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

Jan 25, 2021

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout Recipes

I guess we are on a rainbow theme here!

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

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

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

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

Scroll to the bottom for the recipe cards.

Youngberg Hill

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

2016 Youngberg Hill Natasha Pinot Noir

Our notes

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

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

2017 Youngberg Hill Cuvée Pinot Noir

Our notes

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

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

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

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Baked Rainbow Trout

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

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

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

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

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

How to find Youngberg Hill?

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

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

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

For more information on this region visit

https://www.oregonwine.org/

https://willamettewines.com/

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

More from Crushed Grape Chronicles on Tablas Creek

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.

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

Dec 16, 2020

Early one spring morning we headed into the Southern Highlands region in New South Wales Australia to visit Tertini Cellars. It was October and we were staying on the coast in Shoalhaven. We arose early and headed inland up through the Kangaroo Valley, past Fitzroy Falls. It was a rainy morning and the driving felt a little treacherous; winding roads into the mountains, with the rain and driving on the opposite side of the road and car than we were accustomed to.

This area is so lush and green. Spring was definitely in the air. It was so different than the Shoalhaven area we had just left.

We made it, arriving before the cellar door opened and Jonathan Holgate, the Tertini winemaker met us to tell us a bit about the wines, and show us the winery. He took us out to the Yarrandoo Vineyard which is closest to the winery before taking us through a tasting at the cellar door.

This is a high-altitude region with a moderating maritime influence. We had just driven up from the coast. This gives them a long growing season. When I say high-altitude, the vineyards here sit between 650 and 715 meters above sea level. That’s around 2100-2300 feet. The Yarrandoo Vineyard is the highest of their vineyards at 715 meters. Here they grow, Pinot Noir, Arneis, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

Tertini is sensitive to the needs of the wildlife locally and leaves 30% of their property undeveloped. They say doing this gives the animals shelter and places to forage, so they don’t bother the vines, so everybody wins.

The Tertini entrance sign, unpretentiously nestled in the trees

The Tertini Tasting Room in Australia’s Southern Highlands

The Patio at Tertini Wines

The elegant Tertini Tasting Room Southern Highlands New South Wales Australia

The elegant Tertini Tasting Room Southern Highlands NSW Australia

Spring Vines in Tertini’s Yaraandoo Vineyard in Southern Highlands

Tertini Wines Yaraandoo Vineyard in Australia’s Southern Highlands

Tertini 2018 Private Cellar Collection Arneis

This Arneis is from the Yarrandoo Vineyard that we visited with Jonathan on that drizzly spring morning. There were only 62 cases produced. This does a partial oak ferment. Yes, I said ferment. Jonathan said that at the time he did not know of another Arneis being made in this way in Australia.

13.5% abv SRP $42 AU

This Arneis was medium lemon in color, with notes of light smoke, dusty citrus, bruised herbs like tarragon, grilled peach, earth, and roasted nuts.

Medium in alcohol, body, and medium to high acidity, it had pronounced flavors of tart yellow apple, almond, vanilla, and under-ripe white peach, with a long finish.

This wine was not loud, but quietly confident. It swam around the food enveloping it beautifully. When you return to sip it on its own it is bolder and brighter. It’s like a brilliant friend who is a good listener.

This vintage is sold out, but the 2019 Vintage is now available.

We paired this with a grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad. If I could have found duck, I would have used duck, but…pandemic, ya know!

Tertini Private Cellar Collection Arneis from Southern Highlands NSW Australia

Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis

I sliced the roasted chicken and warmed it in a pan with olive oil and butter. After removing the chicken to a plate to keep warm, I added honey and more butter to the pan. When the butter melted I added lemon juice and salt, stirred this up, and removed it from the heat.

Sliced peaches and shallots are cooked on a grill pan, then the salad assembles with greens on the bottom. We used artisan salad greens, frisee, red leaf, and butter lettuce, but you can use whatever you have on hand. This gets topped with roasted chicken, grilled peaches, and shallots and drizzled with the honey dressing. Finish this off with fresh tarragon and sliced almonds.

I found that this barrel-fermented Arneis really made the tarragon pop.

See the full recipe here.

Ingredients for roasted chicken, grilled peach and tarragon salad

Tertini Private Cellar Collection Arneis with grilled peach, chicken and tarragon salad

Peach crisp

Dessert was a peach crisp made in two individual gratin dishes. We mixed fresh and frozen peaches with sugar and flour to coat and placed them in the buttered gratins. This was topped with a mixture of butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and rolled oats. We served this warm with vanilla ice cream.

This was warm and wonderful with the Arneis, much of that was due to the fresh peaches which cut the sweetness of the dish.

See the recipe here.

Tertini Private Cellar Collection Arneis with peach crisp

Finding Tertini and the Arneis

If you find yourself in Australia (I realize that is unlikely to happen soon unless you already live there). Head to Southern Highlands and visit Tertini. The region is beautiful especially in the spring and the wines at Tertini are a step above.

While they are sold out of this vintage, I spoke with Craig their Cellar Door Manager and he recommends the Tertini 2019 PCC (Private Cellar Collection) Arneis, which spends 10 months in oak and he says “Looks terrific”.

Sources and Resources

More by Crushed Grape Chronicles on Tertini and Southern Highlands

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.

Chocolate nests with chocolate branches paired with Rioja Marques de Riscal 2014 Reserva

Dec 15, 2020

Chocolate Nests

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.”

Have you ever seen a photo on Pinterest of a dish so pretty that you just had to try to recreate something similar? Well that was what happened to me. I saw this photo of a stunning chocolate nest by Martin Benn on 10play.com

I did not have all the ingredients, but I grabbed the idea and created something similar.

Time: 45 Minutes

Yield: 4 people

Ingredients

Chocolate

Pistachios

Walnut cake soil

Cocoa

Powdered sugar

Anise

Cinnamon

Blackberries

Mint

Black cherry ice cream

Directions

Temper some chocolate (I recommend the microwave method. It’s quick and easy and I listed it below. If you want to use the “seeding” method head to our post for chocolate bombs for those details)
Place a small bowl or dish upside down on your cutting board
Cover it with aluminum foil
Put your tempered chocolate in a pastry bag with a small round tip
Pipe onto the aluminum foil in a round random pattern to create your nest.
Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a sheet pan. Pipe on chocolate branches.
Place both in the freezer to set up.
Grind some pistachios in your food processor
Crumble some walnut cake (I had leftover Hungarian Nut Cake, link here)
Mix some cocoa, powdered sugar, and cinnamon
Grind a little anise into your powdered sugar mixture.
Mix this into some of your crumbled cake (this will give you colors and layers to play with.
Create a small mound with your cake crumbles
Balance the nest of this pile, making a divot so it will stay put.
Add some walnut cake inside the nest
Place your quenelle of ice cream on top
Add your branches and garnish with blackberries and mint if desired

Microwave method of Tempering Chocolate

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/

We paired these chocolate nests with a Rioja which went beautifully with the dark chocolate and fruit. The cocoa, anise, and cinnamon also blended beautifully with the wine.

This paired with the Herederos del Marqués de Riscal El Ciego (Alava) Rioja 2014 Reserva

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Valentine's Day Vegan Style with stuffed portabella mushrooms and grilled purple cabbage wedges

Stuffed Vegan Portabella Mushrooms and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Grilled Balsamic purple Cabbage and L'Ecole Cabernet

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

L'Ecole No. 41 2017 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon with chocolate truffles

Steak and chocolate – The best way to enjoy a L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon

Spanish inspired Cod poached in a white wine saffron sauce

An Elegant Spanish inspired Cod in a White Wine and Saffron Sauce to Pair with a Beautiful White Rioja

Finca Alto Cantabria Viura from Conde Valdemar with pairings

Viura – There is more to Rioja than Tempranillo #WorldWineTravel

Minted Pea Mash

roasted lemon potatoes with basil radicchio and burrata

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

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with a savory berry drizzle

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Savory Berry Drizzle

Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir with Cornish Game Hens with a savory berry drizzle

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

Fetzer 2019 Gewürztraminer and Thai Red Curry

An Affordable and Aromatic Gewürztraminer Paired with Thai Red Curry #WinePW

Thai Red Curry with Shrimp and Vegetables

Bacon butternut pasta topped with sage, toasted walnuts, and parmesan

Bacon and Butternut pasta recipe to pair with a Langhe Nebbiolo

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

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.

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

Dec 15, 2020

It was a cool summer morning when we visited Syncline. Located on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge just where the lush green western part of the gorge begins to turn into the flatter browner drier landscape. Here though, the trees still grow lush and we entered the quiet property and set up in the gardens where James Mantone the vigneron and winemaker met us.

James is thoughtful and quiet, a man who uses words sparingly. He is happy to share information on his property and wines but is in no way boisterous. When he speaks, you know that he has thought through what he is saying.

He took us to the vineyard up on the ridge to see the view the Syrah has. You can see the river in the gorge from there. It’s beautiful and perhaps a little humbling, as you can see far into the distance and the scale really puts your smallness into perspective.

The patio at Syncline Winery

Syncline interview behind the scenes

Walking the Steep Ranch Vineyard with Syncline's James Mantone

James Mantone of Syncline walked us to the top of their vineyard to enjoy the views from their spectacular location on the Columbia Gorge

Views of the Gorge make this Washington Wine delicious

View of the Columbia River and the Gorge

The View from Syncline’s Steep Ranch Vineyard

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red from the Columbia Valley

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

A blend of 49% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 12% Carignan, 7% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, this is their version of a Côtes du Rhône Villages wine.

Syncline sources this fruit from a variety of vineyards in multiple AVAs: Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Yakima Valley. With all of the vineyards that they work with, they have long term contracts and a good relationship and sense of trust with the growers.

91 barrels were produced. 13.7% abv SRP $25

My notes on this wine start with its medium color of dark red with blue notes. On the nose, there are raspberry notes in the front, with deeper black fruit and rich red notes. Sitting in the very back you find notes of dried currant and whiffs of anise. There is also an undertone of brambles and dried herbs. As it evolves I get more spice.

Medium in body, dry and elegant with medium to low tannins, in my mouth it has deep juicy red and black fruits and something like the scent of a woodfire with herbs.

While this wine is from many vineyards it is incredibly integrated.

Bacon-wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin with raspberry sauce, beet greens, and a root vegetable gratin

Syrah loves bacon, and raspberry notes with this wine meant I wanted to tie those in somehow. I found a recipe for a stuffed pork loin and thought this would be a good match. I had just bought fresh beets, so beet greens on the side were a no brainer.

The pork loin is stuffed with crème cheese and a raspberry sauce. The loin is wrapped in bacon, basted in the sauce, and roasted for a few hours.

This was really wonderful with the wine, bacon, and raspberry and Subduction Red makes for a perfect trio.

You can see the full recipe here.

I did a side of sauteed beet greens, that brings in an earthy note and added to that with our rainbow root vegetable gratin. You can find the gratin recipe as part of this post.

Bacon brie raspberry bites

We stuck with the bacon and raspberry notes for a sweet/savory dessert bite. This is really an hors d’oeuvres, but it was a perfect bite to finish the meal. These are quick and easy with phyllo cups filled with brie, bacon, and a raspberry preserve.

This was a perfect little bite with the wine.

Check out the recipe here.

Phyllo cups filled with brie, raspberry sauce, bacon, rosemary and almonds

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red with bacon, brie, raspberry phyllo bites

Syncline is open for limited outdoor seating on weekends for tasting and you can do take out bottle sales. They have a reservation section on their site.

The outdoor tasting bar at the Syncline Winery with its juniper posts

Syncline Wine’s tasting garden in the Columbia Gorge AVA

They are located across the river from the Dalles. If you can’t get there to enjoy their beautiful gardens you can order online and enjoy these delicious wines in the comfort of your own home.

Production here is under 6,000 cases annually. These wines are truly something special.

Sources and Resources

Strawberry Mascarpone Crepes

For dessert, we went with something lighter, crepes filled with mascarpone crème, orange zest, and strawberries, served with a trio of strawberry sauces to see which went best with the wine. One sauce had cardamom, one fresh tarragon, and one basil. I enjoyed all 3 but the basil was my favorite with the pairing.

These light easy crepes are perfect for a quick dessert that looks beautiful.

Time: 35 Minutes

Yield: 4 people

Ingredients for strawberry mascarpone crepes

Ingredients for the Crepes

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Directions

Mix the ingredients, you can use a mixer, or a blender. Then let the batter rest in the refrigerator for an hour to let the bubbles rest. This will keep the crepes from tearing.

Heat a small non stick pan, add butter to coat. Pour an ounce of batter in the center and swirl it to coat the pan evenly. Cook 30 seconds and flip. Cook 10 seconds and remove to a board or plate to cook. Repeat until your batter is gone. (Once they are cool, you can stack them and they will keep in the fridge for several days)

Ingredients for the filling

1 Cup mascarpone cheese
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 ground cinnamon

Directions

Beat mascarpone, milk, granulated sugar and cinnamon 2 minutes with an electric mixer on high until well blended. Keep cold.

Mascarpone crepes with orange zest and strawberry sauce

For the Strawberry sauce

Cook crushed strawberries with lemon juice and sugar to taste. We did 3 sauces to test with the wine we were pairing. One had fresh basil, one ground cardamom and the last had fresh tarragon. You can add a variety of herbs or spices depending on your mood and your pairing.

To assemble

Spread a thin layer of the mascarpone filling, layout some thinly sliced strawberries, roll and slice in half to see the roll, garnish with powdered sugar, orange zest and drizzle with the strawberry sauce.

Keep in mind that with crepes, the sky is the limit. You can do these sweet or savory with a wide variety of flavors, serve them open like an elegant pancake, folded in half or quarters or rolled as we did. You can also flavor the batter, with cocoa or change out your oil, subbing in coconut oil for the butter, or changing out the flour. The fillings, well, that’s all up to your imagination!

Mascarpone crepes with strawberry sauce

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Strawberry Mascarpone crepes with AD Beckham Pinot Gris

AD Beckham Amphora Pinot Gris

A couple of years ago we made our way to the Beckham Estate Vineyard. It sits at the east end of the Chehalem Mountains AVA on what is known as Parrett Mountain. We spent the morning with Annedria Beckham tasting through their wines and hearing the story of the winery first hand on their patio, their dog Ruby Tuesday curled up to keep us company. They have a fascinating story, which you can read in our post here.

One of the things that drew me to Beckham was their Amphorae program, called AD Beckham. You see, Andrew Beckham is a ceramics artist. Annedria had come across an article on Elizabetta Foradori in Italy where she was making wine in terra cotta vessels.

I thought about it 3 different times before I decided to show the article to Andrew…I said “you know I’ve heard of this winemaker and I’ve heard of her wines, we should see if we can get some in Oregon.” And he flipped through and said, “I can make those”. Annedria Beckham

The die was cast, he ordered clay the next day.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Stuffed Vegan Portabella Mushrooms and a L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Using a Portabella mushroom is a great flavorful way to go meatless. This delicious dish can be made gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan. Filled with a wide variety of vegetables, the flavor in the sun-dried tomatoes really kicks it up a notch. Stuffed Vegan Portabella Mushrooms I will admit, that I didn't go all the way [...]

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

Want a Vegan side dish that is delicious and full of umami? This is your dish. You can cook it outside on the grill, but I like to cook it the easy way, on a grill pan on my stove. Shout out to Diethood for the inspiration for this recipe. Grilled Balsamic Purple Cabbage What [...]

Steak and chocolate – The best way to enjoy a L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon

As we embark on the new year, we embark on a new relationship with L’Ecole No. 41 in Walla Walla. They have invited a selection of writers to join them to explore their wines in 2021. We don’t take this relationship lightly. We value the trust of our readers, and we will only recommend wines [...]

An Elegant Spanish inspired Cod in a White Wine and Saffron Sauce to Pair with a Beautiful White Rioja

What to pair with a white wine from Rioja? Cod in a White Wine and Saffron Sauce. Well, I knew it wanted to be a Spanish inspired dish. With the wine we had which was 100% Viura I knew that I needed a flavorful dish for this oak-aged white wine, as while it would be [...]

Viura – There is more to Rioja than Tempranillo #WorldWineTravel

Viura from Rioja's Conde Valdemar paired with an elegant cod in a saffron sauce This month with the brand new #WorldWineTravel group will be exploring the wines of Spain this year, beginning with the Rioja region in North Central Spain. You can scroll to the bottom of this post to read my colleagues' exploration of [...]

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. The mint brightens it, making it taste as vivid green [...]

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

I was looking for a roasted baby potatoes side dish to pair with an Oregon Pinot Noir and was surfing Pinterest for inspiration. It's the visuals of the food I love. You eat with your eyes, you know what I mean? I came across this dish and couldn't get it out of my head. Inspired [...]

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Savory Berry Drizzle

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 [...]

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

“Alloro” It’s the Italian word for laurel. When David Nemarnik purchased this now 130-acre site, he named it after the Laurelwood soils found on the site. He grew up nearby in Portland, making homemade wine in his garage. He searched the area for the right site, testing soils to find the best for growing the [...]

An Affordable and Aromatic Gewürztraminer Paired with Thai Red Curry #WinePW

This month the #WinePW crew is looking to pair with Asian dishes, led by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. The premise is Saké or another wine with Asian dishes. I enjoy saké, but it is something that I enjoy the ceremony of, out at a sushi restaurant with friends. Oh great, now I’m nostalgic, [...]

Thai Red Curry with Shrimp and Vegetables

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 9th 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 [...]

Bacon and Butternut pasta recipe to pair with a Langhe Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo is a wine that is versatile in pairing with food. Garlic, truffles, olives, capers, butternut squash, wild mushrooms, polenta, leeks, tomato-based sauces, pizza Parmigiana Reggiano or Pecorino Fatty foods, butter, vinegar-based sauces. This is a high tannin wine. Steak with fat. Think meats like bib eye, sausages, duck, or pork shank. So I had [...]

Bonny Doon 2018 Riesling to Live – Day 12 of the 12 Days of Wine 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 [...]

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

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

Dec 13, 2020

Beginnings and Endings

The year 2020.

Unexpected, unpredictable, a year of endings and beginnings.

This Terre di Bacco Prosecco brings up a story of endings and beginnings – a chapter in my life.

In 2008 after having a successful business for 10 years, the economy crashed and my business was no longer viable. A Warm Wish was a gift basket business in Las Vegas. We created gifts for conventions and conferences.

With the crash, Las Vegas went through a year with very few conventions or conferences, and I re-re-invented myself, returning to my career as a Theatrical Stage Manager.

This was a career I had left 10 years before to start my business. Another chapter, another cycle. I returned to an extreme version of this career joining Cirque du Soleil, grateful for recommendations from friends from my theatrical touring days. And so, in 2008 I joined the SM team at Zumanity.

The Zumanity team was small, so we employed interns to assist with the workload. They were able to have first-hand experience working with a large theatrical circus show. The first intern that joined us after I became a part of the team, was Robby.

He was with us for just a few months, but he and I stayed in touch, and periodically he would be in town. He would see the show and we would catch up over drinks. His career took him to theme parks and cruise lines and he had been traveling the world with his work.

In 2020 we caught up via Facebook, as Robby posted about him and his partner, who was very involved in wine. One thing led to another and I found a box arriving from Robby’s partner Francesco for a label he represents, Terre di Bacco.

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

Terre di Bacco

Terre di Bacco means “land of Bacchus”. The label is inspired by the Roman God of Wine.

Created as a “by the glass” style wine for restaurants, Terre di Bacco has found vineyards and wineries across Italy to create quality wines that are elegant, simple and genuine.

Terre di Bacco Prosecco DOC Treviso

This wine from Veneto is pale lemon in color with a nose of citrus, pith and lemon. There are apple notes as well. It tastes of bright lemon and citrus. The mouthfeel is lively and dry.

It is, of course, primarily made from the grape Glera.

It sits at 11% abv and is $13.99 so you can buy a case and enjoy a bottle every evening if you like!

Terre di Bacco Prosecco Paired with Chinese Long-Life noodles with stir-fried vegetables

As our COVID numbers went up, our Governor encouraged us to stay in if possible and order groceries for delivery. So, we returned to weekly orders from Sun Basket. These are meal kits that are Organic and Healthy. We paired this with the Chinese long-life noodles we received. It is a delicious dish that had me cutting vegetables for a bit, with shiitake mushrooms, scallions, bok choy, and carrots, cooked with fresh ramen and eggs in an oyster sauce.

Chinese Long life Noodles with bok choy, carrots topped with green onions, sambal oelek and flowering Thai basil

Terre di Bacco Prosecco with long life noodles

The umami in this dish was lovely with the Prosecco. Stir-fry dishes can have a bit of fattiness and can get heavy as you eat them, but the Prosecco cleaned my palate after every bite (I soooo love bubbles).

Dessert Pairing – Hungarian Nut Cake with Caramelized Apples and Crème Anglaise

I had made walnut cake for another recipe (you will see that soon enough), and thought this would be great with this pairing. I caramelized apple slices in butter and brown sugar, laid them across the top of the cake and drizzled it with crème anglaise.

Now I have been watching The Great British Baking Show for a while, but I have never, myself, made a crème anglaise. I read several recipes and watched a few videos and prepared myself for potential failure (there is a trick, if you scramble your eggs that I learned, to save your crème anglaise). I worked slowly and patiently and it came out perfect. Oh, and delicious! Where has this been all my life?

The bit of apple note in the wine came forward with this pairing and again, the Terre di Bacco Prosecco made each bite with that luscious crème anglaise as good as the first!

Check out the recipe here!

Walnut Cake, carmelized apples and creme anglaise

Endings and Beginnings

So here we are in 2020. Zumanity, after 8 months of being on hold, is now officially closed, and I am on to another chapter, another cycle in life. The connections here were not lost on me. Another cycle has started, paying homage to the previous cycle. The endings make us nostalgic, and their connections to the beginnings give us comfort and hope.

So we celebrate our 12 Days of Wine this year and look to the future. It’s uncertain. It always is. But it is also filled with endless possibilities. So I raise a glass of Terre di Bacco Prosecco to you, to the end of 2020 and to the beginning of so many things! Saluti!

Want to find some?

Terre di Bacco Prosecco di Treviso is available currently in 31 states. You can find more information on their distribution on their website https://www.terrebacco.com/shop-now

Sources and Resources

For more on Prosecco

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.

BBQ Chicken in Crockpot with Grilled Eggplant and Gouda Mac and Cheese

Dec 11, 2020

BBQ chicken, grilled eggplant with chimichurri sauce, and smoked gouda mac and cheese with Co Dinn Roskamp Syrah

Our BBQ lunch to pair with this Washington Syrah from Co Dinn paired beautifully! BBQ with Syrah, especially when you play up the notes in the wine in the sauce, can be spectacular. Co had suggested eggplant dishes on his site and I found a recipe for Grilled eggplant with chimichurri sauce and lastly a smoked gouda mac and cheese!

Co Dinn 2015 Roskamp Vineyard Block 2 Syrah

This Co Dinn wine is fermented in one-ton bins. He presses when he feels the tannins are structured by not too grippy. The wine does secondary fermentation in neutral French oak. 100% Syrah. 14.6% abv SRP $45

Time: 2 hours 25 Minutes

Yield: 2-4 people

Co Dinn 2015 Roskamp Vineyard Block 2 Syrah with BBQ chicken, grilled eggplant with chimichurri and smoke gouda mac and cheese

Slow cooker BBQ chicken thighs with a syrah inspired BBQ sauce

This recipe was inspired by Jennifer Banz – crock pot chicken thighs

https://jenniferbanz.com/crock-pot-bbq-chicken-thighs

2 people, 2 hr 15 min to 4 hr 15 minutes (depending on slow cooker setting)

Slow Cooked BBQ Chicken — Slow-Cooked BBQ Chicken

Ingredients

4 bone in chicken thighs (I recommend pulling the skin off of these, I did not and I regret that, the meat was not able soak up my brilliant sauce)

1 tbs paprika (smoke or sweet)

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp Montreal Chicken seasoning (it’s what I had)

¼ tsp ground white pepper

1 ½ cups of BBQ sauce (

Directions

Mix the spices and the salt and pepper in a small bowl
Put your chicken thighs in the slow cooker and sprinkling the spice mix over the top.
Pour on 1 cup of that BBQ sauce (use my recipe below, make your own concoction or grab a bottle from the store)
Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
Pre-heat the broiler.
Place the chicken thighs on an aluminum lined baking sheet
Baste with the rest of the sauce
Broil on the center rack of the oven for about 5 minutes (keep an eye on them) They should caramelize and bubble.

BBQ Sauce recipe

First, I love making BBQ sauce, and it’s never the same. I throw together flavors and taste as I go. Here is what I used for this recipe.

Minced garlic

Dried cranberries

Dark brown sugar

Worcestershire sauce

Apple cider vinegar

Honey

Balsamic vinegar

Espresso powder

Cocoa

Ketchup

Soy sauce

Tomato paste

Paprika

Ground white pepper

Montreal chicken seasoning

Black cherry preserve

Nutmeg

Salt

Directions

Nope, you don’t get exact measurements. You need it to be your desired consistency so that will guide you. The other thing that will guide you is your taste buds. Grab a jar or bowl, or a big 2 cup measuring cup. You are looking to have 1 ½ cups of this in the end. Add, stir, taste. Maybe there are other flavors you want to add in? Do it! If you are not sure, then take a bit to the side and try it there.

The important thing for this recipe, was the black cherry preserves (I added about 2 tbs) the cocoa ( I added 1 tsp) and the espresso powder (again 1 tsp). These were the components that would pick up in the notes of the wine.

Grilled Eggplant with Chimichurri sauce

20 minutes 4 servings

This recipe was adapted from one on Foodie Crush https://www.foodiecrush.com/grilled-eggplant/

I didn’t need to make quite so much and I’ll be honest, I mixed up my chimichurri so that it is more of a sauce and is not quite a traditional chimichurri which is thiner and more drizzly. None the less it was delicious. I also cut this recipe in half and adapted for ingredients that I had on hand.

Chimichurri style sauce

Ingredients

½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves only

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves only

2 shallots finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs of red wine vinegar

½ lemon juiced

½ tsp salt

½ tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

Do this in a food processor
Start with the parsley, cilantro, onion and garlic, pulse to mince
Add the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice, and red pepper flakes.
Pulse just to mix
Season with salt.

Grilled Eggplant

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1 tbs of olive oil

1 ½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

Heat your grill pan over medium high heat (I typically grind fresh salt over the pan first, it will help with clean up)
Cut the eggplant into ½ inch slices
Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Grill turning once until they are tender and you have lovely grill marks
Plate and drizzle with the chimichurri sauce.

Serves 4

25 minutes

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

I love baked mac & cheese, but sometimes you just don’t have the time for that. This mac & cheese with smoke gouda is so good, I didn’t miss the baking! I found this recipe on Hey Grill Hey an adapted it cutting the recipe in half. I also messed up my sauce and guess what? Still turned out okay!

Ingredients

½ lb of elbow macaroni

¼ cup of butter

2 tbs flour

1 ½ tsp mustard powder

1/2 cup of crème

½ cup whole milk

2 oz of crème cheese

1 ½ cups of shredded smoked gouda

¾ cup of shredded white cheddar

Directions

Cook the pasta. Read the directions on the package, just use a big pot, bigger than you think you need, so those macaroni have space and salt the water. Salty like the sea, my chef friend always says!
Drain the pasta. (yes, I did that before I made the sauce, because I didn’t want to break my focus on the sauce, by having to stop and drain pasta)
Get out your cast iron skillet (12 inch) melt the butter over medium heat
Add the flour whisking until it forms a thin smooth paste. This is your roux, I am notorious for over cooking my roux, keep this over medium and you should be okay.
Whisk in the mustard powder.
Slowly pour in the milk and crème, continue whisking while you bring this to a boil.
Reduce the heat and add the crème cheese, whisking until smooth
Add the gouda and cheddar and stir until melted.
Turn off the heat, add the pasta and stir to make this a gooey bunch of deliciousness.

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

BBQ chicken, grilled eggplant with chimichurri sauce, and smoked gouda mac and cheese with Co Dinn Roskamp Syrah

We got lost on the way to this vineyard to meet Co Dinn. In Washington’s Yakima Valley GPS service can be sketchy and even when you look it up ahead of time, sometimes roads have gates and you find the maps program tried to take you in a locked back door. So after a bit of driving for us and Co talking us in through landmarks we were unfamiliar with, we finally connected and headed up to the Roskamp Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA. Co sources grapes here, for his Syrah and Chardonnay and it is a great vantage point to see the Yakima Valley.

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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.

Grilled peach, Roasted Chicken and Tarragon Salad perfectly paired with Tertini Arneis

Dec 11, 2020

Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis

You can never go wrong with grilled peaches and this salad looks so lush and elegant. Grilled peach has those lucious fruit notes, with the texture made soft and the umami from those grill marks.

Find some good greens, I used frisee, red leaf and butter leaf, but you could incorporate herb greens, other lettuces or even beet greens or chard!

While I used roasted chicken, any poultry would be good here and you can choose your onion. I went with shallots, because I had them on hand and they are milder.

The tarragon and the dressing are the finishing touches that make this salad, utilizing the pan drippings with butter, honey and lemon juice.

Time: 25 Minutes

Yield: 2 people

Grilled Peach and Roasted chicken and Tarragon Salad Ingredients

What to Pair?

Tertini 2018 Private Cellar Collection Arneis

13.5% abv SRP $42 AU (the new 2019 vintage is now available)

Grilled peach Roasted Chicken and tarragon salad

Ingredients

½ roasted chicken (you can roast yours if you like, I bought mine at the store pre- roasted)

2 peaches

1 to 2 shallots cut into rings

2 tbs honey

3 tbs butter

1 lemon juiced

Fresh tarragon

Assorted greens (I used frisee, red leaf and butter lettuce)

¼ cup of slice almonds

Olive oil

Sea salt

Directions

Slice the roasted chicken and warm in a pan with olive and 1 tbs of the butter
Remove this to a plate to keep warm
In the same pan add the honey and the remaining 2 tbs of butter.
When the butter is melted add the lemon juice and salt.
Stir this to combine and remove it from the heat. This is your dressing
Slice the peaches and shallots and cook on a grill pan. Make sure to get bar marks, they make this extra pretty.
Assemble in your serving bowl, placing the torn lettuce on the bottom
Top with the chicken, peaches and shallots
Drizzle with the honey dressing, making sure to dress all the chicken.
Top with torn fresh tarragon and sliced almonds.

Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Grilled peach, roasted chicken, and tarragon salad paired with the Tertini Arneis

This Tertini Arneis was rich, but with good acid and with the notes of tarragon in the wine, I knew this would pair well. It would also be really good with duck breast, but alas, I had no duck breasts.

I found that this barrel-fermented Arneis really made the tarragon pop, and the richness of the wine from the barrel aging worked well with the rich flavors and still had good acid to cut through. The grilled peach pulled up the fruit notes in 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.

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites inspired pairing with 2017 Syncline Subduction Red

Dec 11, 2020

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Yep, more raspberry and bacon! We munched these for dessert but they would be great for an appetizer too.

What to Pair?

Syncline 2017 Subduction Red – Columbia Valley

A blend of 49% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 12% Carignan, 7% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, this is their version of a Côtes du Rhône Villages wine.

Syncline sources this fruit from a variety of vineyards in multiple AVA: Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain, and Yakima Valley. All of these vineyards they work with they have long term contracts and a good relationship and sense of trust with the growers.

91 barrels were produced. 13.7% abv SRP $25

Time: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

Yield: 3 people

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Ingredients

1 box of phyllo cups (15 count)

4 oz wedge of brie

3 slices of bacon

½ cup fresh raspberries

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp water

½ tsp white vinegar

½ tsp corn starch

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

Fresh rosemary & sliced almonds (to garnish)

Directions

Stick the brie in the freezer for 1 hr (this makes it easy to slice, so it is not a goopy sticky mess)
Make the raspberry preserve
Put 1 cup of raspberries in a small pot over medium-low and mash with a fork.
Add the water and granulated sugar, mashing until the berries are completely broken down.
Add the brown sugar, cornstarch and vinegar
Cook 2 minutes
Put in a bowl to cool.
Cook the bacon until it is crispy.
Drain the bacon on a paper towel and crumble into small pieces
With 10 minutes left on the Brie, Preheat the oven to 350
Place the phyllo cups on a baking sheet
Take the brie out of the freezer and slice off the rind
Dice the brie into squares small enough to fit in the phyllo cups
Put one cheese square in each cup, (there should be some left)
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove and add more brie to any cups that don’t look full enough.
Top with the raspberry preserve and bacon
Bake another 10 minutes
Garnish with fresh rosemary and sliced almonds and serve

Bacon Brie Raspberry Bites

Watch our quick video for the highlights.

Bacon brie raspberry bites

We went with the bacon and raspberry notes for a sweet/savory dessert bite. This is really an hors d’oeuvres, but it was a perfect bite to finish the meal. These are quick and easy with phyllo cups filled with brie, bacon, and a raspberry preserve.

This was a perfect little bite with the wine, the Syncline 2017 Subduction Red, a red blend from the Columbia Valley.

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Wine tasting

Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout Recipes

Youngberg Hill

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Rainbow Root Vegetable Gratin and Baked Rainbow Trout

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

Did you make this recipe?

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

Did you make this recipe?

How to find Youngberg Hill?

For more information on this region visit

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Chocolate Nests

Time: 45 Minutes

Yield: 4 people

Ingredients

Directions

Microwave method of Tempering Chocolate

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Bacon brie raspberry bites

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Strawberry Mascarpone Crepes

These light easy crepes are perfect for a quick dessert that looks beautiful.

Time: 35 Minutes

Yield: 4 people

Ingredients for the Crepes

Directions

Ingredients for the filling

Directions