Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Savory Berry Drizzle

Jan 18, 2021

This recipe for Roasted Cornish Game Hens 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.

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

Feeds: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Scroll to bottom for Recipe Card

Ingredients for Cornish Game Hens

2 Cornish Game Hens
4 tbs of olive oil (divided)
½ lemon quartered
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
8 cloves of garlic
3 tbs of wine (choose to match your pairing, we used Pinot Noir)
3 tbs of chicken stock
Rosemary and lemon slices for garnish.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 450.
Rub the Cornish Game Hens with olive oil (about 2 tbs spoons)
Season with salt and pepper
Place 1 piece of lemon inside the cavity, followed by a sprig of rosemary and another piece of lemon.
Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil
Place the 2 Cornish Game Hens in the roasting pan, breast up.
Add your whole garlic cloves around the birds, and the remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

While this is roasting make the berry drizzle

Savory Berry Drizzle

Ingredients for Berry Drizzle

1 cup of frozen berries (ours were blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) * you can also use fresh berries if you have them.
1/3 cup of chopped dried cranberries
½ lemon juiced and zested
2 tbs frozen orange juice
2 tbs wine (again we used Pinot Noir)
1 tsp of rosemary chopped
Salt & Pepper

Directions

Place all items in a saucepan, warm over medium heat stirring regularly.
Cook until the berries break down. Season to taste

*You can make this ahead if you like and just warm it before drizzling on the hens.

After 25 minutes of roasting the hens…

Whisk together your wine, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Remove the Cornish Game Hens from the oven, lower the heat to 350 and pour the mixture of wine, broth and olive oil over the hens.

Return to the oven to roast an additional 25 minutes, basting with the juices every 10 minutes. The hens should be at 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer inserted at the thigh.

Take the birds out and let them rest on a cutting board under foil. Carefully pour out any juice that is inside the birds into the pan.

In the meantime prepare the sauce…

Pour the juices from the pan into a saucepan with the garlic, boil until the liquid is reduced by half.

Cut the birds in half lengthwise and arrange on a platter, spoon the sauce around the base of the Cornish Game Hens with the garlic.

Drizzle the berry sauce over the hens.

Garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.

What sides to pair?

We did a side of minted pea mash and roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon.

Paired with an Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir from Oregon

All of these paired beautifully with the Pinot Noir. Which we received as a sample from Alloro Vineyard.

This is the genius of Pinot Noir, it is filled with flavor but is light enough to meld well with a variety of dishes. With this dish, it was beautiful with the acid of the wine, cutting through the fat in the hens, the fruit notes, enhancing the berry sauce and rounding it out with accentuating the rosemary and garlic.

To learn more about this wine and the pairing

Jump to the recipes for…

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

Minted pea mash

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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 for 2 game hens rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments like adding the berry drizzle.

Ingredients

1 cup of frozen berries (ours were blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) * you can also use fresh berries if you have them.
1/3 cup of chopped dried cranberries
½ lemon juiced and zested
2 tbs frozen orange juice
2 tbs wine (again we used Pinot Noir)
1 tsp of rosemary chopped
Salt & Pepper
2 Cornish game hens
4 tbs of olive oil (divided)
½ lemon quartered
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
8 cloves of garlic
3 tbs of wine (choose to match your pairing, we used Pinot Noir)
3 tbs of chicken stock
Rosemary and lemon slices for garnish.

Instructions

Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir and the ingredients for Roasted Cornish Game Hens

1. Preheat your oven to 450

2. Rub the hens with olive oil (about 2 tbs spoons)

3. Season with salt and pepper

4. Place 1 piece of lemon inside the cavity, followed by a sprig of rosemary and another piece of lemon

5. Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil

6. Place the 2 hens in the roasting pan, breast up.

7. Add your whole garlic cloves around the birds, and the remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary.

8. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

9. While this is roasting make the berry drizzle

Savory berry drizzle ingredients in a pot

10. Use ingredients 1 through 7

11. Cook until the berries break down.

12. After 25 minutes of roasting the hens

13. Whisk together your wine, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

14. Remove the hens from the oven, lower the heat to 350 and pour the mixture of wine, broth and olive oil over the hens.

15. Return to the oven to roast an additional 25 minutes, basting with the juices every 10 minutes. The hens should be at 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer inserted at the thigh.

16. Take the birds out and let them rest on a cutting board under foil. Carefully pour out any juice that is inside the birds into the pan.

17. In the meantime prepare the sauce

18. Pour the juices from the pan into a saucepan with the garlic, boil until the liquid is reduced by half.

19. Cut the birds in half lengthwise and arrange on a platter, spoon the sauce around the base of the hens with the garlic.

20. Drizzle the berry sauce over the hens.

21. Garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.

Notes

What sides to pair?

We did a side of minted pea mash and roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 574Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 27gCholesterol 169mgSodium 187mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 6gSugar 16gProtein 30g

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

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.

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.

Thai Red Curry with Shrimp and Vegetables

Jan 8, 2021

This recipe was developed to pair with wine for the January #WinePW event pairing wines with Asian dishes.

The #WinePW (wine pairing weekend) crew will gather on Saturday, January 9^th on Twitter to dive into the pairings we each came up with. You can join us! Just hop on to Twitter at 8 am (Pacific time) on Saturday morning and follow and use the hashtag #WinePW to join the conversation. Find all the details at our post An Affordable and Aromatic Gewürztraminer Paired with Thai Red Curry #winePW

Creating My Thai Red Curry recipe

I went through a dozen recipes and several videos compiling my recipe for Thai Red Curry. Once I created my recipe, I went shopping online and, well, pandemic and all, there were several things I was not able to find, like dried shitake mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, Thai basil…I’ll let you know in the recipe where you could add these things, but we adapted our recipe to do without the lime leaves. I substituted dried lemongrass and different basil. I couldn’t get fresh broccoli so we used broccoli rabe. Our mushrooms? No dried shitake mushrooms, no dried mushrooms were available at all. I checked for fresh mushrooms and the only thing we could find were stuffed mushroom caps! LOL! So, we will empty them and find a use later for the filling.

Yes, I threw the kitchen sink at this dish, and you don’t have to! Choose a protein and skip the other vegetables or vice versa. I love vegetables but wanted to add the shrimp for Michael. I made this dish approachable in its flavors, using just one chili while cooking the shrimp. You can most definitely amp up the heat. I also used pre-made red curry paste. You can make your own or just add to the spices if you like.

This dish cooks in a dutch oven and we accompanied it with Jasmine rice.

This was a wonderful simple pairing. In the future, I would amp up the spices to make the pairing work even better. Of course, you can always do this the easy way and get Thai takeout!

Thai Red Curry with vegetables and shrimp

Ingredients

Sesame oil
½ pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
2-4 dried red peppers (to your taste)
1 shallot
2 carrots – peeled and sliced on the diagonal
1/2 sweet potato – cut into ¾ inch cubes
¼ head of cauliflower cut into 1-inch florets
½ cup of broccoli (or broccoli rabe, using florets and stems)
1 can of coconut milk
2 tbs red curry paste
1 tbs tomato paste
1 stalk of lemongrass (or 1 tsp ground dried lemongrass)
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
1 tbs fresh minced garlic
¼ cup of mushroom broth (from rehydrating your mushrooms)
¾ cup of sliced mushrooms (ideally dried shitake that have been rehydrated, but use what you can find!)
1 -5 oz can of bamboo shoots
1 tbs of fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 Kaffir lime leaves
½ red pepper sliced
½ yellow pepper sliced
½ cup fresh Thai basil
1 cup of spinach
Optional 1 cup of broccoli rabe leaves
Juice of ½ of a lime

For garnish

Green onions, cashews, lime slices, and hot sauce

Directions

With this recipe, it is always best to chop everything in advance.

Dice the shallot, slice the carrots, broccoli (or broccoli rabe), cauliflower, sweet potato, green onions, and red and yellow pepper.
Mince the garlic.
Peel and grate the ginger on a microplane.
Rehydrate (or unstuff LOL) your mushrooms. Put them into enough water to cover them, bring to a boil then simmer 5 minutes. Let them steep and cool. Remove the stems and slice. Reserve the rehydrating liquid.
Drain the can of bamboo shoots and put them in a small pot with some water. Boil for 5 minutes. (this will reduce the bamboo smell).
Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a dutch oven. Add as many whole chilis as you like (I just added one)and your shrimp. Cook 2-3 minutes until the shrimp are opaque. Put aside on a plate.
Add a bit more oil, cook the shallot 2 minutes until soft, add the carrots, broccoli (or broccoli rabe), cauliflower, and sweet potato. Cook 3-4 minutes. Put aside on a plate.
Put ½ of your coconut milk in the dutch oven, heat it until you start to see it separate at the edges.
Add the red curry paste and continue to cook. This should fry up. If you want to boost your spices, this is the place to do that, adding more chili, ground coriander, or ground turmeric.
Add the tomato paste, lemongrass, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.
When this begins to separate (you will see the orange oil on the edges), add the remaining coconut milk and the mushroom broth and bring to a boil.
Add the fish sauce and sugar and if you have kaffir lime leaves tear those and add them here (this will add a citrus brightness to the dish).
Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, shrimp, and vegetables simmer for 5 -10 minutes, to absorb the flavors and make the potato tender.
Add the red and yellow pepper and cook for 1 minute. (if you have broccoli rabe leaves or even kale, add them hear also)
Remove from the heat, add your basil and spinach, and the lime juice, and stir.
Serve with jasmine rice and garnish with lime slices, Thai basil, cashew, green onions, and hot sauce.

Pairings from across the Globe

Thai Red Curry with a Gewürztraminer

We paired Thai Red Curry with a Gewürztraminer, from Monterey County.

The best of this variety come from Alsace. But there are 1,700 or so acres planted in California, with half of those being in Monterey, which is where our wine comes from.

Almost 9,000 miles away from Alsace, the native home of Gewürztraminer, you will find Thailand. It is strange and wonderful that places so far apart might find compatibility in food and wine pairings. I suppose it is like the contrasting colors on a color wheel. But pair indeed they do. The spicy notes of many Thai dishes are mellowed by the slight sweetness of the wine and the aromatics in the wine elevate the food. It’s not just me, who thinks this is a good pairing. Head to your favorite Thai restaurant, chances are you will find Riesling and Gewürztraminer in abundance on the wine list.

To read more about this wine, visit our post “An Affordable and Aromatic Gewürztraminer Paired with Red Thai Curry #winePW “

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

More recipes with Wine Pairings from Crushed Grape Chronicles

Hungry for more wine and food pairings? You can visit our recipe page for more inspiration!

Food Recipes & Wine Pairings

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

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 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.

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

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.

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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 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

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.

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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.

Pineapple meringues with pineapple curd and roasted pineapple toasted coconut and pistachios with Tablas Creek Bourboulanc

Dec 11, 2020

Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc

The bourboulenc we tasted was from the first vintage of this variety at Tablas Creek Vineyard in the Adelaida District AVA of Paso Robles California. It is full of pineapple notes, so we ran with that on our pairing.

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

Yep, there’s a lot going on here. I kinda did some pineapple overkill. But this dessert was delicious!

Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Yield: 2 people

Honey Roasted Pineapple (for 2)

Ingredients

2 spears of pineapple

¼ cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon of honey

¼ cup of pineapple juice

¼ cup of dark brown sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
Stir the honey, pineapple juice and dark brown sugar in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Add the pineapple spears and toss to coat them.
Allow this to marinate for 10 minutes
Put the pineapple spears on the baking sheet (reserve the rest of the marinade)
Roast the pineapple for 15 minutes.
Flip the spears and brush with the marinade.
Roast for another 10 minutes (they should caramelize)
Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining marinade.

Meringue cups

Ingredients

3 egg whites (save the yolks for the curd)

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup powdered sugar (+ 1 tbs)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.
Put your silicone dome molds on a baking sheet bottom side up. Spray lightly with nonstick spray (and maybe NOT the baking spray, it has flour in it and you don’t need that. Unlike what I did).
Get your stand mixer out with the whisk attachment.
Slowly add the granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time.
Turn the mixer to high and beat until there are stiff peaks and the mixture is glossy
Sift in the powdered sugar and fold carefully to incorporate
Put the mixture in a pastry bag with a round tip (the size will depend on the size of your domes, the smaller the dome the smaller the tip to give you control)
Pipe the mixture in a circular motion around each dome, starting at the bottom and being careful not to leave gaps.
Bake in the bottom rack of the oven for 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the size). (The meringues should not change color, like mine did!)
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the oven.
Remove from the oven and gently remove the meringues from the mold.

Pineapple curd

Ingredients

4 egg yolks (yes I know you will have to use another egg)

1 egg (a whole one, yolk and white)

½ cup pineapple juice

½ cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbs butter, cut into pieces

Directions

In a large bowl combine the egg yolks and the additional egg. Set aside
In a 2 quart saucepan heat the pineapple juice, salt and sugar over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. This will take about 5 minutes and it should just come to a simmer. (not too hot or you will scramble the eggs when you add this!)
Let this cool for several minutes.
While whisking the eggs, slowly add this mixture. Do this carefully so that you don’t scramble the eggs. (if you do, don’t panic, I have a fix at the end)
Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, put it back in the saucepan (get out your instant read thermometer here) and heat, whisking constantly over low heat until the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point the curd should thicken. (If it gets too hot it will become gritty. Again, don’t panic there is a fix at the end)
Remove the curd from the heat and whisk in the butter until combined.
Let the curd cool before using.

*Fixes! The immersion blender is your friend as well as a strainer. If you scramble your eggs, use the immersion blender to smooth the mixture back out. Likewise if your curd overheats and becomes gritty. If you notice the mixture does not look smooth at the end, you can push it through a sieve before cooling it down.*

Assembling

Name: Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup of frozen berries (ours were blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) * you can also use fresh berries if you have them.; 1/3 cup of chopped dried cranberries; ½ lemon juiced and zested; 2 tbs frozen orange juice; 2 tbs wine (again we used Pinot Noir); 1 tsp of rosemary chopped; Salt & Pepper; 2 Cornish game hens; 4 tbs of olive oil (divided); ½ lemon quartered; 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary; 8 cloves of garlic; 3 tbs of wine (choose to match your pairing, we used Pinot Noir); 3 tbs of chicken stock; Rosemary and lemon slices for garnish.

Additional Ingredients

¼ cup of yogurt

¼ cup pistachios

1 tablespoon of mint leaves (chopped)

½ cup toasted coconut

Directions

Place the pineapple spear on the plate at an angle
In a corner make a pile of toasted coconut
Spoon the pineapple curd into one of the meringue cups until about ½ full
Place the filled meringue cup on the pile of toasted coconut on an angle, allowing some of the curd to roll out (add more if needed)
Drizzle the pineapple spear with the yogurt and garnish with the pistachios and mint.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

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

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

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

Hungarian Nut Cake with Apricot

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

Terre di Bacco Prosecco – Day 1 of the 12 Days of Wine 2020

Hungarian Nut Cake, Caramelized Apples and Crème Anglaise with Prosecco

12 Days of Wine Day 12 – Syncline

Syncline Let's start with the name. Syncline...where does that come from? It was a new word to me. This winery & vineyard in located in the Columbia Gorge AVA. Vineyards are typically in scenic areas. Grapes like a view. But the Columbia Gorge? Come on...this is a pretty stellar backdrop. View of Mt. Hood [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 11 – Johan

What wine list of ours would be complete without a bottle from Johan. The Van Duzer Corridor View of the Johan Vineyard in the Van Duzer Corridor of Oregon's Willamette Valley The Van Duzer Corridor is one of the newer AVA's in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The TTB approval of the AVA happened [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 10 – Girardet

If you have tried today's variety I want to hear about it! This is Baco Noir, a French American hybrid created by Francois Baco from folle blanche (which is a wine grape from France) and a red grape of the vitis riparia species (comes from America, but the exact grape is unknown). This variety is [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 9 – Wooldridge Creek

We are sticking to Southern Oregon today, but...we are into a white wine. Viognier is a white Rhône variety that has found a home in the new world. It is thought to be the leading white variety in Virginia, where it does very well. You will find it in California where it can vary in [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 8 – Cowhorn

We are sticking with Southern Oregon today, but we are heading into the Rhônes. No...I'm not giving you another Syrah. Today we focus on Grenache from Cowhorn in Southern Oregon's Applegate Valley AVA (which is nested in the Rogue Valley AVA). Cowhorn Entrance Gate We've done a bit on Bill Steele and his wife [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 7 – Quady North

Where in Washington is this winery you ask? Nope, we finally stepped out of Washington. Quady North can be found in Oregon's Applegate Valley. The Applegate Valley AVA is a nested AVA within the Rogue Valley AVA. This region is way south in Oregon, just above the California state line. In the State of Jefferson...well [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 6 – Armstrong Family Winery

Today we venture out of the Yakima Valley, sort of....This wine is from Armstrong Family Winery, who are located in Walla Walla. We spent an afternoon with Tim & Jennifer Armstrong at the vineyard this summer (you can read about it here). But, sadly...the fruit from this vineyard, did not go in this wine. Here's [...]

12 Days of Wine Day 5 – JB Neufeld

Justin Neufeld is the winemaker for Gilbert Cellars. On his own he works on his JB Neufeld label, focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon. We spoke with Justin when we were in Yakima in July. He sources his fruit and he played with vineyard specific bottlings for a bit, and found that by blending fruit from multiple [...]

12 Days of Wine – Day 4 Côte Bonneville

DuBrul Vineyard is one of the older vineyards in the Yakima Valley. Hugh and Kathy Shiels purchased the property in 1991 and pulled out the orchards to plant vines. This is a family business and the winemaker is their daughter Kerry Shiels. Last summer we spent a morning with Kerry first at their Sunnyside tasting [...]

12 Days of Wine – Day 3 – Valdemar Estates

Valdemar...Go ahead, say it. Savor the word. It has an exotic feel doesn't it. Well it should. As you drive up the the Estate it looks like exactly what it is, a modern Spanish winery. Only...you are in Walla Walla Washington. What's the story? Valdemar Estates Winery and Tasting Room in Walla Walla Washington [...]

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

A tale of two Malvasia Biancas

Jun 22, 2019

Malvasia Bianca…does it sound exotic? A little Italian right? This is not a wine you come across very often, but, it is gaining ground, at least with a couple of my favorite winemakers.

I first had Malvasia Bianca at a winemaker dinner. Actually the very first Larner winemaker dinner, held at Ballard Inn with Larner wines and delicious food by Chef Budi Kazali. (read about it here) It was served with the dessert course.

Michael Larner grows mostly Rhône varieties on his Ballard Canyon Vineyard. The Malvasia is his exception, a nod to the time spent growing up in Rome while his father was filming there. Obviously, by the name, this is an Italian variety, but lets dig a little deeper.

Malvasia Bianca

Malvasia does not make the list of the top 15 grapes in Italy. It is thought to come from Greece, but became very popular with the Venetian Merchants. It was so popular it became synonymous with Venetian wines, with Venetian wine merchants naming their stores Malavasie. Malvasia Bianca is the sub-variety that is white. It is often likened to Muscat with it’s sweet nose.

In Italy you find it in Lazio (the area around Rome), among other places, where it is blended with Trebbiano into the famous Est! Est!! Est!!! (which has it’s own fabulous story which you can read here as told by the Bubbly Professor)

California’s Central Coast is now home to a considerable amount of Malvasia and I happened to have 2 bottles in my cellar. One from Larner Vineyards in Santa Barbara’s Ballard Canyon and another from Bonny Doon Vineyards with grapes from Monterey. Strangely enough, both wines are from winemakers known for Rhône varieties and this is not a Rhône. So when you have 2 bottles of Malvasia, why not do a comparative tasting?

Larner 2017 Malvasia Bianca

Larner 2018 Malvasia Bianca Ballard Canyon

This wine is from Larner Vineyard in the southern part of Ballard Canyon. It was destemmed, crushed and got a 24 hour cold soak before it was pressed.

Fruit was destemmed and crushed for a 24-hour cold soak on the skins before pressing. Fermented in 50% stainless steel and 50% concrete egg around 62 degrees for 4 weeks. The wine spent 2 months of ageing sur lees in Stainless steel and concrete, before bottling, followed by a minimum of 4 months in bottle before release.
http://www.larnerwine.com

Bonny Doon 2018 Malvasia Bianca

These grapes hail from Monterey County from the Loma del Rio Vineyard. Bonny Doon only made 182 cases of this lovely wine.

I found a bit of details on this charming label, from a speech that Randall Grahm gave last year on labeling. The wine was originally under the Ca’ del Solo label.

Chuck House and I came up with the idea of using a kind of cartoonish illustration on a series of wines we made under the Ca’ del Solo label. This is a picture of little Malvasia Bianca on her first day of school, letting go of her mother’s hand, going “solo” (get it?) and of course, stepping on every crack in the sidewalk she comes across.
https://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/keynote-speech-wines-vines-packaging-conference-august-9th-2018-yountville-ca/

Evidently the label cause a stir in Washington where they took offense to a depiction of a child on the label. Luckily, all ended well and this sweet girl who is a little bit of a renegade still appropriately graces this wine’s label.

The battle!

Really…I have overplayed this. It’s not a battle. These wines are apples and oranges…both of which I love. Similar but different, from different vineyards, soils and winemakers.

We paired with crab rangoons, crab cakes, lo mein and teriyaki salmon.

Crab rangoons, crab cakes, teriyaki salmon & lo mein

The Bonny Doon Malvasia Bianca from Monterey

This wine was lush with honeysuckle on the nose (I wanted to dab it behind my ears!). It was sweet with lychee like a Gewurztraminer on the nose and florals and perfumes on the palate. There was a little waxiness (the tasting notes say “a slightly waxy, lanolin finish.”, but it was subtle. This was medium weight with light acid as you would expect with this variety. I found that I liked this best with the rangoons and teriyaki salmon, as it tending to lend itself to the sweetness of these dishes.

Larner Malvasia Bianca from Ballard Canyon

This wine is a year older, a different vintage, a different winemaker. Remember I said that the first time I had Malvasia Bianca was a dessert pairing with a Larner Malvasia. I remember it being sweet. This wine was not. It had more white florals with the honeysuckle on the nose as well as a little mineral or chalk note. It was tarter on the palate with soft citrus, like meyer lemon. This was a clean fresh wine and it seemed higher in acid than the Bonny Doon. I enjoyed it more with the crab cakes and the lo mein, the bit of minerality working with the umami and red pepper flavors making them explode in my mouth.

The takeaway

The beautiful Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon
The Larner Tasting Room in Los Olivos
The patio in front of the Los Olivos General Store and the Larner Wine Tasting room

Bonny Doon Tasting Room In Davenport CA
Bonny Doon beach
Le Cigare Volant at the Bonny Doon Tasting Room

So as you can see, it’s best that I opened both of these bottles to best enjoy all of my meal! Both are delicious and made by two of my favorite winemakers. Of course you won’t find either of these wines made in large quantities. I suggest that you take a road trip, stop by Larner’s tasting room in Los Olivos and then head up the coast and visit Bonny Doon in Davenport! (Or hell jump on a plane and head to Rome!) Mostly, you should pick up a bottle of a type of wine you have never tried before. Explore and taste and travel through the bottle.

Find Larner Wine’s tasting room in Los Olivos at 2900 Grand Ave.
Bonny Doon’s tasting room can be found on the California Coast in Davenport at 450 Hwy 1

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Dinner with a view – Cadaretta

Oct 31, 2018

We got in a van not knowing how long the drive might be. I suppose I could have looked at a map, but I’m not sure that would have helped. We actually ended up in Oregon. Walla Walla AVA is a border AVA with part of the AVA in Washington and part in Oregon.

We were headed to Cadaretta’s Glasshouse on their Southwind Vineyard for dinner. We arrived as the sun was setting to amazing views. We were greeted with a glass of wine and trays of passed hors d’oeuvres. The food and wine were lovely, but that view…

Sunset through the lens of the 2016 Cadaretta SBS (Sauvignon Blanc Semillon) from the Columbia Valley

The North Slope at Cadaretta’s Southwind Vineyard. These are the Glasshouse blocks of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon

The Glasshouse at Southwind Vineyard by Cadaretta

Southwind Vineyard, Cadaretta Glasshouse Blocks our sunset view.

Cadaretta Glass house and tent at sunset with the tent that kept us warm from the Southern winds at the top of this beautiful site.

Cadaretta

The name comes from the name of the schooner that carried the Anderson & Middleton lumber products to market in the early 20th century. The family has a history in Washington having been in lumber on the coast since 1898. That’s 120 years in business in WA this year, which is no small feat. The timber company was based on the coast in Aberdeen WA (of Nirvana fame).

Getting into Grapes

Issues came up with the decline of old growth and the family, always looking to preserve the land, closed their mill. In the 70’s issues with the spotted owl came up and many companies went out of business. The family bought property in California’s central valley and started growing table grapes. This led them to Paso Robles where they have been growers of wine grapes at their Red Cedar Vineyard for 30 years.

They started Clayhouse wines in Paso Robles. Their roots were in Washington though, and they returned to purchase this piece of property in the Walla Walla AVA.

Back to the ship

The Cadaretta carried lumber to San Francisco and LA. Kris’ father used to ride on the ship as a kid on it’s journeys. During WWII the ship was requisitioned by the Government. Family lore tell the tale that on the final trip as the Cadaretta the ship was followed down the coast by a Japanese submarine. The ship was later renamed Southwind, which is where this particular vineyard derives its name.

Southwind Vineyard

This vineyard sits just west of Milton-Freewater on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA. L’Ecole, Doubleback and Sleight of Hand also have vineyards nearby. The view and the company are impressive, but what makes this place special for wine is the soil.

Soil at Southwind Vineyard

Most of the soil in the surrounding area is loess (blown dust) from the Columbia and Missoula Floods and you find that in the soils on the Northern slope. Those are the relatively young 15 million year old soils. On the South slope you find fractured basalt soils. These are ancient soils. They were just behind the tent we were sitting in. You find them only on steep hillsides above 1250.

When they bought the property they spent 2 years digging test plots. After soil analysis they planted 1 acre test plots. Digging into the basalt is difficult, time consuming and expensive. The vines have to work harder and dig deeper, but the characteristic they were getting in the wines from this soil made it worth it.

They have been working on this for 8 years and only 2 years ago release the first of the Southwind wines. Kris said that as a timber family they have a saying…

“It takes 40 years to grow a tree, we have patience.”

They wanted to get it right. They find Syrah and Malbec do best in this soil. There are few other vineyard grown in fractured basalt. These Southwind wines are pretty rare also with just 50 cases of each released.

Sustainability is common sense

The family comes from timber and it was always just common sense to take care of the land. It’s no different with the vineyard. Being salmon safe and sustainable isn’t something they advertise, they just do it. They have falconers from Paso that they used in the vineyard there who come in to help keep the vermin down, as well as owl boxes on the property. They use arugula for cover crop and have a bee keeper who comes in with the bees. It just makes sense to be sustainable.

Artifexs

With that idea in mind, they also didn’t see the need for a big showy winery. Instead they worked with Norm McKibben and JF Pellet and created Artifex in Walla Walla which is a custom crush facility for small lot, high end wines. The name comes from a Latin term meaning “Made skillfully” and it is a state of the art facility. The facility houses multiple wineries and they are customers to themselves.

The Glasshouse

So they had determined that they didn’t need an extravagant tasting room, but her brother still wanted a place to entertain. The view here from the vineyard was stunning and he wanted to create a place to enjoy that view. He had seen a building at the Santa Rosa Airport and honed in on the idea of a glass house with garage doors to open to the view. The timber is recycled, of course. To keep this a “special” place they limit it to just a few events. We were lucky to be one of those few events.

Our tables in the tent, protected from the wind at Cadaretta.

The menu for our dinner at the Glasshouse by Olive Catering in Walla Walla

Wild Canadian Arctic Char with Yukon potato emulsion, chanterelle mushrooms and plum relish by Olive Catering at the Dinner at Cardaretta’s Glasshouse

The Dinner

Over the course of the evening, Kris spoke to us between courses and we enjoyed dinner from Olive Catering in Walla Walla to compliment the wines.

The 2014 Cadaretta, Windthrow

This wine was paired with Wild Canadian Arctic Char with Yukon potato emulsion, chanterelle mushrooms and plum relish.

The Windthrow is a Columbia Valley Rhone Style Blend (76% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 9% Grenache) sourced from Stonetree, Southwind and Monetta’s Vineyards. Aged 22 month in 50% Hungarian Oak, 40% New French Oak and 10% Neutral French Oak. Unfined they made just 259 cases.

The 2015 Cadaretta, Southwind Malbec

Paired with maple braised lamb shank with black truffle risotto, foraged mushrooms and dates.

The Southwind Malbec is a Walla Walla Valley wine specifically from the Southwind Vineyard. 2015 was a warm vintage with an early bud break. This was a wine that opened in the glass.

The 2014 Cadaretta, Springboard

Our dessert pairing of petite fours & truffles.

The Springboard is a Columbia Valley wine and is a Bordeaux style blend of 81% Cab Sav, 10% Malbec and 9% Petit Verdot sourced from Obelisco, Southwind, Red Mountain and Alder Ridge Vineyards. It is aged in 60% new french oak with the remainder in more neutral oak. Only 249 cases of this wine were made.

The evening was beautiful, the hosting was warm and the wines were truly stunning. Getting to speak with Kris and being so warmly welcomed to the place that is so special to their family was a wonderful experience.

You can taste them at their tasting room in Downtown Walla Walla at 315 E. Main Street Thursday through Sunday. Visit there website here for details.

Don’t forget to check back with us here at Crushed Grape Chronicles for more great wine country experiences in Washington, Oregon and beyond. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

A Trio of Syrahs from California’s Central Coast

Jan 25, 2018

I started out with a plan. It actually wasn’t Syrah. The plan was dinner and a Roussanne. We have spent a couple weeks doing research on Syrah and were almost complete. Our next varietal to focus on is Roussanne and we were going to start with that tonight. But…it got a little cloudy out and it was feeling a little cold and rather than the seafood companion to the Roussanne, we wanted something a little warmer and cozier.

I came across a post on my Twitter from Bonny Doon of two of their Syrah’s the 2013 Bien Nacido and the 2013 Le Pousseur. I was inspired and pretty sure I had a Le Pousseur in the cellar, so I did a little pairing research on the Bonny Doon site, and Randall Grahm their winemaker, suggests lamb chops with chimichurri. I don’t do lamb, (can’t eat baby animals) so I look a little further on the web for pairing advice and see sirloin as a pairing. Off we go to shop for dinner. We pick up a marinated sirloin with a chimichurri sauce! Upon arriving at home, I head down to grab the wine, only to find, well, to not find, the Le Pousseur. We must have already enjoyed that bottle! Luckily, we have a few other Syrahs (that’s kind of an understatement). So I debate between a 2013 Carhartt and a 2014 Larner Transverse. Both are from Santa Barbara County. Finally I decide that with a Tablas Creek 2014 Syrah already open, we might as well do a side by side with all 3.

Grilled sirloin & Syrah Tablas Creek 2014, Carhartt 2013 and Larner Transverse 2014

Grilled Sirloin with a chimichurri sauce, grilled eggplant and a salad to pair with our Trio of Syrahs.

The Syrahs

2014 Tablas Creek Syrah

The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2014 Syrah

At Tablas Creek in Paso Robles they have 4 clones of Syrah that were brought from France, from Chateau du Beaucastel. They planted these in 1994, so the vines are almost in their mid 20’s. The 2014 is the tenth bottling of this single varietal that they have done. This was fermented in open-top fermenters and was aged in a mix of smaller newer barrels (note that they are “newer” not “New”) and Neutral 1200- gallon foudres for 20 months. It is 100% Syrah and sits at 14.6% alcohol. If you are familiar with Rhône Syrahs, they say this wine is “more Cote Rotie than Cornas,”. Only 800 cases were produced. Visit https://tablascreek.com/ for all the details.

You will also find Vintage Charts (I love these) on their site, to let you know where their wines are at drinkability wise. Many of the Tablas Creek Wines are meant to age. They taste through their wines and update the vintage chart annually. The chart will let you know if the wine needs more aging, is drinking well but is youthful, is mature, is in a closed phase, if it’s time to drink it now, before it passes it’s prime or if you have waited too long. It will also tell you if they currently recommend decanting the wine.

2013 Carhartt Syrah

Carhartt 2013 Syrah.

This Syrah comes from Rancho Santa Ynez in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County. Carhartt prints all the good geeky details right on the back label and I love them for that! This vineyard is just 10 acres and sits on a mesa in the Santa Ynez Valley. The wine is 100% Syrah from clones 470 & 174 on 1103p Rootstock and 877 & Estrella clones on 5c rootstock. It is grown on vertical trellis. It is sustainably farmed, and fermented in small lots with a cold soak, punch downs and pump overs & gently pressed. It spends 17 months in barrel (35% new french oak). It sits at 13.5% alcohol. This wine is unfined and unfiltered and only 435 cases were made.

To learn a little more about Carhartt head to their website http://carharttvineyard.com On the home page you will find a digital magazine, written by Chase Carhartt. He will tell you the history of this small family business, where they produce only 5000 cases of wine per year and are dedicated making quality wine and treating customers like family. Their tasting room in Los Olivos is only 99 square feet, making it the tiniest tasting room, but then there is the back patio, which is the best place to be a 5 pm in Los Olivos.

2014 Larner Transverse

Larner 2014 Transverse Syrah

Michael Larner has a background as a Geologist, so his labels and names for his wine stem from this background. Transverse is the name for his Syrah that is not an estate wine.

“Transverse: A geologic structure lying or extending across an area, in a cross direction to other distinguishing local features” From his blog post on this wine

This wine is a blend of Syrah from across Santa Barbara County. The grapes come from 4 estates spread across the area: Verna’s vineyard is on the east side of the Los Alamos Valley, Coquelicot vineyard sits in the southern part of the Santa Ynez AVA east of Solvang, Rodney’s vineyard is in the Northern part of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA on Foxen Canyon Road (at Fess Parker) and Star Lane vineyard is in the Eastern most part of the Santa Ynez Valley in the Happy Canyon AVA. So these vineyards span the area and all sit outside the Ballard Canyon AVA, where Larner Vineyard is located.

The grapes for this wine were harvested between October 1st and November 10th, 2014. It was aged for 14 months in 100% neutral french oak puncheons and then spent 4 months in bottle before it was released. It sits at 14.7% Alcohol.

“100% Syrah, 10% Whole Cluster. All vineyard lots were fermented individually, macerated for a total of 15 days, initiated fermentation using native yeast, later inoculated with BM 45 yeast and pumped over 1x per day plus punched down 3x per day. Peak Temp averaged 86˚F.”

All these details can be found on the Larner site at http://www.larnerwine.com/product/2014-Transverse

The Tasting

2014 Tablas Creek Syrah

As you pour this wine you immediately notice how dark and opaque it is. The first thing I got when I stuck my nose in the glass was leather and earth, followed by dark fruit like black currants, folloowed by pepper and savory herbs. When I went back to it later, I was struck by the salinity and minerality that it gave off as it opened up. In my mouth it was tart blackberries with a bit of cranberry, you know that extra tartness and tannin you get from cranberries. It made my mouth water and my teeth dry just a little. It was mellow and the most food friendly of the wines.

2013 Carhartt Syrah

This wine was decidedly lighter as I poured it, and more translucent in the glass. The first thing I smelled here was wet straw and barnyard, followed by cranberries, red currants and brighter spices like white pepper. There were also light floral notes like violets. In my mouth it was a much lighter wine than the others and tasted of tart red apple skin and dark red berries. It numbed my gums a little without drying them. It had a strong medium finish. It heightened the spice in the chimichurri sauce without making it too hot.

2014 Larner Transverse

This wine was darker, like the Tablas Creek. Was this due to the 2014 Harvest? It also sits at 14.7 alcohol (the Tablas is 14.6 and the Carhartt 13.5), so perhaps the depth of color has something to do with the hang time? The nose was pepper and spice immediately followed by Eucalyptus, black currants and leather. In my mouth it was all rich red and black fruit with spice and bright bold pepper. The bright red fruit really hits you mid palate. It was tangy on the sides of my tougue and had a sweetness on the finish.

After tasting the wines, I was fascinated by the differences. Were the differences due to wine making techniques, the location of the vineyards, the vintage year and it’s weather? So I did a little digging and here is what I found out about the harvests.

About the Vintages

Paso Robles 2014 Harvest

2014 was the 3rd year of drought in Paso Robles. The yields across the area were down, although Tablas Creek’s Syrah Harvest yields were up by 13% over 2013. The year was noted for depth and concentration in the berries.

Santa Barbara County 2013 Harvest

While 2013 was the 2nd year of drought it was also the 2nd year of ideal growing conditions. It was a warm, dry growing season without any considerable heat spikes. It was an early harvest, starting on August 14th and like 2014 it was a fast harvest. A typical harvest is spread out over 3 months, 2013’s harvest lasted only 7 weeks. Yields were above average, with an early bud break and large fruit set.

Santa Barbara County 2014 Harvest

In Santa Barbara they had a shorter growing season. The winter was mild and harvest for many was the earliest ever. Harvest was also fast, with vineyards bringing in lots of fruit at the same time putting wineries into quite the scramble. For all intents and purposes it was a solid crop and the fruit had good intensity.

The Regions

Map of California's Central Coast with Paso Robles and Santa Barbara Highlighted

Paso Roble and Santa Barbara Regions in California’s Central Coast Map by GoogleMaps

The areas that these wines come from spans around a hundred miles on California’s Central Coast. Tablas Creek is in the Paso Robles Region, while the Carhartt and Larner Syrahs are from the Santa Barbara Region.

: Tablas Creek Vineyard in the Adelaida AVA in Paso Robles. Map by GoogleMaps

: Carhartt Vineyards in Rancho Santa Ynez in the Santa Ynez Valley Map by GoogleMaps

: The vineyards for the Larner Transverse Syrah, span the Santa Barbara Region. Map by GoogleMaps

Tablas Creek, Paso Robles, Adelaida AVA

Tablas Creek Vineyards is located in the Western Portion of the Paso Robles wine region in the Adelaida AVA. The elevations in this AVA are between 900 and 1200 feet for planted vineyards. Because they are the closest AVA to the Ocean, hot summer days are typically tempered by the Maritime influences. Warm days and cool nights are an ideal growing condition.

For more on the Adelaida AVA you can watch our interview with Jason Haas.

Carhartt Vineyard, Rancho Santa Ynez, Santa Ynez AVA

Carhartt Vineyard is located in Santa Barbara County. It is in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, which is a larger AVA encompassing most of the southern part of Santa Barbara County. Within this AVA you find the Sta. Rita Hills AVA to the West, Ballard Canyon AVA in the Central part of the area and the Happy Canyon AVA to the East. Carhartt Vineyard sits in Rancho Santa Ynez on a hill top.

Larner Wines Transverse, Santa Barbara County

This wine is called Transverse because it comes from 4 estate vineyards that span the Transverse Valley of the Santa Barbara Area. So…as you can see from the Map above it takes in multiple regions.

Verna’s Vineyard is in Los Alamos off of Cat Canyon Road. The vineyard was planted in 1999 by the Melville family and is now owned by Cat Canyon / Shokrian Vineyards. It is a or 100 acre parcel east of the 101 with warm winds and cool nights.

Rodney’s Vineyard is on the Fess Parker Ranch which is on the east side of Foxen Canyon Road. It is included in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA in it’s Northernmost region. Fess Parker, so well known as “Daniel Boone” bought the property in 1988. The vineyard is named after his late son-in-law.

Coquelicot Vineyard is in the Santa Ynez Valley, just east of Solvang. It is one of the Southern most vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA. This 58 Acre vineyard is Certified Organic.

Star Lane Vineyard is located in the Happy Canyon AVA which is the furthest West region of the Santa Barbara area and as such the warmest. It sits north of Happy Canyon Road.

So, the differences in the wines? It could be the growing season and the fact that it was just the 2nd year of drought was part of what made the Carhartt a bit lighter. Or perhaps it was the wine making style. Or the type of soil in the vineyards (we didn’t even really talk about that variable!) And don’t get me wrong, the fact that it was lighter than the other two was not a bad thing. It was lighter on my palate, but it was still full of flavor and nuance. This whole side by side tasting is about finding the nuanced differences in the wines and enjoying each for their uniqueness. There are differences in soils, in weather, in the clones, in the yeasts…Michael mentions inoculating with BM 35 yeast after the initial fermentation was started with native yeasts. Tablas Creek is all native yeast and I actually don’t have the details on the yeasts used on the Carhartt, as this is one of the few details that they don’t include on this label. The choice of when to harvest is dependent on the winemakers preference for ripeness typically, but for Michael Larner was harvesting from 4 vineyards that were not his own, which often can mean that you are subject to being harvested a little earlier or later than your preference depending on who else the vineyard is harvesting for at the time. Then there are the subtle differences of where the block is located within the vineyard and what time of sunlight and wind it gets. Really, there are just so many variables.

And that is what makes this beverage so fascinating. The variables all add up to a complex story in the glass. It’s a story of the place, of the soil, of the season, of the people… and it’s a delicious story.

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What is Terret Noir?

Dec 27, 2017

Terret Noir

Terret Noir is a Rhône Valley Grape that is dark but thinned skinned and produces a light colored wine. It is one of the 13 grapes permitted for blending in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, although it totals just 2 acres of vineyard in the region. Like Grenache you will also find Terret Blanc and Terret Gris the other color variations in the grape. Terret Noir is thought to be originally from Languedoc where Terret Gris was once grown widely and used in the production of vermouth.

This grape buds late (which is great, so you don’t have as much frost worry with it), produces abundantly and brings a freshness to other varieties when blended.

Terret Noir in Paso Robles

Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles brought this grape in with their program to bring all 13 of the Châteauneuf-de-Pape grapes to their vineyard. We had the opportunity to taste a single varietal of Terret Noir in their tasting room and took a bottle of the 2015 with us. (They made this as a single varietal in 2013, 2014 & 2015)

It was indeed a light colored wine, transparent cranberry red, leaning more toward orange than purple in my glass. On the nose you get bright red fruit and spice with dried strawberries and brambles, like a walk in a meadow in summer after rain as you get all the lush green grasses drying in the sun.

In your mouth it is pomegranate and bright spices and the flesh of a bright red plum.

We paired it with a cheese and charcuterie plate and found it made the parmesan cheese taste sharper and less salty. The dry Italian salami brightened the fruit in the wine while the wine brought out the savory tones in the salami.

Tablas Creek plans to use this as a blending grape. Watch for it to appear with Syrah and Grenache in a 2016 blend.

Tablas Creek Terret Noir in glass

Tablas Creek 2015 Terret Noir

Meat & Cheese platter

Wine & Cheese Pairing with Tablas Creek Terret Noir 2105

I always enjoy exploring those underappreciated grape varieties. It widens your palate and reminds you that there is so much more out there than Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

This wine pairs well with braised vegetables, grilled eggplant and salty meats and cheeses.

Come back and see what other great wine varieties we are tasting. Keep up to date on all of our posts by following us on Crushed Grape Chronicles . You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Wine and chocolate bark pairing ideas

Dec 14, 2017

I was searching for a nut mix recipe for the holidays and came across a “no recipe” recipe for chocolate bark (so easy it’s not really a recipe, but just a little bit of direction to get you going). I’ve always loved chocolate bark and had just seen an article on pairing wine with chocolate, and not just “a dark red wine with dark chocolate” kinda article but one with some variety. Then I started to think about cheese plates and the nut and dried fruit pairings you could do with each wine, and my imagination took off. So now I am putting together some “toss together” ideas for perfect wine and chocolate bark recipes.

Basics to start with

Typically you want your wine as sweet as your chocolate. Dark chocolates seem to be much more forgiving of this with big red wines. And Sparkling wines pull up the celebratory mood and that mood more than anything is very forgiving with pairings. Champagne goes with anything and if it doesn’t people are unlikely to notice. The bubbles will have them too happy to care.

White chocolate

white chocolate

Yes, yes, I know it’s not chocolate, it is cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. But butter, is fat so you can see how you can pair this with Champagne or sparkling wines. Rieslings, or Gewürtraminer work also, as long as they lean to the sweet side. Try Muscats, a fruit forward Chardonnay, or a late harvest white wine.

Milk Chocolate

milk chocolate

Look to Ports and Sherrys and maybe a Pinot Noir. You can really go with most red wines as long as they are not too dry. Also a Sparkling Moscato works nice.

Dark Chocolate

dark chocolate

Well big reds love dark chocolate, think Merlot, Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Zinfandel, Syrah or Mourvedre. Or take it the dessert route with a Ruby or Tawny Port. The lighter the chocolate the sweeter the wine should be, so 60% dark chocolates with Ports, 70% with the darker reds.

Now when you start to toss on those toppings…

The first thing that came to mind for me was bacon. I know….but dark chocolate and bacon with a Syrah? Yum. Maybe some dried cranberries to pull out the fruit in the wine. Are you feelin’ me here?

Nuts and dried fruits

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Add some dried apricots and orange zest to a white chocolate and pair with a Tokaji or a late harvest white wine.

Add almonds or chestnuts to dark chocolate to pair with a Merlot

Dried cherries and walnuts to milk chocolate for a Pinot Noir.

Hazelnuts to white chocolate to pair with a toasty sparkling wine.

Caramel with Madeira…

Herbs & other flavors

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And then don’t forget the herbs and other flavors.

Lavender in a white or milk chocolate with a sweet Riesling.

Or take it spicy with some chili flakes or chili powder.

Coffee, or espresso powder with a rich Pinot Noir or Shiraz.

Salty potato chips in white chocolate with sparkling wine.

Rosemary and salt with a dark chocolate and a Carignan, Zin or Shiraz.

Try a little coriander in dark chocolate with a Mourvedre.

Or a little cumin in a dark chocolate with a Cabernet or Bordeaux blend.

Finishing salts are great and often are infused…I have a Stumptown coffee infused salt that I love!

White & Dark chocolate Bark ingredients & possibilities

Wines to Avoid

Typically you want to avoid:

white wines as they are high in acid

cold wines that will change the texture of the chocolate in your mouth (you want it to melt right?)

and wines that are high in tannins (so check those big reds before diving in)

Of course in the end it all depends on personal taste. So make a mix and let people taste, or just put out the chocolate and let them pair with the extras on their own! I suggest having a nice sparkling wine on the side as a palate cleanser for those who make unfortunate pairings and need to get the taste out of their mouth!

How to put it together?

I love that this part is so easy.

overhead cutting chocolate for chocolate bark

Chop or shave some chocolate

Throw it in a double boiler over low (or like me just a pot of simmering water with a glass bowl on top) and stir constantly until it melts.

: Melting starts out slow

: Then once part starts to melt it gets going. Keep stirring.

: Pour the melted chocolate on a parchment lined cookie sheet

: Then spread it out with a spatula

Sprinkle on your toppings of choice!

Toss it in the fridge (okay, this might be the toughest part at this time of the year, finding room in the fridge for a sheet pan).

Once it has set, break it up and pair!

Our Pairings

chocolate bark for syrah & Viognier Pairing

Dark chocolate with dried cranberries, bacon, rosemary and coffee infused finishing salt. white chocolate with dried apricots, orange zest and pistachios, and a bonus dark chocoalte with cranberries and pistachios.

We settled on two pairings. We had a bottle of 2012 Reserve Syrah from Larner Vineyards in Santa Barbara’s Ballard Canyon AVA. The Tasting notes for this wine included: “Black fruit, cedar, licorice, smoked meat and leather with silky tannins.” This Larner Syrah is the 4 best barrels of Syrah from 2012. It spends 36 months on 50% New French Oak. There were only 97 cases of this wine produced.

We opted to do a dark chocolate bark with dried cranberries, bacon, rosemary and a coffee infused finishing salt.

Larner Reserve Syrah with choclate Bark ingredients, rosemary, cranberries, bacon, coffee finishing salt

Larner Reserve Syrah with chocolate bark ingredients: rosemary, cranberries, bacon, coffee finishing salt

And to go with dessert, a limited release 2013 late harvest Viognier from Cold Heaven Cellars (again Santa Barbara).

Cold Heaven only produces a late harvest Viognier in years when the conditions are just right. 200 cases of this wine were produced. It was 50% barrel aged for 4 months in 2 year old French Hermitage barrels.

For this wine we went with a white chocolate bark with dried apricot, orange zest and pistachios.

Late Harvest Viognier from Cold Heaven with white chocolate bark with orange zest and dried apricots

Explore! Pick your favorite wines then choose complimenting or contrasting flavors. An easy go to, is to find the tasting notes for the wine and choose ingredients from that list! Have fun and let us know what amazing combinations for pairings that you come up with!

Keep up to date on all of our posts by following us on Crushed Grape Chronicles . You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Wine Pairings

Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle

Feeds: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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Ingredients for Cornish Game Hens

Directions

Savory Berry Drizzle

Ingredients for Berry Drizzle

Directions

What sides to pair?

Paired with an Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir from Oregon

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Creating My Thai Red Curry recipe

Thai Red Curry with vegetables and shrimp

Ingredients

For garnish

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Pairings from across the Globe

Thai Red Curry with a Gewürztraminer

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Tablas Creek Vineyard

Tablas Creek 2019 Bourboulenc

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Baked Coquilles St. Jacques

Pineapple, Cucumber, Avocado Salad

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

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Sources & Resources

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Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 people

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Hungarian Chicken Paprikas and the Meinklang h17 Wine

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