese-chocolate-bombs/

Of course, I needed to adjust from metric and then, we just bought these great silicon molds, so rather than dip these, I wanted to temper chocolate and make domes! (What was I thinking!) I will admit to learning along the way with these and I will share some of my mistakes and what I would do differently as we go along. Keep in mind, if you don’t have silicone molds, you can follow Leanne’s instructions in the link above to dip these!

Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Yield: 8 Servings

mini blackberry goat cheese chocolate bombs — In the mini chocolate bombs, you can see the filling

What to Pair?

2018 Rowlee Single Vineyard Nebbiolo

We visited Rowlee Vineyard in the Orange Wine Region of NSW Australia in October of 2019. One of the standouts and a wine that we left with, was their 2018 Nebbiolo. They have 2 clones of Nebbiolo and they only make it in the best years. James says they know the Nebbiolo is right when it tastes like a piece of licorice when they taste it on the vine.

The 2018 vintage has notes of black fruit, red fruit, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco, licorice, and florals. It has great acid and flavors of bramble fruit and red cherry with a long finish.

14% abv 100% Nebbiolo $60 AU SRP

Tempered Chocolate

Ingredients

1 ½ cup of chocolate chips (be sure this is not composite chocolate there should be no fats or oils other than cocoa butter)

There are several methods for tempering chocolate, which if you are a cooking show junkie like me, you are probably aware of at least 2 of them. Tempering chocolate is a method of heating and cooling the chocolate to get the cocoa butter crystals to align themselves so that when the chocolate sets it is smooth, shiny, and crisp.

There are 3 methods I found:

Seed Method
Tablier Method
Microwave Method

The Tablier method is that one you see at the Chocolatiers, where they have a large piece of marble and a putty knife and they spread and scrape the chocolate.

The Microwave Method felt shady to Michael and we didn’t (think) we have a silicone bowl.

So the Seeding Method was what we were going with.

Directions

Melt 1 cup in a double boiler, (I use a glass bowl over a pot of water) stirring constantly until it reaches 115 degrees (55 C). Be careful that steam and water don’t get into your chocolate.
Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the double boiler (sit it on a towel on the counter) and add the remaining chips. Stir the chocolate to melt and continue stirring until the temperature drops to 83 degrees (you can, and probably should, move the chocolate to a second bowl after you stir in and melt the chocolate. This will speed up the cooling process. I did not and it took FOREVER!)
Now put this back on the double boiler and get it back up to 88 to 90 degrees which is where you want it to be when you are working with it.

*Plan B – use the microwave method! (see below)*

Now, you can make your domes
Using a spoon the appropriate size for your dome, drop a dollop of chocolate in the mold and then paint it up the sides using the back of a spoon. Here is a video that I followed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgSeH5nNB_w
These go in the freezer to set up for 15 minutes.
While they are setting, make the filling.

Plan B – Microwave method of Tempering Chocolate

Two days later I realized I did have a silicon dish! So here’s how you would do this in the microwave!

Place the chocolate in your silicon dish, microwave for 30 seconds on high, then stir (use your instant read thermometer) don’t let the temperature go over 90 degrees.
If the chocolate is not completely melted return for 30 seconds, then 15 seconds, then 10 seconds, stirring each time and checking the temperature. When the chocolate is melted, you are good to go.

This is sooo much easier than the seeding method. I will never go back! (I used this for another recipe that will be coming up!)

Here is a great resource for tempering chocolate. https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/tempering-chocolate/

Filling

Ingredients

10 ounce log of goat cheese

3 tbs honey

2 tsp vanilla

½ cup unsweetened coconut

1 cup of chopped fresh blackberries

Directions

In your stand mixer, mix the goat cheese, honey and vanilla
Beat on high for 2 minutes
Add the coconut and mix another 20 seconds
Take the bowl out of the stand mixer and fold in the blackberries by hand

Assembling

Pull the set domes out of the freezer and fill (but not completely) with the filling.
You will need a bit more chocolate to finish these, coating the filling and forming a bottom.
Put these back in the freezer 15 minutes to set.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Blackberry Goat Cheese Chocolate Bombs with a Rowlee 2018 Nebbiolo

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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.

Cannolis with Lemon Curd

Dec 17, 2020

Lemon mousse cannolis

So Amazon Prime day caused our kitchen to fill with new gadgets. One of the things that Michael ordered was cannoli molds, and he was ready to use them. We used Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipe https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/homemade-cannoli-recipe-2042720 from the Food Network for the Cannoli shells.

For the filling, well, we made that up. It’s more lemon curd and whipped crème. A bit unorthodox but still tasty.

Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Yield: 6 people

Cannolis

Ingredients

2 cups of flour

1 tbs granulated sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 tbs + 2 tsp unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

1 egg yolk

½ cup dry white wine

Plus+

1 quart of canola oil

Flour for rolling

1 egg lightly beaten (egg wash)

Directions

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Add the butter, smushing between your fingers until the mixture is sandy.
Add the egg yolk and wine and mix until the dough is smooth.
Wrap this in plastic wrap, squishing out any extra air.
Rest in the fridge for 5-10 minutes
Heat enough canola oil in a heavy bottom pot to be able to submerge the cannoli. Heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sift a layer of flour onto your counter and flour a rolling pin
Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick
Cut the dough into 4-inch rounds. (Alex says you should end up with about 24, hmm…I think I got a dozen, maybe mine were thicker?)
Wrap each circle around a cannoli mold, using a little of the egg wash on the ends to seal it shut so it won’t fall off the mold
Flare the edges out from the mold so that the oil can get in to cook them.
Use a pair of tongs to hold the edge of the mold to lower it in the oil.
Cook until crispy for 2 to 3 minutes. *Here I insert a helpful tip. Keep your instant-read thermometer nearby if you don’t have a fryer, it is very easy for the temperature to continue to increase and overcook your cannoli. Likewise, it’s easy to turn the heat down a little too far or for just the process of cooking the cannoli to lower the oil temperature. We had some casualty cannolis as a result.*
Remove the cannoli carefully from the oil.
Holding the mold in one hand with the tongs double a dish towel and grip the cannoli shell with the other and carefully slide it off the mold.
Repeat until you are done!

Lemon curd crème filling

I cheated on this, it was a cup of crème whipped then I folded in some lemon curd I had in the fridge. This went into a piping bag with a star tip and I piped it in before serving.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay

The 2017 vintage was warm with an early bud break and a dry growing season. Then cooler temperatures gave great acidity and mineral notes as well as rich deep fruit at harvest.

This wine was aged for 8 months in neutral oak and they made just 229 cases, which are sold by allocation only.

100% Chardonnay 12.5% abv SRP $85

We paired this with a beautiful Chardonnay from Bailey Family Wines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This wine was bright but full and complex. With the lemon curd filling, it was delicious and we did use a bit of it in the cannoli dough.

Bonny Doon 2018 Riesling to Live – Day 12 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal Reserva Rioja 2014 – Day 11 of the 12 days of Wine 2020

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay – Day 10 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

LaZarre 2017 Central Coast Pinot Noir – Day 9 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

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Meinklang h17 – Day 8 of the 12 Days of wine 2020

Rowlee 2018 Single Vineyard Nebbiolo – Day 7 of the 12 Days of Wine

Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc – Day 6 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Co Dinn 2015 Syrah Roskamp Vineyard Block 2 – Day 5 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Tertini 2018 Arneis – Day 4 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Syncline Subduction Red – Day 3 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

AD Beckham Amphora Pinot Gris – Day 2 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

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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.

12 days of Wine

Endings

Beginnings

Bonny Doon 2018 Riesling to Live

What to pair?

Butternut Squash and black bean tostadas

For Dessert? Pavlovas

Need a “Riesling to Live”?

Head to the Bonny Doon site to find this before it runs out!

Sources and Resources

More from Crushed Grape Chronicles on Bonny Doon and Randall Grahm

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Rioja

Styles of Rioja

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal

Herederos del Marqués de Riscal El Ciego (Alava) Rioja 2014 Reserva

Mojo braised pork tacos with red and white cabbage, pickled red onions, and salsa verde

Chocolate nests with chocolate branches

Well, folks, there is just one day left in our 12 Days of Wine 2020 celebration. Join us tomorrow as we wrap things up and celebrate Christmas Eve!

Sources and Resources

More on Rioja and Tempranillo from Crushed Grape Chronicles

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Bailey Family Wines

Bailey Family 2017 Chardonnay

Roasted Chicken with root vegetables

Cannolis with lemon curd crème

Sources and Resources

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Strawberry Mousse filled Macarons

Time: 1 hour 10 Minutes

Yield: 6 people

Ingredients

Directions

Strawberry mousse filling

Ingredients

Directions

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

LaZarre 2017 Central Coast Pinot Noir

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Cheesy Polenta and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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Hungarian Nut Cake

Apricot Mousse

Apricot Puree

Assembling

What about a Wine Pairing?

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